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οὕτω τὸ πολίτευμα τοῦ Λυκούργου μίξαντος,
ὅμως ἄκρατον ἔτι τὴν ὀλιγαρχίαν καὶ ἰσχυρὰν οἱ μετ᾽ αὐτὸν ὁρῶντες
σπαργῶσαν καὶ θυμουμένην, ὥς φησιν ὁ Πλάτων, οἷον ψάλιον ἐμβάλλουσιν
αὐτῇ τὴν τῶν ἐφόρων δύναμιν, ἔτεσί που μάλιστα τριάκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν
μετὰ Λυκοῦργον πρώτων τῶν περὶ Ἔλατον ἐφόρων κατασταθέντων ἐπὶ
Θεοπόμπου βασιλεύοντος:
[2]
ὃν καὶ φασιν ὑπὸ
τῆς ἑαυτοῦ γυναικὸς ὀνειδιζόμενον ὡς ἐλάττω παραδώσοντα τοῖς παισὶ τὴν
βασιλείαν ἢ παρέλαβε, ‘μείζω μὲν οὖν,’ εἰπεῖν, ‘ὅσῳ χρονιωτέραν.’ τῷ γὰρ ὄντι τὸ ἄγαν
ἀποβαλοῦσα μετὰ τοῦ φθόνου διέφυγε τὸν κίνδυνον, ὥστε μὴ παθεῖν [p. 226] ἃ Μεσσήνιοι καὶ Ἀργεῖοι τοὺς παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς βασιλεῖς
ἔδρασαν, μηδὲν ἐνδοῦναι μηδὲ χαλάσαι τῆς ἐξουσίας ἐπὶ τὸ δημοτικὸν
ἐθελήσαντας. ὃ καὶ μάλιστα τὴν Λυκούργου σοφίαν καὶ πρόνοιαν ἐποίησε
φανερὰν εἰς τὰς Μεσσηνίων καὶ Ἀργείων, συγγενῶν καὶ γειτόνων, δήμων καὶ
βασιλέων στάσεις καὶ κακοπολιτείας ἀφορῶσιν,
[3]
οἳ τῶν ἴσων ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς τετυχηκότες, ἐν δὲ τῷ κλήρῳ καὶ πλέον ἔχειν
ἐκείνων δόξαντες, οὐκ ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον εὐδαιμόνησαν, ἀλλ᾽ ὕβρει μὲν
τῶν βασιλέων, οὐκ εὐπειθείᾳ δὲ τῶν ὄχλων, τὰ καθεστῶτα συνταράξαντες
ἔδειξαν ὅτι θεῖον ἦν ὡς ἀληθῶς εὐτύχημα τοῖς
Σπαρτιάταις ὁ τὴν πολιτείαν ἁρμοσάμενος καὶ κεράσας παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς. ταῦτα
μὲν οὖν ὕστερον.
Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives. with an English Translation by. Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. 1.
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