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Xerxes replied - "Achaeamenes, thy counsel pleases me well, and I
will do as thou sayest. But Demaratus advised what he thought best -
only his judgment was not so good as thine. Never will I believe that
he does not wish well to my cause; for that is disproved both by his
former counsels, and also by the circumstances of the case. A citizen
does indeed envy any fellow-citizen who is more lucky than himself,
and often hates him secretly; if such a man be called on for counsel,
he will not give his best thoughts, unless indeed he be a man of very
exalted virtue; and such are but rarely found. But a friend of
another country delights in the good fortune of his foreign
bond-friend, and will give him, when asked, the best advice in his
power. Therefore I warn all men to abstain henceforth from speaking
ill of Demaratus, who is my bond-friend."
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