History of the Peloponnesian War

He was conveyed to Athens, and the Athenians caused his letters to be transcribed from the Assyrian characters and read them. Many other matters were touched upon therein, but the most important, with reference to the Lacedaemonians, was that the King did not know what they wanted; for though many envoys had come to him, no two told the same tale; if therefore they had any definite proposal to make, they should send men to him in company with the Persian.