But when, in the course of its march, the army had come into Boeotia, the Thebans attempted to stay Mardonius, advising him that he could find no country better fitted than theirs for encampment; he should not (they begged) go further, but rather halt there and subdue all Hellas without fighting. As long as the Greeks who were previously in accord remained so, it would be difficult even for the whole world to overcome them by force of arms; “but if you do as we advise,” said the Thebans, “you will without trouble be master of all their battle plans. Send money to the men who have power in their cities, and thereby you will divide Hellas against itself; after that, with your partisans to aid you, you will easily subdue those who are your adversaries.”