ifice, and am about to entertain some strangers at dinner." The
Athenians laughed at his assurance, and broke up the assembly.

VIII. However, on this occasion, by good fortune and good generalship,
with the help of Demosthenes, he brought home prisoners all those
Spartans who had not fallen in the battle, within the time which he
had appointed. This was a great reproach to Nikias. It seemed worse
even than losing his shield in battle that he should through sheer
cowardice and fear of failure give up his office of general, and give
his personal enemy such an opportunity of exalting himself at his
expense, depriving himself voluntarily of his honourable charge.
Aristophanes sneers at him in his play of the 'Birds,' where he says:

"We must not now, like Nikias, delay,
And see the time for action pass away."

And again in the play of the 'Farmers,' where this dialogue occurs:

"A. I want to till my farm.
B. And wherefore no?
A. 'Tis you Athenians will not let me go;
A thousand drachmas I would give, to be
From office in the state for ever free.
B. Your offer we accept. The state will have
Two thousand, with what Nikias just gave."

Moreover, Nikias did Athens much harm by permitting Kleon to attain
to such a height of power and reputation, which gave him such
exaggerated confidence in himself that he grew quite unmanageable, and
caused many terrible disasters, by which Nikias suffered as much as
any man. Kleon also was the first to break through the decorum
observed by former public speakers, by shouting, throwing back his
cloak, slapping his thigh, and walking up and down while speaking,
which led to the total disregard of decency and good manners among
public speakers, and eventually was the ruin of the state.

IX. About this time Alkibiades began to gain credit in Athens as a
public speaker, less licentious than Kleon, and like the soil of Egypt
described by Homer, which bears

"A mingled crop of good and bad alike."

Thus Alkibiades, with immense powers both for good and evil, produced
great changes in the affairs of Athens. Nikias, even if he had been
freed from the opposition of Kleon, could not now have quietly
consolidated the power of the state, for as soon as he had arranged
matters in a fair way to produce peace and quiet, Alkibiades, to
satisfy his own furious ambition, threw them again into confusion and
war. This was brought about b