To Archidamus (91)

No one, for example, would reproach Epidaurians or Corinthians or Phliasians if they thought of nothing else than to escape destruction and save their own lives; we men of Lacedaemon, however, cannot seek our deliverance at all costs, but if to “safety” we cannot add “with honor,” then for us death with good repute is preferable; for those who lay claim to valor must make it the supreme object of their lives never to be found doing a shameful thing.