"Consider," cried the orator, warming to his subject, "what manner of
men these Athenians are, and how vast is the difference between them
and you. While you are shut up in this inland valley, treading the
dull round of mechanical routine, they are continually pushing forward
the boundaries of their empire, toiling night and day to make their
city great, never satisfied with what they have, always thirsting for
more. Cautious, timid, and conservative as you are, hardly to be
roused from your sloth by the most imminent perils, how can you hope
to curb the flight of Athenian ambition, which knows no limit, and is
checked by no reverse?
"Men of Sparta, I speak as a friend, and you will not take my candour
amiss. New times require new manners, and if you would maintain your
great position you must move with the march of events, and abandon
your old-fashioned ways. Do not mistake stagnation for stability, but
learn a lesson even from these hated Athenians, who have risen to
their present pitch of greatness by adapting themselves to every new
need as it arose.
"You know what you have to do, if you would wipe out the reproach
which rests upon you, and keep the respect of your faithful allies.
Send an army into Attica, and compel the Athenians to withdraw their
forces from Potidaea.
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