History of The Peloponnesian War - Book III   

no one without form of law. The Plataeans were now in the last state
of weakness, and the herald had no sooner delivered his message than
they surrendered the town. The Peloponnesians fed them for some days
until the judges from Lacedaemon, who were five in number, arrived.
Upon their arrival no charge was preferred; they simply called up
the Plataeans, and asked them whether they had done the Lacedaemonians
and allies any service in the war then raging. The Plataeans asked
leave to speak at greater length, and deputed two of their number to
represent them: Astymachus, son of Asopolaus, and Lacon, son of
Aeimnestus, proxenus of the Lacedaemonians, who came forward and spoke
as follows:
"Lacedaemonians, when we surrendered our city we trusted in you, and
looked forward to a trial more agreeable to the forms of law than
the present, to which we had no idea of being subjected; the judges
also in whose hands we consented to place ourselves were you, and
you only (from whom we thought we were most likely to obtain justice),
and not other persons, as is now the case. As matters stand, we are
afraid that we have been doubly deceived. We have good reason to
suspect, not only that the issue to be tried is the most terrible of
all, but that you will not prove impartial; if we may argue from the
fact that no accusation was first brought forward for us to answer,
but we had ourselves to ask leave to speak, and from the question
being put so shortly, that a true answer to it tells against us, while
a false one can be contradicted. In this dilemma, our safest, and
indeed our only course, seems to be to say something at all risks:
placed as we are, we could scarcely be silent without being
tormented by the damning thought that speaking might have saved us.
Another difficulty that we have to encounter is the difficulty of
convincing you. Were we unknown to each other we might profit by
bringing forward new matter with which you were unacquainted: as it
is, we can tell you nothing that you do not know already, and we fear,
not that you have condemned us in your own minds of having failed in
our duty towards you, and make this our crime, but that to please a
third party we have to submit to a trial the result of which is
already decided. Nevertheless, we will place before you what we can
justly urge, not only on the question of the quarrel which the Thebans
have against us, but also as addressing you and the rest of the
Hellenes; and we will remind you of our good services, and endeavour
to prevail with you.
"To your short question, whether we have done the Lacedaemonians and
allies any service in this war, we say, if you ask us as enemies, that
to refrain from serving you was not to do you injury; if as friends,
that you are more in fault for having marched against us. During the
peace, and against the Mede, we acted well: we have not now been the
first to break the peace, and we were the only Boeotians who then
joined in defending against the Mede the liberty of Hellas. Although
an inland people, we were present at the action at Artemisium; in
the battle that took place in our territory we fought by the side of
yourselves and Pausanias; and in all the other Hellenic exploits of
the time we took a part quite out of proportion to our strength.
Besides, you, as Lacedaemonians, ought not to forget that at the
time of the great panic at Sparta, after the earthquake, caused by the
secession of the Helots to Ithome, we sent the third part of our
citizens to assist you.
"On these great and historical occasions such was the part that we
chose, although afterwards we became your enemies. For this you were
to blame. When we asked for your alliance against our Theban
oppressors, you rejected our petition, and told us to go to the
Athenians who were our neighbours, as you lived too far off. In the
war we never have done to you, and never should have done to you,
anything unreasonable. If we refused to desert the Athenians when
you asked us, we did no wrong; they had helped us against the
Thebans when you drew back, and we could no longer give them up with
honour; especially as we had obtained their alliance and had been