become more learned. For that they go out to the plain for the
sake of running about and hurling arrows and lances, and of firing
harquebuses, and for the sake of hunting the wild animals and getting a
knowledge of plants and stones, and agriculture and pasturage; sometimes
the band of boys does one thing, sometimes another.

They do not consider it necessary that the three rulers assisting Hoh
should know other than the arts having reference to their rule, and so
they have only a historical knowledge of the arts which are common to
all. But their own they know well, to which certainly one is dedicated
more than another. Thus Power is the most learned in the equestrian art,
in marshalling the army, in the marking out of camps, in the manufacture
of every kind of weapon and of warlike machines, in planning stratagems,
and in every affair of a military nature. And for these reasons, they
consider it necessary that these chiefs should have been philosophers,
historians, politicians, and physicists. Concerning the other two
triumvirs, understand remarks similar to those I have made about Power.

G.M. I really wish that you would recount all their public duties, and
would distinguish between them, and also that you would tell clearly how
they are all taught in common.

Capt. They have dwellings in common and dormitories, and couches and
other necessaries. But at the end of every six months they are separated
by the masters. Some shall sleep in this ring, some in another; some in
the first apartment, and some in the second; and these apartments are
marked by means of the alphabet on the lintel. There are occupations,
mechanical and theoretical, common to both men and women, with this
difference, that the occupations which require more hard work, and
walking a long distance, are practised by men, such as ploughing,
sowing, gathering the fruits, working at the threshing-floor, and
perchance at the vintage. But it is customary to choose women for
milking the cows and for making cheese. In like manner, they go to the
gardens near to the outskirts of the city both for collecting the plants
and for cultivating them. In fact, all sedentary and stationary pursuits
are practised by the women, such as weaving, spinning, sewing, cutting
the hair, shaving, dispensing medicines, and making all kinds of
garments. They are, however, excluded from working in wood and the
manufacture of arms. If a woman is fit to paint, she is not preve