32
Or else you will then assume those panoplies of the comedians and tragedians, and if a sally is proposed to you, you will put on those wide-mouthed headpieces in order that you may be more formidable to your opponents by playing bogey-man, and will of course wear those high shoes, for they will be light to run away in, if need be, and hard for the enemy to escape from, if you go in pursuit, when you take such great strides in chase of them. No, I am afraid that all these clever tricks of yours are silliness, nothing but child’s play, amusements for your young men who have nothing to do and want to lead an easy life. If you wish, whatever betides, to be free and happy, you will require other forms of athletics and real training, that is to say, under arms, and you will not compete against each other in sport, but against the enemy, learning courage in perilous conflict. So let them give up the dust and the oil; teach them to draw the bow and throw the spear; and do not give them light javelins that can be deflected by the wind, but let them have a heavy lance that whistles when it is hurled, a stone as large as they can grasp, a double axe, a target in their left hand, a breastplate, and a helmet.
