Even such is the discourse which has been read, in which you have represented your
 ancestors as devoted to peace and lovers of the Hellenes and champions of equality in the
 government of states, but have painted the Spartans as arrogant and warlike and
 self-seeking, as indeed they have been conceived by all men to be. “Such being the nature
 of each of these two cities, the Athenians are extolled by all men and are credited with
 being friendly to the masses, while the Spartans are envied and disliked by the majority
 of men. There are, however, those who praise them and admire them and make bold to say that they
 have greater advantages than were possessed by your ancestors. For arrogance partakes of
 dignity—a quality held in high esteem—and men of that character are regarded as more
 high-minded than those who champion equality, just as those who are warlike are regarded
 as superior to those who are peaceable. For the latter are neither seekers after what they
 do not have nor staunch guardians of what they possess, while the former are effective in
 both respects—both in seizing whatever they covet and in keeping whatever they have once
 made their own.