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Then the jailer came to lead him to his death ; but at the same moment Pythias stood in the door . He had been delayed by storms and shipwreck , and he had feared that he was too late . He greeted Damon kindly , and then gave himself into the hands of the jailer . He was happy because he thought that he had come in time , even though it was at the last moment . The tyrant was not so bad but that he could see good in others . He felt that men who loved and trusted each other , as did Damon and Pythias , ought not to suffer unjustly . And so he set them both free . " I would give all my wealth to have one such friend , " he said . A LACONIC ANSWER . Many miles beyond Rome there was a famous country which we call Greece . The people of Greece were not united like the Romans ; but instead there were several states , each of which had its own rulers . Some of the people in the southern part of the country were called Spartans , and they were noted for their simple habits and their bravery . The name of their land was Laconia , and so they were sometimes called Lacons . One of the strange rules which the Spartans had , was that they should speak briefly , and never use more words than were needed . And so a short answer is often spoken of as being laconic ; that is , as being such an answer as a Lacon would be likely to give . There was in the northern part of Greece a land called Macedon ; and this land was at one time ruled over by a warlike king named Philip . Philip of Macedon wanted to become the master of all Greece . So he raised a great army , and made war upon the other states , until nearly all of them were forced to call him their king . Then he sent a letter to the Spartans in Laconia , and said , " If I go down into your country , I will level your great city to the ground . " In a few days , an answer was brought back to him . When he opened the letter , he found only one word written there . That word was " IF . " It was as much as to say , " We are not afraid of you so long as the little word ' if ' stands in your way . " THE UNGRATEFUL GUEST . Among the soldiers of King Philip there was a poor man who had done some brave deeds . He had pleased the king in more ways than one , and so the king put a good deal of trust in him . One day this soldier was on board of a ship at sea when a great storm came up . The winds drove the ship upon the rocks , and it was wrecked . The soldier was cast half - drowned upon the shore ; and he would have died there , had it not been for the kind care of a farmer who lived close by .
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