“In outward show and stately pomp all others I exceed,
    And yet the people’s underling I am in very deed.”

Vi.  Perceiving that the Athenian people were willing enough to make use of the talents of men of ability, and yet ever viewed them with suspicion and checked them when in full career, as we may learn from their condemnation of Perikles, their banishment of Damon by ostracism, and their mistrust of Antiphon the Rhamnusian, and especially in their treatment of Paches the conqueror of Lesbos, who while his conduct as general was being enquired into, stabbed himself in the open court—­perceiving this, Nikias always avoided, as far as he could, taking the command in any important military expedition.  Whenever he was employed as general, he acted with extreme caution, and was usually successful.  He was careful to attribute his success, not to any skill or courage of his own, but to fortune, being willing to lessen his glory to avoid the ill-will of mankind.  His good fortune was indeed shown in many remarkable instances:  for example, he never was present at any of the great defeats sustained by the Athenians at that time, as in Thrace they were defeated by the Greeks of Chalkidike, but on that occasion Kalliades and Xenophon were acting as generals, while the defeat in AEtolia took place when Demosthenes was in command, and at Delium, where a thousand men were slain, they were led by Hippokrates.  For the pestilence Perikles was chiefly blamed, because he shut up the country people in the city, where the change of habits and unusual diet produced disease among them.  In all these disasters Nikias alone escaped censure:  while he achieved several military successes, such as the capture of Kythera, an island conveniently situated off the coast of Laconia, and inhabited by settlers from that country.  He also captured several of the revolted cities in Thrace, and induced others to return to their allegiance.  He shut up the people of Megara in their city, and thereby at once made himself master of the island of Minoa, by means of which he shortly afterwards captured the port of Nisaea, while he also landed his troops in the Corinthian territory, and beat a Corinthian army which marched against him, killing many of them, and amongst others Lykophron their general.  On this occasion he accidentally neglected to bury the corpses of two of his own men who had fallen.  As soon as he discovered this omission, he at once halted his army, and sent a herald to the enemy to demand the bodies for burial, notwithstanding that by Greek custom the party which after a battle demand a truce for the burial of the dead, are understood thereby to admit that they have been defeated, and it is not thought light for them to erect a trophy in commemoration of their victory; for the victors remain in possession of the field of battle, and of the bodies of the dead, and the vanquished ask for their dead because they are not able to come and take them.  Nevertheless, Nikias thought it right to forego all the credit of his victory rather than leave two of his countrymen unburied.  He also laid waste the seaboard of Laconia, defeated a Lacedaemonian force which opposed him,and took Thyrea, which was garrisoned by AEginetans, whom he brought prisoners to Athens.