Now was the time for Alcibiades to play his part. He knew,
far better than any of his hearers, all the vulnerable points of
Athens, and had no scruple in using his knowledge for her ruin. Having
obtained permission from the magistrates, he rose to address the
Spartan assembly; and his speech is given at full length by the
historian, who was himself an exile at the time, and may possibly have
been present [Footnote: The suggestion is made by Grote.] on this
important occasion.
The Spartans might smile when they heard this accomplished traitor
professing friendship towards themselves, and zeal for their service;
they might be disgusted at the flippant sophistries by which he strove
to defend his unexampled villainy. But far different feelings must
have been awakened, when he went on to unfold the gigantic scheme of
conquest, to which, as he pretended, the invasion of Sicily was no
more than a prelude. According to this statement, the Athenians
intended, after subjugating the Greeks of Sicily, to turn their arms
against the Italian Greeks, and finally to attack Carthage. If all
these designs were successful, they would build a great number of new
ships, taking their materials from the forests of Italy, raise a vast
military force, both of Greeks and barbarians, and then return, backed
by the whole power of the West, and draw a ring of war round
Peloponnesus.
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