they made upon each man were sometimes of great value as reproofs for ill-conduct; while, on the other hand, by reciting verses written in praise of the deserving, they kindled a wonderful emulation and thirst for distinction in the young men:  for he who had been praised by the maidens for his valour went away congratulated by his friends; while, on the other hand, the raillery which they used in sport and jest had as keen an edge as a serious reproof; because the kings and elders were present at these festivals as well as all the other citizens.  This nakedness of the maidens had in it nothing disgraceful, as it was done modestly, not licentiously, producing simplicity, and teaching the women to value good health, and to love honour and courage no less than the men.  This it was that made them speak and think as we are told Gorgo, the wife of Leonidas, did.  Some foreign lady, it seems, said to her, “You Laconian women are the only ones that rule men.”  She answered, “Yes; for we alone bring forth men.”

XIV.  These were also incentives to marriage, I mean these processions, and strippings, and exercises of the maidens in the sight of the young men, who, as Plato says, are more swayed by amorous than by mathematical considerations; moreover, he imposed certain penalties on the unmarried men.  They were excluded from the festival of the Gymnopaedia, in honour of Athene; and the magistrates ordered them during winter to walk naked round the market-place, and while doing so to sing a song written against themselves, which said that they were rightly served for their disobedience to the laws; and also they were deprived of the respect and observance paid by the young to the elders.

Thus it happened that no one blamed the young man for not rising before Derkyllidas, famous general as he was.  This youth kept his seat, saying, “You have not begotten a son to rise before me.”

Their marriage custom was for the husband to carry off his bride by force.  They did not carry off little immature girls, but grown up women, who were ripe for marriage.  After the bride had been carried off the bridesmaid received her, cut her hair close to her head, dressed her in a man’s cloak and shoes, and placed her upon a couch in a dark chamber alone.  The bridegroom, without any feasting and revelry, but as sober as usual, after dining at his mess, comes into the room, looses her virgin zone, and, after passing a short time with her, retires to pass the night where he was wont, with the other young men.  And thus he continued, passing his days with his companions, and visiting his wife by stealth, feeling ashamed and afraid that any one in the house should hear him, she on her part plotting and contriving occasions for meeting unobserved.  This went on for a long time, so that some even had children born to them before they ever saw their wives by daylight.  These connections not only exercised their powers of self-restraint, but also brought them together with their bodies in full vigour and their passions unblunted by unchecked intercourse with each other, so that their passion and love for each other’s society remained unextinguished.