yet
yielded a very unwilling obedience when summoned home to protect
Carthage, while Alexander merely sneered at the news of the battle
between Agis and Antipater, observing, "It appears, my friends, that
while we have been conquering Darius here, there has been a battle of
mice in Arcadia."

Well then does Sparta deserve to be congratulated on the love for her
and the respect for her laws which Agesilaus showed on this occasion,
when, as soon as the despatch reached him, he at once stopped his
prosperous and victorious career, gave up his soaring hopes of
conquest, and marched home, leaving his work unfinished, regretted
greatly by all his allies, and having signally confuted the saying of
Phaeax the son of Erasistratus, that the Lacedaemonians act best as a
state, and the Athenians as individuals. He proved himself indeed to
be a good king and a good general, but those who know him most
intimately prized him more as a friend and companion than as either a
king or a soldier.

The Persian gold coins bore the device of an archer: and Agesilaus as
he broke up his camp observed that he was being driven out of Asia by
ten thousand archers, meaning that so many of these coins had been
distributed among the statesmen of Athens and Thebes, to bribe them
into forcing those countries to go to war with Sparta.

XVI. He now crossed the Hellespont and proceeded through Thrace. Here
he did not ask leave of any of the barbarian tribes to traverse their
country, but merely inquired whether they would prefer him to treat
them as friends or as enemies during his passage. All the tribes
received him in a friendly manner and escorted him through their land,
except the Trallians,[180] to whom it is said that Xerxes himself gave
presents, who demanded from Agesilaus a hundred talents of silver and
a hundred female slaves for his passage. He answered, "Why did they
not come at once and take them;" and immediately marched into their
country, where he found them strongly posted, and routed them with
great slaughter.

He made the same enquiry, about peace or war, of the King of
Macedonia, and on receiving the answer that he would consider the
question, "Let him consider," said he, "but let us march in the
meanwhile." Struck with admiration and fear at his daring, the king
bade him pass through as a friend. On reaching the country of
Thessaly, he found the Thessalians in alliance with the enemies of
Sparta, and laid waste their lands. He