Plutarch's Lives, Volume II

by Plutarch

For this reason Homer always brings the most daring and warlike heroes into battle well and beautifully armed, and the Greek lawgivers punish the man who throws away his shield, but not him who throws away his sword or spear, showing that it is each man's duty to take more care that he does not receive hurt himself, than to hurt the enemy, especially if he be the chief of an army or city.

The war which destroyed the prestige of Sparta, and put an end to her empire by sea and land, began in that night, in which Pelopidas, without having made himself master of any fort, stronghold, or citadel, but merely coming to a private house with eleven others, loosed and broke to pieces, if we may use a true metaphor, the chains of Lacedæmonian supremacy, which seemed fixed and immovable.

For in all the wars which had previously taken place, both with Greeks and barbarians, it never before had happened that Lacedæmonians should be conquered by an inferior force, nor yet even when the numbers on each side were equal. Wherefore they were invincible in their own estimation, and established an ascendant over the minds of their opponents, for they were wont to engage with men who did not themselves think that with equal force they could be a match for the same number of Spartans. But this battle first proved to the rest of Greece that it is not only the Eurotas, and the country between Babuke and Knacion [11] that nurtures brave and warlike men, but that wherever the youth of a nation fears disgrace and is willing to risk life for honour, and shrinks from shame more than from danger, these form the troops most terrible to their foes.

Others spoke on the other side, urging that so barbarous and impious a sacrifice could not be pleasing to any of the powers above, for, they said, it is not the Typhons and giants of legend that rule in heaven, but the father of all gods and men. To believe that there are deities that delight in the blood and slaughter of mankind is probably a foolish fancy; but if there be such, it is our duty to disregard them and treat them as powerless, for these strange and shocking desires can only take their origin and exist in feeble and depraved minds.

But now, when the main Theban phalanx under Epameinondas, projecting before all the rest of the line, bore down upon them, and when Pelopidas, by a charge of inconceivable speed and daring was already amongst their ranks, their spirit and discipline was so shaken that the rout and slaughter of the Spartans was such as had never been before. In this victory and success as much glory belonged to Pelopidas, though not one of the generals, and only in command of a few men, as to Epameinondas, who was Bœotarch and leader of the whole force.

Pelopidas now recalled the cavalry, and sent it to attack the enemy's position in flank, while he himself took his shield and ran to join the infantry in their fight on the hill. Pushing his way through their ranks till he reached the front he infused such strength and ardour into them, that the enemy thought that they attacked with new bodies as well as new spirit.

For as Æsop says, the death of the fortunate is not grievous, but blessed, since it secures their felicity, and puts it out of Fortune's power.

Between shame and terror she got them in and placed them round the bed, herself holding the light. One of them seized his feet, another held his head back by the hair, and the third despatched him with a stab of his sword, a death, perhaps, easier than he deserved. He was the first, or perhaps the only despot ever assassinated by his own wife. His body after death was dragged about and trodden under foot by the people of Pheræ, a recompense which his villanies deserved.

So much regard had the Romans for religion, that they would not on occasions of the greatest good fortune overlook any neglect of the prophecies and customs of their ancestors, holding it more important for the safety of the state that their generals should reverence the gods than that they should conquer the enemy.

He was now advancing to the charge, when his horse, scared at the terrible display of the enemy, turned short round, and forcibly carried him back. Marcellus, fearing that this might cause superstitious terror to the Romans, hastily wheeled his horse round on the bridle hand, and having again directed him against the enemy, paid his adorations to the sun, as though he had made this circle not by chance, but of set purpose; for the Romans have this custom, of turning round to worship the gods, and so he, as he was on the point of joining battle, vowed that he would consecrate the finest of the enemies' arms to Jupiter Feretrius.

Thus he proceeded till he reached the temple of Jupiter Feretrius. Here he dismounted, and dedicated his spoils, being the third, and, up to our day, the last who ever did so: first comes Romulus, with the spoils of Acron of Cæninum; second, Cornelius Cossus offered the spoils of Tolumnius the Etruscan; third, Marcellus offered these spoils of Britomartus, the king of the Gauls; after Marcellus, no man.

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Poseidonius tells us that Fabius was called the shield of the state, and Marcellus the sword. And Hannibal himself said that he feared Fabius as a schoolmaster, but regarded Marcellus as an antagonist, for the former prevented his doing any mischief, while the latter might make him suffer some.

The Romans up to this time had given foreign nations great proofs of their skill in war and their courage in battle, but had not shown any evidences of kindness of heart, clemency, or any social virtue. Marcellus seems to have been the first who exhibited the Romans in a more amiable light to the Greeks.

Filled with the blood-stained arms and spoils of barbarians, and crowded with trophies of war and memorials of triumphs, she was no pleasant or delightful spectacle, fit to feed the eyes of unwarlike and luxurious spectators, but, as Epameinondas called the plain of Bœotia "the Stage of Ares," and Xenophon called Ephesus "the Workshop of War," so, in my opinion, you might call Rome at that time, in the words of Pindar, "the Domain of Ares, who revels in war."

They blamed Marcellus's proceedings as being invidious for Rome, because he had led not only men, but also gods as captives in his triumph, and also because the people, who before this were accustomed either to fight or to till the ground, and were ignorant of luxury and indolent pleasures, like the Herakles of Euripides, "Unpolished, rough, but skilled in useful arts," were made by Marcellus into idle, babbling connoisseurs of the fine arts, and wasted the greater part of the day in talk about them.

And this is a great proof to me that in old times it was the manner and not the importance of the things achieved that settled the form of triumph.

In Sparta those ex-generals who have accomplished their purpose by persuasion or fraud sacrifice an ox, while those who have done it by battle offer a cock. For, though warlike to excess, they thought that a victory gained by clever negotiation was greater and more befitting human beings than one gained by force and courage. Which is to be preferred, I leave to my readers' consideration.

Marcellus chanced to be performing some sacrifice in the Capitol; so when the Syracusans came to the assembled Senate, begging for a hearing that justice might be done them, the other consul stopped them, feeling that Marcellus ought not to be attacked in his absence. But Marcellus as soon as he heard of it, came to the Senate-house, seated himself as consul, on the curule chair, and despatched business; then, when this was finished, he came down and placed himself as a private person in the place where men on their trial usually stood, and called on the Syracusans to prove their charges against him. They were abashed at his majestic confidence of demeanour, and he who had been invincible in arms seemed to them yet more terrible and unapproachable in his consular purple.

They could not urge that they had been forced into war by their despots, for they had themselves chosen those very despots with the intention of going to war.

But what Marcellus is so justly admired for, is that after such great armies had been routed, their generals killed, and the whole military system of Rome thrown into confusion, he inspired his troops with a confidence that enabled them to hold their own against the enemy. He roused his men from their former timid

But Marcellus, without any necessity, without the excitement which sometimes in perilous circumstances overpowers men's reason, pushed heedlessly into danger, and died the death of a spy rather than a general, risking his five consulships, his three triumphs, his spoils and trophies won from kings against the worthless lives of Iberian and Numidian mercenaries.

he mentions the fact that he was ostracised: now, ostracism never was used against poor men, but against those who descended from great and wealthy houses, and whose pride made them feared and disliked by their fellow citizens.

IV. He stood up vigorously for justice, not merely when it was his interest and that of his friends, but when it was in favour of his enemies and contrary to his own personal feelings to do so. It is said that once when arguing a cause against one of his enemies in a court of law, the judges refused to hear the other party speak in his own defence, after listening to the speech of Aristeides, but were about to condemn him unheard. At this Aristeides came forward and vigorously supported his antagonist's claim to be allowed his legal right of reply.

Yet men covet immortality, which no flesh can attain to; and also power, which depends mostly upon fortune; while they disregard virtue, the only godlike attribute which it is in our power to obtain; not reflecting that when a man is in a position of great power and authority he will appear like a god if he acts justly, and like a wild beast if he does not.

his glory under the pretence that they feared he would make himself king. This custom of ostracism was not intended as a punishment for crime, but was called, in order to give it a plausible title, a check to excessive power. In reality, it was nothing more than a safety-valve, providing a vent for the dislike felt by the people for those whose greatness offended them.

practice of ostracism. The way in which it was conducted was as follows. Each man took an oyster-shell, wrote upon it the name of the citizen whom he wished to be banished, and then carried it to a place in the market-place which was fenced off with palings. The archons now first of all counted the whole number of shells; for if the whole number of voters were less than six thousand, the ostracism was null and void. After this, they counted the number of times each name occurred, and that man against whom most votes were recorded they sent into exile for ten years, allowing him the use of his property during that time.

In answer to the herald sent from Mardonius he pointed to the sun, and said: "As long as yonder sun shall continue its course the Athenians will be enemies to the Persians, because of their ravaged lands and desecrated temples." Further, he made the priests imprecate curses on any one who had dealings with the Persians or deserted the Greek cause.

The chiefs of the Greeks at once proceeded throughout the Platæan territory, forcing every one to extinguish his fire, even in the case of funeral piles, while Euchidas of Platæa, who promised that he would fetch fire as quickly as possible, proceeded to Delphi. There he purified his body, and having been besprinkled with holy water and crowned with laurel, took fire from the altar, set off running back to Platæa, and arrived there about sunset, having run a distance of a hundred and twenty-five miles in one day. He embraced his fellow citizens, handed the fire to them, fell down, and in a few moments died.

for one may see many persons making both a good and a bad use of riches, but it is hard to meet with a man who bears poverty with honour. Those only should be ashamed of poverty who are poor against their wills.

Plato considers that this man alone, of all the great men of Athens, is worthy of mention by him. Themistokles, and Kimon, and Perikles, did indeed fill the city with public buildings, and money, and folly, but Aris teides in his political acts cared for nothing but virtue. One great proof of this is his kindly treatment of Themistokles. Though this man was his enemy throughout, and was the cause of his banishment by ostracism, yet when Themistokles gave him an opportunity of revenging himself in a similar manner he never remembered the injuries which he had received at his hands, but while Kimon, and Alkmæon, and many others, were endeavouring to drive him into exile and bringing all kinds of accusations against him, Aristeides alone never did or said anything against him, and did not rejoice over the spectacle of his enemy's ruin, just as he never envied his previous prosperity.

The Romans were at this period extending their empire so much as to lose much of their own original simplicity of living, as each new conquest brought them into contact with foreign customs and new modes of life. They therefore naturally looked with admiration upon Cato, observing that while they became enervated by pleasures and broke down under labours, he on the other hand seemed unaffected by either, and that too, not only while he was young and eager for fame: but even when he was an old grey-headed man, after he had been consul and had triumphed, he yet, like a victorious athlete, still kept himself in training, and never relaxed his severe discipline.

His rule was that nothing is cheap which one does not want, but that superfluities are dearly purchased even if they cost but one penny: and that it is better to buy land which can be ploughed, or where cattle can graze, than beds of flowers which require watering, and paths which have to be swept and kept in order.

common human nature, and merely considers the question of profit and loss. Kindness, indeed, is of wider application than mere justice; for we naturally treat men alone according to justice and the laws, while kindness and gratitude, as though from a plenteous spring, often extend even to irrational animals. It is right for a good man to feed horses which have been worn out in his service, and not merely to train dogs when they are young, but to take care of them when they are old.

Xanthippus in old times, whose dog swam all the way to Salamis beside his master's ship when the Athenians left their city, and which he buried on the promontory which to this day is called the Dog's Tomb. [27] We ought not to treat living things as we do our clothes and our shoes, and throw them away after we have worn them out; but we ought to accustom ourselves to show kindness in these cases, if only in order to teach ourselves our duty towards one another.

"Wife, remember that the Athenians rule the Greeks, I rule the Athenians, you rule me, and your child rules you; wherefore let him not abuse his power, which, though he knows it not, is greater than that of anyone else in Greece."

When reproaching a very fat man he said, "How can this man's body be useful to his country, when all parts between the neck and the groin are possessed by the belly?"

in general he concludes that the Greeks talk from the lips, and the Romans from the heart.

it was hard for a man who had lived in one generation to be obliged to defend himself before another.

Most persons are as much irritated at losing the means of displaying their wealth as at losing their wealth itself, and it is in superfluities, not in necessaries, that wealth can be displayed.

He regarded the table as the best means of forming friendships, and when dining used to praise the good without stint,

The last of his political acts is said to have been the destruction of Carthage. This was actually brought to pass by Scipio the Younger, but it was chiefly owing to the counsels of Cato that the war was begun.

Another and a more violent method of forcing the Romans to attack them was his habit, when giving his opinion on any subject whatever, to append the words, "And I also am of opinion that Carthage must he destroyed."

Cato, on the other hand, thought it a dangerous thing that, at a time when the Romans were giddy and drunk with power, they should leave in existence a city which always had been important, and which now, sobered by defeat, was biding its time and lying in wait for a favourable opportunity to avenge itself.

Cato left one son by his second wife, who, as has been said, was named Salonius, and one grandson, the child of his eldest son who was dead. Salonius died during his prætorship, but his son Marcus became consul. This man was the grandfather of Cato the Philosopher, who was one of the foremost men of his day in courage and ability.

Lykurgus, when he banished silver and gold from Sparta, and gave his countrymen useless iron money, did not wish to discourage good household management among them, but he removed the dangerous seductions of wealth out of their reach, in order that they all might enjoy a sufficiency of what was useful and necessary. He saw, what no other legislator appears to have seen, that the real danger to a commonwealth arises from the poor and desperate rather than from the excessively rich.

The poverty of a laborious, upright, temperate statesman combines well with his other virtues, and shows true greatness of mind: for a man whose attention is given to little things, can never succeed in doing great ones; nor can a man help others if he is in need of help himself. A statesman requires, not wealth, but contentment, in order that his attention may not be diverted from public affairs by his own cravings for useless luxuries.

As to their campaigns, those of Cato added but little to the already vast empire of Rome, while Aristeides was present at Marathon, Salamis, and Platæa, the most glorious of all Grecian victories.

a love of distinction often leads men to be ill-natured and spiteful to others, a fault which Aristeides entirely avoided, and to which Cato was peculiarly liable. Aristeides saved Athens by supporting the authority of Themistokles on several critical occasions, and even acting as his subordinate; while Cato by his opposition, nearly ruined Scipio's famous expedition to Carthage, in which he defeated the hitherto invincible Hannibal.

Self-denial, upon which Cato has bestowed such lavish praise, was practised in its purest and brightest form by Aristeides, while Cato seems to have forfeited all claim to this virtue by his unsuitable and unseasonable second marriage.