56 HISTORICAL TALES.

customed to walking boldly in the dark. This, how-
ever, was but a minor portion of the Spartan dis-
cipline. Throughout life, from boyhood to old age,
every one was subjected to the most rigorous train-
ing. From seven years of age the drill continued,
and every one was constantly being trained or seeing
others under training. The day was passed in pub-
lic exercises and public meals, the nights in public
barracks. Married Spartans rarely saw their wives
—during the first years of marriage—and had very
little to do with their children; their whole lives
were given to the state, and the slavery of the
Helots to them was not more complete than their
slavery to military discipline.

They were not only drilled in the complicated
military movements which taught a body of Spartan
soldiers to act as one man, but also had incessant
gymnastic training, so as to make them active,
strong, and enduring. They were taught to bear
severe pain unmoved, to endure heat and cold,
hunger and thirst, to walk barefoot on rugged
ground, to wear the same garment summer and
winter, to suppress all display of feeling, and in
public to remain silent and motionless until action
was called for.

Two companies were often matched against each
other, and these contests were carried on with fury,
fists and fect taking the place of arms. — Hunting
in the woods and mountains was encouraged, that
they might learn to bear fatigue. The boys were
kept half fed, that they might be forced to provide
for themselves by hunting or stealing. The latter