
“King Agis said, "The Lacedæmonians are not wont to ask how many, but where the enemy are."”
58 Agis
Apophthegms of Kings and Great Commanders
As quoted in Moralia by Plutarch, Book 16, Apophthegmata Laconica [Sayings of the Spartans], 215.
Variant translations:
Spartans do not ask how many, only where the enemy are.
The Spartans do not ask how many, but where their enemies are.
“King Agis said, "The Lacedæmonians are not wont to ask how many, but where the enemy are."”
58 Agis
Apophthegms of Kings and Great Commanders
“Let us be practical and ask the question: How do we love our enemies?”
1950s, Loving Your Enemies (Christmas 1957)
“If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so many enemies.”
“If one's enemies know where you are, no matter how well protected you are, you can be gotten.”
Prayers For The Assassin (2006)
Testimony before subcommittees of the U.S. Senate, April, 1971
“Where do begin, he asked, Where you always have to begin, at the beginning”
Source: The Cave (2000), p. 53 (Vintage 2003)