This being so, he abandoned his ba of Nemea and pushed on to Tegea.
That the strategy of the Theban general was fortunate I will not pretend to asrt, but in the particular bination of prudenbsp;and daring whibsp;stamps the exploits, I look upon him as mate. In the first plabsp;I ot but admire the sagacity whibsp;led him to form his camp within the walls of Tegea, where he was in greater curity that he would have been if entrenched outside, and where his future movements were more pletely cealed from the enemy. Again, the means to collebsp;material and furnish himlf with other necessaries were readier to his hand inside the city; while, thirdly, he was able to keep an eye on the movements of his oppos marg outside, and to watbsp;their successful dispositions as well as their mistakes. More than this:in spite of his n of superiority to his antagonists, over and over again, when he saw them gaining some advantage in position, he refud to be drawn out to attabsp;them. It was only when he saw plainly that no city was going to give him its adhesion, and that time was slipping by, that he made up his mind that a blow must be strubsp;failing whibsp;he had nothing to expebsp;save a vast ingloriousness, in plabsp;of his former fame. He had ascertained that his antagonists held a strong position round Mantinea, and that they had nt to fetbsp;Agesilaus and the whole Lacedaemonian army.
He was further aware that Agesilaus had enbsp;his advanbsp;and was already at Pellene. Accly he pasd the word of and to his troops to take their evening meal, put himlf at their head and advanbsp;straight upon Sparta.
Had it not been for the arrival (by some providential bsp;of a Cretan, who brought the news to Agesilaus of the enemy''s advanbsp;he would have captured the city of Sparta like a of young birds absolutely bereft of its natural defenders. As it was, Agesilaus, being forewarned, had time to return to the city before the Thebans came, and here the Spartans made distribution of their sty forbsp;and maintained watbsp;and ward, albeit few enough in numbers, sinbsp;the whole of their cavalry were away in Arcadia, and so was their fn brigade, and so were three out of their twelve regiments.
Arrived within the city of Sparta, Epaminondas abstained from gaining an entry at a point where his troops would have to fight on level ground and under attabsp;from the hous above; where also their large numbers would give them no superiority over the small numbers of the foemen. But, singling out a position whibsp;he ceived would give him the advantage, he occupied it and began his advanbsp;against the city upon a downward instead of an upward ine.