, whether moved by the instances of Cimon's
sister, or made aware of the injustice of the accusation, he conducted
himself favourably towards the accused. Cimon himself treated the
charges with a calm disdain; the result was worthy of Athens and
himself. He was honourably acquitted.

XIII. Scarce was this impeachment over, when a Spartan ambassador
arrived at Athens to implore her assistance against the helots; the
request produced a vehement discussion.

Ephialtes strongly opposed the proposition to assist a city, sometimes
openly, always heartily, inimical to Athens. "Much better," he
contended, "to suffer her pride to be humbled, and her powers of
mischief to be impaired." Ever supporting and supported by the
Lacedaemonian party, whether at home or abroad, Cimon, on the other
hand, maintained the necessity of marching to the relief of Sparta.
"Do not," he said, almost sublimely--and his words are reported to
have produced a considerable impression on that susceptible assembly--
"do not suffer Greece to be mutilated, nor deprive Athens of her
companion!"

The more generous and magnanimous counsel prevailed with a generous
and magnanimous people; and Cimon was sent to the aid of Sparta at the
head of a sufficient force. It may be observed, as a sign of the
political morality of the time, that the wrongs of the helots appear
to have been forgotten. But such is the curse of slavery, that it
unfits its victims to be free, except by preparations and degrees.
And civilization, humanity, and social order are often enlisted on the
wrong side, in behalf of the oppressors, from the license and
barbarity natural to the victories of the oppressed. A conflict
between the negroes and the planters in modern times may not be
unanalogous to that of the helots and Spartans; and it is often a
fatal necessity to extirpate the very men we have maddened, by our own
cruelties, to the savageness of beasts.

It would appear that, during the revolt of the helots and Messenians,
which lasted ten years, the Athenians, under Cimon, marched twice
[181] to the aid of the Spartans. In the first (B. C. 464) they
probably drove the scattered insurgents into the city of Ithome; in
the second (B. C. 461) they besieged the city. In the interval Thasos
surrendered (B. C. 463); the inhabitants were compelled to level their
walls, to give up their shipping, to pay the arrear of tribute, to
defray the impost punctually in future, and to resign