Or again, reviewing the divers1 pleasures which master human beings, I defy any one to name a single one to which Agesilaus was enslaved: Agesilaus, who regarded drunkenness as a thing to hold aloof2 from like madness, and immoderate eating like the snare3 of indolence. Even the double portion68 allotted4 to him at the banquet was not spent on his own appetite; rather would be make distribution of the whole, retaining neither portion for himself. In his view of the matter this doubling of the king’s share was not for the sake of surfeiting5, but that the king might have the wherewithal to honour whom he wished. And so, too, sleep69 he treated not as a master, but as a slave, subservient6 to higher concerns. The very couch he lay upon must be sorrier than that of any of his company or he would have blushed for shame, since in his opinion it was the duty of a leader to excel all ordinary mortals in hardihood, not in effeminacy. Yet there were things in which he was not ashamed to take the lion’s share, as, for example, the sun’s heat in summer, or winter’s cold. Did occasion ever demand of his army moil and toil7, he laboured beyond all others as a thing of course, believing that such ensamples are a consolation8 to the rank and file. Or, to put the matter compendiously9, Agesilaus exulted10 in hard work: indolence he utterly11 repudiated12.
And, as touching13 the things of Aphrodite, if for nothing else, at any rate for the marvel14 of it, the self-restraint of the man deserves to be put on record. It is easy to say that to abstain15 from that which excites no desire is but human; yet in the case of Megabates, the son of Spithridates, he was moved by as genuine a love as any passionate16 soul may feel for what is lovely. Now, it being a national custom among the Persians to salute17 those whom they honour with a kiss, Megabates endeavoured so to salute Agesilaus, but the latter with much show of battle, resisted —“No kiss might he accept.”70 I ask whether such an incident does not reveal on the face of it the self-respect of the man, and that of no vulgar order.71 Megabates, who looked upon himself as in some sense dishonoured18, for the future endeavoured not to offend in like sort again.72 Whereupon Agesilaus appealed to one who was his comrade to persuade Megabates again to honour him with his regard; and the comrade, so appealed to, demanding, “If I persuade him, will you bestow19 on him a kiss?” Agesilaus fell into a silence, but presently exclaimed: “No, by the Twins, not if I might this very instant become the swiftest-footed, strongest, and handsomest of men.73 And as to that battle I swear by all the gods I would far rather fight it over again than that everything on which I set my eyes might turn to gold.”74
What construction some will put upon the story I am well aware, but for myself I am persuaded that many more people can master their enemeis than the foes20 we speak of.75 Doubtless such incidents when known to but few may well be discredited21 by many, but here we are in the region of establishing facts, seeing that the more illustrious a man is the less can his every act escape notice. As to Agesilaus no eye-witness has ever reported any unworthy behaviour, nor, had he invented it, would his tale have found credence22, since it was not the habit of the king, when abroad, to lodge23 apart in private houses. He always lay up in some sacred place, where behaviour of the sort was out of the question, or else in public, with the eyes of all men liable to be called as witnesses to his sobriety. For myself, if I make these statements falsely against the knowledge of Hellas, this were not in any sense to praise my hero, but to dispraise myself.
68 See “Pol. Lac.” xv. 4. See J. J. Hartman, “An. Xen.” 257.
69 See Hom. “Il.” ii. 24, ou khro pannukhion eudein boulephoron andra, “to sleep all night through beseemeth not one that is a counsellor.”— W. Leaf.
70 See Plut. “Ages.” (Clough, iv. p. 13 foll.)
71 Reading, kai lian gennikon; or, “a refinement24 of self-respect,” “a self-respect perhaps even over-sensitive.”
72 Lit. “made no further attempt to offer kisses.”
73 See Plut. “Ages.” ii. (Clough, iv. p. 2): “He is said to have been a little man of a contemptible25 presence.”
74 See Plut. “Ages.” xi. (Clough, iv. p. 14); “Parall. Min.” v; Ovid. “Met.” xi. 102 foll.
75 Or, “than the seductions in question.”
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divers
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| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
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aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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snare
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| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
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allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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surfeiting
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| v.吃得过多( surfeit的现在分词 )；由于过量而厌腻 | |
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subservient
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| adj.卑屈的，阿谀的 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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compendiously
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| adv.扼要地；简要地；摘要地；简洁地 | |
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exulted
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| 狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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repudiated
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| v.（正式地）否认( repudiate的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝接受；拒绝与…往来；拒不履行（法律义务） | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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abstain
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| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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dishonoured
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| a.不光彩的，不名誉的 | |
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bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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discredited
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| 不足信的，不名誉的 | |
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credence
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| n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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contemptible
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| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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