est able to hinder
us. If you imagine, because we are thirty instead of one, our government
requires one whit the less careful guarding than an actual tyranny, you
must be very innocent."

So things went on. Day after day the list of persons put to death for no
just reason grew longer. Day after day the signs of resentment were more
significant in the groups of citizens banding together and forecasting
the character of this future constitution; till at length Theramenes
spoke again, protesting:--There was no help for it but to associate with
themselves a sufficient number of persons in the conduct of affairs, or
the oligarchy would certainly come to an end. Critias and the rest
of the Thirty, whose fears had already converted Theramenes into a
dangerous popular idol, proceeded at once to draw up a list of three
thousand citizens; fit and proper persons to have a share in the conduct
of affairs. But Theramenes was not wholly satisfied, "indeed he must
say, for himself, he regarded it as ridiculous, that in their effort to
associate the better classes with themselves in power, they should fix
on just that particular number, three thousand, as if that figure had
some necessary connection with the exact number of gentlemen in the
State, making it impossible to discover any respectability outside
or rascality within the magic number. And in the second place," he
continued, "I see we are trying to do two things, diametrically opposed;
we are manufacturing a government, which is based on force, and at the
same time inferior in strength to those whom we propose to govern."
That was what he said, but what his colleagues did, was to institute a
military inspection or review. The Three Thousand were drawn up in the
Agora, and the rest of the citizens, who were not included in the list,
elsewhere in various quarters of the city. The order to take arms was
given; (7) but while the men's backs were turned, at the bidding of the
Thirty, the Laconian guards, with those of the citizens who shared their
views, appeared on the scene and took away the arms of all except the
Three Thousand, carried them up to the Acropolis, and safely deposited
them in the temple.

(7) Or, "a summons to the 'place d'armes' was given; but." Or, "the
order to seize the arms was given, and." It is clear from
Aristoph. "Acharn." 1050, that the citizens kept their weapons at
home. On the other hand, it was a custom not to come to any
meeting i