Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
to entrench, the Egyptian now resolved upon a battle, out of fear
of a siege. And the Greeks were eager for it, provisions growing
already scarce in the town. When Agesilaus opposed it, the
Egyptians then suspected him much more, publicly calling him the
betrayer of the king. But Agesilaus, being now satisfied within
himself, bore these reproaches patiently, and followed the design
which he had laid, of overreaching the enemy, which was this.
The enemy were forming a deep ditch and high wall, resolving to
shut up the garrison and starve it. When the ditch was brought
almost quite round, and the two ends had all but met, he took the
advantage of the night, and armed all his Greeks. Then going to
the Egyptian, "This, young man, is your opportunity," said he, "of
saving yourself, which I all this while durst not announce, lest
discovery should prevent it; but now the enemy has, at his own
cost, and the pains and labor of his own men, provided for our
security. As much of this wall as is built will prevent them from
surrounding us with their multitude, the gap yet left will be
sufficient for us to sally out by; now play the man, and follow the
example the Greeks will give you, and by fighting valiantly, save
yourself and your army; their front will not be able to stand
against us, and their rear we are sufficiently secured from, by a
wall of their own making." Nectanabis, admiring the sagacity of
Agesilaus, immediately placed himself in the middle of the Greek
troops, and fought with them; and upon the first charge soon routed
the enemy. Agesilaus having now gained credit with the king,
proceeded to use, like a trick in wrestling, the same stratagem
over again. He sometimes pretended a retreat, at other times
advanced to attack their flanks, and by this means at last drew
them into a place enclosed between two ditches that were very deep,
and full of water. When he had them at this advantage, he soon
charged them, drawing up the front of his battle equal to the space
between the two ditches, so that they had no way of surrounding
him, being enclosed themselves on both sides. They made but little
resistance; many fell, others fled and were dispersed.
Nectanabis, being thus settled and fixed in his kingdom, with much
kindness and affection invited Agesilaus to spend his winter in
Egypt, but he made haste home to assist in the wars of his own
country, which was he knew in want of money, and forced to hire
mercenaries, whilst their own men were fighting abroad. The king,
therefore, dismissed him very honorably, and among other gifts
presented him with two hundred and thirty talents of silver toward
the charge of the war. But the weather being tempestuous, his
ships kept in shore, and passing along the coast of Africa he
reached an uninhabited spot called the Port of Menelaus, and here,
when his ships were just upon landing, he expired, being
eighty-four years old, and having reigned in Lacedaemon forty-one.
Thirty of which years he passed with the reputation of being the
greatest and most powerful man of all Greece, and was looked upon
as, in a manner, general and king of it, until the battle of
Leuctra. It was the custom of the Spartans to bury their common
dead in the place where they died, whatsoever country it was, but
their kings they carried home. The followers of Agesilaus, for
want of honey, enclosed his body in wax, and so conveyed him to
Lacedaemon.
His son Archidamus succeeded him on his throne; so did his
posterity successively to Agis, the fifth from Agesilaus; who was
slain by Leonidas, while attempting to restore the ancient
discipline of Sparta.
POMPEY
The people of Rome seem to have entertained for Pompey from his
childhood, the same affection that Prometheus in the tragedy of
Aeschylus expresses for Hercules, speaking of him as the author
of his deliverance, in these words,
Ah cruel Sire! how dear thy son to me!
The generous offspring of my enemy!
For on the one hand, never did the Romans give such
demonstrations of a vehement and fierce hatred against any of
their generals, as they did against Strabo, the father of
Pompey; during whose lifetime, it is true, they stood in awe of
his military power, as indeed he was a formidable warrior, but
immediately upon his death, which happened by a stroke of
thunder, they treated him with the utmost contumely, dragging
his corpse from the bier, as it was carried to his funeral. On
the other side, never had any Roman the people's good-will and
devotion more zealous throughout all the changes of fortune,
more early in its first springing up, or more steadily rising
with his prosperity, or more constant in his adversity, than
Pompey had. In Strabo, there was one great cause of their
hatred, his insatiable covetousness; in Pompey, there were many
that helped to make him the object of their love; his
temperance, his skill, and exercise in war, his eloquence of
speech, integrity of mind and affability in conversation and
address; insomuch that no man ever asked a favor with less
offense, or conferred one with a better grace. When he gave,
it was without assumption, when he received, it was with
dignity and honor.
In his youth, his countenance pleaded for him, seeming to
anticipate his eloquence, and win upon the affections of the
people before he spoke. His beauty even in his bloom of youth
had something in it at once of gentleness and dignity; and
when his prime of manhood came, the majesty kingliness of his
character at once became visible in it. His hair sat somewhat
hollow or rising a little; and this, with the languishing
motion of his eyes, seemed to form a resemblance in his face,
though perhaps more talked of than really apparent, to the
statues of king Alexander. And because many applied that name
to him in his youth, Pompey himself did not decline it,
insomuch that some called him so in derision. And Lucius
Philippus, a man of consular dignity, when he was pleading in
favor of him, thought it not unfit to say, that people could
not be surprised if Philip was a lover of Alexander.
It is related of Flora, the courtesan, that when she was now
pretty old; she took great delight in speaking of her early
familiarity with Pompey, and was wont to say, that she could
never part after being with him without a bite. She would
further tell, that Geminius, a companion of Pompey's, fell in
love with her, and made his court with great importunity; and
on her refusing, and telling him, however her inclinations
were, yet she could not gratify his desires for Pompey's sake,
he therefore made his request to Pompey, and Pompey frankly
gave his consent, but never afterwards would have any converse
with her, notwithstanding, that he seemed to have a great
passion for her; and Flora, on this occasion, showed none of
the levity that might have been expected of her, but languished
for some time after under a sickness brought on by grief and
desire. This Flora, we are told, was such a celebrated beauty,
that Caecilius Metellus, when he adorned the temple of Castor
and Pollux with paintings and statues, among the rest dedicated
hers for her singular beauty. In his conduct also to the wife
of Demetrius, his freed servant, (who had great influence with
him in his lifetime, and left an estate of four thousand
talents,) Pompey acted contrary to his usual habits, not quite
fairly or generously, fearing lest he should fall under the
common censure of being enamored and charmed with her beauty,
which was irresistible, and became famous everywhere.
Nevertheless, though he seemed to be so extremely circumspect
and cautious, yet even in matters of this nature, he could not
avoid the calumnies of his enemies, but upon the score of
married women, they accused him, as if he had connived at many
things, and embezzled the public revenue to gratify their
luxury.
Of his easiness of temper and plainness, in what related to
eating and drinking, the story is told, that once in a
sickness, when his stomach nauseated common meats, his
physician prescribed him a thrush to eat; but upon search,
there was none to be bought, for they were not then in season,
and one telling him they were to be had at Lucullus's, who kept
them all the year round, "So then," said he, "if it were not
for Lucullus's luxury, Pompey should not live;" and thereupon
not minding the prescription of the physician, he contented
himself with such meat as could easily be procured. But this
was at a later time.
Being as yet a very young man, and upon an expedition in which
his father was commanding against Cinna, he had in his tent
with him one Lucius Terentius, as his companion and comrade,
who, being corrupted by Cinna, entered into an engagement to
kill Pompey, as others had done, to set the general's tent on
fire. This conspiracy being discovered to Pompey at supper, he
showed no discomposure at it, but on the contrary drank more
liberally than usual, and expressed great kindness to
Terentius; but about bedtime, pretending to go to his repose,
he stole away secretly out of the tent, and setting a guard
about his father, quietly expected the event. Terentius, when
he thought the proper time come, rose with his naked sword, and
coming to Pompey's bedside, stabbed several strokes through the
bedclothes, as if he were lying there. Immediately after this
there was a great uproar throughout all the camp, arising from
the hatred they bore to the general, and a universal movement
of the soldiers to revolt, all tearing down their tents, and
betaking themselves to their arms. The general himself all
this while durst not venture out because of the tumult; but
Pompey, going about in the midst of them, besought them with
tears; and at last threw himself prostrate upon his face before
the gate of the camp, and lay there in the passage at their
feet, shedding tears, and bidding those that were marching off,
if they would go, trample upon him. Upon which, none could
help going back again, and all, except eight hundred, either
through shame or compassion, repented, and were reconciled to
the general.
Immediately upon the death of Strabo, there was an action
commenced against Pompey, as his heir, for that his father had
embezzled the public treasure. But Pompey, having traced the
principal thefts, charged them upon one Alexander, a freed
slave of his father's, and proved before the judges that he
had been the appropriator. But he himself was accused of
having in his possession some hunting tackle, and books, that
were taken at Asculum. To this he confessed thus far, that he
received them from his father when he took Asculum, but pleaded
further, that he had lost them since, upon Cinna's return to
Rome when his home was broken open and plundered by Cinna's
guards. In this cause he had a great many preparatory
pleadings against his accuser, in which he showed an activity
and steadfastness beyond his years, and gained great reputation
and favor; insomuch that Antistius, the praetor and judge of
the cause, took a great liking to him, and offered him his
daughter in marriage, having had some communications with his
friends about it. Pompey accepted the proposal, and they were
privately contracted; however, the secret was not so closely
kept as to escape the multitude, but it was discernible enough
from the favor shown him by Antistius in his cause. And at
last, when Antistius pronounced the absolutory sentence of the
judges, the people, as if it had been upon a signal given, made
the acclamation used according to ancient custom, at marriages,
Talasio. The origin of which custom is related to be this. At
the time when the daughters of the Sabines came to Rome, to see
the shows and sports there, and were violently seized upon by