justice, if the Ephori entered, he never failed to rise up to do them honour. By all these instances of respect, he seemed to add new dignity to their office, whilst in reality he augmented his own power, without its being observed, and added to the sovereignty a grandeur the more solid and permanent, as it was the effect of the people's good will and esteem for him. The greatest of the Roman emperors, as Augustus, Trajan, and Marcus Antoninus, were convinced, that the utmost a prince could do to honour and exalt the principal magistrates, was only adding to his own power, and strengthening his authority, which neither should, nor can be founded in any thing but justice.

Such was Agesilaus, of whom much will be said hereafter, and with whose character it was therefore necessary to begin.

SECTION II.

AGESILAUS GOES TO ASIA.-LYSANDER FALLS OUT WITH HIM.

Agesilaus had scarce ascended the throne,* when accounts came from Asia, that the king of Persia was fitting out a great fleet with intent to deprive the Lacedæmonians of their empire at sea. Conon's letters, seconded by the remonstrances of Pharnabasus, who had in concert represented to Artaxerxes the power of Sparta as fòrmidable, had made a strong impression upon that prince. From that time he had it seriously in his thoughts to humble that proud republic, by raising up its. rival, and by that means re-establishing the ancient balance between them, which could alone assure his safety, by keeping them perpetually employed against each other, and thereby prevented from uniting their forces against him.

Lysander, who desired to be sent into Asia, in order to reestablish his creatures and friends in the government of the cities, from which Sparta had removed them, strongly disposed Agesilaus to take upon himself the charge of the war, and to. prevent the barbarian king, by attacking him remote from Greece, before he should have finished his preparations. The republic having made this proposal to him, he could not refuse. it, and charged himself with the expedition against Artaxerxes, upon condition that 30 Spartan captains should be granted him, to assist him and compose his council, with 2000 new citizensto be chosen out of the helots who had been lately made freemen, and 6000, troops of the allies, which was immediately resolved. Lysander was placed at the head of the thirty Spartans,,

* A. M. 3608. Ant. J. C. 396. Xenoph. Hift. Græc. 1. iii. p. 495, 496. Ibid. de. Agesil. p. 652. Plut. in Agesil. p. 598. In Lysand

not only upon account of his great reputation, and the authority he had acquired, but for the particular friendship between him and Agesilaus, who was indebted to him for the throne, as well as the honour which had been lately conferred upon him of being elected generalissimo.

The glorious return of the Greeks who had followed Cyrus, and whom the whole power of Persia was not able to prevent from retreating into their own country, had inspired all Greece. with a wonderful confidence in their forces, and a supreme contempt for the barbarians. In this disposition of the people, the Lacedæmonians conceived it would reproach them, to neglect so favourable a conjuncture for delivering the Greeks in Asia from their subjection to those barbarians, and for putting an end to the outrages and violences with which they were continually oppressing them. They had already attempted this by their generals Thimbron and Dercyllidas; but all their endeavours having hitherto proved ineffectual, they referred the conduct of this war to the care of Agesilaus. He promised them either to conclude a glorious peace with the Persians, or to employ them so effectually, as should leave them neither leisure nor inclination to carry the war into Greece. The king had great views, and thought of nothing less than attacking Artaxerxes in Persia itself.

When he arrived at Ephesus, Tissaphernes sent to demand what reason had induced his coming into Asia, and why be had taken up arms. He replied, that he came to aid the Greeks who inhabited there, and to re-establish them in their ancient liberty. *The satrap, who was not yet prepared, preferred art to force, and assured him that his master would give the Grecian cities of Asia their liberty, provided he committed no acts of hostility till the return of the couriers. Agesilaus agreed, and the truce was sworn on both sides. Tissaphernes, who laid no great stress upon an oath, took the advantage of this delay to assemble troops on all sides. The Lacedæmonian general was apprised of it, but however kept his word; being convinced, that in affairs of state, the breach of faith can have but a very short and precarious success; whereas a reputation established upon inviolable fidelity in the observance of engagements, which the perfidy itself of other contracting parties has, not power to alter, will establish a credit and confidence equally useful and glorious. In effect, Xenophon remarks that this religious observation of treaties gained him the universal esteem and opinion of the cities, whilst the different conduct, of Tissaphernes entirely lost him their favour.

Agesilaus made use of this interval in acquiring an † exact knowledge of the state of the cities, and in making suitable

* Xenoph. 1. iii. p. 496. et 652, † A, M. 3609. Ant. J. C, 395.

regulations. He found great disorder every where, their gov ernment being neither democratical, as under the Athenians, nor aristocratical, as Lysander had established it. The people of the country had no communication with Agesilaus, nor had ever known him; for which reason they made no court to him, conceiving that he had the title of general for form's sake only, and that the whole power was really vested in Lysander. As no governor had ever done so much good to his friends, or hurt to his enemies, it is not wonderful that he was so much beloved by the one and feared by the other. All therefore were eager to pay their homage to him, were every day in crowds at his door, and made his train very numerous when he went abroad; whilst Agesilaus remained almost alone. Such a conduct could not fail of offending a general and king, extremely sensible and delicate in what regarded his authority; though otherwise not jealous of any one's merit, but, on the contrary, much inclined to distinguish it with his favour. He did not dissemble his disgust. He paid no regard to Lysander's recommendations, and ceased to employ him himself. Lysander presently perceived this alteration in regard to him. He discontinued his applications for his friends to the king, desired! them not to visit him any more, nor attach themselves to him, but to address themselves directly to the king, and to culti vate the favour of those who in the present times had power to serve and advance their creatures. The greatest part of them gave over importuning him with their affairs, but did not cease to pay their court to him. On the contrary, they were only more assiduous than ever about his person, attended him in throngs when he took the air abroad, and regularly assisted at all his exercises. Lysander, naturally vain, and long accustomed to the homage and submission that attended absolute power, did not take sufficient care to remove the busy crowd. from his person, that continually made their addresses to him. with more application than ever.

This ridiculous affectation of authority and grandeur grew › still more and more offensive to Agesilaus, and seemed as if intended to insult him. He resented it so highly, that, having given the most considerable commands and best governments to private officers, he appointed Lysander commissary of the stores, and distributor of provisions; and afterwards, to insult and deride the Ionians, he told them," that they might now 66 go and consult this master-butcher."

Lysander thought it then incumbent upon him to speak, and to come to an explanation with him. Their conversation : was brief and laconic. "Certainly, my lord," said Lysander,,

Plut. in Agesil. p. 599, 600, In Lysand. p. 446, 447.

66 you very well know how to depress your friends."—" Yes,. "when they would set themselves above me; but when they <6 are studious of my dignity, I know also how to let them "share in it."- -" But, perhaps, my lord," replied Lysander, "I have been injured by false reports, and things I never did "have been imputed to me. I must beg, therefore, if it be only upon account of the strangers, who have all of them their eyes upon us, that you would give me an employment in 66 your army, wherein you shall think me least capable of dis"pleasing, and most of serving you effectually."

The effect of this conversation was the lieutenancy of the Hellespont, which Agesilaus gave him. In this employment he retained all his resentment, without however neglecting any part of his duty, or of what conduced to the success of affairs. Some small time after, he returned to Sparta, without any marks of honour and distinction, extremely incensed against Agesilaus, and with the hope of making him perfectly sensible of it.

It must be allowed, that Lysander's conduct, as we have here represented it, denotes a vanity and narrowness of mind on his side, much unworthy of his reputation. Perhaps Age, silaus carried too far his sensibility and delicacy in point of honour, and that he was a little too severe upon a friend and be, nefactor, whom secret animadversions, attended with openness of heart and expressions of kindness, might have reclaimed to his duty. But as shining as Lysander's merit, and as considererable as the services he had rendered Agesilaus might be, they could not all of them give him a right, not only to an equality with his king and general, but to the superiority he affected, which in some measure tended to making the other insignificant. He ought to have remembered, that it is never allow able for an inferior to forget himself, and so exceed the bounds of a just subordination.

*

Upon his return to Sparta, he had it seriously in his thoughts to execute a project which he had many years revolved in his mind. At Sparta there were only two families, or rather branches of the posterity of Hercules, who had a right to the throne. When Lysander had attained to that high de gree of power which his great actions had acquired him, he began to see with pain a city whose glory had been so much augmented by his exploits, under the government of princes to whom he gave place neither in valour nor birth; for he was descended, as well as themselves, from Hercules. He therefore sought means to deprive those two houses of the sole succession to the crown, and to extend that right to all the other branches of the Heraclides, and even, according to some, to

* Plut. in Lysand. p. 447, 448. Diod 1. xiv. p. 244, 245.

all the natives of Sparta; flattering himself, that if his design took effect, no Spartan could be capable of disputing that honour with him, and that he should have the preference to all others.

This ambitious project of Lysander shows that the greatest captains are often those from whom a republic has most to apprehend. Those haughty valiant spirits, accustomed to absolute power in armies, bring back with victory a daring loftiness of mind always to be dreaded in a free state. Sparta, in giving Lysander unlimited power, and leaving it for so many years in his hands, did not sufficiently consider, that nothing is more dangerous than to confide to persons of superior merit and abilities, employments of supreme authority, which. naturally exposes them to the temptation of rendering themselves independent, and absolute masters of power. Lysander was not proof against it, and practised secretly to open himself a way to the throne.

The undertaking was bold, and required long preparations.. He thought it impossible to succeed without first making use of the fear of the divinity, and the terrors of superstition, to amaze and subdue the citizens into a more easy disposition to receive what he wanted to have them understand; for he knew that in Sparta, as well as throughout all Greece, nothing of the least importance was determined without the oracle's being previously consulted. He tempted with great presents the priests and priestesses of Delphos, Dodona, and Ammon, though ineffectually at that time; and the latter even sent ambassadors to Sparta, to accuse him of impiety and sacrilege; but he extricated himself from that bad affair by his credit and address.

It was necessary to set other engines at work. A woman in the kingdom of Pontus, affirming that she was with child by Apollo, had been delivered some years before of a son, to whom the name of Silenus was given, and the greatest persons of that nation had disputed the honour of nursing and educating him. Lysander, taking this wondrous birth for the commencement, and in a manner the foundation of the piece he meditated, supplied the rest himself, by employing a good number of persons, and those not inconsiderable, to disperse, by way of prologue to the performance, the miraculous birth of this infant; whereby, no affectation appearing in them, people were disposed to believe it. This being done, they brought certain discourses from Delphos to Sparta, which were industriously spread abroad every where; that the priests of the temple had in their custody some books of very ancient oracles, which they kept concealed from all the world, and of which it was not permitted, either for them or any other persons whatsoever, to have any knowledge and that only a son. of Apollo, who was to come in.