ἐδίδασκον δὲ τοὺς παῖδας καὶ λόγῳ χρῆσθαι πικρίαν ἔχοντι μεμιγμένην χάριτι καὶ πολλὴν ἀπὸ βραχείας λέξεως ἀναθεώρησιν, τὸ μὲν γάρ σιδηροῦν νόμισμα μικρὰν ἔχειν ἐποίησεν ἀπὸ πολλοῦ σταθμοῦ δύναμιν ὁ Λυκοῦργος, ὡς εἴρηται, τὸ δὲ τοῦ λόγου νόμισμα τοὐναντίον ἀπʼ εὐτελοῦς καὶ ὀλίγης λέξεως εἰς πολλὴν καὶ περιττὴν κατεσκεύασε διάνοιαν, τῇ πολλῇ σιωπῇ τοὺς παῖδας ἀποφθεγματικοὺς καὶ πεπαιδευμένους πρὸς τὰς ἀποκρίσεις μηχανώμενος, ὡς γάρ τὸ σπέρμα τῶν πρὸς τὰς συνουσίας ἀκολάστων ἄγονον ὡς τὰ πολλὰ καὶ ἄκαρπόν ἐστιν, οὕτως ἡ πρὸς τὸ λαλεῖν ἀκρασία κενὸν τὸν λόγον ποιεῖ καὶ ἀνόητον.
The boys were also taught to use a discourse which combined pungency with grace, and condensed much observation into a few words. His iron money, indeed, Lycurgus made of large weight and small value, as I have observed, but the current coin of discourse he adapted to the expression of deep and abundant meaning with simple and brief diction, by contriving that the general habit of silence should make the boys sententious and correct in their answers. For as sexual incontinence generally produces unfruitfulness and sterility, so intemperance in talking makes discourse empty and vapid.
Ἆγις μὲν οὖν ὁ βασιλεύς, σκώπτοντος Ἀττικοῦ τινος τὰς Λακωνικὰς μαχαίρας εἰς τὴν μικρότητα, καὶ λέγοντος ὅτι ῥᾳδίως αὐτὰς οἱ θαυματοποιοὶ καταπίνουσιν ἐν τοῖς θεάτροις, καὶ μὴν μάλιστα, εἶπεν, ἡμεῖς ἐφικνούμεθα τοῖς ἐγχειριδίοις τῶν πολεμίων· ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ τὸν λόγον ὁρῶ τὸν Λακωνικὸν βραχὺν μὲν εἶναι δοκοῦντα, μάλιστα δὲ τῶν πραγμάτων ἐφικνούμενον, καὶ τῆς διανοίας ἁπτόμενον τῶν ἀκροωμένων,
King Agis, accordingly, when a certain Athenian decried the Spartan swords for being so short, and said that jugglers on the stage easily swallowed them, replied: And yet we certainly reach our enemies with these daggers. And I observe that although the speech also of the Spartans seems short, yet it certainly reaches the point, and arrests the thought of the listener.
καὶ γὰρ ὁ Λυκοῦργος αὐτὸς βραχυλόγος τις ἔοικε γενέσθαι καὶ ἀποφθεγματικός, εἰ δεῖ τεκμαίρεσθαι τοῖς ἀπομνημονεύμασιν οἷόν ἐστι τὸ περὶ τὰς πολιτείας πρὸς τὸν ἀξιοῦντα ποιεῖν δημοκρατίαν ἐν τῇ πόλει· σὺ γάρ , ἔφη, πρῶτος ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ σου ποίησον δημοκρατίαν καὶ περὶ τῶν θυσιῶν πρὸς τὸν πυθόμενον διὰ τί μικρὰς οὕτω καὶ εὐτελεῖς ἔταξεν, ἵνα μή ποτε,
And indeed Lycurgus himself seems to have been short and sententious in his speech, if we may judge from his recorded sayings; that, for instance, on forms of government, to one who demanded the establishment of democracy in the city: Go thou, said he, and first establish democracy in thy household. That, again, to one who inquired why he ordained such small and inexpensive sacrifices: That we may never omit, said he, to honour the gods.
ἔφη, τιμῶντες τὸ θεῖον διαλίπωμεν. καὶ περὶ τῶν ἀθλημάτων, ταῦτα μόνα μὴ κωλύσαντος ἀγωνίζεσθαι τοὺς πολίτας ἐν οἷς χεὶρ οὐκ ἀνατείνεται. φέρονται δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ δι’ ἐπιστολῶν ἀποκρίσεις τοιαῦται πρὸς τοὺς πολίτας. πῶς ἂν πολεμίων ἔφοδον ἀλεξοίμεθα; ἂν πτωχοὶ μένητε καὶ μὴ μέσδων ἅτερος θατέρω ἐρᾶτε ἦμεν. καὶ πάλιν περὶ τῶν τειχῶν οὐκ ἂν εἴη ἀτείχιστος πόλις ἅτις ἄνδρεσσι, καὶ οὐ πλίνθοις ἐστεφάνωται. περὶ μὲν οὖν τούτων καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἐπιστολῶν οὔτε ἀπιστῆσαι ῥᾴδιον οὔτε πιστεῦσαι.
Again, in the matter of athletic contests, he allowed the citizens to engage only in those where there was no stretching forth of hands. There are also handed down similar answers which he made by letter to his fellow-citizens. When they asked how they could ward off an invasion of enemies, he answered: By remaining poor, and by not desiring to be greater the one than the other. And when they asked about fortifying their city, he answered: A city will be well fortified which is surrounded by brave men and not by bricks. Now regarding these and similar letters, belief and scepticism are alike difficult.
τῆς δὲ πρὸς τὰ μήκη τῶν λόγων διαβολῆς δείγματα τοιαῦτα τῶν ἀποφθεγμάτων ἐστί. Λεωνίδας ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀκαίρως τινὸς περὶ πραγμάτων οὐκ ἀχρήστων διαλεχθέντος, ὦ ξένε, εἶπεν, οὐκ ἐν δέοντι χρέῃ τῷ δέοντι. Χαρίλαος δὲ ὁ ἀδελφιδοῦς τοῦ Λυκούργου περὶ τῆς ὀλιγότητος αὑτοῦ τῶν νόμων ἐρωτηθείς, εἶπεν ὡς οἱ λόγοις μὴ χρώμενοι πολλοῖς οὐδὲ νόμων δέονται πολλῶν.
Of their aversion to long speeches, the following apophthegms are proof. King Leonidas, when a certain one discoursed with him out of all season on matters of great concern, said: My friend, the matter urges, but not the time. Charilaüs, the nephew of Lycurgus, when asked why his uncle had made so few laws, answered: Men of few words need few laws.
Ἀρχιδαμίδας δὲ μεμφομένων τινῶν Ἑκαταῖον τὸν σοφιστὴν ὅτι παραληφθεὶς εἰς τὸ συσσίτιον οὐδὲν ἔλεγεν, ὁ εἰδώς, ἔφη, λόγον καὶ καιρὸν οἶδεν. ἃ δὲ τῶν πικρῶν ἔφην ἀπομνημονευμάτων οὐκ ἀμοιρεῖν χάριτος, τοιαῦτʼ ἐστί. Δημάρατος ἀνθρώπου πονηροῦ κόπτοντος αὐτὸν ἀκαίροις ἐρωτήμασι καὶ δὴ τοῦτο πολλάκις ἐρωτῶντος, τίς ἄριστος Σπαρτιατῶν; ἔφη· ὁ τὶν ἀνομοιότατος
Archidamidas, when certain ones found fault with Hecataeus the Sophist for saying nothing after being admitted to their public mess, answered: He who knows how, knows also when to speak. Instances of the pungent sayings not devoid of grace, of which I spoke, are the following. Demaratus, when a troublesome fellow was pestering him with ill-timed questions, and especially with the oft repeated query who was the best of the Spartans, answered at last: He who is least like thee.
Ἆγις δέ, ἐπαινούντων τινῶν τοὺς Ἠλείους ὡς καλῶς τὰ Ὀλύμπια καὶ δικαίως ἄγοντας, καὶ τί μέγα, ἔφη, Ἠλεῖοι ποιοῦντι διʼ ἐτῶν πέντε ἁμέρᾳ μιᾷ χρώμενοι τᾷ δικαιοσύνᾳ; Θεόπομπος δὲ ξένου τινὸς εὔνοιαν ἐνδεικνυμένου, καὶ φάσκοντος ὡς παρὰ τοῖς αὑτοῦ πολίταις φιλολάκων καλεῖται, κάλλιον ἦν τοι , εἶπεν, ὦ ξένε, φιλοπολίταν καλεῖσθαι.
And Agis, when certain ones were praising the Eleians for their just and honourable conduct of the Olympic games, said: And what great matter is it for the Eleians to practise righteousness one day in five years? And Theopompus, when a stranger kept saying, as he showed him kindness, that in his own city he was called a lover of Sparta, remarked: My good Sir, it were better for thee to be called a lover of thine own city.
Πλειστῶναξ δὲ ὁ Παυσανίου, ῥήτορος Ἀθηναίου τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους ἀμαθεῖς ἀποκαλοῦντος, ὀρθῶς, ἔφη, λέγεις· μόνοι γάρ Ἑλλάνων ἄμμες οὐδὲν κακὸν μεμαθήκαμεν παρʼ ὑμῶν Ἀρχιδαμίδας δὲ πρὸς τὸν πυθόμενον πόσοι εἰσὶ Σπαρτιᾶται, ἱκανοί, εἶπεν, ὦ ξένε, τοὺς κακοὺς ἀπερύκειν.
And Pleistoanax, the son of Pausanias, when an Athenian orator declared that the Lacedaemonians had no learning, said: True, we are indeed the only Hellenes who have learned no evil from you. And Archidamus, when some one asked him how many Spartans there were, replied: Enough, good Sir, to keep evil men away.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ τοῖς μετὰ παιδιᾶς εἰρημένοις ὑπʼ αὐτῶν τεκμήρασθαι τὸν ἐθισμόν, εἰθίζοντο γάρ μηδέποτε χρῆσθαι τῷ λόγῳ παρέργως, μηδὲ ἀφιέναι φωνὴν ἥτις οὐκ ἁμῶς γέ πως εἶχέ τινος θεωρίας ἀξίαν διάνοιαν. ὁ μὲν γάρ ἀκοῦσαι τοῦ μιμουμένου τὴν ἀηδόνα παρακαλούμενος, αὐτᾶς, ἔφη, ἄκουκα τήνας. ὁ δὲ ἀναγνοὺς τὸ ἐπίγραμμα τοῦτο· σβεννύντας ποτὲ τούσδε τυραννίδα χάλκεος Ἄρης / εἷλε· Σελινοῦντος δ’ ἀμφὶ πύλας ἔθανον, / δικαίως, εἶπε, τεθνάκαντι τοὶ ἄνδρες· ἔδει γὰρ ἀφέμεν ὅλαν αὐτὰν κατακαᾶμεν.
And even from their jests it is possible to judge of their character. For it was their wont never to talk at random, and to let slip no speech which did not have some thought or other worth serious attention. For instance, when one of them was invited to hear a man imitate the nightingale, he said: I have heard the bird herself. And another, on reading the epitaph:— Tyranny’s fires they were trying to quench when panoplied Ares / Slew them; Selinus looked down from her gates on their death, / said: The men deserved to die; they should have let the fires burn out entirely.
νεανίσκος δὲ πρὸς τὸν ἐπαγγελλόμενον αὐτῷ δώσειν ἀλεκτρυόνας ἀποθνήσκοντας ἐν τῷ μάχεσθαι, μὴ σὺ γε, εἶπεν, ἀλλὰ δός μοι τῶν ἀποκτεινόντων ἐν τῷ μάχεσθαι. ἕτερος δέ τις ἰδὼν ἐν ἀποχωρήσει θακεύοντας ἐπὶ δίφρων ἀνθρώπους, μὴ γένοιτο, εἶπεν, ἐνταῦθα καθίσαι ὅθεν οὐκ ἔστιν ὑπεξαναστῆναι πρεσβυτέρῳ. τὸ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἀποφθεγμάτων εἶδος ἦν τοιοῦτον ὥστε καὶ λέγειν τινὰς οὐκ ἀτόπως ὅτι μᾶλλόν ἐστι τὸ φιλοσοφεῖν ἢ τὸ φιλογυμναστεῖν λακωνίζειν.
And a youth, when some one promised to give him game-cocks that would die fighting, said, Don’t do that, but give me some of the kind that kill fighting. Another, seeing men seated on stools in a privy, said: May I never sit where I cannot give place to an elder. The character of their apophthegms, then, was such as to justify the remark that love of wisdom rather than love of bodily exercise was the special characteristic of a Spartan.
Cite This Text