Chapter 3

Such, then, is the chronicle of this man’s achievements, or of such of them as were wrought¹ in the presence of a thousand witnesses. Being of this sort they have no need of further testimony²; the mere³ recital⁴ of them is sufficient, and they at once win credence⁵. But now I will endeavour to reveal the excellence⁶ indwelling in his soul, the motive⁷ power of his acts, in virtue⁸ of which he clung to all things honourable⁹ and thrust aside all baseness.

Agesilaus showed such reverence¹⁰ for things divine that even his enemies regarded his oaths and solemn treaties as more to be relied on than the tie of friendship amongst themselves. These same men, who would shrink from too close intercourse¹¹ with one another, delivered themselves into the hands of Agesilaus without fear. And lest the assertion should excite discredit¹², I may name some illustrious examples. Such was Spithridates the Persian, who knew that Pharnabazus,57 whilst negotiating to marry the daughter of the great king, was minded to seize his own daughter unwedded. Resenting such brutality¹³, Spithridates delivered up himself, his wife, his children, and his whole power, into the hands of Agesilaus. Cotys58 also, the ruler of Paphlagonia, had refused to obey a summons from the king, although he sent him the warrant of his right hand;59 then fear came upon him lest he should be seized, and either be heavily fined or die the death; yet he too, simply trusting to an armistice¹⁴, came to the camp of Agesilaus and made alliance, and of his own accord chose to take the field with Agesilaus, bringing a thousand horsemen and two thousand targeteers. Lastly, Pharnabazus60 himself came and held colloquy¹⁵ with Agesilaus, and openly agreed that if he were not himself appointed general-inchief of the royal forces he would revolt from the king. “Whereas, if I do become general,” he added, “I mean to make war upon you, Agesilaus, might and main,” thus revealing his confidence that, say what he might, nothing would befall him contrary to the terms of truce¹⁶. Of so intrinsic a value to all, and not least to a general in the field, is the proud possession of an honest and God-fearing character, known and recognised. Thus far, as touching¹⁷ the quality of piety¹⁸.

 

57 See “Hell.” III. iv. 10; Plut. “Ages.” xi. (Clough, iv. 9).

58 See “Hell.” IV. i. 3; Plut. “Ages.” xi. (Clough, iv. 13).

59 Diod. xvi. 34.

60 See “Hell.” IV. i. 37.

1 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

2 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

3 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

4 recital   

n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会

参考例句：

• She is going to give a piano recital.她即将举行钢琴独奏会。
• I had their total attention during the thirty-five minutes that my recital took.在我叙述的35分钟内，他们完全被我吸引了。

5 credence   

n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证

参考例句：

• Don't give credence to all the gossip you hear.不要相信你听到的闲话。
• Police attach credence to the report of an unnamed bystander.警方认为一位不知姓名的目击者的报告很有用。

6 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

7 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

8 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

9 honourable   

adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的

参考例句：

• I don't think I am worthy of such an honourable title.这样的光荣称号，我可担当不起。
• I hope to find an honourable way of settling difficulties.我希望设法找到一个体面的办法以摆脱困境。

10 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

11 intercourse   

n.性交；交流，交往，交际

参考例句：

• The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
• There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

12 discredit   

vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑

参考例句：

• Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
• They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。

13 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

14 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。

15 colloquy   

n.谈话，自由讨论

参考例句：

• The colloquy between them was brief.他们之间的对话很简洁。
• They entered into eager colloquy with each other.他们展开热切的相互交谈。

16 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

17 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

18 piety   

n.虔诚，虔敬

参考例句：

• They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。
• Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。