His schoolroom was very plain and bare. He was never
allowed to go home to visit. He had to wear, in both summer and winter,
the same plain, loose clothing. He slept out of doors in the
summer-time, under the trees. In the wintertime he slept in a very open
building, on a bed of reeds and rushes, which he had to gather from the
river in the long, heated summer days for his winter bed. He had no
bedclothing except the down which the wild ducks had shed, and which he
had gathered in the forests. He learned to read, write, and to sing. He
learned to run, to leap, to swim, and to throw the javelin.
One time the boys from both Athens and Sparta were to meet in a great
amphitheater to hear a very wise and learned old man speak. The boys had
all gathered, and with them many other people. The amphitheater was
full. Not a vacant seat was left, and the people were patiently waiting
for the old man to appear. At last he came. He came in so quietly that
he was not noticed, except by two boys, one on each side of the aisle.
One was a Spartan boy and one was an Athenian.
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