Page:Plutarch's Lives (Clough, v.5, 1865).djvu/409

 ARATUS. 401 be incorpoi'ated into their commonwealth, and. the next year they chose Aristomachus general. He, being in good credit with the Achaeans, was very desirous to invade Laconia, and for that purpose sent for Aratus from Athens. Aratus wrote to him to dissuade him as far as he could from that expedition, being very unwilling the Achoeans should be engaged in a quarrel with Cleomenes, ■who was a daring man, and making extraordinary ad- vances to power. But Aristomachus resolving to go on, he obeyed and served in person, on which occasion he hindered Aristomachus from fighting a battle, when Cleo- menes came upon them at Pallantium ; and for this act was accused by Lydiades, and, coming to an open conflict with him in a contest for the office of general, he carried it by the show of hands, and was chosen general the twelfth time. This year, being routed by Cleomenes near the Ly- caeum, he fled, and, wandering out of the way in the night, was believed to be slain; and once more it was confidently reported so throughout all Greece. He, how- ever, having escaped this danger and rallied his forces, was not content to march off in safety, but, making a happy use of the present conjuncture, when nobody dreamed any such thing, he fell suddenly upon the Man- tineans, allies of Cleomenes, and, taking the city, put a garrison into it, and made the stranger inhabitants free of the city ; procuring, by this means, those advantages for the beaten Achaeans, which, being conquerors, they would not easily have obtained. The Lacedaemonians again invading the Megalopolitan territories, he marched to the assistance of the city, but refused to give Cleo- menes, who did all he could to provoke him to it, any opportunity of engaging him in a battle, nor could be prevailed upon by the Megalopolitans, who urged him to it extremely. For besides that by nature he was ill- VOL. V. 26