doing this to deceive your fellow citizens,
while he mutilated himself to deceive the enemy." Upon this, as the
people were willing to take up arms on behalf of Peisistratus, they
assembled at the Pnyx, where Ariston proposed that a body-guard of
fifty club-bearers should be assigned to Peisistratus. Solon opposed
this, urging many arguments, like what we read in his poems:

"You hang upon a crafty speaker's words;"

and again,

"Each alone a fox in cunning,
You grow stupid when you meet."

But as he saw that the poor were eager to serve Peisistratus, while the
rich held back from cowardice, he went away, after saying that he was
wiser than the one class, and braver than the other; wiser, namely, than
those who did not understand what was going on, and braver than those
who did understand, but did not dare to oppose the despotism with which
they were threatened.

The people carried the proposal, and would not be so mean as to make any
stipulation with Peisistratus about the number of his body-guard, but
permitted him to keep as many as he pleased until he seized the
Acropolis. When this took place, the city was convulsed; Megakles and
the other descendants of Alkmaeon fled, but Solon, although he was now
very old and had no one to stand by him, nevertheless came into the
market-place and addressed the citizens, reproaching them for their
folly and remissness, and urging them to make a final effort to retain
their freedom. It was then that he made the memorable remark that, in
former days it would have been easier for them to have prevented
despotism from appearing amongst them, but that now it would be more
glorious to cut it down, when it had arrived at its full growth.
However, as no one listened to him, because of the general terror, he
went home, armed himself, and took his post in the street outside his
door, saying, "I have done all I could for my country and her laws."
After this he remained quiet, though his friends urged him to leave
Athens. He, however, wrote poems reproaching the Athenians--

"Through your own cowardice you suffered wrong,
Blame then yourselves and not the gods for this;
'Twas you yourselves that made the tyrant strong,
And rightly do you now your freedom miss."

XXXI. At this many of his friends told him that the despot would surely
put him to death, and when they asked him what he trusted to, that he
performed such mad freaks, he answered, "To my ag