Apophthegmata Laconica

Plutarch

Plutarch. Moralia, Vol. III. Babbitt, Frank Cole, translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1931 (printing).

As he permitted the citizens to engage only in that kind of athletic contests in which the arm is not held up, [*](As a sign of defeat; Cf. E. Norman Gardiner, Greek Athletic Sports and Festivals, (London, 1910), p. 415.) somebody inquired what was the reason.

He replied, So that no one of the citizens shall get the habit of crying quits in the midst of a hard struggle. [*](Cf. the note on 189 E (4), supra. )

When someone asked why he ordered a frequent change of camping-place, he said,So that we may inflict greater injury upon our enemies. [*](Cf. Xenophon, Constitution of Sparta, 12. 5.)