[401] Xen. Hellen. iii, 2, 31.
[402] Diodor. xiv, 34; Pausan. iv, 26, 2. 2.
[403] Plutarch, Lysand. c. 17. Compare Xen. Rep. Laced. vii, 6.
Both Ephorus and Theopompus recounted the opposition to the introduction of gold and silver into Sparta, each mentioning the name of one of the ephors as taking the lead in it.
There was a considerable body of ancient sentiment, and that too among high-minded and intelligent men, which regarded gold and silver as a cause of mischief and corruption, and of which the stanza of Horace (Od. iii, 3) is an echo:—
Aurum irrepertum, et sic melius situm
Cum terra celat, spernere fortior
Quam cogere humanos in usus,
Omne sacrum rapiente dextrâ.
[404] Aristotel. Politic. ii, 6, 23.