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15 SPARTAN ENVOYS AT COIJ1NTII 15 In particular, it contributed much to enhance the importance of the congress at Corinth ; whither the Lacedaemonians thought it necessary to send special envoys to counteract the intrigues going on against them. Their envoy addressed to the Corinthi- ans strenuous remonstrance, and even reproach, for the leading part which they had taken in stirring up dissension among the old confederates, and organizing a new confederacy under the presidency of Argos. " They (the Corinthians) were thus aggra- vating the original guilt and perjury which they had committed by setting at nought the formal vote of a majority of the confed- eracy, and refusing to accept the peace, for it was the sworn and fundamental maxim of the confederacy, that the decision of the majority should be binding on all, except in such cases as involved some offence to gods or heroes." Encouraged by the presence of many sympathizing deputies, Brootian, Megarian, Chalkidian from Thrace, 1 etc., the Corinthians replied with firm- ness. But they did not think it good policy to proclaim their real ground for rejecting the peace, namely, that it had not procured for themselves the restoration of Sollium and Anaktorium : since, first, this was a question in which their allies present had no in- terest ; next, it did not furnish any valid excuse for their resist- ance to the vote of the majority. Accordingly, they took their stand upon a pretence at once generous and religious ; upon that reserve for religious scruples, which the Lacedaemonian envoy had himself admitted, and which of course was to be construed hy each member with reference to his own pious feeling. " It was i-, religious impediment (the Corinthians contended) which pre- vented us from acceding to the peace with Athens, notwithstand- ing the vote of the majority ; for we had previously exchanged oaths, ourselves apart from the confederacy, with the Chalkidians of Thrace at the time when they revolted from Athens : and we should have infringed those separate oaths, had we accepted a treaty of peace in which these Chalkidians were abandoned. As for alliance with Argos, we consider ourselves free to adopt any 1 1 hucyd. v, 30. Kopiv&ioi 6e Trapovru-- *(biai TLJV ^vpfiu^uv, oaoc ovd aiiTol ide^avro ruf anovSuf (TrapeKuZsaav 6e avrovg avrol Trporepov) avrtf.f yov roif A.a.Ketiai[iovioif, u uev tjdiKovvro, ov drjTiovvTec; UVT IK ov( tc.