A source-book of ancient history - The Search For Mecca

Character.
Plut., Ale. 2.
Musical education.
224 Sicilian Expedition to End of War
was a boy, a youth, and a man.
The saying of Euripides,
that all beauties have a beautiful autumn of their charms,
is not universally true, but it was so in the case of Alcibiades
and of a few other persons because of the symmetry
and vigor of their frames. Even his lisp is said to have
added a charm to his speech, and to have made his talk
more persuasive. . . .
His character, in
career,
the course of his varied and brilliant
developed many strange inconsistencies and contradictions.
Emulation and love of distinction were the
most prominent of his many violent passions, as is clear
from the anecdotes of his childhood. Once when hardpressed
in wrestHng, rather than fall, he began to bite his
opponent's hands. The other let go his hold, and said,
''You bite, Alcibiades, like a woman." "No," said he,
"like a lion." While yet a child, he was playing with
other boys at knucklebones in a narrow street, and when
his turn came to throw, a loaded wagon was passing.
at first ordered the driver to stop his team because his
throw was to take place directly in the path of the wagon.
Then as the boor who was driving would not stop, the
other children made way; but Alcibiades flung himself
down on his face directly in front of the horses, and bade
him drive on at his peril. The man, in alarm, now stopped
his horses, and the others were terrified and ran up to him.
He
In learning he was fairly obedient to all his teachers,
except in playing the flute, which he refused to do, declaring
that it was unfit for a gentleman. He said that
playing on the harp or lyre did not disfigure the face, but
that when a man was blowing at a flute,
could scarcely recognize him.
his own friends
Furthermore the lyre accompanies
the voice of the performer while the flute takes
all
the breath of the player and prevents him from even