should refuse to be upon an equality with the rest. He who is badly off
has his misfortunes all to himself, and as we do not see men courted in
adversity, on the like principle a man ought to accept the insolence of
prosperity; or else, let him first mete out equal measure to all, and
then demand to have it meted out to him. What I know is that persons of
this kind and all others that have attained to any distinction, although
they may be unpopular in their lifetime in their relations with their
fellow-men and especially with their equals, leave to posterity the
desire of claiming connection with them even without any ground, and
are vaunted by the country to which they belonged, not as strangers or
ill-doers, but as fellow-countrymen and heroes. Such are my aspirations,
and however I am abused for them in private, the question is whether
any one manages public affairs better than I do. Having united the most
powerful states of Peloponnese, without great danger or expense to you,
I compelled the Lacedaemonians to stake their all upon the issue of a
single day at Mantinea; and although victorious in the battle, they have
never since fully recovered confidence.

"Thus did my youth and so-called monstrous folly find fitting arguments
to deal with the power of the Peloponnesians, and by its ardour win
their confidence and prevail. And do not be afraid of my youth now,
but while I am still in its flower, and Nicias appears fortunate, avail
yourselves to the utmost of the services of us both. Neither rescind
your resolution to sail to Sicily, on the ground that you would be going
to attack a great power. The cities in Sicily are peopled by motley
rabbles, and easily change their institutions and adopt new ones in
their stead; and consequently the inhabitants, being without any feeling
of patriotism, are not provided with arms for their persons, and have
not regularly established themselves on the land; every man thinks that
either by fair words or by party strife he can obtain something at the
public expense, and then in the event of a catastrophe settle in some
other country, and makes his preparations accordingly. From a mob like
this you need not look for either unanimity in counsel or concert in
action; but they will probably one by one come in as they get a fair
offer, especially if they are torn by civil strife as we are told.
Moreover, the Siceliots have not so many heavy infantry as they boast;
just as the Hellenes gen