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country. Phrygia was at this time laid wafle by Spitliridatcs 

 who had revolted from Pharnahafus and ioincd Agtfilaus. 

 In thrfc circumllances Phaninbafus deniandtd an interview 

 with the Spart;>n kinjj, whom he found fitting upon the 

 grals ; whiltl the Pcrfians fprcnid ricii carpets of various 

 colours and majjniliccnt cudiions for the accomniodiition of 

 their mailer. Overcome by the fimplicity and modclly of 

 Agefilaus, Pharnab.ifus fat down by his fide upon the gr.ifs. 

 At the clofe of this conference, they parted with nnilual 

 tokens of friendlhip and refpcct ; to the ( xpollulatioTis of 

 Pliarnabafus, whjeli the Spartans heard willi dovvncaft eyes 

 4nd profound lilence, Agelihuis replied, that war often arms 

 the bell friends a;^ainil each other for the defence of tl.eir 

 country. " But," fays he, " if you prefer the appellation of 

 the friend and ally of the Greeks to that of the king of 

 Perfia's flave, you may leckon that all the troops you fee 

 before you, our arms, otir ftiips, our perfons, to the laft man 

 of us, arc only here to defend your poireflion';, and fecure 

 your liberty, vThieh of all bleffings is the moll precious and 

 tlefu-able." Pliarnabafus pledged liimfelf not to depart from 

 the faith he had fworn to him, nor to quit his ferviee ; and 

 Agefilaus taking hini by the hand, and riling with him, re- 

 plied, " that it was the pleafnre of the Gods, that with fuch 

 noble fentiments you lho>ild be rather our friend than our 

 enemy ;" and he promifed to withdraw from his government, 

 and never to return to it, whilft he could lubfiil any where 

 elfe. 



During the two years of Agefdaus's command in Afia, 

 he exhibited all the talents of a warrior and ftalefman, and 

 all the virtues of a Lacedxmonian. The remoteft provinces 

 trembled at his name, and refounded with the fame of his 

 wifdom, difintereftednefs, moderation, intrepid \"alour in the 

 moll preffing dangers, and invincible patience and firmnefs 

 in enduring toil and fatigue. Such was the refpeft which his 

 condudl and charafter commanded, that deputies were fent 

 from all parts in order to form alliances with him ; and his 

 army increafed continually by the acceffion of Barbarians 

 that enlilled under his iiandard. Whiltt he allowed his 

 foldiers the advantage of pillage, he hinifelf was not charge- 

 able with any aft of cruelty or injuilice. His prudence and 

 authority were fo much efteemed, that he reftored order and 

 tranquillity to all the cities of Aiia, and reinllated th.em in 

 the poifefiion of their libertv, not only without fliedding of 

 blood, but without even banifhing a iingle perfon. Ambitious 

 of extending the glosy of his country, and of Greece in 

 ger.eral, he had formed the deiign of attacking the king of 

 rerfia in the heart of his dominions, and of fo occupying 

 liij; time and attention, that he might have no leifure for 

 direfting his hollile views and fchemes to dillant provinces. 

 But before he coidd execute his purpofe, he was recalled by 

 the Ephori to the defence of his own country. As foon as 

 he received the order for returning, he inllantly obeyed ; 

 alledging, that he received the command not for himfclf, but 

 for his countrj- and its allies. " I know, fays he, that a 

 general does not deferve, or poflefs, that name really, but 

 as he fubmits to the laws and the Ephori, and obeys the 

 magillrates." On his departure, however, he faid, " that 

 30,000 of the king's archers drove him out of Alia ;" 

 alluding in thefe words to a fpecies of Perfian coin, which 

 h;td on one fide the figure of an archer, 30,000 of which 

 pieces of money had been difperfcd in Greece to corrupt the 

 orators and perfons of grcateil power in the cities. 



Agefilaus, when he quitted Afia, was accompanied by 

 Xenophon ; and at Ephefus he committed half the gold he 

 had brought with him from his expedition into Perlia with 

 Cyrus to the cuftody of Megabyzus, the guardian of Dia- 

 na's temple, with ail order, in cafe of his death, to confe- 



crate it to the goddefs. On his return through Thrace, 

 he only demanded, " whether he fliould pafs as a friend or an 

 enemy :" and when the king of Macedon replied, " that he 

 would confider of it :" " Let him confider, fays Agefilaus, 

 in the mean time we will march." Before he arrived at 

 Sparta, he received an order from the Ephori to invade 

 Bccotia, with which he coniphed, though the meal'ure was 

 not fuch as he approved. On the plains of Ch.Eionea, a 

 very fevere engagement took place, in which Agefilaus 

 received feveral wounds, and his life was expofcd to great 

 danger. Some of the enemy had taken refuge in a temple 

 of f-iinerva, near the field of battle ; and thefe Agefilaus 

 ordc'red to be difmilled, and appointed a guard lo efcort 

 them in fafety wherever they chofe to go. After this battle 

 he returned to Sparta, and was received with admiration 

 and joy. Uncorrupted by the culloms and manners of 

 foreign countries, as other generals had been, he made no 

 alteration in his diet, furniture, or equipage. His entcr- 

 prife againll Corinth did not fucceed ; but his expedition 

 againll tiie Acarnanians compelled them to fue for peace. 

 In the year before Chviil, 3S7, the fovereignty of Greece 

 was guaranteed to Sparta by the peace with the Perfian 

 king, negoeiated by Antalcidas, on the diflionourable con- 

 dition of abandoning the Greek cities of Afia to the Pcr- 

 fians. After this event, the Spartans treated fome of the 

 fmallerflates in a tyrannical manner, and unjuftly feized the 

 citadel of Thebes, in which aft Agefilaus difgracefuUy con- 

 curred. Sparta was thus involved in a new war with Athens, 

 in which the Thebans, under the illuftrious Epaminondas, 

 became formidable to their opprefibrs : and it was alledged 

 againll Agefilaus, that he had taught them the art of war, 

 by his expeditions againil them, fo that they were able to 

 encounter the Lacedfemonians in the field, as was the cafe 

 in the battle of Leiiftra, when y\rchidamus, the fon of 

 Agefilaus, and Cleombrotus, the other Spartan king, were 

 defeated with great lofs, and Cleombrotus left dead on the 

 fpot. In confequence of this difaller, Agefilaus was in- 

 verted with d, diftatorial power, for the pui-pofe of faving 

 the fugitives from the feverity of the Spartan laws, without 

 prejudice to the ilate : and on this occafion he decreed : — 

 " let the laws fleep to-day, but to-morrow let them refume 

 their full vigour." After this battle, Agefilaus exerted 

 himlelf in levying a new army, in defending Sparta from 

 the hoilile attacks of Epaminondas, and in fupprcfling a 

 cunlpiracy which took place among the Spartans them- 

 felves. In the year before Chriil 362, fome new commo- 

 tions 'oioke out in Peloponnefus ; and Agefilaus was de- 

 feated, at the head of the Spartans and their alhcs, in the 

 battle of Mantinea, by Epaminondas, who died in the mo- 

 ment of viftory. When a general peace was eflabliflicd, 

 the Lacedssmonians were excepted, by the culpable obfti- 

 nacy of Agefilaus, who refufed to concur, becaufe the Mef- 

 fenians were comprehended in it as a feparate ftate. 



Agefilaus, in the decline of life, accepted the command 

 of a band of mercenary troops in the ferviee of Tachos, who 

 afpired to the throne of Egypt. This commifTion reflefted 

 no great honour on the charaftcr of this illuftrious Spartan, 

 who, at the age of 80 y^ears, degraded himfelf by receiving 

 the pay of an Egyptian, and ferving a barbarian, who had 

 revolted againfl his mafter. The Egyptians rcforted in great 

 multitudes to fee a man, whofe name and charafter had been 

 fo long and fo generally applauded ; but connefting fplen- 

 dour and magnificence with their ideas, they were difap- 

 pointed when they faw an old man, of a mean afpeft and 

 low tlature : they apphed to him the fable of the mountain 

 in labour, and could fearce refrain from laughter and ridi- 

 cule. His conduft, however, foon produced a change of 

 I opinion^ 



