This
rendered him by far the most popular of the kings of Sparta, because,
in addition to the haughty spirit that became a king, he had learned
to sympathize with the people over whom he ruled.
II. Agesilaus was an early and intimate friend of Lysander, as they
were both placed as boys in the same herd or troop for the purposes of
discipline. It was then that Lysander learned to admire the moderation
and self-restraint of Agesilaus, who, although he was ambitious and
high-spirited, with a most vehement and passionate desire to be first
in every kind of competition, was yet of a manageable and easily ruled
disposition, very sensitive to reproach, and far more afraid of blame
than of toils or dangers. The misfortune of his lame leg was almost
unnoticed, partly from the robust vigour of his frame, and also from
his own cheerful acknowledgment of this defect, being always the first
to joke about it. He sought by these means to remedy his lameness,
while his daring spirit never allowed it to prevent his undertaking
the most dangerous and laborious adventures. We have no record of his
appearance, for he himself never would consent to have his portrait
taken, and even when dying begged that no statue or painting of him
should be taken. We are, however, told that he was of small and mean
stature, but that his lively and cheerful temper, even in the most
trying situations, and the absence of anything harsh and overbearing
in his manners, made him more popular than many younger and handsomer
men even in extreme old age.
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