Chapter 7

To describe his patriotism85 point by point in detail were a tedious story, since, as I suppose, there is not one of his several achievements but must finally resolve itself into that. For, to put it briefly¹, we all know well that where Agesilaus expected in any way to benefit his country there was no toil² he shrank from, no danger he avoided, no money he stinted³, no excuse whether of age or body he admitted, but deemed it ever the true function of a good king86 to shower blessings⁴ to the utmost on the subjects of his rule.

And for my part I hold it as chief among the magnificent benefits so conferred by him upon his country that, being the most powerful member of the state, he made no secret of his absolute submission⁵ to the laws,87 since what lesser⁶ man, seeing the king’s obedience⁷, would take88 on himself to disobey? Who, in discontentment at his own poor lot, would venture on revolution, knowing that the king himself could condescend⁸ to constitutional control? And that, too, a king who bore himself towards political opponents with a paternal⁹ mildness.89 If he rebuked¹⁰ them sharply for their misdemeanours, he none the less honoured their high endeavours, and proved himself a present help to them in time of trouble.90 No citizen could be his personal foe¹¹; of that he was assured. His desire was to commend them one and all alike, counting the common salvation¹² of all a gain, and reckoning it as a loss if even a mean man perished. For thus he reasoned, nor made a secret of the conclusion he had come to: so long as her citizens continued tranquilly¹³ adherent¹⁵ to the laws the happiness of Sparta was secure.91 And for the rest Sparta would once again be strong on that day when the states of Hellas should learn wisdom.

And if, by admission, it is noble for every Hellene to be a lover of his fellow-Hellenes, yet we must fare far afield to find another instance of a general who, expecting to sack some city, would have refused to seize the prize; or who regarded victory in a war waged against fellow-Hellenes as a species of calamity¹⁶. Yet this man when a message was brought him concerning the battle at Corinth,92 in which but eight Lacedaemonians had fallen, but of their opponents ten thousand nearly, showed no sign of exultation¹⁷, but sighed, saying, “Alas for Hellas! since those who now lie in their graves, were able, had they lived, to conquer the hosts of Asia.”93 Again, when some Corinthian exiles informed him that their city was ripe for surrender, and showed him the engines by which they were confident they would take the walls, he refused to make the assault, saying that Hellene cities ought not to be reduced to slavery, but brought back to a better mind,94 and added, “For if we lop off our offending members, haply we may deprive ourselves of the means to master the barbarians¹⁸.”

Again, if it is a sacred duty to hate the Persian, who of old set out on a campaign to enslave Hellas; the Persian, who today makes alliance with these (no matter to him which the party, provided it will help him to work the greater mischief95); or gives presents to those (who will take them and do the greatest harm to his foes²⁰ the Hellenes); or else concocts²¹ a peace that shall presently involve us in internecine²² war, as he anticipates:— but why dwell on facts so patent? — I ask, did ever Hellene before Agesilaus so enter heart and soul upon his duty; whether it were to help some tribe to throw off the Persian yoke²³, or to save from destruction a revolted district, or if nothing else, at any rate to saddle the Persian with such troubles of his own that he should cease to trouble Hellas? An ardent²⁴ hater of Persia surely was he, who, when his own country was at war with Hellenes, did not neglect the common good of Hellas, but set sail to wreak²⁵ what harm he might upon the barbarians.96

 

85 Lit. “love for his own city.”

86 Or, “regarded it as the cardinal²⁶ virtue²⁷ of a real prince.” See “Mem.” III. ii. 3.

87 Or, “he was at the same time the most obvious in his allegiance to the laws.”

88 Lit. “would have taken on himself . . . would have ventured on revolution.”

89 Lit. “as a father to his children.”

90 Or, “and was ready to stand by their side in time of trouble.”

91 Or, “For this was the clear tenor²⁸ of his thought, that by tranquil¹⁴ continuance within the laws the citizens of Sparta might secure her happiness. And as to power, Sparta, etc.” See “Mem.” II. vi. 27.

92 B.C. 394. See “Hell.” IV. ii. 9-23; Diod. xiv. 83; Grote, “H. G.” ix. 429.

93 Lit. “all the barbarians.”

94 See “Econ.” i. 23.

95 Or, “the worse the mischief¹⁹ he can work, the better the side.”

96 See Isocr. “Ep.” ix. “To Archidamus,” S. 11-14.

1 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

2 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

3 stinted   

v.限制，节省（stint的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Penny-pinching landlords stinted their tenants on heat and hot water. 小气的房东在房客的取暖和热水供应上进行克扣。 来自互联网
• She stinted herself of food in order to let the children have enough. 她自己省着吃，好让孩子们吃饱。 来自互联网

4 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

6 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

7 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

8 condescend   

v.俯就，屈尊；堕落，丢丑

参考例句：

• Would you condescend to accompany me?你肯屈尊陪我吗？
• He did not condescend to answer.He turned his back on me.他不愿屈尊回答我的问题。他不理睬我。

9 paternal   

adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的

参考例句：

• I was brought up by my paternal aunt.我是姑姑扶养大的。
• My father wrote me a letter full of his paternal love for me.我父亲给我写了一封充满父爱的信。

10 rebuked   

责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The company was publicly rebuked for having neglected safety procedures. 公司因忽略了安全规程而受到公开批评。
• The teacher rebuked the boy for throwing paper on the floor. 老师指责这个男孩将纸丢在地板上。

11 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

12 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

13 tranquilly   

adv. 宁静地

参考例句：

• He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work. 他拿起刷子，一声不响地干了起来。
• The evening was closing down tranquilly. 暮色正在静悄悄地笼罩下来。

14 tranquil   

adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的

参考例句：

• The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。
• The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

15 adherent   

n.信徒，追随者，拥护者

参考例句：

• He was most liberal where money would bring him a powerful or necessary political adherent.在金钱能够收买一个干练的或者必需的政治拥护者的地方，他是最不惜花钱的。
• He's a pious adherent of Buddhism.他是一位虔诚的佛教徒。

16 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

17 exultation   

n.狂喜，得意

参考例句：

• It made him catch his breath, it lit his face with exultation. 听了这个名字，他屏住呼吸，乐得脸上放光。
• He could get up no exultation that was really worthy the name. 他一点都激动不起来。

18 barbarians   

n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人

参考例句：

• The ancient city of Rome fell under the iron hooves of the barbarians. 古罗马城在蛮族的铁蹄下沦陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It conquered its conquerors, the barbarians. 它战胜了征服者——蛮族。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

19 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

20 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

21 concocts   

v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的第三人称单数 )；调制；编造；捏造

参考例句：

• She concocts wonderful soup. 她调制美味的汤。 来自互联网
• To help his teammate, Krillin concocts an outlandish plan that you'll have to see to believe! 为了帮助他的战友，小林想出了一个绝妙的怪招。这可真是你必须亲眼见到才能相信的一招！ 来自互联网

22 internecine   

adj.两败俱伤的

参考例句：

• Strife was internecine during the next fortnight.在以后两个星期的冲突中我们两败俱伤。
• Take the concern that metaphysical one-sided point of view observes and treats both,can cause internecine.采取形而上学的片面观点观察和处理二者的关系，就会造成两败俱伤。

23 yoke   

n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶

参考例句：

• An ass and an ox,fastened to the same yoke,were drawing a wagon.驴子和公牛一起套在轭上拉车。
• The defeated army passed under the yoke.败军在轭门下通过。

24 ardent   

adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的

参考例句：

• He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
• Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

25 wreak   

v.发泄；报复

参考例句：

• She had a burning desire to wreak revenge.她复仇心切。
• Timid people always wreak their peevishness on the gentle.怯懦的人总是把满腹牢骚向温和的人发泄。

26 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

27 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。

28 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。