oldiers to act as one man, but also had
incessant gymnastic training, so as to make them active, strong, and
enduring. They were taught to bear severe pain unmoved, to endure heat
and cold, hunger and thirst, to walk barefoot on rugged ground, to wear
the same garment summer and winter, to suppress all display of feeling,
and in public to remain silent and motionless until action was called
for.

Two companies were often matched against each other, and these contests
were carried on with fury, fists and feet taking the place of arms.
Hunting in the woods and mountains was encouraged, that they might learn
to bear fatigue. The boys were kept half fed, that they might be forced
to provide for themselves by hunting or stealing. The latter was
designed to make them cunning and skilful, and if detected in the act
they were severely punished. The story is told that one boy who had
stolen a fox and hidden it under his garment, permitted the animal to
tear him open with claws and teeth, and died rather than reveal his
theft.

One might say that he would rather have been born a girl than a boy in
Sparta; but the girls were trained almost as severely as the boys. They
were forced to contend with each other in running, wrestling, and
boxing, and to go through other gymnastic exercises calculated to make
them strong and healthy. They marched in the religious processions, sung
and danced at festivals, and were present at the exercises of the
youths. Thus boys and girls were continually mingled, and the praise or
reproach of the latter did much to stimulate their brothers and friends
to the utmost exertion.

As a result of all this the Spartans became strong, vigorous, and
handsome in form and face. The beauty of their women was everywhere
celebrated. The men became unequalled for soldierly qualities, able to
bear the greatest fatigue and privation, and to march great distances in
a brief time, while on the field of battle they were taught to conquer
or to die, a display of cowardice or flight from the field being a
lifelong disgrace.

Such were the main features of the most singular set of laws any nation
ever had, the best fitted to make a nation of soldiers, and also to
prevent intellectual progress in any other direction than the single one
of war-making. Even eloquence in speech was discouraged, and a brief or
laconic manner sedulously cultivated. But while all this had its
advantages, it had its defects. The number of citi