7.3
Now provided that the whole of the city’s levies turn out against such a host in defence of their country, the prospects are good. For our cavalrymen, God helping, will be the better, if proper care is taken of them, and our heavy infantry will not be inferior in numbers, and I may add, they will be in as good condition and will show the keener spirit, if only, with God’s help, they are trained on the right lines. And, remember, the Athenians are quite as proud of their ancestry as the Boeotians.
7.4
But if the city falls back on her navy, and is content to keep her walls intact, as in the days when the Lacedaemonians invaded us with all the Greeks to help them,In the Peloponnesian War. and if she expects her cavalry to protect all that lies outside the walls, and to take its chance unaided against her foes,—why then, I suppose, we need first the strong arm of the gods to aid us, and in the second place it is essential that our cavalry commander should be masterly. For much sagacity is called for in coping with a greatly superior force, and abundance of courage when the call comes.
