1And at this point the deed of Pharnabazus, the king's satrap, must not be passed over. 1For when Lysander, as admiral, had done many cruel and greedy things in the war, and suspected that reports of these had reached his fellow citizens, he asked Pharnabazus to give him a testimonial to the ephors as to how scrupulously he had waged war and treated the allies, and to write carefully about the matter: for his authority in this would carry great weight. 2Pharnabazus generously promises him this: he wrote a long document in many words, in which he extols him with the highest praise. 2When Lysander had read and approved it, while it was being sealed Pharnabazus substituted another, already sealed, of the same size and so similar that it could not be told apart, in which he had accused his greed and treachery in the fullest detail.
3When Lysander had returned home, after he had said what he wished about his achievements before the highest magistracy, he handed over the document given by Pharnabazus by way of testimony. 3When the ephors, having sent Lysander out, had read it, they gave it to him to read himself. 3Thus, unwittingly, he was his own accuser.