seventy minae. It had a very fine tail, which he cut off. When his
friends blamed him, and said that every one was sorry for the dog and
angry with him for what he had done, he laughed and said, "Then I have
succeeded; for I wish the Athenians to gossip about this, for fear they
should say something worse about me."

X. It is said that his first public act was on the occasion of a
voluntary subscription for the State. He did not intend doing anything
of the sort, but as he was passing he heard a great noise, and finding
that voluntary subscriptions were being made, went and subscribed. The
people cheered and applauded him, at which he was so much delighted as
to forget a quail which he had in his cloak. When it escaped and ran
about bewildered, the Athenians applauded all the more, and many rose
and chased it. It was caught by the pilot Antiochus, who restored it,
and became one of Alkibiades's greatest friends. Starting with great
advantages from his noble birth, his wealth, his recognised bravery in
battle, and his many friends and relatives, he relied upon nothing so
much as on his eloquence for making himself popular and influential. His
rhetorical powers are borne witness to by the comic dramatists; and the
greatest of orators, Demosthenes, in his speech against Meidias, speaks
of Alkibiades as being most eloquent, besides his other charms. If we
are to believe Theophrastus, who has inquired more diligently into these
various tales than any one else, Alkibiades excelled all men of his time
in readiness of invention and resource. However, as he wished not merely
to speak to the purpose, but also to clothe his thoughts in the most
appropriate language, he did not always succeed in combining the two,
and often hesitated and stopped, seeking for the right word, and not
continuing his speech until it occurred to him.

XI. He was renowned for his stud, and for the number of his racing
chariots. No other person, king or commoner, ever entered seven
four-horse chariots for the race at Olympia except Alkibiades. His
winning the first, second, and fourth prizes with these, as Thucydides
tells us, though Euripides says that he won the third also, excels in
glory any other successes by other persons in these races. The poem of
Euripides runs as follows:

"Son of Kleinias, thee I sing,
In truth it is a noble thing,
First, second, and third place
To win in chariot race,
To hear the herald thrice thy name