r words upon sending her son to
battle,--"Return either with your shield or on it!"

It is said that weak and unpromising children were either killed as soon
as they were born, or abandoned to the wild beasts upon the mountains.
This was because the State would assume the training only of strong
children, such as were likely to make good soldiers. It is probable
that many of these abandoned children were rescued and reared by the
lower classes, which would partially account for the fierce resistance
so often offered by these classes to those who deprived them of liberty.
If such an inhuman practice had been encouraged by other nations of the
world, many of the greatest benefactors of the race would have been
consigned to an untimely death, for some of the noblest men that have
ever lived were weak in infancy.

=Education.=--At six or seven the boy was taken from the home, and the
State had entire jurisdiction over his education. The boys were placed
in groups in charge of young men who were responsible for their
education, which was almost wholly physical. They lived on very simple
food, and were often obliged to appease hunger by theft. They were
taught that crime did not lie in the commission of the offense, but in
its detection. Their dress from seven to twelve consisted of a long coat
of very coarse material, the same for summer and winter. They were
taught to bear blows without a murmur, and instances are related of boys
being whipped to death without crying out.

Children sat at table with older men and listened to their conversation,
but they were never allowed to speak except in answer to questions. Thus
they absorbed wisdom and were incited to deeds of bravery by the stories
of heroism related by their seniors.

The State furnished barracks poorly provided with the comforts of life,
in which the boys slept in severe weather; at other times they slept in
the open air. They were wholly separated from their homes, and
completely under control of the State. The purpose was to secure strong,
beautiful, and supple bodies, inured to hardship, as a preparation for
the life of the soldier. The only intellectual education was music,
which consisted in playing the lyre as an accompaniment to the dance.
Reading and writing were despised as being fit only for slaves.

At the age of twelve the boy exchanged the long coat for the mantle,
thereby entering upon manhood. From this time until the age of thirty,
much the same