And little groups and solitary figures among the public began running from place to place to get a better view. In the very first minute the close group of horsemen spread out, and it could be seen that they were approaching the stream in twos and threes and one behind another. To the spectators it seemed as though they had all started simultaneously, but to the racers there were seconds of difference that had great value to them.

Ath. Come now and let us all join in asking this question ofTyrtaeus: O most divine poet, we will say to him, the excellent praisewhich you have bestowed on those who excel in war sufficientlyproves that you are wise and good, and I and Megillus and Cleiniasof Cnosus do, as I believe, entirely agree with you. But we shouldlike to be quite sure that we are speaking of the same men; tell us,then, do you agree with us in thinking that there are two kinds ofwar; or what would you say? A far inferior man to Tyrtaeus wouldhave no difficulty in replying quite truly, that war is of two kindsone which is universally called civil war, and is as we were justnow saying, of all wars the worst; the other, as we should alladmit, in which we fall out with other nations who are of adifferent race, is a far milder form of warfare.

(softly)

The Fox, the Cock, and the Dog

Ath. Would not all implements have then perished and every otherexcellent invention of political or any other sort of wisdom haveutterly disappeared? �

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practical and those which are-purely intellectual.

Crack!

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