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PREFACE

Honour and success are indeed the natural concomitants


of miritary
victories and trophies, of the rebuilding and embe[isrr-.",
J.iries
and of
au great and marvellous exploits as such. But whereas
this type o.f achievement brings not inconsideiable prestige and pr"uroi.
;;-ri; who have
possessed it, it does not usually
.ortirirr" to bl associar *i*, rhem once
tfref
dead and gone, bur gblivion ioropor", t.rraf
..r"ai"* *a distor_
Te
ting the rgality of evenrs: for when onc thore *irh fi;r;-hroi
experience
gone then gone also and extinguished with
them i;;;.;*re
l"re
know_
ledge. z Bare recollecrion tqrg u-q in point of, fact,ro r. un ,oprofitabre
and unstable thing, quite ilcapable of ,*riuing ,lr"
*i.a.rg"
Nor do
I suppose that men wourd have resolved * tii dr;;;i.,?;;;i ;*".
counrry or
to submit to orher forms oJ hardship knor,ving furl
w;rl ,:rr-"" r*rer how
great their adrievemenrs, their r*oin, beinfbut
with their
"o--.ir*r-re
perish and dissolve ritr, trr",
l,rJ n"i r"ro.

liforP,*, mus5inevitabiy

'

divine
provrdence, it seems,
_strengthened our naturar fuairty by introduci th;
benefits of Historv an{ tf top-r.th"r.y afforded.
rt was nor, r fancy,
for the sake of a ir.ath of wil orives_ oiparsrey that 3
the competitors at rhe
lympic and Nemean games entered t contest, nor is it tfuough

desire
plunder and immedi ate gatn that the valiant
_of
contestants
bt1e-field-expose themserves qo olen ,oa

mere
the

of

**il"rt-;;;;. N" both are

motivated by the desire-for a g1ory which is permanent


ad unanoyed, such
as cannot possibly be obtained save through th.
im,oortutirv

.orrr.oua o,

rl:..t,

Hisrory, nor after rhe manner


,r-,"1ir"r-;i;;d"t, and the
" ;rhi;r"il;tr.,
delusions of the Getae 1 but in a fashion ,.rly
*'-^ the onry
one in whidr the foftunes of mortals
.rrior. f;r;;;*
"rnand .nr..rur"
4 rt would be far from easy to rerate
dr the bressings that

'Hisrory showers.on human iff1

ro

p_ut-

ril ;;;;;;;

9"1,
opinion that she is by no rneans inferior
to polia.ul

it

sci.rrc.;-r;i, if

is my
she is

1he

Getae were a ,hracian *ibe, trst,mentioned by Herodotus (4.94sq.),


who
gives a shoft accounr of,their r.r.r i" i.*"il^iiry,
irr" girt of
tt.y
nwer really d]9 but simply..go to joln d.ivine beini'cdt.isrl";;:fr,
4
A* frr*
the practice, Herodotus telli us, of choosing
onr. of their no#J
years to send to salmolxis as.a messengef,
"ir""y
uiith'instructior to ,rkhia ro.-*t
ur.r"a
thev frappen to v/anr. Thev di.atdr *ir *.*1"g.. bt ;;;-,i,,J hrr;
ait and
impang him on the points ofltheir javelins.

w'irrt

'-

r*

ilrr;

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