(2) I.e. a Heracleid, in whichever line descended, and, through Heracles, from Zeus himself. The kings are therefore "heroes," i.e. demigods. See below; and for their privileges, see Herod. vi. 56, 57. (3) See "Ages." v. 1. Close by the palace a lake affords an unrestricted supply of water; and how useful that is for various purposes they best can tell who lack the luxury. (4) Moreover, all rise from their seats to give place to the king, save only that the ephors rise not from their thrones of office. Monthly they exchange oaths, the ephors in behalf of the state, the king himself in his own behalf. And this is the oath on the king's part: "I will exercise my kingship in accordance with the established laws of the state." And on the part of the state the oath runs: "So long as he (5) (who exercises kingship) shall abide by his oaths we will not suffer his kingdom to be shaken." (6) (4) See Hartman, "An. Xen. N." p. 274; but cf. "Cyneget." v. 34; "Anab." V. iii. 8. (5) Lit. "he yonder." (6) Lit. "we will keep it for him unshaken." See L. Dindorf, n. ad loc. and praef. p. 14 D. These then are the honours bestowed upon the king during his lifetime (at home) (7)--honours by no means much exceeding those of private citizens, since the lawgiver was minded neither to suggest to the kings the pride of the despotic monarch, (8) nor, on the other hand, to engender in the heart of the citizen envy of their power. As to those other honours which are given to the king at his death, (9) the laws of Lycurgus would seem plainly to signify hereby that these kings of Lacedaemon are not mere mortals but heroic beings, and that is why they are preferred in honour. (10) (7) The words "at home" look like an insertion. (8) Lit. "the tyrant's pride." (9) See "Hell." III. iii. 1; "Ages." xi. 16; Herod. vi. 58. (10) Intentionally or not on the part of the writer, the concluding words, in which the intention of the Laws is conveyed, assume a metrical form: {oukh os anthropous all os eroas tous Lakedaimonion basileis protetimekasin.} See Ern. Naumann, op. cit. p. 18. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Polity of the Athenians and the Lacedaemonians, by Xenophon