Hellenica

From such disasters, however, I hold that men are taught the lesson, chiefly, indeed, that they ought not to chastise anyone, even slaves, in anger — for masters in anger have often suffered greater harm than they have inflicted; but especially that, in dealing with enemies, to attack under the influence of anger and not with judgment is an absolute mistake. For anger is a thing which does not look ahead, while judgment aims no less to escape harm than to inflict it upon the enemy.

When the Lacedaemonians heard of this affair, it seemed to them as they deliberated that they must send out no small force, in order that the pride of the victors might be quenched and that the efforts already made might not go for nothing. Having come to this conclusion, they sent out Agesipolis, the king, as commander, and with him, as they had sent with Agesilaus to Asia, thirty Spartiatae.

There followed with him also many of the Perioeci as volunteers, men of the better class, and aliens who belonged to the so-called foster-children[*](i.e., were brought up at Sparta and went through the usual course of Spartan discipline. Xenophon’s own sons belonged to this class.) of Sparta, and sons of the Spartiatae by Helot women, exceedingly finelooking men, not without experience of the good gifts of the state. Furthermore, volunteers from the allied states joined the expedition and horsemen of the Thessalians, who wished to become known to Agesipolis, while Amyntas and Derdas took part with even greater eagerness than before. Under[*](381 B.C.) these circumstances it was that Agesipolis marched against Olynthus.

Meanwhile the people of Phlius, partly because they had been commended by Agesipolis for giving him a large sum of money for his campaign and giving it speedily, partly because they thought that with Agesipolis abroad Agesilaus would not take the field against them, and that it never would happen that both the kings would be outside of Sparta at the same time, boldly refused to grant any of their rights to the restored exiles.[*](cp. ii. 10) For while the exiles demanded that the questions in dispute should be brought to trial before an impartial court, their policy was to compel them to plead their cases in the city itself. And when the exiles asked what manner of trial that was, where the wrong-doers were themselves the judges, they refused to listen to them at all.

Consequently these restored exiles came to Lacedaemon to present their charge against the state, and other people from home came with them, saying that many even among the citizens thought that the exiles were not receiving just treatment. But the state of Phlius, angered at this, fined all who had gone to Lacedaemon without being sent by the state.

And those who were thus fined were afraid to return home, but remained and protested to the Lacedaemonians, saying: These men, who are engaged in these high-handed proceedings, are the men who have banished us and have also excluded you from their city, these are the men who are buying our property and resorting to high-handed measures so as not to give it back, and now these same men have contrived to have a fine inflicted upon us for coming here, so that in the future no one shall dare[*](381 B.C.) to come for the purpose of revealing what is going on in the state.

And since it seemed that the Phliasians were really acting insolently, the ephors called out the ban against them. Now this was not displeasing to Agesilaus; for the followers of Podanemus had been friends of his father Archidamus and were at this time among the restored exiles; while the partisans of Procles, the son of Hipponicus, were friends of his own.