The Memorabilia. Xenophon

hurt, and will make but a sorry exit from the stage himself." Thus first by one instance and then another would he demonstrate the unprofitableness of trying to appear rich, or courageous, or strong, without really being the thing pretended. "You are sure sooner or later to have commands laid upon you beyond your power to execute, and failing just where you are credited with capacity, the world will give you no commiseration." "I call that man a cheat, and a great cheat too," he would say, "who gets money or goods out of some one by persuasion, and defrauds him; but of all imposters he surely is the biggest who can delude people into thinking that he is fit to lead the state, when all the while he is a worthless creature." (4)

      (1) {apotrepon proutrepen}. See K. Joel, op. cit. p. 450 foll.

       (2) Cf. "Cyrop." I. vi. 22.

       (3) Or, "furniture of the finest," like Arion's in Herod. i. 24.

       Schneid. cf. Demosth. 565. 6.

       (4) Here follows the sentence ({emoi men oun edokei kai tou

       alazoneuesthai apotrepein tous sunontas toiade dialegomenos}),

       which, for the sake of convenience, I have attached to the first

       sentence of Bk. II. ch. i. ({edokei de moi … ponou.}) I

       believe that the commentators are right in bracketing both one and

       the other as editorial interpolations.