Nay, we must follow neither course, but must consider how we may carry on the war in a
 manner worthy of Spartans, and not prove those who are wont to eulogize our state to be
 liars, but so acquit ourselves that they shall seem to have told less than the truth about
 us. Now I certainly believe that nothing worse will befall us in the future than what we
 endure at present, but that, on the contrary, our enemies will plan and act in such a way
 that they themselves will right our fortunes; but if we should after all be disappointed
 in our hopes, and should find ourselves hemmed in on every side and be no longer able to
 hold our city, then, hard as may be the step which I am about to propose, yet I shall not
 hesitate to proclaim it boldly; for that which I shall propose to you is a nobler course
 to be heralded abroad among the Hellenes, and more in keeping with our own pride, than
 that which is urged by some among you. For I declare that we must send our parents and our wives and children and the mass of
 the people away from Sparta , some to
 Sicily , some to Cyrene , others to the mainland of Asia, Greek emigration from the home country was commonly towards the far west ( Sicily ), the east (coast of Asia Minor ), or the south ( Cyrene ). Moreover, Dionysius the tyrant of Syracuse and the “dynasts” in Asia were friendly to the Spartans (see § 63), and
 Cyrene was a Spartan settlement (see Isoc. 5.5 ). where the inhabitants will all gladly welcome
 them with gifts of ample lands and of the other means of livelihood as well, partly in
 gratitude for favors which they have received and partly in expectation of the return of
 favors which they first bestow. Those of us, on the other hand, who are willing and able to fight must remain behind,
 abandon the city and all our possessions except what we can carry with us, and having
 seized some stronghold which will be the most secure and the most advantageous for
 carrying on the war, harry and plunder our enemies both by land and by sea until they
 cease from laying claim to what is ours. If we have the courage for such a course and never falter in it, you will see those who
 now issue commands imploring and beseeching us to take back Messene and make peace. For what state in the
 Peloponnesus could withstand a war such as
 would in all likelihood be waged if we so willed? What people would not be stricken with
 dismay and terror at the assembling of an army which had carried out such measures, which
 had been roused to just wrath against those who had driven it to these extremes, and which
 had been rendered desperate and reckless of life—