§13.8.1καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ δʼ ἦν τούτοις ὅμοια καὶ σύστοιχα κατὰ τὴν ἀρχήν. §13.8.2ἐκοινώνει μὲν γὰρ τοῖς Κρησὶ τῶν κατὰ θάλατταν λῃστειῶν· εἶχε δὲ καθʼ ὅλην τὴν Πελοπόννησον ἱεροσύλους, ὁδοιδόκους, φονέας, οἷς μερίτης γινόμενος τῶν ἐκ τῆς ῥᾳδιουργίας λυσιτελῶν ὁρμητήριον καὶ καταφυγὴν παρείχετο τούτοις τὴν Σπάρτην. §13.8.3πλὴν κατά γε τοὺς καιροὺς τούτους ξένοι τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Βοιωτίας εἰς τὴν Λακεδαίμονα παρεπιδημήσαντες ἐψυχαγώγησάν τινα τῶν τοῦ Νάβιδος ἱπποκόμων ὥστε συναποχωρῆσαι μεθʼ ἑαυτῶν ἔχοντα λευκὸν ἵππον, ὃς ἐδόκει γενναιότατος εἶναι τῶν ἐκ τῆς τυραννικῆς ἱπποστάσεως. §13.8.4τοῦτο δὲ πεισθέντος καὶ πράξαντος τοῦ προειρημένου, καταδιώξαντες οἱ παρὰ τοῦ Νάβιδος εἰς τὴν Μεγάλην πόλιν καὶ καταλαβόντες τὸν μὲν ἵππον εὐθὺς ἀπῆγον καὶ τὸν ἱπποκόμον, οὐδενὸς ἀντιποιουμένου, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα καὶ τοῖς ξένοις ἐπέβαλον τὰς χεῖρας. §13.8.5οἱ δὲ Βοιωτοὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἠξίουν ἄγειν αὑτοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχήν· οὐδενὸς δὲ προσέχοντος ἀνεβόα τις τῶν ξένων" §13.8.63βοήθεια"3. συνδραμόντων δὲ τῶν ἐγχωρίων καὶ μαρτυρομένων τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐπανάγειν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχήν, ἠναγκάσθησαν προιέμενοι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους οἱ παρὰ τοῦ Νάβιδος ἀπελθεῖν. §13.8.7ὁ δὲ πάλαι ζητῶν ἀφορμὰς ἐγκλημάτων καὶ πρόφασιν εὔλογον διαφορᾶς, τότε λαβόμενος ταύτης εὐθέως ἤλαυνε τὰ Προαγόρου θρέμματα καί τινων ἑτέρων.
And the rest of his actions were similar to these and of the same character during his rule. For he shared in pirate raids by sea with the Cretans; and he kept throughout the Peloponnese temple-robbers, highwaymen, and murderers, to whom, by becoming a sharer in the profits from their villainy, he offered Sparta as a base of operations and a refuge. But just about this time, some foreigners from Boeotia who were visiting Lacedaemon enticed one of Nabis's grooms to escape with them, taking a white horse which was considered the finest from the tyrant's stud. When the aforementioned groom was persuaded and did this, Nabis's men pursued them to Megalopolis, and having caught them, immediately led away the horse and the groom, since no one disputed it, and after this they also laid hands on the foreigners. But the Boeotians at first demanded to be taken before the authorities; however, since no one paid attention, one of the foreigners cried out, "3Help!"3 When the local people ran together and demanded that the men be brought before the authorities, Nabis's men were forced to release the men and depart. He, who had long been seeking grounds for charges and a plausible pretext for a quarrel, then seized upon this and immediately drove off the cattle of Proagoras and some others.
ἐξ ὧν ἐγένετο καταρχὴ τοῦ πολέμου.
From these things arose the beginning of the war.