After this Agis came to Delphi and offered as a sacrifice a tenth of the spoil. On his return journey he fell ill at Heraea — being by this time an old man — and was carried back to Lacedaemon. He survived the journey, but being there arrived, death speedily overtook him. He was buried with a sepulchre transcending1 in solemnity the lot of ordinary mortality.174
When the holy days of mourning were accomplished2, and it was necessary to choose another king, there were rival claimants to the throne. Leotychides claimed it as the son, Agesilaus as the brother, of Agis. Then Leotychides protested: “Yet consider, Agesilaus, the law bids not ‘the king’s brother,’ but ‘the king’s son’ to be king; only if there chance to be no son, in that case shall the brother of the king be king.” Agesilaus: “Then must I needs be king.” Leotychides: “How so, seeing that I am not dead?” Agesilaus: “Because he whom you call your father denied you, saying, ‘Leotychides is no son of mine.’” Leotychides: “Nay3, but my mother, who would know far better than he, said, and still today says, I am.” Agesilaus: “Nay, but the god himself, Poteidan, laid his finger on thy falsity when by his earthquake he drove forth4 thy father from the bridal chamber5 into the light of day; and time, ‘that tells no lies,’ as the proverb has it, bare witness to the witness of the god; for just ten months from the moment at which he fled and was no more seen within that chamber, you were born.”175 So they reasoned together.
Diopethes,176 a great authority upon oracles6, supported Leotychides. There was an oracle7 of Apollo, he urged, which said “Beware of the lame8 reign9.” But Diopethes was met by Lysander, who in behalf of Agesilaus demurred10 to this interpretation11 put upon the language of the god. If they were to beware of a lame reign, it meant not, beware lest a man stumble and halt, but rather, beware of him in whose veins12 flows not the blood of Heracles; most assuredly the kingdom would halt, and that would be a lame reign in very deed, whensoever the descendants of Heracles should cease to lead the state. Such were the arguments on either side, after hearing which the city chose Agesilaus to be king.
Now Agesilaus had not been seated on the throne one year when, as he sacrificed one of the appointed sacrifices in behalf of the city,177 the soothsayer warned him, saying: “The gods reveal a conspiracy13 of the most fearful character”; and when the king sacrificed a second time, he said: “The aspect of the victims is now even yet more terrible”; but when he had sacrificed for the third time, the soothsayer exclaimed: “O Agesilaus, the sign is given to me, even as though we were in the very midst of the enemy.” Thereupon they sacrificed to the deities14 who avert15 evil and work salvation16, and so barely obtained good omens17 and ceased sacrificing. Nor had five days elapsed after the sacrifices were ended, ere one came bringing information to the ephors of a conspiracy, and named Cinadon as the ringleader; a young man robust18 of body as of soul, but not one of the peers.178 Accordingly the ephors questioned their informant: “How say you the occurrence is to take place?” and he who gave the information answered: “Cinadon took me to the limit of the market-place, and bade me count how many Spartans20 there were in the market-place; and I counted —‘king, ephors, and elders, and others — maybe forty. But tell me, Cinadon,’ I said to him, ‘why have you bidden me count them?’ and he answered me: ‘Those men, I would have you know, are your sworn foes21; and all those others, more than four thousand, congregated22 there are your natural allies.’ Then he took and showed me in the streets, here one and there two of ‘our enemies,’ as we chanced to come across them, and all the rest ‘our natural allies’; and so again running through the list of Spartans to be found in the country districts, he still kept harping23 on that string: ‘Look you, on each estate one foeman — the master — and all the rest allies.’” The ephors asked: “How many do you reckon are in the secret of this matter?” The informant answered: “On that point also he gave me to understand that there were by no means many in their secret who were prime movers of the affair, but those few to be depended on; ‘and to make up,’ said he, ‘we ourselves are in their secret, all the rest of them — helots, enfranchised24, inferiors, provincials25, one and all.179 Note their demeanour when Spartans chance to be the topic of their talk. Not one of them can conceal26 the delight it would give him if he might eat up every Spartan19 raw.’"180 Then, as the inquiry27 went on, the question came: “And where did they propose to find arms?” The answer followed: “He explained that those of us, of course, who are enrolled28 in regiments29 have arms of our own already, and as for the mass — he led the way to the war foundry, and showed me scores and scores of knives, of swords, of spits, hatchets30, and axes, and reaping-hooks. ‘Anything or everything,’ he told me, ‘which men use to delve31 in earth, cut timber, or quarry32 stone, would serve our purpose; nay, the instruments used for other arts would in nine cases out of ten furnish weapons enough and to spare, especially when dealing33 with unarmed antagonists34.’” Once more being asked what time the affair was to come off, he replied his orders were “not to leave the city.”
As the result of their inquiry the ephors were persuaded that the man’s statements were based upon things he had really seen,181 and they were so alarmed that they did not even venture to summon the Little Assembly,182 as it was named; but holding informal meetings among themselves — a few senators here and a few there — they determined35 to send Cinadon and others of the young men to Aulon, with instructions to apprehend36 certain of the inhabitants and helots, whose names were written on the scytale (or scroll).183 He had further instructions to capture another resident in Aulon; this was a woman, the fashionable beauty of the place — supposed to be the arch-corruptress of all Lacedaemonians, young and old, who visited Aulon. It was not the first mission of the sort on which Cinadon had been employed by the ephors. It was natural, therefore, that the ephors should entrust37 him with the scytale on which the names of the suspects were inscribed38; and in answer to his inquiry which of the young men he was to take with him, they said: “Go and order the eldest39 of the Hippagretae184 (or commanders of horse) to let you have six or seven who chance to be there.” But they had taken care to let the commander know whom he was to send, and that those sent should also know that their business was to capture Cinadon. Further, the authorities instructed Cinadon that they would send three waggons40 to save bringing back his captives on foot — concealing41 as deeply as possible the fact that he, and he alone, was the object of the mission. Their reason for not securing him in the city was that they did not really know the extent of the mischief42; and they wished, in the first instance, to learn from Cinadon who his accomplices43 were before these latter could discover they were informed against and effect their escape. His captors were to secure him first, and having learnt from him the names of his confederates, to write them down and send them as quickly as possible to the ephors. The ephors, indeed, were so much concerned about the whole occurrence that they further sent a company of horse to assist their agents at Aulon.185 As soon as the capture was effected, and one of the horsemen was back with the list of names taken down on the information of Cinadon, they lost no time in apprehending44 the soothsayer Tisamenus and the rest who were the principals in the conspiracy. When Cinadon186 himself was brought back and cross-examined, and had made a full confession45 of the whole plot, his plans, and his accomplices, they put to him one final question: “What was your object in undertaking46 this business?” He answered: “I wished to be inferior to no man in Lacedaemon.” Let that be as it might, his fate was to be taken out forthwith in irons, just as he was, and to be placed with his two hands and his neck in the collar, and so under scourge47 and goad48 to be driven, himself and his accomplices, round the city. Thus upon the heads of those was visited the penalty of their offences.
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1
transcending
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| 超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的现在分词 )； 优于或胜过… | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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oracles
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| 神示所( oracle的名词复数 )； 神谕； 圣贤； 哲人 | |
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oracle
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| n.神谕，神谕处，预言 | |
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lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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deities
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| n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明 | |
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avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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omens
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| n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
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robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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spartan
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| adj.简朴的，刻苦的；n.斯巴达；斯巴达式的人 | |
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spartans
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| n.斯巴达（spartan的复数形式） | |
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foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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congregated
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| （使）集合，聚集( congregate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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harping
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| n.反复述说 | |
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enfranchised
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| v.给予选举权( enfranchise的过去式和过去分词 )；（从奴隶制中）解放 | |
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provincials
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| n.首都以外的人，地区居民( provincial的名词复数 ) | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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enrolled
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| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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hatchets
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| n.短柄小斧( hatchet的名词复数 )；恶毒攻击；诽谤；休战 | |
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delve
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| v.深入探究，钻研 | |
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quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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antagonists
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| 对立[对抗] 者，对手，敌手( antagonist的名词复数 )； 对抗肌； 对抗药 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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apprehend
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| vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑 | |
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entrust
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| v.信赖，信托，交托 | |
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38
inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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40
waggons
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| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
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41
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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43
accomplices
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| 从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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44
apprehending
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的现在分词 )； 理解 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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scourge
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| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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48
goad
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| n.刺棒，刺痛物；激励；vt.激励，刺激 | |
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