Philopoemen (14.2-14.3)

Epaminondas, however, as some say, was reluctant to give his fellow-citizens a taste of the advantages accruing from naval superiority, in order that they might not surprise him by becoming, instead of

steadfast hoplites,

Philopoemen, on the other hand, was persuaded that his skill in handling land forces would suffice to give him success in fighting also on the sea, and therefore learned to his cost how large a part of superior excellence consists in practice, and how much additional power it gives to men who have accustomed themselves to all methods of fighting. For not only was he worsted in the sea-fight, owing to his lack of experience, but he actually launched an old but famous ship after forty years of disuse, and manned her, the result being that her seams took in water and her crew came into peril of their lives.