TIMOLEON, THE FAVORITE OF FORTUNE. 275

hand,—a somewhat uncommon condition for a Greek
city at that day. The citizens voted at once to send
the aid asked for. But who should be the leader?
There were danger and difficulty in the enterprise,
with little hope for profit, and none of the Corinthian
generals or politicians seemed eager to lead this for-
lorn hope. The archons called out their names one
by one, but each in succession declined. The archons
had come nearly to their wits’ end whom to choose,
when, from an unknown voice in the assembly, came
the name “Timeleon.” The archons seized eagerly
on the suggestion, hastily chose Timoleon for the
post which all the leading men declined, and the
assembly adjourned.

Timoleon, who sadly needed some active exertion
to relieve him from the weight of eating thought,
accepted the thankless enterprise, heedless probably
of the result. He at once began to gather ships and
soldiers. But he found the Corinthians more ready
to select a commander than to provide him with
means and men. Little money was forthcoming;
few men seemed ready to enlist; Timoleon had no
great means of his own. In the end he only got
together seven triremes and one thousand men,—the
most of them mere mercenaries. Three more ships
and two hundred men were afterwards added.

And thus, with this small force, Timoleon set out
to conquer a city and kingdom on whose conquest
Athens, years before, had lavished hundreds of ships
and tens of thousands of men in vain. The effort
seemed utterly pucrile. Was the handful of Corin-
thians to succeed where all tho imperial power of