[Xenophon] Interesting Xenophon quotes - Book 4

[Andre Stipanovic]

Dear fellow Xenophon readers:

Nota Bene:
Did you know...
that Spartiates (full Spartan male citizens) served in the army till they
reached the age of sixty?  (4.5.14c)

Book 4 concerns itself mostly with the land battles still raging in Greece
itself.  Agesilaos is recalled from Asia Minor to help Sparta neutralize
various Greek city-states rebelling against Spartan hegemony in Greece
(4.1-4.2).  Greek city-states like Athens, Argos, Thebes, and Corinth are
all being funded and encouraged by the Persian king to attack Sparta. 
Xenophon describes these conflicts at the Nemea River in the Peloponnese
(4.2) and in Agesilaos' march from the other direction through Boeotia and
Thessaly (4.3).  Much of the fighting between Sparta and the other Greeks
in alliance in Book 4.4-5 centers around Corinth, which is tenaciously
held under siege by the anti-Spartan alliance and which Sparta is not able
to completely subdue.  I always thought that the Spartans were able to
conquer what they set their minds to.  Now I am not so sure.  As I have
recently read through the Corinthian operations in Book 4, these quotes
caught my attention.

"Some Spartans from the camp, holding their spears, were following as
guards, and they were being closely watched by those present, for those
who are fortunate and victorious always seem for some reason to be worth
looking at." (p. 149)(4.5.6)

"No inasmuch as such a defeat was most unusual for the Spartans, there was
much grieving throughout the army - except for those whose sons, fathers,
or brothers had died in that battle:  these men went around with beaming
faces, delighting in their personal misfortune, as if they had been
victors." (p. 151) (4.5.10)

We will talk about these quotes (and other questions I plan to send out)
on our next conference call on Monday May 10 @8pm EST.  

*Also, check out one of our reader's, Jim Janicki's, interview on the
Reading Odyssey website.  He shares his experience with reading books
through Reading Odyssey (he's read quite a few with us so far) and how he
applies his readings to his business and his life.*

Andre

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