Apophthegmata Laconica

Plutarch

Plutarch. Moralia, Vol. III. Babbitt, Frank Cole, translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1931 (printing).

When another person sought to know the reason why he did not accept gifts from the Messenians, he said, Because if I took the gifts, it would be impossible to maintain peace with impartial regard for the laws.