hy sayings came to be
called Laconic. To be a perfect soldier was the great point, so boys
were taught that no merit was greater than bearing pain without
complaint; and they carried this so far, that a boy who had brought a
young wolf into the hall, hidden under his tunic, let it bite him even to
death without a groan or cry. It is said that they were trained to
theft, and were punished, not for the stealing, but the being found out.
And, above all, no Spartan was ever to turn his back in battle. The
mothers gave the sons a shield, with the words, "With it, or on it." The
Spartan shields were long, so that a dead warrior would be borne home on
his shield; but a man would not dare show his face again if he had thrown
it away in flight. The women were trained to running, leaping, and
throwing the bar, like the men, and were taught stern hardihood, so that,
when their boys were offered to the cruel Diana, they saw them flogged to
death at her altar without a tear. All the lives of the Spartans were
spent in exercising for war, and the affairs of the state were managed
not so much by the kings, but by five judges called Ephors, who were
chosen every year, while the kings had very little power. They had to
undergo the same discipline as the rest--dressed, ate, and lived like
them; but they were the high priests and chief captains, and made peace
or war.

At first Lycurgus' laws displeased some of the citizens much, and, when
he was proposing them, a young man named Alcander struck him on the face
with his staff, and put out his eye. The others were shocked, and put
Alcander into Lycurgus' hands, to be punished as he thought fit. All
Lycurgus did was to make him wait upon him at meals, and Alcander was so
touched and won over that he became one of his best supporters. After
having fully taught Sparta to observe his rule, Lycurgus declared that he
had another journey to take, and made the people swear to observe his
laws till he came back again. He never did come back, and they held
themselves bound by them for ever.

This story of Lycurgus has been doubted, but whether there were such a
man or not, it is quite certain that these were the laws of Sparta in her
most famous days, and that they did their work of making brave and hardy
soldiers. The rule was much less strict in the camp than the city, and
the news of a war was delightful to the Spartans as a holiday-time. All
the hard work of their farms was done fo