 Nikias and Markies, now you have seen this man demonstrate fighting in heavy armor, but we've not told you why Melisius and I urge you to join us in watching him. The time has come for us to explain. We'd like to ask for your advice, because we trust that you will be frank with us. Some people scoff at the idea of advising others and say what they believe you want to hear rather than what they really think. We decided to consult you because we know that you will not only form a sound judgment, but will honestly tell us what that judgment is. For this reason, we ask both of you to join our discussion about the following matter. We each have a son, that one is named Thucydides after his grandfather, and this one is my son, who is called Aristides after my father. We are both determined to provide the best possible care for them, rather than letting them do whatever they wish, as people often do when their children begin to grow up. We think this is the right time to do everything we can to give them a good start. We know you also have sons, so we thought you might have decided on the best kind of nurture to make them as good as possible. If by chance you've paid little attention to that question, we thought it best to remind you about it, and encourage you to join us in fulfilling our responsibility we share. You should hear how we arrived at our conclusion, even if it takes more time. Melisius and I have the honour of eating together at the public table, and our sons eat with us. To be frank, even though we both have many great things to say to them about what our fathers did in times of war and peace, as administrators of this city and in the affairs of our allies, neither of us has anything to say about our own work. That embarrasses us, and we blame our fathers for allowing us to live our soft life when we were young, and they were busy with public affairs. We've pointed this out to these young men, warning them if they ignore our advice, they will never be on it. But if they do apply themselves, they might become worthy of the names they bear. They agree with us, and will do as we say. So now the question concerns the kind of instruction and practice that will help them become the best that they can be. Someone praised this specific kind of training, fighting with heavy armor. They told us to observe this man whose performance you just saw. So we decided not only to see for ourselves, but also to...