 A dialogue of definition, the Laches takes up the subject of courage, broadly construed. Unique among ancient writings about courage, the Laches takes courage far beyond the battlefield, seeking a definition for courage not only in war but also in seafaring, in illness, in poverty, and in politics (191d). The principal interlocutors are men of military experience, Laches and Nicias. Nicias is known to us for his prominence in the Sicilian expedition, which has been narrated in melancholy detail by Thucydides (Books 6 and 7). He was enormously brave in battle, but a coward in politics, afraid to tell the Athenian people how dangerously situated their army was. His life in itself illustrates the importance, recognized by Socrates, of cultivating courage in every arena of action or suffering