[221] τὰς δὲ πράξεις (221) ἀφορμὰς ὧν εὔχονται νομίζειν, καὶ κατὰ μὲν τῶν πολεμίων ὁμοφρονεῖν, πρὸς δὲ ἀλλήλους ὑπὲρ τοῦ πρόσθεν ἀγωνίζεσθαι διὰ βίου, μόνους δὲ ἀνθρώπων εὔχεσθαι εὑρεῖν πολεμίους. ὥστε ὅταν μέν τις εἰς τὴν ἄσκησίν τε καὶ σύνταξιν ἴδῃ τοῦ στρατιωτικοῦ, τοῦτο δὴ νομιεῖ τὸ Ὁμηρικὸν, εἰ καὶ δέκα τόσοι εἶεν οἱ ἀντίπαλοι, ταχέως ἂν αὐτοὺς περιστραφέντας ἄνδρα παρὰ ἕνα λειφθῆναι, ὅταν δὲ εἰς τὴν πλήρωσίν τε καὶ συλλογὴν αὐτοῦ βλέψῃ, τὸ τοῦ Αἰγυπτίου φήσει τε καὶ οἰήσεται, ὃς τῷ Καμβύσῃ διαρπάζοντι τὰ ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ καὶ τὰ ἱερὰ πορθοῦντι, στὰς ἐπὶ τῶν τειχῶν τῶν Θηβαϊκῶν ἀνέτεινε τήν τε βῶλον καὶ κύλικα ὕδατος ἀπὸ τοῦ Νείλου, σύμβολον ποιούμενος ὅτι ἕως ἂν Αἴγυπτον αὐτὴν καὶ τὸν ποταμὸν Νεῖλον μετενεγκεῖν μὴ δύνηται, μηδὲ ἀγαγεῖν ἀνάρπαστον, οὔπω τὸν Αἰγυπτίων πλοῦτον εἴληφεν, ἀλλὰ ταχέως αὐτοῖς ἄλλα τοσαῦτα γενήσεται τούτων μενόντων καὶ οὔποτε ἐπιλείψει πλοῦτος Αἴγυπτον, τοῦτο δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ ὑμετέρου στρατιωτικοῦ νομίσαι τε καὶ εἰπεῖν ἔξεστιν, ὅτι ἕως ἂν τὴν χώραν αὐτὴν μὴ δύνωνταί τινες ἐξ ἕδρας ἀναστῆσαι μηδὲ κενώσαντες οἴχεσθαι, ἀλλ´ ἀνάγκη ᾖ μένειν αὐτὴν ἐφ´ αὑτῆς τὴν οἰκουμένην, ἀμήχανον ἐπιλιπεῖν ὑμᾶς πλήθη στρατιωτικὰ, ἀλλὰ τοσαῦτα ὁπόσα βούλεσθε ὑπάρχειν ἀπὸ πάσης τῆς οὔσης ἀφικνούμενα. Καὶ μὴν εἴς γε τακτικῶν λόγον παῖδας ἅπαντας ἀνθρώπους ἀπεφήνατε. οὐ γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους ἀσκεῖν μόνον προὔθεσθε αὐτὰ τοῖς στρατιώταις τε καὶ ἡγεμόσιν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς αὐτοὺς πρῶτον. ὥστε καθ´ ἡμέραν ἑκάστην ἐν τάξει ζῆν καὶ μήποτε λιπεῖν μηδένα τὴν προστεταγμένην αὐτῷ, ἀλλ´ οἷον ἐν χορῷ τινι αἰωνίῳ ἕκαστον τὴν ἑαυτοῦ χώραν εἰδέναι τε καὶ σώζειν, καὶ τῷ μὲν ἐντιμοτέρῳ τὸν ἥττω μὴ διὰ τοῦτο φθονεῖν, ὧν δ´ αὐτὸς μείζων ἐστὶν ἀκριβῶς κρατεῖν. ἄχθομαι δ´ ἔγωγε ἑτέρους φθάσαντας εἰπεῖν ἐπὶ Λακεδαιμονίων ὅτι ἄρα πλὴν ὀλίγων τὸ στρατόπεδον αὐτοῖς ἄρχοντες ἀρχόντων εἰσίν·

[221] and to view active duty as a start toward getting their heart's desire, to be of one mind against the enemy but always at odds with one another for first place, and to be the only men that pray they will find people to fight against. Observing the training and coordination of the army, you will apply the words of Homer, that if the enemy outnumbered them ten to one, one man would promptly beat the ten of them and put them to rout. And looking at the replacement and recruiting program, you will turn your words and thoughts to the Egyptian who stood upon the walls of Thebes, in the sight of Cambyses ravaging the country and despoiling the temples, and held out a lump of earth and a cup of water from the Nile, signifying, "So long as you cannot carry off Egypt itself and the river Nile or drag them away as plunder, you have not got our wealth. If they remain, we will soon get back as much as you have taken; and never will Egypt's wealth run out." The same thought can be entertained and expressed about your army: as long as nobody can rip up the earth itself from its roots and leave it desolate, as long as the world must remain in place, there is no way for you to run out of military manpower. You will have all you want, flowing in from the entire world. When it comes to discipline, you have shown us all up for babes in the wood. Your officers and men are indoctrinated to observe discipline not only toward the enemy, but first toward one another that is, to live under orders day after day, with nobody ever leaving his post but every man knowing and keeping his place as in a permanent choir, the subordinate not begrudging seniority to his seniors but keeping a firm hand on those under him. I am sorry that others in the past, referring to the Lacedaemonians, should have said that almost their whole army was commanders of commanders.