When Sparta was in need of money for war, and was supporting a mercenary force, Agesilaus set out for Egypt, having been summoned by the king of the Egyptians for a goodly remuneration. But because of the simplicity of his clothes he came into contempt among the people there; for they had been expecting that they should see the king of Sparta, like the king of Persia, with his person magnificently apparelled-a sorry opinion for them to hold regarding kings. At any rate, he showed them, before they [p. 283] were done with him, that the proper way to acquire greatness and distinction is by understanding and manly virtues. 1
1 Cf. Plutarch's Life of Agesilaus, chap. xxxvi. (616 B); Cornelius Nepos, xvii., Agesilaus, 7. 2.
Plutarch. Moralia. with an English Translation by. Frank Cole Babbitt. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1931. 3.
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