: Plutarch's Lives Volume 2 (of 4) by Plutarch Long George Translator Stewart Aubrey Translator - Greece Biography Early works to 1800; Rome Biography Early works to 1800 Harvard Classics

@FreeBooks

Posted in: #FreeBooks #FreeBooksIndia #FreeBooksApp #gg

Vote Up Vote Down   0 Reactions

Login to give Reaction!

LIFE OF PELOPIDAS 1 LIFE OF MARCELLUS 34 COMPARISON OF PELOPIDAS WITH MARCELLUS 64 LIFE OF ARISTEIDES 67 LIFE OF MARCUS CATO 98 COMPARISON OF ARISTEIDES AND CATO 128 LIFE OF PHILOPOEMEN 134 LIFE OF TITUS FLAMININUS 154 COMPARISON OF PHILOPOEMEN AND TITUS 177 LIFE OF PYRRHUS 180 LIFE OF CAIUS MARIUS 221 LIFE OF LYSANDER 285 LIFE OF SULLA 317 COMPARISON OF LYSANDER AND SULLA 386 LIFE OF KIMON 391 LIFE OF LUCULLUS 414 COMPARISON OF KIMON AND LUCULLUS 483

PLUTARCH'S LIVES.

LIFE OF PELOPIDAS.

"'Twas not that life or death itself was good, That these heroic spirits shed their blood: This was their aim, and this their latest cry, 'Let us preserve our honour, live or die.'"

For neither is avoidance of death blameable, if a man does not cling to his life from dishonourable motives; nor is exposure to peril honourable, if it springs from carelessness of life. For this reason Homer always brings the most daring and warlike heroes into battle well and beautifully armed, and the Greek lawgivers punish the man who throws away his shield, but not him who throws away his sword or spear, showing that it is each man's duty to take more care that he does not receive hurt himself, than to hurt the enemy, especially if he be the chief of an army or city.

So Timotheus said well, when Chares was displaying to the Athenians the wounds on his body, and his shield pierced by a dart. "Now I," said he, "when I was besieging Samos, was quite ashamed if an arrow fell near me, thinking that I was exposing myself more boyishly than was fitting for the general and leader of so important a force." In cases where the personal risk of the general is of great moment to his army, then he must fight and expose himself without stint, and disregard those who say that a general should die of old age, or at any rate, when an old man. But where the gain is small in case of success, while failure ruins everything, no one demands that the work of the common soldier be performed at the risk of the general's life.

These prefatory remarks occurred to me in writing the Lives of Pelopidas and Marcellus, great men who fell in a manner scarce worthy of themselves: for being both of them most stout in battle, and having each illustrated his country by splendid campaigns, against, too, the most terrible antagonists--the one, as we read, having routed Hannibal, who before was invincible, and the other having in a pitched battle conquered the Lacedaemonians, the ruling state by sea and land--yet they without any consideration endangered themselves and flung away their lives just at the time when there was special need for such men to live and command. And on this account I have drawn a parallel between their lives, tracing out the points of resemblance between them.

Now, while all other persons gratefully made use of Pelopidas's liberality and kindness, Epameinondas alone could not be induced to share his wealth; he thereupon shared the other's poverty, priding himself on simplicity of dress and plainness of food, endurance of fatigue, and thoroughness in the performance of military service; like Kapaneus, in Euripides, who "had plenty of wealth, but was far from proud on account of his wealth," for he felt ashamed to be seen using more bodily luxuries than the poorest Theban citizen. Epameinondas, whose poverty was hereditary, made it lighter and more easily borne by the practice of philosophy, and by choosing from the beginning a single life; while Pelopidas made a brilliant marriage and had children born to him, yet, in spite of this, diminished his fortune by disregard of money-making and by giving up all his time to the service of his country. And when his friends blamed him, and said that he was treating lightly a necessary of life, the possession of money, "Necessary, indeed," he answered, "for Nikodemus here," pointing to a man who was a cripple and blind.

He was persuaded to do this, and attacked the unsuspecting Thebans during the feast of Thesmophoria. When he gained possession of the height, Ismenias was seized and conveyed to Lacedaemon, and there not long afterwards made away with. Pelopidas, Pherenikus, and Androkleides, with many others, went into exile and were outlawed by proclamation. Epameinondas stayed at home disregarded, not being thought to be a man of action, because of his philosophical habits, nor a man of any power, because of his poverty.

Apparently the importance of the issue with which he was dealing turned him dizzy; he with difficulty grasped the idea that, trusting in the desperate hopes of exiles, these men were in some fashion about to attempt to overthrow the Lacedaemonian government in Thebes, and the power of Sparta. He went quietly home, and sent one of his friends to Mellon and Pelopidas, bidding them put off their design for the present, to go back to Athens, and await a better opportunity. Chlidon was the name of the messenger, and he hurriedly went to his own house, and, leading out his horse, asked for his bridle. His wife was at her wit's end, as she had it not to give him, but she said that she had lent it to a neighbour. Hereupon there was a quarrel, and words of ill omen were used, for his wife said that she wished it might be a bad journey for him, and for those that sent him; so that Chlidon, having wasted a great part of the day in this squabble, and also drawing a bad augury from what had happened, gave up his journey altogether, and betook himself to something else. So near was this greatest and most glorious of his adventures of missing its opportunity at its very outset.

Now when Charon returned to his house, he found the conspirators there prepared to fight, not expecting to survive or to win the day, but to die gloriously and kill as many of their enemies as possible. He told Pelopidas's party the truth, and made up some story about Archias to satisfy the others. This storm was just blown over when Fortune sent a second upon them. A messenger came from Athens, from Archias the hierophant to his namesake Archias the Spartan, whose guest and friend he was, bearing a letter which contained no vague and conjectural suspicion, but a detailed account of all that was being done, as was afterwards discovered. Now the messenger, when brought before Archias who was drunk, gave him the letter, and said, "He who sent you this letter bade you read it instantly, for he said it was written about most serious matters." Archias laughing, said, "Serious matters to-morrow." He took the letter and placed it under the pillow on which he rested, and again listened to Phillidas about what they were talking of before. This story, handed down in the form of a proverb, is current among the Greeks even now.

The task of Pelopidas and his party was a harder one; for they went to attack Leontidas, a sober and brave man, and, finding his house shut up, for he was already asleep, they knocked for some time without rousing any one. At length the servant heard them and came and drew back the bolt of the door; then, as soon as the leaves of the door yielded they burst in in a body, and upsetting the servant made for the bedchamber. Leontidas, guessing from the noise and confusion what was going on, started up and seized his dagger, but he forgot to put out the light, and make the men fall upon each other in the darkness. In full view of them, in a blaze of light, he met them at his chamber door, and with a blow of his dagger struck down Kephisodorus, the first man who entered. As he fell dead Leontidas grappled with the next, Pelopidas. The struggle was a fierce one and rendered difficult by the narrow passage and the corpse of Kephisodorus lying in it, but at length Pelopidas gained the upper hand, and having despatched him, immediately went with his party to attack Hypates. And in the same way they broke into his house, but he heard them sooner, and fled away to the neighbours, but was pursued and slain.

Free books android app tbrJar TBR JAR Read Free books online gutenberg

(0)

Login to post a comment!