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 PROFESSIONS OF BRASIDAS. 193 less than a hearty welcome, he is astonished to find their gates closed against him. " I am come (said he) not to injure, but to liberate the Greeks ; after binding the Lacedaemonian authorities by the most solemn oaths, that all whom I may bring over shall be dealt with as autonomous allies. We do not wish to obtain you as allies either by force or fraud, but to act as your allies at a time when you are enslaved by the Athenians. You ought not to suspect my purposes, in the face of these solemn assurances ; least of all ought any man to hold back through apprehension of private enmities, and through fear lest I should put the city into the hands of a few chosen partisans. I am not come to identify myself with local faction: I am not the man to offer you an unreal liberty by breaking down your established constitution, for the purpose of enslaving either the Many to the Few, or the Few to the Many. That would be more intolerable even than foreign dominion ; and we Lacedaemonians should incur nothing but re- proach, instead of reaping thanks and honor for our trouble. We should draw upon ourselves those very censures, upon the strength of which we are trying to put down Athens ; and that, too, in aggravated measure, worse than those who have never made honorable professions ; since to men in high position, specious trick is more disgraceful than open violence. 1 If (continued Bra- sidas) in spite of my assurances, you still withhold from me your cooperation, I shall think myself authorized to constrain you by force. We should not be warranted in forcing freedom on any u 'A.KUV&IOI, yeyevijrai TTJI> airiav eTraXr]&Evovaa ijv apxoftsvoi rot) TTO/IP^OD XpoeflTOfiev, 'A.&ijvaioi i^ev&epovv re? rrjv 'E A A a (5 a TroAe//- T]GE IV. J Thucyd. iv, 85. Avrbs re OVK km KO.KU, TT' efavdepuaei 6e TUV 'EAA?/- vuv 7rapeA^Auv?a, opKoi re Aantdaifioviuv /caraAa/3wi> TU reTir] roif peyiaToir, ] HTJV ovf uv lyuye irpoffayayu/iac t;v[t[iax ov C eaea-BaL avrovo/j.ovf Ka? el ri idip riva 6e6iuf apa, /j.ri eyu rial Trpocr&cJ rr/v nohiv, 7rp6>9ty/6f tan, TTUVTUV (id^iara TTiaTevaaru. Ov yup avaraaiaauv fjKu, ovde uaatyr) TTJV ifevdepiav vo/j.iu emfyspeiv, tl, rb TT a rp i o v TT ap e I f, rb ir^eov rolf 6hiyoi, rj rb e/lacnrov TOIQ iraGi, Sovirotieia,f uperijv a ra/erc')// evoi. VOL. ix. 9 13oc.