The evil showed
itself in the Theban invasion, when, unlike the women other cities,
they were utterly useless and caused more confusion than the enemy.
This license of the Lacedaemonian women existed from the earliest
times, and was only what might be expected. For, during the wars of
the Lacedaemonians, first against the Argives, and afterwards
against the Arcadians and Messenians, the men were long away from
home, and, on the return of peace, they gave themselves into the
legislator's hand, already prepared by the discipline of a soldier's
life (in which there are many elements of virtue), to receive his
enactments. But, when Lycurgus, as tradition says, wanted to bring the
women under his laws, they resisted, and he gave up the attempt. These
then are the causes of what then happened, and this defect in the
constitution is clearly to be attributed to them. We are not, however,
considering what is or is not to be excused, but what is right or
wrong, and the disorder of the women, as I have already said, not only
gives an air of indecorum to the constitution considered in itself,
but tends in a measure to foster avarice.
The mention of avarice naturally suggests a criticism on the
inequality of property. While some of the Spartan citizen have quite
small properties, others have very large ones; hence the land has
passed into the hands of a few.
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