26.3
The way being thus prepared, Silenus was to come and demand the oracles as Apollo’s son, and the priests who were in the secret were to insist on precise answers to all their questions about his birth, and finally, persuaded, forsooth, that he was the son of Apollo, were to show him the writing. Then Silenus, in the presence of many witnesses, was to read aloud the prophecies, especially the one relating to the kingdom, for the sake of which the whole scheme had been invented, and which declared that it was more for the honor and interest of the Spartans to choose their kings from the best citizens.
26.4
But when at last Silenus was grown to be a youth, and was ready for the business, Lysander’s play was ruined for him by the cowardice of one of his actors, or co-workers, who, just as he came to the point, lost his courage and drew back. However, all this was actually found out, not while Lysander was alive, but after his death.
