then experienced, no horrors to compare with those that crowd upon the
despot, who sees or seems to see fierce eyes of enemies glare at him,
not face to face alone, but from every side.

(9) Or, "in the van of battle, opposite the hostile lines."

He had spoken so far, when Simonides took up the thread of the
discourse, replying: Excellently put. A part I must admit, of what you
say; since war is terrible. Yet, Hiero, you forget. When we, at any
rate, are out campaigning, we have a custom; we place sentinels at the
outposts, and when the watch is set, we take our suppers and turn in
undauntedly.

And Hiero answered: Yes, I can well believe you, for the laws are the
true outposts, (10) who guard the sentinels, keeping their fears alive
both for themselves and in behalf of you. Whereas the tyrant hires his
guards for pay like harvest labourers. (11) Now of all functions, all
abilities, none, I presume, is more required of a guard than that of
faithfulness; and yet one faithful man is a commodity more hard to find
than scores of workmen for any sort of work you like to name; (12) and
the more so, when the guards in question are not forthcoming except for
money's sake; (13) and when they have it in their power to get far more
in far less time by murdering the despot than they can hope to earn by
lengthened service in protecting him.

(10) Or, "beyond the sentinels themselves is set the outpost of the
laws, who watch the watch."

(11) Or, "ten-day labourers in harvest-time."

(12) Or, "but to discover one single faithful man is far more
difficult than scores of labourers in any field of work you
please."

(13) Or, "are merely hirelings for filthy lucre's sake."

And as to that which roused your envy--our ability, as you call it, to
benefit our friends most largely, and beyond all else, to triumph over
our foes--here, again, matters are not as you suppose.

How, for instance, can you hope to benefit your friends, when you may
rest assured the very friend whom you have made most your debtor will be
the happiest to quit your sight as fast as may be? since nobody believes
that anything a tyrant gives him is indeed his own, until he is well
beyond the donor's jurisdiction.

So much for friends, and as to enemies conversely. How can you say "most
power of triumphing over our enemies," when every tyrant knows full well
they are all his enemies, every man of them, who are despotically ruled
by him? And t