or LACEDÆMON, the capital of the country of Laconia in Greece, an ancient and most renowned state, the inhabitants of which have been in all ages celebrated for the singularity of their laws and characters.—The history of Sparta for many ages is entirely fabulous; and the authentic accounts commence only with the celebrated lawgiver Lycurgus, who flourished about 870 B. C. See the article LYCURGUS.

After his death, the first important transaction which we find mentioned in the Spartan history is the Messenian war, which commenced in the year 752 B. C. and ended in the total reduction of the Messenian territory, as related under the article MESSENIA. During this period, according to some authors, a great change took place in the government of Sparta. This was the creation of the ephori, which is ascribed to one of the kings named Theopompus. This man perceiving that there was a necessity for leaving magistrates to execute the laws, when the kings were obliged to be in the field, appointed the magistrates above mentioned, who afterwards made so great a figure in the state (see EPHORI). One great privilege of the ephori was, that they did not rise up at the presence of the kings, as all other magistrates did: another was, that if the kings offended against the laws, the ephori took cognizance of the offence, and inflicted a suitable punishment. From the first election of the ephori, the year was denominated, as at Athens from the first election of the archons.

The conquest of Messenia gave Sparta the superiority over the rest of the states, excepting only that of Athens, which for a long time continued to be a very troublesome rival; but the contests between these two rival states have been so fully related under the article ARCTICA, that nothing more is requisite to be added in this place.—In the time of the Persian war, Leonidas the Spartan king, distinguished himself in such a manner as to become the admiration not only of that but of every succeeding age. It being resolved in a general council to defend the straits of Thermopylae against the Persians, 7000* foot were put under the command of Leonidas; of whom, however, only 300 were Spartans. Leonidas did not think it practicable to defend the pass against such multitudes as the Persian king commanded; and therefore privately told his friends, that his design was to devote himself to death for his country.

Xerxes advancing near the straits, was strangely surprised to find that the Greeks were resolved to dispute his passage; for he had always flattered himself, that on his approach they would betake themselves to flight, and not attempt to oppose his innumerable forces. However, Xerxes still entertaining some hopes of their flight, waited four days without undertaking any thing, on purpose to give them time to retreat. During this time, he used his utmost endeavours to gain and corrupt Leonidas, promising to make him master of all Greece if he would come over to his interest. His offers being rejected with contempt and indignation, the king ordered him by a herald to deliver up his arms. Leonidas, in a style and with a spirit truly laconical, answered, "Come thyself, and take them." Xerxes, at this reply, transported with rage, commanded the Medes and Carians to march against them, take them all alive, and bring them to him in fetters. The Medes, not able to stand the flock of the Greeks, soon betook themselves to flight: and in their room Hydarnes was ordered to advance with that body which was called Immortal, and consisted of 10,000 chosen men; but when these came to close with the Greeks, they succeeded no better than the Medes and Carians, being obliged to retire with great slaughter. The next day the Persians, reflecting on the small number of their enemies, and supposing so many of them to be wounded that they could not possibly maintain a second fight, resolved to make another attempt; but could not by any efforts make the Greeks give way: on the contrary, they were themselves put to a shameful flight. The valour of the Greeks exerted itself on this occasion in a manner so extraordinary, that Xerxes is said to have three times leaped from his throne, apprehending the entire destruction of his army.

Xerxes having lost all hopes of forcing his way through troops that were determined to conquer or die, was extremely perplexed and doubtful what measures he should take in this posture of affairs; when one Epialtes, in expectation of a great reward, came to him, and discovered a secret passage to the top of the hill which they overlooked and commanded the Spartan forces. The shewn a king immediately ordered Hydarnes thither with his left body of 10,000 Persians; who marching all night, arrived at break of day, and possessed themselves of that advantageous post. The Phocæans, who defended this pass, being overpowered by the enemy's numbers, retired with precipitation to the very top of the mountain, prepared to die gallantly. But Hydarnes, neglecting to pursue them, marched down the mountain with all possible expedition, in order to attack those who defended the straits in the rear. Leonidas being now apprised that it was impossible to bear up against the enemy, obliged the rest of his allies to retire, but he stayed himself, with the Thebians, Thebans, and 300 Lacedæmonians, all resolved to die with their leader; who being told by the oracle, that either Sparta should be destroyed or the king lose his life, determined without the least hesitation to sacrifice himself for his country. The Thebans indeed remained against their inclination, being detained by Leonidas as hostages; for they were compelled to favour the Persians. The Thespians, with their leader Demophilus, could not by any means be prevailed upon to abandon Leonidas and the Spartans. The augur Megistias, who had foretold the event of this enterprise, being pressed by Leonidas to retire, sent home his only son; but remained himself, and died by Leonidas. Those who feared did not feed themselves with any hopes of conquering or escaping, but looked upon Thermopylæ as their graves; and when Leonidas, exhorting them to take some nourishment, said, that they should all fun together with Pluto, with one accord they set up a shout of joy, as if they had been invited to a banquet.

Xerxes, after pouring out a libation at the rising of the sun, began to move with the whole body of his army, as he had been advised by Epialtes. Upon their approach, Leonidas advanced to the broadest part of the passage, and fell upon the enemy with such undaunted courage and resolution, that the Persian officers were obliged to stand behind the divisions they commanded, in order to prevent the flight of their men. Great numbers of the enemy falling into the sea, were drowned; others were trampled under foot by their own men, and a great many killed by the Greeks; who knowing they could not avoid death upon the arrival of those who were advancing to fall upon their rear, exerted their utmost efforts. In this action fell the brave Leonidas; which Abrocomes and Hyperantus, two of the brothers of Xerxes, observing, advanced with great resolution to seize his body, and carry it in triumph to Xerxes. But the Lacedaemonians, more eager to defend it than their own lives, repelled the enemy four times, killed both the brothers of Xerxes, with many other commanders of distinction, and relieved the body of their beloved general out of the enemy's hands. But in the mean time, the army that was led by the treacherous Epialtes, advancing to attack their rear, they retired to the narrowest place of the passage, and drawing altogether except the Thebans, posted themselves on a rising ground. In this place they made head against the Persians, who poured in upon them on all sides, till at length, not vanquished, but oppressed and overwhelmed by numbers, they all fell, except one who escaped to Sparta, where he was treated as a coward and traitor to his country; but afterwards made a glorious reparation in the battle of Plataea, where he distinguished himself in an extraordinary manner. Some time after, a magnificent monument was erected at Thermopylae, in honour of those brave defenders of Greece, with two inscriptions; the one general, and relating to all those who died on this occasion, importing, that the Greeks of Peloponnesus, to the number only of 4000, made head against the Persian army, consisting of 3,000,000. The other related to the Spartans in particular, and was composed by the poet Simonides, to this purport: "Go, passenger, and acquaint the Spartans that we died here in obedience to their just commands." At those tombs a funeral oration was yearly pronounced in honour of the dead heroes, and public games performed with great solemnity, wherein none but the Lacedaemonians and Thebians had any share, to show that they alone were concerned in the glorious defence of Thermopylae.

At the end of the 77th Olympiad, a most dreadful earthquake happened at Sparta, in which, according to Diodorus, 20,000 persons lost their lives; and Plutarch tells us, that only five houses were left standing in the whole city. On this occasion the Helotes or slaves, whom the Spartans had all along treated with the utmost cruelty, attempted to revenge themselves, by taking up arms, and marching directly to the ruins of the city, in hopes of cutting off at once those who had escaped from the earthquake. But in this they were prevented by the prudence of the Spartan king Archidamus; for he, observing that the citizens were more desirous of preserving their effects than taking care of their own lives, caused an alarm to be sounded, as if he had known that an enemy was at hand. On this the citizens armed themselves in haste with such weapons as they could come at; and having marched a little way from the city, met the Helotes, whom they soon compelled to retire. The latter, however, knowing that they had now no mercy to expect from those who had already treated them with such cruelty, resolved to defend themselves to the last. Having therefore seized a sea-port town in Messenia, they from thence made such incursions into the Spartan territories, that they compelled those imperious masters to ask affianctance from the Athenians. This was immediately granted; but when the Spartans saw that the skill of the Athenians in besieging towns was much greater than their own, they became jealous, and dismifted their allies, telling them that they had now no farther occasion for their services. On this the Athenians left them in disgust; and as the Helotes and Messenians did not choose to come to an engagement with a Spartan army in the field, but took shelter in their fortified places, the war was protracted for ten years and upwards. At last the Helotes were reduced to their former misery; and the Messenians were obliged to leave Peloponnesus, on pain of being made slaves also. These poor people were then received by the Athenians, who granted them Naupactus for their residence, and afterwards brought them back to a part of their own country, from whence in the course of the Peloponnesian war they had driven the Spartans.

In the year 431 B.C. the Peloponnesian war commenced; of which a full account has been given under the article ATTICA, No. 116—165. It ended most unfortunately for the Athenians; their city being taken and dismantled, as related in the article above mentioned. Thus were the Spartans raised to the highest pitch of glory; and in the reign of Agis, they seemed to be on the point of subverting the Persian empire, as related under the article PERSIA, No. 34. But here their good fortune and their views of empire were suddenly checked. Agis had carried on the war in Asia with the greatest success; and as he would harken to no terms of accommodation, a Persian governor named Tiribazus, having first attempted in vain to bribe the king, dispatched Timocrates the Rhodian with 50 talents into Greece, in order to try whether he could there meet with any persons less incorruptible than the Spartan monarch. This agent found many who inclined to accept his offers; particularly in Thebes, Corinth, and Argos. By distributing the money in a proper manner, he inflamed the inhabitants of these three cities against the Spartans; and of all others the Thebans came into his terms with the greatest readiness. They saw that their antagonists would not of their own accord break with any of the states of Greece, and did not choose to begin the war themselves, because the chiefs of the Persian faction were unwilling to be accountable for the event. For this reason they persuaded the Locrians to invade a small district which lay in dispute betwixt the Phocians and themselves. On this the Phocians invaded Locri; the Locrians applied to the Thebans, and the Phocians to the Spartans. The latter were glad of an opportunity of breaking with the Thebans; but met with a much warmer reception than they expected. Their old general Lysander, who had reduced Athens, was defeated and killed, with the loss of 1000 men: on which disaster Agesilaus was recalled, and obliged to relinquish all hopes of conquering the Persians. His return changed the fortune of the war so much, that all the states began to grow weary of a contest from which nobody derived any advantage except the king of Persia. In a short time a treaty was concluded, known in history by the name of the peace of Antalcidas. The terms of this treaty were highly disadvantageous and dishonourable to the Greeks*; for even the Spartans, though successful in Greece, had lost a great battle at sea with the Persian fleet under Conon the Athenian, which entirely broke their power in Asia.

By the peace of Antalcidas, the government of Boeotia was taken from the Thebans, which they had for a long time enjoyed; and by this they were so much provoked, that at first they absolutely refused to accede to the treaty; but as Agesilaus made great preparations to invade them, they thought proper at last to comply. However, it was not long before a new war commenced, which threatened the total subversion of the Spartan state. As, by the peace of Antalcidas, the king of Persia had in a manner guaranteed the sovereignty of Greece to Sparta, this republic very soon began to exercise its power to the utmost extent. The Mantineans were the first who felt the weight of their resentment, although they had been their allies and confederates. In order to have a pretence for making war against them, they commanded them to quit their city, and to retire into five old villages which, they said, had served their forefathers, and where they would live in peace themselves, and give no umbrage to their neighbours. This being refused, an army was sent against them to besiege their city. The siege was continued through the summer with very little success on the part of the Spartans; but having during the winter season dammed up the river on which the city stood, the water rose to such a height, as either to overflow or throw down the houses; which compelled the Mantineans to submit to the terms prescribed to them, and to retire into the old villages. The Spartan vengeance fell next on the Phliasians and Olynthians, whom they forced to come into such measures as they thought proper. After this they fell on the Thebans, and, by attempting to seize on the Pireum, drew the Athenians also into the quarrel. But here their career was flopped: the Thebans had been taught the art of war by Chabrias the Athenian; so that even Agesilaus himself took the command of the Spartan army in vain. At sea they were defeated by Timotheus the son of Conon; and by land the battle of Leuctra put an end to the superiority which Sparta had held over Greece for near 500 years. See LEUCTRA.

After this dreadful defeat, the Spartans had occasion to exert all their courage and resolution. The women and nearest relations of those who were killed in battle, instead of spending their time in lamentations, shook each other by the hand, while the relations of those who had escaped from the battle hid themselves among the women; or if they were obliged to go abroad, they appeared in tattered clothes, with their arms folded, and their eyes fixed on the ground. It was a law among the Spartans, that such as fled from battle should be degraded from their honours, should be constrained to appear in garments patched with divers colours, to wear Sparta their beards half-havved, and to suffer any to beat them who pleased, without resistance. At present, however, this law was dispensed with; and Agesilaus by his prudent conduct kept up the spirits of the people, at the same time that by his skill in military affairs he checked the progress of the enemy. Yet, during the lifetime of Epaminondas the Theban general, the war went on greatly to the disadvantage of the Spartans; but he being killed at the battle of Mantinea, all parties became quickly desirous of peace. Agesilaus did not long survive; and with him, we may say, perished the glory of Sparta. Soon after this all the states of Greece fell under the power of Alexander the Great; and the Spartans, as well as the rest, having become corrupt, and lost their martial spirit, became a prey to domestic tyrants, and to foreign invaders. They maintained their ground, however, with great resolution against the celebrated Pyrrhus king of Epirus; whom they repelled for three days successively, though not without assistance from one of the captains of Antigonus. Soon after this, one of the kings of Sparta named Agis, perceiving the universal degeneracy that had taken place, made an attempt to restore the laws and discipline of Lycurgus, by which he supposed the state would be restored to its former glory. But though at first he met Agis with some appearance of success, he was in a short time tried and condemned by the ephori as a traitor to his country. Cleomenes, however, who ascended the throne in 216 B. C. accomplished the reformation which Agis had attempted in vain. He suppressed the ephori; cancelled all debts; divided the lands equally, as they had been in the time of Lycurgus; and put an end to the luxury which prevailed among the citizens. But at last he was overborne by the number of enemies which surrounded him; and being defeated in battle by Antigonus, he fled to Egypt, where he put an end to his own life. With him perished every hope of retrieving the affairs of Sparta: the city for the present fell into the hands of Antigonus; after which a succession of tyrants took place; till at last all disturbances were ended by the Romans, who reduced MACEDON and GREECE to provinces of their empire, as has been related under these articles.

It remains now only to say something concerning the Institutions, character, manners, and customs of the Spartans, which, of Lycurgus as they were founded on the laws of Lycurgus, may best be learned from a view of these laws.

The institutions of Lycurgus were divided into 12 His laws tables. The first comprehended such of the Spartan concerns as regarded religion. The statues of all the gods, religious and goddesses were represented in armour, even to Venus herself; the reason of which was, that the people might conceive a military life the most noble and honourable, and not attribute, as other nations did, sloth and luxury to the gods. As to sacrifices, they consisted of things of very small value; for which Lycurgus himself gave this reason, That want might never hinder them from worshipping the gods. They were forbidden to make long or rash prayers to the heavenly powers, and were enjoined to ask no more than that they might live honestly and discharge their duty. Graves were permitted to be made within the bounds of the city, contrary to the custom of most of the Greek nations; nay, they buried close by their temples, that all degrees of people might be made familiar with death, and not conceive it such a dreadful thing as it was generally esteemed elsewhere: on the same account, the touching dead bodies, or affiting at funerals, made none unclean, but were held to be as innocent and honourable duties as any other. There was nothing thrown into the grave with the dead body; magnificent sepulchres were forbidden; neither was there so much as an inscription, however plain or modest, permitted. Tears, sighs, outcries, were not allowed in public, because they were thought dishonourable in Spartans, whom their lawgiver would have to bear all things with equanimity. Mourning was limited to 11 days; on the 12th the mourner sacrificed to Ceres, and threw aside his weeds. In favour of such as were slain in the wars, however, and of women who devoted themselves to a religious life, there was an exception allowed as to the rules before mentioned; for such had a short and decent inscription on their tombs. When a number of Spartans fell in battle, at a distance from their country, many of them were buried together under one common tomb; but if they fell on the frontiers of their own state, then their bodies were carefully carried back to Sparta, and interred in their family sepulchres.

II. Lycurgus divided all the country of Laconia into 30,000 equal shares: the city of Sparta he divided into 9000, as some say; into 6500, as others say; and as a third part will have it, into 4500. The intent of the legislator was, that property should be equally divided among his citizens, so that none might be powerful enough to oppress his fellows, or any be in such necessity, as to be thereby in danger of corruption. With the same view he forbade the buying or selling these possessions. If a stranger acquired a right to any of these shares, he might quietly enjoy it, provided he submitted to the laws of the republic. The city of Sparta was unwalled; Lycurgus trusting it rather to the virtue of its citizens than to the art of masons. As to the houses, they were very plain; for their ceilings could only be wrought by the axe, and their gates and doors only by the saw; and their utensils were to be of a like stamp, that luxury might have no instruments among them.

III. The citizens were to be neither more nor less than the number of city lots; and if at any time there happened to be more, they were to be led out in colonies. As to children, their laws were equally harsh and unreasonable; for a father was directed to carry his new-born infant to a certain place, where the gravest men of his tribe looked upon the infant; and if they perceived its limbs straight, and thought it had a wholesome look, they then returned it to its parents to be educated; otherwise it was thrown into a deep cavern at the foot of the mountain Taygetus. This law seems to have had one very good effect, viz. making women very careful, when they were with child, of either eating, drinking, or exercising, to excess: it made them also excellent nurses; for which they were in mighty request throughout Greece. Strangers were not allowed to reside long in the city, that they might not corrupt the Spartans by teaching them new customs. Citizens were also forbidden to travel, for the same reason, unless the good of the state required it. Such as were not bred up in their youth according to the law, were not allowed the liberty of the city, because they held it unreasonable, that one who had not submitted to the laws in his youth should receive the benefit of them when a man. They never preferred any stranger to a public office; but if at any time they had occasion for a person not born a Spartan, they first made him a citizen, and then preferred him.

IV. Celibacy in men was infamous, and punished in Of celibacy a most extraordinary manner; for the old bachelor was constrained to walk naked, in the depth of winter, through the market-place: while he did this, he was obliged to sing a song in disparagement of himself; and he had none of the honours paid him which otherwise belonged to old age, it being held unreasonable, that the youth should venerate him who was resolved to leave none of his progeny behind him, to revere them when they grew old in their turn. The time of marriage was also fixed; and if a man did not marry when he was of full age, he was liable to an action; as were such also as married above or below themselves. Such as had three children had great immunities; such as had four were free from all taxes whatsoever. Virgins were married without portions; because neither want should hinder a man, nor riches induce him, to marry contrary to his inclinations. When a marriage was agreed on, the husband committed a kind of rape upon his bride. Husbands went for a long time, secretly and by stealth, to the beds of their wives, that their love might not be quickly and easily extinguished. Husbands were allowed to lend their wives; but the kings were forbidden to take this liberty. Some other laws of the like nature there were, which as they were evidently against modesty, so they were far from producing the end for which Lycurgus designed them; since, though the men of Sparta were generally remarkable for their virtue, the Spartan women were as generally decried for their boldness and contempt of decency.

V. It was the care of Lycurgus, that, from their very birth, the Lacedemonians should be inured to conquer their appetites: for this reason he directed, that nurses should accustom their children to spare meals, and now and then to fasting; that they should carry them, when 12 or 13 years old, to those who should examine their education, and who should carefully observe whether they were able to be in the dark alone, and whether they had got over all other follies and weaknesses incident to children. He directed, that children of all ranks should be brought up in the same way; and that none should be more favoured in food than another, that they might not, even in their infancy, perceive any difference between poverty and riches, but consider each other as equals, and even as brethren, to whom the same portions were assigned, and who, through the course of their lives, were to fare alike: the youths alone were allowed to eat flesh: older men ate their black broth and pulse; the lads slept together in chambers, and after a manner somewhat resembling that still in use in Turkey for the Janizaries: their beds, in the summer, were very hard, being composed of the reeds plucked by the hand from the banks of the Eurotas: in winter their beds were softer, but by no means downy, or fit to indulge immoderate sleep. They ate altogether in public; and in case any abstained from coming to the tables, they were fined. It was likewise strictly forbidden for any to eat or drink at home before they came to the common meal; even then each had his proper portion, that every thing might be done there with gravity and decency. The black broth was the great rarity of the Spartans, which was composed of salt, vinegar, blood, &c. So that, in our times, it would be esteemed a very unfavourable soup. If they were moderate in their eating, they were so in their drinking also; thirst was the sole measure thereof; and never any Lacedæmonian thought of drinking for pleasure; as for drunkennes, it was both infamous and severely punished; and, that young men might perceive the reason, slaves were compelled to drink to excess, that the baseness of the vice might appear. When they retired from the public meal, they were not allowed any torches or lights, because it was expected, that men who were perfectly sober should be able to find their way in the dark: and, besides, it gave them a facility of marching without light; a thing wonderfully useful to them in time of war.

VI. As the poor ate as well as the rich, so the rich could wear nothing better than the poor: they neither changed their fashion nor the materials of their garments; they were made for warmth and strength, not for gallantry and show: and to this custom even their kings conformed, who wore nothing gaudy in right of their dignity, but were contented that their virtue should distinguish them rather than their clothes. The youths wore a tunic till they were twelve years old; afterwards they had a cloak given them, which was to serve them a year: and their clothing was, in general, so thin, that a Lacedæmonian vest became proverbial. Boys were always used to go without shoes; but when they grew up, they were indulged with them, if the manner of life they led required it; but they were always inured to run without them, as also to climb up and slip down steep places with bare feet: nay, the very shoe they used was of a particular form, plain and strong. Boys were not permitted to wear their hair; but when they arrived at the age of twenty, they suffered their hair and beard to grow. Baths and anointing were not much in use among the Lacedæmonians; the river Eurotas supplied the former, and exercise the latter. In the field, however, their sumptuary laws did not take place so strictly as in the city; for when they went to war, they wore purple habits; they put on crowns when they were about to engage the enemy; they had also rings, but they were of iron; which metal was most esteemed by this nation. Young women wore their vests or jerkins only to their knees, or, as some think, not quite so low; a custom which both Greek and Roman authors censure as indecent. Gold, precious stones, and other costly ornaments, were permitted only to common women; which permission was the strongest prohibition to women of virtue, or who affected to be thought virtuous. Virgins went abroad without veils, with which married women, on the contrary were always covered. In certain public exercises, in which girls were admitted as well as boys, they were both obliged to perform naked. Plutarch apologizes for this custom, urging, that there could be no danger from nakedness to the morals of youth whose minds were fortified and habituated to virtue. One of Lycurgus's principal views in his institutions, was to eradicate the very seeds of civil diffusion in his republic. Hence proceeded the equal division of estates enjoined by him; hence the contempt of wealth, and the neglect of other distinctions, as particularly birth, he considering the people of his whole state as one great family; distinctions which, in other commonwealths, frequently produce tumults and confusions that shake their very foundation.

VII. Though the Spartans were always free, yet it was with this restriction, that they were subservient to their own laws, which bound them as strictly in the city, as soldiers, in other states, were bound by the rules of war in the camp. In the first place, strict obedience to their superiors was the great thing required in Sparta. This they looked upon as the very basis of government; without which neither laws nor magistrates availed much. Old age was an indubitable title to honour in Sparta: to the old men the youth rose up whenever they came into any public place; they gave way to them when they met them in the streets, and were silent whenever their elders spoke. As all children were looked upon as the children of the state, so all the old men had the authority of parents: they reprehended whatever they saw amiss, not only in their own, but in other people's children: and by this method Lycurgus provided, that as youth are everywhere apt to offend, they might be nowhere without a monitor. The laws went still further: if an old man was present where a young one committed a fault, and did not reprove him, he was punished equally with the delinquent. Amongst the youths there was one of their own body, or at most two years older than the rest, who was styled iren: he had authority to question all their actions, to look strictly to their behaviour, and to punish them if they did amiss; neither were their punishments light, but, on the contrary, very severe; whereby the youth were made hardy, and accustomed to bear stripes and rough usage. Silence was a thing highly commended at Sparta, where modesty was held to be a most becoming virtue in young people; nor was it restrained only to their words and actions, but to their very looks and gestures; Lycurgus having particularly directed, that they should look forward, or on the ground, and that they should always keep their hands within their robes. A stupid inconsiderate person, one who would not listen to instruction, but was careless of whatever the world might say of him, the Lacedæmonians treated as a scandal to human nature; with such a one they would not converse, but threw him off as a rotten branch and worthless member of society.

VIII. The plainness of their manners, and their being so very much addicted to war, made the Lacedæmonians less fond of the sciences than the rest of the Greeks. A soldier was the only reputable profession in Sparta; a mechanic or husbandman was thought a low fellow. The reason of this was, that they imagined professions which required much labour, some constant posture, being continually in the house, or always about a fire, weakened the body and depressed the mind: whereas a man brought up hardly, was equally fit to attend the service of the republic in time of peace, and to fight its battles when engaged in war. Such occupations as were necessary to be followed for the benefit of the whole, as husbandry, agriculture, and the like, were left to their slaves the Helotes; but for curious arts, and such as served only to luxury, they would not so much as suffer them to be introduced in their city; in consequence of which, rhetoricians, au- gurs, bankers, and dealers in money, were shut out. The Spartans admitted not any of the theatrical diversions among them; they would not bear the representation of evil even to produce good; but other kinds of poetry were admitted, provided the magistrates had the perusal of pieces before they were handed to the public.

Above all things, they affected brevity of speech, and accustomed their children, from their very infancy, never to express themselves in more words than were strictly necessary; whence a concise and sententious oratory is to this day styled Laconic. In writing they used the same conciseness; of which we have a signal instance in a letter of Archidamus to the Eleans, when he understood that they had some thoughts of assailing the Arcadians. It ran thus: "Archidamus to the Eleans: It is good to be quiet." And therefore Epaminondas thought that he had reason to glory in having forced the Spartans to abandon their monosyllables, and to lengthen their discourses.

The greatest part of their education consisted in giving their youth right ideas of men and things: the ien or master proposed questions, and either commended the answers that were made him, or reproved such as answered weakly. In these questions, all matters, either of a trivial or abstruse nature, were equally avoided; and they were confined to such points as were of the highest importance in civil life; such as, Who was the best man in the city? wherein lay the merit of such an action? and, Whether this or that hero's fame was well-founded? Harmless railing was greatly encouraged; and this, joined to their short manner of speaking, rendered laconic replies universally admired.

Music was much encouraged; but in this, as in other things, they adhered to that which had been in favour with their ancestors; nay, they were so strict therein, that they would not permit their slaves to learn either the tune or the words of their most admired odes; or, which is all one, they would not permit them to sing them if they had learned them. Though the youth of the male sex were much cherished and beloved, as those that were to build up and continue the future glory of the state, yet in Sparta it was a virtuous and modest affection, untinged with that sensuality which was so scandalous at Athens. The good effects of this part of Lycurgus's institutions were seen in the union that reigned among his citizens; and which was so extraordinary, that even in cases of competition, it was hardly known that rivals bore ill-will to each other; but, on the contrary, their love to the same person begat a secondary friendship among themselves, and united them in all things which might be for the benefit of the person beloved.

Some authors have accused this great lawgiver of encouraging theft in his institutions; which, they say, was not held scandalous among the Spartans, if it were so dexterously managed as that the person was not detected in it. But this is certain, and seems to be a strong contradiction of the heinous charge, that when a theft was discovered, it was punished with the utmost severity: a person even suspected of it would endure the heaviest punishments rather than acknowledge it, and be branded with so base a crime.

IX. The exercises instituted by law fall under the ninth table. In these all the Greeks were extremely careful, but the Lacedæmonians in a degree beyond the rest; for if a youth, by his corpulence, or any other means, became unfit for these exercises, he underwent public contempt at least, if not banishment.—Hunting was the usual diversion of their children; nay, it was made a part of their education, because it had a tendency to strengthen their limbs, and to render those who practised it supple and fleet: they likewise bred up dogs for hunting with great care. They had a kind of public dances, in which they exceedingly delighted, and which were common alike to virgins and young men: indeed, in all their sports, girls were allowed to divert themselves with the youths: insomuch, that, at darting, throwing the quoit, pitching the bar, and such like robust diversions, the women were as dexterous as the men. For the manifest oddity of this proceeding, Lycurgus assigned no other reason, than that he fought to render women, as well as men, strong and healthy, that the children they brought forth might be so too. Violent exercises, and a laborious kind of life, were only enjoined the youth; for when they were grown up to men's estate, that is, were upwards of 30 years old, they were exempted from all kinds of labour, and employed themselves wholly either in affairs of state or in war. They had a method of whipping, at a certain time, young men in the temple of Diana, and about her altar; which, however palliated, was certainly unnatural and cruel. It was esteemed a great honour to sustain these flagellations without weeping, groaning, or showing any sense of pain; and the thirst of glory was so strong in these young minds, that they very frequently suffered death without shedding a tear or breathing a sigh. A desire of overcoming all the weaknesses of human nature, and thereby rendering his Spartans not only superior to their neighbours, but to their species, runs through many of the institutions of Lycurgus; which principle, if well attended to, thoroughly explains them, and without attending to which it is impossible to give any account of them at all.

X. Gold and silver were, by the constitutions of Money, Lycurgus, made of no value in Sparta. He was so &c. well apprized of the danger of riches, that he made the very possession of them venal; but as there was no living without some sort of money, that is, some common measure or standard of the worth of things, he directed an iron coinage, whereby the Spartans were supplied with the useful money, and at the same time had no temptation to covetousness afforded them; for a very small sum was sufficient to load a couple of horses, and a great one must have been kept in a barn or warehouse. The introduction of all foreign money was also prohibited, that corruption might not enter under the name of commerce. The most ancient method of dealing, viz. by barter, or exchange of one commodity for another, was preserved by law in Sparta long after it had gone into disuse everywhere else. Interest was a thing forbidden in the Spartan commonwealth; where they had also a law against alienation of lands, accepting presents from foreigners, even without the limits of their own country, and when their authority and character might well seem to excuse them.

XI. Such of the laws of Sparta as related to courts of justice may be brought under the 11th table. Thirty justice years must have passed over the head of him who had a right to concern himself in juridical proceedings. Young men were thought unfit for them; and it was even held indecent, and of ill report, for a man to have any fondness for law-suits, or to be busying himself at the tribunals, when he had no affairs there of his own. By these rules Lycurgus thought to shut out litigiousness, and to prevent that multiplicity of suits which is always scandalous in a state. As young people were not permitted to inquire about the laws of other countries, and as they were hindered from hearing judicial proceedings in their courts, so they were likewise forbidden to ask any questions about, or to endeavour to discover, the reasons of the laws by which themselves were governed. Obedience was their duty; and to that alone they would have them kept. Men of abandoned characters, or who were notoriously of ill fame, lost all right of giving their votes in respect of public affairs, or of speaking in public assemblies; for they would not believe that an ill man in private life could mean his country better than he did his neighbour.

XII. Till a man was 30 years old, he was not capable of serving in the army, as the best authors agree: though some think that the military age is not well ascertained by ancient writers. They were forbidden to march at any time before the full-moon; the reason of which law is very hard to be discovered, if indeed it had any reason at all, or was not rather founded on some superstitious opinion, that this was a more lucky conjunction than any other. They were likewise forbidden to fight often against the same enemy; which was one of the wisest maxims in the political system of Lycurgus: and Agelaias, by offending against it, destroyed the power of his country, and lost her that authority which for many ages the maintained over the rest of Greece; for, by continually warring against the Thebans, to whom he had an inveterate hatred, he at last beat them into the knowledge of the art of war, and enabled them, under the command of Epaminondas, to maintain for a time the principality of Greece. Maritime affairs they were forbidden to meddle with, though the necessity of things compelled them, in process of time, to transgress this institution, and by degrees to transfer to themselves the dominion of the sea as well as of the land: but, after the Peloponnesian war, they again neglected naval affairs from a persuasion that sailors and strangers corrupted those with whom they conversed. As they never fortified Sparta, they were not ready to undertake sieges: fighting in the field was their proper province, and, while they could overcome their enemies there, they rightly conceived that nothing could hurt them at home. In time of war they relaxed somewhat of their strict manner of living, in which they were singular. The true reason for this was, in all probability, that war might be less burdensome to them; for, as we have more than once observed, a strong desire to render them bold and warlike was the reigning passion of their legislator. They were forbidden to remain long encamped in the same place, as well to hinder their being surprised, as that they might be more troublesome to their enemies, by wafting every corner of their country. They slept all night in their armour; but their outguards were not allowed their shields, that, being unprovided of defence, they might not dare to sleep. In all expeditions they were careful in the performance of religious rites; and, after their evening meal was over, the soldiers sung together hymns to their gods. When they were about to engage, the king sacrificed to the muses, that, by their assistance, they might be enabled to perform deeds worthy of being recorded to latest times. Then the army advanced in order to the sound of flutes, which played the hymn of Cæstor. The king himself sung the pean, which was the signal to charge. This was done with all the solemnity imaginable; and the soldiers were sure either to conquer or die: indeed they had no other choice; for if they fled they were infamous, and in danger of being slain, even by their own mothers, for disgracing their families. In this consisted all the excellency of the Spartan women, who, if possible, exceeded in bravery the men, never lamenting over husbands or sons, if they died honourably in the field; but deploring the shame brought on their house, if either the one or the other escaped by flight. The throwing away a shield also induced infamy; and, with respect to this, mothers, when they embraced their departing sons, were wont to caution them, that they should either return armed as they were, or be brought back so when they were dead; for, as we have observed, such as were slain in battle were nevertheless buried in their own country. When they made their enemies fly, they pursued no longer than till victory was certain; because they would seem to fight rather for the honour of conquering, than of putting their enemies to death. According to their excellent rules of war, they were bound not to spoil the dead bodies of their enemies; but in process of time, this, and indeed many other of their most excellent regulations, fell into desuetude. He who overcame by stratagem, offered up an ox to Mars; whereas he who conquered by force, offered up only a cock; the former being esteemed more manly than the latter. After 40 years service, a man was, by law, no longer required to go into the field; and consequently, if the military age was 30, the Spartans were not held invalids till they were 70.