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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cyropaedia, by Xenophon
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Cyropaedia
+       The Education Of Cyrus
+
+Author: Xenophon
+
+Editor: F. M. Stawell
+
+Translator: Henry Graham Dakyns
+
+Release Date: February, 2000  [Etext #2085]
+Posting Date: July 18, 2009
+[Last updated: August 9, 2011]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CYROPAEDIA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny
+
+
+
+
+
+CYROPAEDIA
+
+THE EDUCATION OF CYRUS
+
+By Xenophon
+
+
+
+Translated By Henry Graham Dakyns
+
+Revised By F. M. Stawell
+
+
+
+DEDICATION
+
+To Clifton College
+
+
+
+PREPARER'S NOTE
+
+This was typed from an Everyman's Library edition. It seems that Dakyns
+died before Cyropaedia could be included as the planned fourth and final
+volume of his series, "The Works of Xenophon," published in the 1890s by
+Macmillan and Co. The works in that series can all be found in Project
+Gutenberg under their individual titles. The complete list of Xenophon's
+works (though there is doubt about some of these) is:
+
+  Work                                   Number of books
+
+  The Anabasis                                         7
+  The Hellenica                                        7
+  The Cyropaedia                                       8
+  The Memorabilia                                      4
+  The Symposium                                        1
+  The Economist                                        1
+  On Horsemanship                                      1
+  The Sportsman                                        1
+  The Cavalry General                                  1
+  The Apology                                          1
+  On Revenues                                          1
+  The Hiero                                            1
+  The Agesilaus                                        1
+  The Polity of the Athenians and the Lacedaemonians   2
+
+Text in brackets "{}" is my transliteration of Greek text into English
+using an Oxford English Dictionary alphabet table. The diacritical marks
+have been lost.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+A very few words may suffice by way of introduction to this translation
+of the _Cyropaedia_.
+
+Professor Jowett, whose Plato represents the high-water mark of
+classical translation, has given us the following reminders: "An English
+translation ought to be idiomatic and interesting, not only to the
+scholar, but also to the unlearned reader. It should read as an original
+work, and should also be the most faithful transcript which can be made
+of the language from which the translation is taken, consistently with
+the first requirement of all, that it be English. The excellence of a
+translation will consist, not merely in the faithful rendering of words,
+or in the composition of a sentence only, or yet of a single paragraph,
+but in the colour and style of the whole work."
+
+These tests may be safely applied to the work of Mr. Dakyns. An
+accomplished Greek scholar, for many years a careful and sympathetic
+student of Xenophon, and possessing a rare mastery of English idiom,
+he was unusually well equipped for the work of a translator. And
+his version will, as I venture to think, be found to satisfy those
+requirements of an effective translation which Professor Jowett laid
+down. It is faithful to the tone and spirit of the original, and it has
+the literary quality of a good piece of original English writing. For
+these and other reasons it should prove attractive and interesting
+reading for the average Englishman.
+
+Xenophon, it must be admitted, is not, like Plato, Thucydides, or
+Demosthenes, one of the greatest of Greek writers, but there are several
+considerations which should commend him to the general reader. He is
+more representative of the type of man whom the ordinary Englishman
+specially admires and respects, than any other of the Greek authors
+usually read.
+
+An Athenian of good social position, endowed with a gift of eloquence
+and of literary style, a pupil of Socrates, a distinguished soldier,
+an historian, an essayist, a sportsman, and a lover of the country, he
+represents a type of country gentleman greatly honoured in English life,
+and this should ensure a favourable reception for one of his chief works
+admirably rendered into idiomatic English. And the substance of the
+_Cyropaedia_, which is in fact a political romance, describing the
+education of the ideal ruler, trained to rule as a benevolent despot
+over his admiring and willing subjects, should add a further element of
+enjoyment for the reader of this famous book in its English garb.
+
+                                                          J. HEREFORD.
+
+
+
+
+EDITOR'S NOTE
+
+In preparing this work for the press, I came upon some notes made by Mr.
+Dakyns on the margin of his Xenophon. These were evidently for his own
+private use, and are full of scholarly colloquialisms, impromptu words
+humorously invented for the need of the moment, and individual turns of
+phrase, such as the references to himself under his initials in small
+letters, "hgd." Though plainly not intended for publication, the notes
+are so vivid and illuminating as they stand that I have shrunk from
+putting them into a more formal dress, believing that here, as in the
+best letters, the personal element is bound up with what is most fresh
+and living in the comment, most characteristic of the writer, and most
+delightful both to those who knew him and to those who will wish they
+had. I have, therefore, only altered a word here and there, and added
+a note or two of my own (always in square brackets), where it seemed
+necessary for the sake of clearness.
+
+                                                              F. M. S.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CYROPAEDIA
+
+
+THE EDUCATION OF CYRUS
+
+
+
+
+BOOK I
+
+[C.1] We have had occasion before now to reflect how often democracies
+have been overthrown by the desire for some other type of government,
+how often monarchies and oligarchies have been swept away by movements
+of the people, how often would-be despots have fallen in their turn,
+some at the outset by one stroke, while whose who have maintained their
+rule for ever so brief a season are looked upon with wonder as marvels
+of sagacity and success.
+
+The same lesson, we had little doubt, was to be learnt from the family:
+the household might be great or small--even the master of few could
+hardly count on the obedience of his little flock. [2] And so, one idea
+leading to another, we came to shape our reflexions thus: Drovers may
+certainly be called the rulers of their cattle and horse-breeders
+the rulers of their studs--all herdsmen, in short, may reasonably be
+considered the governors of the animals they guard. If, then, we were to
+believe the evidence of our senses, was it not obvious that flocks and
+herds were more ready to obey their keepers than men their rulers? Watch
+the cattle wending their way wherever their herdsmen guide them, see
+them grazing in the pastures where they are sent and abstaining from
+forbidden grounds, the fruit of their own bodies they yield to their
+master to use as he thinks best; nor have we ever seen one flock among
+them all combining against their guardian, either to disobey him or to
+refuse him the absolute control of their produce. On the contrary, they
+are more apt to show hostility against other animals than against
+the owner who derives advantage from them. But with man the rule is
+converse; men unite against none so readily as against those whom they
+see attempting to rule over them. [3] As long, therefore, as we followed
+these reflexions, we could not but conclude that man is by nature fitted
+to govern all creatures, except his fellow-man. But when we came to
+realise the character of Cyrus the Persian, we were led to a change
+of mind: here is a man, we said, who won for himself obedience from
+thousands of his fellows, from cities and tribes innumerable: we must
+ask ourselves whether the government of men is after all an impossible
+or even a difficult task, provided one set about it in the right way.
+Cyrus, we know, found the readiest obedience in his subjects, though
+some of them dwelt at a distance which it would take days and months to
+traverse, and among them were men who had never set eyes on him, and for
+the matter of that could never hope to do so, and yet they were willing
+to obey him. [4] Cyrus did indeed eclipse all other monarchs, before or
+since, and I include not only those who have inherited their power, but
+those who have won empire by their own exertions. How far he surpassed
+them all may be felt if we remember that no Scythian, although
+the Scythians are reckoned by their myriads, has ever succeeded in
+dominating a foreign nation; indeed the Scythian would be well content
+could he but keep his government unbroken over his own tribe and people.
+The same is true of the Thracians and the Illyrians, and indeed of all
+other nations within our ken; in Europe, at any rate, their condition is
+even now one of independence, and of such separation as would seem to
+be permanent. Now this was the state in which Cyrus found the tribes and
+peoples of Asia when, at the head of a small Persian force, he started
+on his career. The Medes and the Hyrcanians accepted his leadership
+willingly, but it was through conquest that he won Syria, Assyria,
+Arabia, Cappadocia, the two Phrygias, Lydia, Caria, Phoenicia, and
+Babylonia. Then he established his rule over the Bactrians, Indians, and
+Cilicians, over the Sakians, Paphlagonians, and Magadidians, over a
+host of other tribes the very names of which defy the memory of the
+chronicler; and last of all he brought the Hellenes in Asia beneath his
+sway, and by a descent on the seaboard Cyprus and Egypt also.
+
+[5] It is obvious that among this congeries of nations few, if any,
+could have spoken the same language as himself, or understood one
+another, but none the less Cyrus was able so to penetrate that vast
+extent of country by the sheer terror of his personality that the
+inhabitants were prostrate before him: not one of them dared lift hand
+against him. And yet he was able, at the same time, to inspire them all
+with so deep a desire to please him and win his favour that all they
+asked was to be guided by his judgment and his alone. Thus he knit to
+himself a complex of nationalities so vast that it would have taxed a
+man's endurance merely to traverse his empire in any one direction, east
+or west or south or north, from the palace which was its centre. For
+ourselves, considering his title to our admiration proved, we set
+ourselves to inquire what his parentage might have been and his natural
+parts, and how he was trained and brought up to attain so high a pitch
+of excellence in the government of men. And all we could learn from
+others about him or felt we might infer for ourselves we will here
+endeavour to set forth.
+
+[C.2] The father of Cyrus, so runs the story, was Cambyses, a king
+of the Persians, and one of the Perseidae, who look to Perseus as
+the founder of their race. His mother, it is agreed, was Mandane, the
+daughter of Astyages, king of the Medes. Of Cyrus himself, even now in
+the songs and stories of the East the record lives that nature made him
+most fair to look upon, and set in his heart the threefold love of
+man, of knowledge, and of honour. He would endure all labours, he would
+undergo all dangers, for the sake of glory. [2] Blest by nature with
+such gifts of soul and body, his memory lives to this day in the mindful
+heart of ages. It is true that he was brought up according to the laws
+and customs of the Persians, and of these laws it must be noted that
+while they aim, as laws elsewhere, at the common weal, their guiding
+principle is far other than that which most nations follow. Most states
+permit their citizens to bring up their own children at their own
+discretion, and allow the grown men to regulate their own lives at their
+own will, and then they lay down certain prohibitions, for example, not
+to pick and steal, not to break into another man's house, not to strike
+a man unjustly, not to commit adultery, not to disobey the magistrate,
+and so forth; and on the transgressor they impose a penalty. [3] But the
+Persian laws try, as it were, to steal a march on time, to make their
+citizens from the beginning incapable of setting their hearts on any
+wickedness or shameful conduct whatsoever. And this is how they set
+about their object.
+
+In their cities they have an open place or square dedicated to Freedom
+(Free Square they call it), where stand the palace and other public
+buildings. From this place all goods for sale are rigidly excluded, and
+all hawkers and hucksters with their yells and cries and vulgarities.
+They must go elsewhere, so that their clamour may not mingle with and
+mar the grace and orderliness of the educated classes. [4] This square,
+where the public buildings stand, is divided into four quarters which
+are assigned as follows: one for the boys, another for the youths, a
+third for the grown men, and the last for those who are past the age
+of military service. The law requires all the citizens to present
+themselves at certain times and seasons in their appointed places. The
+lads and the grown men must be there at daybreak; the elders may, as a
+rule, choose their own time, except on certain fixed days, when they too
+are expected to present themselves like the rest. Moreover, the young
+men are bound to sleep at night round the public buildings, with their
+arms at their side; only the married men among them are exempt, and need
+not be on duty at night unless notice has been given, though even in
+their case frequent absence is thought unseemly. [5] Over each of these
+divisions are placed twelve governors, twelve being the number of the
+Persian tribes. The governors of the boys are chosen from the elders,
+and those are appointed who are thought best fitted to make the best of
+their lads: the governors of the youths are selected from the grown men,
+and on the same principle; and for the grown men themselves and their
+own governors; the choice falls on those who will, it is hoped, make
+them most prompt to carry out their appointed duties, and fulfil
+the commands imposed by the supreme authority. Finally, the elders
+themselves have presidents of their own, chosen to see that they too
+perform their duty to the full.
+
+[6] We will now describe the services demanded from the different
+classes, and thus it will appear how the Persians endeavour to improve
+their citizens. The boys go to school and give their time to learning
+justice and righteousness: they will tell you they come for that
+purpose, and the phrase is as natural with them as it is for us to speak
+of lads learning their letters. The masters spend the chief part of the
+day in deciding cases for their pupils: for in this boy-world, as in the
+grown-up world without, occasions of indictment are never far to seek.
+There will be charges, we know, of picking and stealing, of violence, of
+fraud, of calumny, and so forth. The case is heard and the offender, if
+shown to be guilty, is punished. [7] Nor does he escape who is found to
+have accused one of his fellows unfairly. And there is one charge the
+judges do not hesitate to deal with, a charge which is the source of
+much hatred among grown men, but which they seldom press in the courts,
+the charge of ingratitude. The culprit convicted of refusing to repay
+a debt of kindness when it was fully in his power meets with severe
+chastisement. They reason that the ungrateful man is the most likely to
+forget his duty to the gods, to his parents, to his fatherland, and
+his friends. Shamelessness, they hold, treads close on the heels of
+ingratitude, and thus ingratitude is the ringleader and chief instigator
+to every kind of baseness. [8] Further, the boys are instructed in
+temperance and self-restraint, and they find the utmost help towards
+the attainment of this virtue in the self-respecting behaviour of
+their elders, shown them day by day. Then they are taught to obey their
+rulers, and here again nothing is of greater value than the studied
+obedience to authority manifested by their elders everywhere. Continence
+in meat and drink is another branch of instruction, and they have no
+better aid in this than, first, the example of their elders, who never
+withdraw to satisfy their carnal cravings until those in authority
+dismiss them, and next, the rule that the boys must take their food, not
+with their mother but with their master, and not till the governor gives
+the sign. They bring from home the staple of their meal, dry bread
+with nasturtium for a relish, and to slake their thirst they bring a
+drinking-cup, to dip in the running stream. In addition, they are taught
+to shoot with the bow and to fling the javelin.
+
+The lads follow their studies till the age of sixteen or seventeen, and
+then they take their places as young men.
+
+[9] After that they spend their time as follows. For ten years they are
+bound to sleep at night round the public buildings, as we said before,
+and this for two reasons, to guard the community and to practise
+self-restraint; because that season of life, the Persians conceive,
+stands most in need of care. During the day they present themselves
+before the governors for service to the state, and, whenever necessary,
+they remain in a body round the public buildings. Moreover, when the
+king goes out to hunt, which he will do several times a month, he takes
+half the company with him, and each man must carry bow and arrows, a
+sheathed dagger, or "sagaris," slung beside the quiver, a light shield,
+and two javelins, one to hurl and the other to use, if need be, at close
+quarters. [10] The reason of this public sanction for the chase is not
+far to seek; the king leads just as he does in war, hunting in person
+at the head of the field, and making his men follow, because it is felt
+that the exercise itself is the best possible training for the needs of
+war. It accustoms a man to early rising; it hardens him to endure heat
+and cold; it teaches him to march and to run at the top of his speed; he
+must perforce learn to let fly arrow and javelin the moment the quarry
+is across his path; and, above all, the edge of his spirit must needs be
+sharpened by encountering any of the mightier beasts: he must deal his
+stroke when the creature closes, and stand on guard when it makes its
+rush: indeed, it would be hard to find a case in war that has not its
+parallel in the chase. [11] But to proceed: the young men set out
+with provisions that are ampler, naturally, than the boys' fare, but
+otherwise the same. During the chase itself they would not think of
+breaking their fast, but if a halt is called, to beat up the game, or
+for any hunter's reason, then they will make, as it were, a dinner of
+their breakfast, and, hunting again on the morrow till dinner-time, they
+will count the two days as one, because they have only eaten one day's
+food. This they do in order that, if the like necessity should arise in
+war, they may be found equal to it. As relish to their bread these
+young men have whatever they may kill in the chase, or failing that,
+nasturtium like the boys. And if one should ask how they can enjoy the
+meal with nasturtium for their only condiment and water for their only
+drink, let him bethink himself how sweet barley bread and wheaten can
+taste to the hungry man and water to the thirsty. [12] As for the young
+men who are left at home, they spend their time in shooting and hurling
+the javelin, and practising all they learnt as boys, in one long trial
+of skill. Beside this, public games are open to them and prizes are
+offered; and the tribe which can claim the greatest number of lads
+distinguished for skill and courage and faithfulness is given the meed
+of praise from all the citizens, who honour, not only their present
+governor, but the teacher who trained them when they were boys.
+Moreover, these young men are also employed by the magistrates if
+garrison work needs to be done or if malefactors are to be tracked or
+robbers run down, or indeed on any errand which calls for strength of
+limb and fleetness of foot. Such is the life of the youth. But when the
+ten years are accomplished they are classed as grown men. [13] And from
+this time forth for five-and-twenty years they live as follows.
+
+First they present themselves, as in youth, before the magistrates for
+service to the state wherever there is need for strength and sound sense
+combined. If an expedition be on foot the men of this grade march out,
+not armed with the bow or the light shield any longer, but equipped with
+what are called the close-combat arms, a breastplate up to the throat,
+a buckler on the left arm (just as the Persian warrior appears in
+pictures), and for the right hand a dagger or a sword. Lastly, it
+is from this grade that all the magistrates are appointed except the
+teachers for the boys. But when the five-and-twenty years are over and
+the men have reached the age of fifty years or more, then they take rank
+as elders, and the title is deserved. [14] These elders no longer go on
+military service beyond the frontier; they stay at home and decide all
+cases, public and private both. Even capital charges are left to their
+decision, and it is they who choose all the magistrates. If a youth or
+a grown man breaks the law he is brought into court by the governors of
+his tribe, who act as suitors in the case, aided by any other citizen
+who pleases. The cause is heard before the elders and they pronounce
+judgment; and the man who is condemned is disenfranchised for the rest
+of his days.
+
+[15] And now, to complete the picture of the whole Persian policy, I
+will go back a little. With the help of what has been said before, the
+account may now be brief; the Persians are said to number something
+like one hundred and twenty thousand men: and of these no one is by
+law debarred from honour or office. On the contrary, every Persian is
+entitled to send his children to the public schools of righteousness
+and justice. As a fact, all who can afford to bring up their children
+without working do send them there: those who cannot must forego the
+privilege. A lad who has passed through a public school has a right
+to go and take his place among the youths, but those who have not gone
+through the first course may not join them. In the same way the youths
+who have fulfilled the duties of their class are entitled eventually
+to rank with the men, and to share in office and honour: but they
+must first spend their full time among the youths; if not, they go no
+further. Finally, those who as grown men have lived without reproach may
+take their station at last among the elders. Thus these elders form a
+college, every member of which has passed through the full circle
+of noble learning; and this is that Persian polity and that Persian
+training which, in their belief, can win them the flower of excellence.
+[16] And even to this day signs are left bearing witness to that ancient
+temperance of theirs and the ancient discipline that preserved it.
+To this day it is still considered shameful for a Persian to spit in
+public, or wipe the nose, or show signs of wind, or be seen going apart
+for his natural needs. And they could not keep to this standard unless
+they were accustomed to a temperate diet, and were trained to exercise
+and toil, so that the humours of the body were drawn off in other ways.
+Hitherto we have spoken of the Persians as a whole: we will now go back
+to our starting-point and recount the deeds of Cyrus from his childhood.
+
+[C.3] Until he was twelve years old or more, Cyrus was brought up in the
+manner we have described, and showed himself to be above all his fellows
+in his aptitude for learning and in the noble and manly performance of
+every duty. But about this time, Astyages sent for his daughter and her
+son, desiring greatly to see him because he had heard how noble and fair
+he was. So it fell out that Mandane came to Astyages, bringing her son
+Cyrus with her. [2] And as soon as they met, the boy, when he heard
+that Astyages was his mother's father, fell on his neck and kissed him
+without more ado, like the loving lad nature had made him, as though he
+had been brought up at his grandfather's side from the first and the two
+of them had been playmates of old. Then he looked closer and saw that
+the king's eyes were stencilled and his cheeks painted, and that he
+wore false curls after the fashion of the Medes in those days (for these
+adornments, and the purple robes, the tunics, the necklaces, and the
+bracelets, they are all Median first and last, not Persian; the Persian,
+as you find him at home even now-a-days, still keeps to his
+plainer dress and his plainer style of living.) The boy, seeing his
+grandfather's splendour, kept his eyes fixed on him, and cried, "Oh,
+mother, how beautiful my grandfather is!" Then his mother asked him
+which he thought the handsomer, his father or his grandfather, and he
+answered at once, "My father is the handsomest of all the Persians, but
+my grandfather much the handsomest of all the Medes I ever set eyes on,
+at home or abroad." [3] At that Astyages drew the child to his heart,
+and gave him a beautiful robe and bracelets and necklaces in sign of
+honour, and when he rode out, the boy must ride beside him on a horse
+with a golden bridle, just like King Astyages himself. And Cyrus, who
+had a soul as sensitive to beauty as to honour, was pleased with the
+splendid robe, and overjoyed at learning to ride, for a horse is a rare
+sight in Persia, a mountainous country, and one little suited to the
+breed.
+
+[4] Now Cyrus and his mother sat at meat with the king, and Astyages,
+wishing the lad to enjoy the feast and not regret his home, plied him
+with dainties of every sort. At that, so says the story, Cyrus burst
+out, "Oh, grandfather, what trouble you must give yourself reaching for
+all these dishes and tasting all these wonderful foods!" "Ah, but," said
+Astyages, "is not this a far better meal than you ever had in Persia?"
+Thereupon, as the tale runs, Cyrus answered, "Our way, grandfather, is
+much shorter than yours, and much simpler. We are hungry and wish to be
+fed, and bread and meat brings us where we want to be at once, but you
+Medes, for all your haste, take so many turns and wind about so much it
+is a wonder if you ever find your way to the goal that we have reached
+long ago." [5] "Well, my lad," said his grandfather, "we are not at all
+averse to the length of the road: taste the dishes for yourself and see
+how good they are." "One thing I do see," the boy said, "and that is
+that you do not quite like them yourself." And when Astyages asked him
+how he felt so sure of that, Cyrus answered, "Because when you touch an
+honest bit of bread you never wipe your hands, but if you take one of
+these fine kickshaws you turn to your napkin at once, as if you were
+angry to find your fingers soiled." [6] "Well and good, my lad, well and
+good," said the king, "only feast away yourself and make good cheer,
+and we shall send you back to Persia a fine strong fellow." And with the
+word he had dishes of meat and game set before his grandson. The boy was
+taken aback by their profusion, and exclaimed, "Grandfather, do you give
+me all this for myself, to do what I like with it?" "Certainly I do,"
+said the king. [7] Whereupon, without more ado, the boy Cyrus took first
+one dish and then another and gave them to the attendants who stood
+about his grandfather, and with each gift he made a little speech: "That
+is for you, for so kindly teaching me to ride;" "And that is for you, in
+return for the javelin you gave me, I have got it still;" "And this is
+for you, because you wait on my grandfather so prettily;" "And this for
+you, sir, because you honour my mother." And so on until he had got rid
+of all the meat he had been given. [8] "But you do not give a single
+piece to Sacas, my butler," quoth the grandfather, "and I honour
+him more than all the rest." Now this Sacas, as one may guess, was a
+handsome fellow, and he had the right to bring before the king all who
+desired audience, to keep them back if he thought the time unseasonable.
+But Cyrus, in answer to his grandfather's question retorted eagerly,
+like a lad who did not know what fear meant, "And why should you honour
+him so much, grandfather?" Then Astyages laughed and said, "Can you not
+see how prettily he mixes the cup, and with what a grace he serves the
+wine?" And indeed, these royal cup-bearers are neat-handed at their
+task, mixing the bowl with infinite elegance, and pouring the wine into
+the beakers without spilling a drop, and when they hand the goblet they
+poise it deftly between thumb and finger for the banqueter to take. [9]
+"Now, grandfather," said the boy, "tell Sacas to give me the bowl,
+and let me pour out the wine as prettily as he if I can, and win your
+favour." So the king bade the butler hand him the bowl, and Cyrus took
+it and mixed the wine just as he had seen Sacas do, and then, showing
+the utmost gravity and the greatest deftness and grace, he brought
+the goblet to his grandfather and offered it with such an air that his
+mother and Astyages, too, laughed outright, and then Cyrus burst out
+laughing also, and flung his arms round his grandfather and kissed him,
+crying, "Sacas, your day is done! I shall oust you from your office, you
+may be sure. I shall make just as pretty a cup-bearer as you--and not
+drink the wine myself!" For it is the fact that the king's butler when
+he offers the wine is bound to dip a ladle in the cup first, and pour
+a little in the hollow of his hand and sip it, so that if he has mixed
+poison in the bowl it will do him no good himself. [10] Accordingly,
+Astyages, to carry on the jest, asked the little lad why he had
+forgotten to taste the wine though he had imitated Sacas in everything
+else. And the boy answered, "Truly, I was afraid there might be poison
+in the bowl. For when you gave your birthday feast to your friends I
+could see quite plainly that Sacas had put in poison for you all." "And
+how did you discover that, my boy?" asked the king. "Because I saw how
+your wits reeled and how you staggered; and you all began doing what you
+will not let us children do--you talked at the top of your voices, and
+none of you understood a single word the others said, and then you began
+singing in a way to make us laugh, and though you would not listen to
+the singer you swore that it was right nobly sung, and then each of you
+boasted of his own strength, and yet as soon as you got up to dance, so
+far from keeping time to the measure, you could barely keep your legs.
+And you seemed quite to have forgotten, grandfather, that you were
+king, and your subjects that you were their sovereign. Then at last I
+understood that you must be celebrating that 'free speech' we hear of;
+at any rate, you were never silent for an instant." [11] "Well, but,
+boy," said Astyages, "does your father never lose his head when he
+drinks?" "Certainly not," said the boy. "What happens then?" asked the
+king. "He quenches his thirst," answered Cyrus, "and that is all. No
+harm follows. You see, he has no Sacas to mix his wine for him." "But,
+Cyrus," put in his mother, "why are you so unkind to Sacas?" "Because I
+do so hate him," answered the boy. "Time after time when I have wanted
+to go to my grandfather this old villain has stopped me. Do please,
+grandfather, let me manage him for three days." "And how would you set
+about it?" Astyages asked. "Why," said the boy, "I will plant myself
+in the doorway just as he does, and then when he wants to go in to
+breakfast I will say 'You cannot have breakfast yet: HE is busy with
+some people,' and when he comes for dinner I will say 'No dinner yet: HE
+is in his bath,' and as he grows ravenous I will say 'Wait a little: HE
+is with the ladies of the court,' until I have plagued and tormented him
+as he torments me, keeping me away from you, grandfather, when I want to
+come." [12] Thus the boy delighted his elders in the evening, and by
+day if he saw that his grandfather or his uncle wanted anything, no one
+could forestall him in getting it; indeed nothing seemed to give him
+greater pleasure than to please them.
+
+[13] Now when Mandane began to think of going back to her husband,
+Astyages begged her to leave the boy behind. She answered that though
+she wished to please her father in everything, it would be hard to leave
+the boy against his will. [14] Then the old man turned to Cyrus: "My
+boy, if you will stay with us, Sacas shall never stop you from coming to
+me: you shall be free to come whenever you choose, and the oftener you
+come the better it will please me. You shall have horses to ride, my
+own and as many others as you like, and when you leave us you shall take
+them with you. And at dinner you shall go your own away and follow your
+own path to your own goal of temperance just as you think right. And I
+will make you a present of all the game in my parks and paradises, and
+collect more for you, and as soon as you have learnt to ride you shall
+hunt and shoot and hurl the javelin exactly like a man. And you shall
+have boys to play with and anything else you wish for: you have only to
+ask me and it shall be yours." [15] Then his mother questioned the
+boy and asked him whether he would rather stay with his grandfather
+in Media, or go back home with her: and he said at once that he would
+rather stay. And when she went on to ask him the reason, he answered, so
+the story says, "Because at home I am thought to be the best of the lads
+at shooting and hurling the javelin, and so I think I am: but here I
+know I am the worst at riding, and that you may be sure, mother, annoys
+me exceedingly. Now if you leave me here and I learn to ride, when I am
+back in Persia you shall see, I promise you, that I will outdo all our
+gallant fellows on foot, and when I come to Media again I will try and
+show my grandfather that, for all his splendid cavalry, he will not have
+a stouter horseman than his grandson to fight his battles for him." [16]
+Then said his mother, "But justice and righteousness, my son, how can
+you learn them here when your teachers are at home?" "Oh," said Cyrus,
+"I know all about them already." "How do you know that you do?" asked
+Mandane. "Because," answered the boy, "before I left home my master
+thought I had learnt enough to decide the cases, and he set me to try
+the suits. Yes! and I remember once, said he, "I got a whipping for
+misjudgment. [17] I will tell you about that case. There were two boys,
+a big boy and a little boy, and the big boy's coat was small and the
+small boy's coat was huge. So the big boy stripped the little boy and
+gave him his own small coat, while he put on the big one himself. Now in
+giving judgment I decided that it was better for both parties that each
+should have the coat that fitted him best. But I never got any further
+in my sentence, because the master thrashed me here, and said that the
+verdict would have been excellent if I had been appointed to say what
+fitted and what did not, but I had been called in to decide to whom the
+coat belonged, and the point to consider was, who had a right to it: Was
+he who took a thing by violence to keep it, or he who had had it made
+and bought it for his own? And the master taught me that what is lawful
+is just and what is in the teeth of law is based on violence, and
+therefore, he said, the judge must always see that his verdict tallies
+with the law. So you see, mother, I have the whole of justice at my
+fingers' ends already. And if there should be anything more I need to
+know, why, I have my grandfather beside me, and he will always give me
+lessons." [18] "But," rejoined his mother, "what everyone takes to be
+just and righteous at your grandfather's court is not thought to be so
+in Persia. For instance, your own grandfather has made himself master
+over all and sundry among the Medes, but with the Persians equality is
+held to be an essential part of justice: and first and foremost, your
+father himself must perform his appointed services to the state and
+receive his appointed dues: and the measure of these is not his own
+caprice but the law. Have a care then, or you may be scourged to death
+when you come home to Persia, if you learn in your grandfather's school
+to love not kingship but tyranny, and hold the tyrant's belief that he
+and he alone should have more than all the rest." "Ah, but, mother,"
+said the boy, "my grandfather is better at teaching people to have
+less than their share, not more. Cannot you see," he cried, "how he
+has taught all the Medes to have less than himself? So set your mind
+at rest, mother, my grandfather will never make me, or any one else, an
+adept in the art of getting too much."
+
+[C.4] So the boy's tongue ran on. But at last his mother went home, and
+Cyrus stayed behind and was brought up in Media. He soon made friends
+with his companions and found his way to their hearts, and soon won
+their parents by the charm of his address and the true affection he bore
+their sons, so much so that when they wanted a favour from the king
+they bade their children ask Cyrus to arrange the matter for them.
+And whatever it might be, the kindliness of the lad's heart and the
+eagerness of his ambition made him set the greatest store on getting it
+done. [2] On his side, Astyages could not bring himself to refuse his
+grandson's lightest wish. For once, when he was sick, nothing would
+induce the boy to leave his side; he could not keep back his tears, and
+his terror at the thought that his grandfather might die was plain for
+every one to see. If the old man needed anything during the night Cyrus
+was the first to notice it, it was he who sprang up first to wait upon
+him, and bring him what he thought would please him. Thus the old king's
+heart was his.
+
+[3] During these early days, it must be allowed, the boy was something
+too much of a talker, in part, may be, because of his bringing-up. He
+had been trained by his master, whenever he sat in judgment, to give a
+reason for what he did, and to look for the like reason from others. And
+moreover, his curiosity and thirst for knowledge were such that he must
+needs inquire from every one he met the explanation of this, that, and
+the other; and his own wits were so lively that he was ever ready with
+an answer himself for any question put to him, so that talkativeness had
+become, as it were, his second nature. But, just as in the body when a
+boy is overgrown, some touch of youthfulness is sure to show itself
+and tell the secret of his age, so for all the lad's loquacity, the
+impression left on the listener was not of arrogance, but of simplicity
+and warm-heartedness, and one would gladly have heard his chatter to the
+end rather than have sat beside him and found him dumb.
+
+[4] However, as he grew in stature and the years led him to the time
+when childhood passes into youth he became more chary of his words and
+quieter in his tone: at times, indeed, he was so shy that he would blush
+in the presence of his elders, and there was little sign left of the old
+forwardness, the impulsiveness of the puppy who will jump up on every
+one, master and stranger alike. Thus he grew more sedate, but his
+company was still most fascinating, and little wonder: for whenever it
+came to a trial of skill between himself and his comrades he would never
+challenge his mates to those feats in which he himself excelled: he
+would start precisely one where he felt his own inferiority, averring
+that he would outdo them all,--indeed, he would spring to horse in order
+to shoot or hurl the javelin before he had got a firm seat--and
+then, when he was worsted, he would be the first to laugh at his own
+discomfiture. [5] He had no desire to escape defeat by giving up the
+effort, but took glory in the resolution to do better another time,
+and thus he soon found himself as good a horseman as his peers, and
+presently, such was his ardour, he surpassed them all, and at last the
+thinning of the game in the king's preserves began to show what he could
+do. What with the chasing and the shooting and the spearing, the stock
+of animals ran so low that Astyages was hard put to it to collect enough
+for him. Then Cyrus, seeing that his grandfather for all his goodwill
+could never furnish him with enough, came to him one day and said,
+"Grandfather, why should you take so much trouble in finding game for
+me? If only you would let me go out to hunt with my uncle, I could fancy
+every beast we came across had been reared for my particular delight!"
+[6] But however anxious the lad might be to go out to the chase, he had
+somehow lost the old childish art of winning what he wanted by coaxing:
+and he hesitated a long time before approaching the king again. If in
+the old days he had quarrelled with Sacas for not letting him in, now
+he began to play the part of Sacas against himself, and could not summon
+courage to intrude until he thought the right moment had come: indeed,
+he implored the real Sacas to let him know when he might venture. So
+that the old butler's heart was won, and he, like the rest of the world,
+was completely in love with the young prince.
+
+[7] At last when Astyages saw that the lad's heart was really set on
+hunting in the open country, he gave him leave to go out with his uncle,
+taking care at the same time to send an escort of mounted veterans at
+his heels, whose business it was to keep watch and ward over him in any
+dangerous place or against any savage beast. Cyrus plied his retinue
+with questions about the creatures they came across, which must he avoid
+and which might he hunt? They told him he must be on his guard against
+bears and wild-boars and lions and leopards: many a man had found
+himself at too close quarters with these dangerous creatures, and been
+torn to pieces: but antelopes, they said, and deer and mountain sheep
+and wild asses were harmless enough. And the huntsman, they added, ought
+to be as careful about dangerous places as about the beasts themselves:
+many a time horse and rider had gone headlong down a precipice to death.
+[8] The lad seemed to take all their lessons to heart at the time: but
+then he saw a stag leap up, and forgot all the wise cautions he had
+heard, giving chase forthwith, noticing nothing except the beast ahead
+of him. His horse, in its furious plunge forward, slipped, and came down
+on its knees, all but throwing the rider over its head. As luck would
+have it the boy managed to keep his seat, and the horse recovered its
+footing. When they reached the flat bottom, Cyrus let fly his javelin,
+and the stag fell dead, a beautiful big creature. The lad was still
+radiant with delight when up rode the guard and took him severely to
+task. Could he not see the danger he had run? They would certainly tell
+his grandfather, that they would. Cyrus, who had dismounted, stood quite
+still and listened ruefully, hanging his head while they rated him. But
+in the middle of it all he heard the view-halloo again: he sprang to his
+horse as though frenzied--a wild-boar was charging down on them, and he
+charged to meet it, and drawing his bow with the surest aim possible,
+struck the beast in the forehead, and laid him low. [9] But now his
+uncle thought it was high time to scold his nephew himself; the lad's
+boldness was too much. Only, the more he scolded the more Cyrus begged
+he would let him take back the spoil as a present for his grandfather.
+To which appeal, says the story, his uncle made reply: "But if your
+grandfather finds out that you have gone in chase yourself, he will not
+only scold you for going but me for letting you go." "Well, let him whip
+me if he likes," said the boy, "when once I have given him my beasts:
+and you too, uncle," he went on, "punish me however you choose, only do
+not refuse me this." So Cyaxares was forced to yield:--"Have it your own
+way then, you are little less than our king already." [10] Thus it was
+that Cyrus was allowed to bring his trophies home, and in due course
+presented them to his grandfather. "See, grandfather, here are some
+animals I have shot for you." But he did not show his weapons in
+triumph: he only laid them down with the gore still on them where he
+hoped his grandfather would see them. It is easy to guess the answer
+Astyages gave:--"I must needs accept with pleasure every gift you bring
+me, only I want none of them at the risk of your own life." And Cyrus
+said, "If you really do not want them yourself, grandfather, will you
+give them to me? And I will divide them among the lads." "With all my
+heart," said the old man, "take them, or anything else you like; bestow
+them where you will, and welcome." [11] So Cyrus carried off the spoil,
+and divided it with his comrades, saying all the while, "What foolery
+it was, when we used to hunt in the park! It was no better than hunting
+creatures tied by a string. First of all, it was such a little bit of
+a place, and then what scarecrows the poor beasts were, one halt,
+and another maimed! But those real animals on the mountains and the
+plains--what splendid beasts, so gigantic, so sleek and glossy! Why,
+the stags leapt up against the sky as though they had wings, and the
+wild-boars came rushing to close quarters like warriors in battle! And
+thanks to their breadth and bulk one could not help hitting them. Why,
+even as they lie dead there," cried he, "they look finer than those
+poor walled-up creatures when alive! But you," he added, "could not your
+fathers let you go out to hunt too?" "Gladly enough," answered they, "if
+only the king gave the order." [12] "Well," said Cyrus, "who will speak
+to Astyages for us?" "Why," answered they, "who so fit to persuade him
+as yourself?" "No, by all that's holy, not I!" cried Cyrus. "I cannot
+think what has come over me: I cannot speak to my grandfather any more;
+I cannot look him straight in the face. If this fit grows on me, I am
+afraid I shall become no better than an idiot. And yet, when I was a
+little boy, they tell me, I was sharp enough at talking." To which the
+other lads retorted, "Well, it is a bad business altogether: and if you
+cannot bestir yourself for your friends, if you can do nothing for us
+in our need, we must turn elsewhere." [13] When Cyrus heard that he was
+stung to the quick: he went away in silence and urged himself to put on
+a bold face, and so went in to his grandfather, not, however, without
+planning first how he could best bring in the matter. Accordingly he
+began thus: "Tell me, grandfather," said he, "if one of your slaves were
+to run away, and you caught him, what would you do to him?" "What else
+should I do," the old man answered, "but clap irons on him and set him
+to work in chains?" "But if he came back of his own accord, how would
+you treat him then?" "Why, I would give him a whipping, as a warning not
+to do it again, and then treat him as though nothing had happened." "It
+is high time then," said the boy, "that you began getting a birch ready
+for your grandson: for I am planning to take my comrades and run away on
+a hunting expedition." "Very kind of you to tell me, beforehand," said
+Astyages. "And now listen, I forbid you to set foot outside the palace
+grounds. A pretty thing," he added, "if for the sake of a day's hunting
+I should let my daughter's lamb get lost." [14] So Cyrus did as he was
+ordered and stayed at home, but he spent his days in silence and his
+brow was clouded. At last Astyages saw how bitterly the lad felt it,
+and he made up his mind to please him by leading out a hunting-party
+himself. He held a great muster of horse and foot, and the other lads
+were not forgotten: he had the beasts driven down into the flat country
+where the horses could be taken easily, and then the hunt began in
+splendid style. After the royal fashion--for he was present in person
+himself--he gave orders that no one was to shoot until Cyrus had hunted
+to his heart's content. But Cyrus would not hear of any such hindrance
+to the others: "Grandfather," he cried, "if you wish me to enjoy myself,
+let my friends hunt with me and each of us try our best." [15] Thereupon
+Astyages let them all go, while he stood still and watched the sight,
+and saw how they raced to attack the quarry and how their ambition
+burned within them as they followed up the chase and let fly their
+javelins. But above all he was overjoyed to see how his grandson could
+not keep silence for sheer delight, calling upon his fellows by name
+whenever he came up with the quarry, like a noble young hound, baying
+from pure excitement. It gladdened the old man's heart to hear how
+gleefully the boy would laugh at one of his comrades and how eagerly he
+would applaud another without the slightest touch of jealousy. At
+length it was time to turn, and home they went, laden with their mighty
+trophies. And ever afterwards, so well pleased was the king with the
+day's hunting, that whenever it was possible, out he must go with his
+grandson, all his train behind him, and he never failed to take the boys
+also, "to please Cyrus." Thus did Cyrus spend his early life, sharing in
+and helping towards the happiness of all, and bringing no sorrow to any
+man.
+
+[16] But when he was about fifteen years of age, it chanced that the
+young Prince of Assyria, who was about to marry a wife, planned a
+hunting-party of his own, in honour of the bridal. And, having heard
+that on the frontiers of Assyria and Media there was much game to be
+got, untouched and unmolested because of the war, the prince chose these
+marches for his hunting-ground. But for safety sake he took with him
+a large escort of cavalry and targeteers, who were to drive the beasts
+down from their lairs into the cultivated levels below where it was
+easy to ride. He set out to the place where the Assyrian outposts were
+planted and a garrison on duty, and there he and his men prepared to
+take their supper, intending to begin the hunt with the morrow's dawn.
+[17] And as evening had fallen, it happened that the night-watch, a
+considerable body of horse and foot, arrived from the city to relieve
+the garrison on guard. Thus the prince found that he had something like
+a large army at his call: the two garrisons as well as the troop of
+horse and foot for the hunt. And then he asked himself whether it would
+not be the best of plans to drive off booty from the country of the
+Medes? In this way more lustre would be given to the chase, and there
+would be great store of beasts for sacrifice. With this intent he rose
+betimes and led his army out: the foot soldiers he massed together on
+the frontier, while he himself, at the head of his cavalry, rode up to
+the border fortresses of the Medes. Here he halted with the strongest
+and largest part of his company, to prevent the garrisons from sallying
+out, and meanwhile he sent picked men forward by detachments with orders
+to raid the country in every direction, waylay everything they chanced
+upon, and drive the spoil back to him.
+
+[18] While this was going on news was brought to Astyages that the enemy
+was across the border, and he hastened to the rescue at once, himself at
+the head of his own body-guard, and his son with such troopers as were
+ready to hand, leaving word for others to follow with all despatch. But
+when they were in sight of the Assyrians, and saw their serried ranks,
+horse and foot, drawn up in order, compact and motionless, they came to
+a halt themselves. [19] Now Cyrus, seeing that all the rest of the world
+was off to the rescue, boot and saddle, must needs ride out too, and so
+put on his armour for the first time, and could scarcely believe it was
+true, he had longed so often and so ardently to wear it all. And right
+beautiful it was, and right well it fitted the lad, the armour that his
+grandsire had had made for him. So he put on the whole accoutrement,
+mounted his charger, and galloped to the front. And Astyages, though he
+wondered who had sent the boy, bade him stay beside him, now that he
+had come. Cyrus, as he looked at the horsemen facing them, turned to
+his grandfather with the question, "Can those men yonder be our enemies,
+grandfather, those who are standing so quietly beside their horses?"
+"Enemies they are too for all that," said the king. "And are those
+enemies too?" the boy asked, "those who are riding over there?" "Yes,
+to be sure." "Well, grandfather, a sorry set they look, and sorry jades
+they ride to ravage our lands! It would be well for some of us to charge
+them!" "Not yet, my boy," answered his grandfather, "look at the mass
+of horsemen there. If we were to charge the others now, these friends of
+theirs would charge us, for our full strength is not yet on the field."
+"Yes, but," suggested the boy, "if you stay here yourself, ready to
+receive our supporters, those fellows will be afraid to stir either, and
+the cattle-lifters will drop their booty quick enough, as soon as they
+find they are attacked."
+
+[20] Astyages felt there was much in what the boy said, and thinking all
+the while what wonderful sense he showed and how wide-awake he was, gave
+orders for his son to take a squadron of horse and charge the raiders.
+"If the main body move to attack," he added, "I will charge myself and
+give them enough to do here." Accordingly Cyaxares took a detachment of
+horse and galloped to the field. Cyrus seeing the charge, darted forward
+himself, and swept to the van, leading it with Cyaxares close at his
+heels and the rest close behind them. As soon as the plunderers saw
+them, they left their booty and took to flight. [21] The troopers, with
+Cyrus at their head, dashed in to cut them off, and some they overtook
+at once and hewed down then and there; others slipped past, and then
+they followed in hot pursuit, and caught some of them too. And Cyrus was
+ever in the front, like a young hound, untrained as yet but bred from
+a gallant stock, charging a wild-boar recklessly; forward he swept,
+without eyes or thought for anything but the quarry to be captured and
+the blow to be struck. But when the Assyrian army saw their friends
+in trouble they pushed forward, rank on rank, saying to themselves the
+pursuit would stop when their own movement was seen. [22] But Cyrus
+never slackened his pace a whit: in a transport of joy he called on his
+uncle by name as he pressed forward, hanging hot-foot on the fugitives,
+while Cyaxares still clung to his heels, thinking maybe what his father
+Astyages would say if he hung back, and the others still followed close
+behind them, even the faint-hearted changed into heroes for the nonce.
+
+Now Astyages, watching their furious onslaught, and seeing the enemy
+move steadily forward in close array to meet them, decided to advance
+without a moment's delay himself, for fear that his son and Cyrus might
+come to harm, crashing in disorder against the solid battalions of the
+foe. [23] The Assyrians saw the movement of the king and came to a halt,
+spears levelled and bows bent, expecting that, when their assailants
+came within range, they would halt likewise as they had usually done
+before. For hitherto, whenever the armies met, they would only charge up
+to a certain distance, and there take flying shots, and so keep up the
+skirmish until evening fell. But now the Assyrians saw their own men
+borne down on them in rout, with Cyrus and his comrades at their heels
+in full career, while Astyages and his cavalry were already within
+bowshot. It was more than they could face, and they turned and fled.
+After them swept the Medes in full pursuit, and those they caught they
+mowed down, horse and man, and those that fell they slew. There was no
+pause until they came up with the Assyrian foot. [24] Here at last they
+drew rein in fear of some hidden ambuscade, and Astyages led his army
+off. The exploit of his cavalry pleased him beyond measure, but he did
+not know what he could say to Cyrus. It was he to whom the engagement
+was due, and the victory; but the boy's daring was on the verge of
+madness. Even during the return home his behaviour was strange; he could
+not forbear riding round alone to look into the faces of the slain,
+and those whose duty it was could hardly drag him away to lead him to
+Astyages: indeed, the youth was glad enough to keep them as a screen
+between himself and the king, for he saw that the countenance of his
+grandfather grew stern at the sight of him.
+
+[25] So matters passed in Media: and more and more the name of Cyrus was
+on the lip of every man, in song and story everywhere, and Astyages,
+who had always loved him, was astonished beyond all measure at the lad.
+Meanwhile his father, Cambyses, rejoiced to hear such tidings of his
+son; but, when he heard that he was already acting like a man of years,
+he thought it full time to call him home again that he might complete
+his training in the discipline of his fatherland. The story tells how
+Cyrus answered the summons, saying he would rather return home at once
+so that his father might not be vexed or his country blame him. And
+Astyages, too, thought it his plain duty to send the boy back, but he
+must needs give him horses to take with him, as many as he would care
+to choose, and other gifts beside, not only for the love he bore him
+but for the high hopes he had that the boy would one day prove a man of
+mark, a blessing to his friends, and a terror to his foes. And when the
+time came for Cyrus to go, the whole world poured out to speed him on
+his journey--little children and lads of his own age, and grown men
+and greybeards on their steeds, and Astyages the king. And, so says the
+chronicle, the eyes of none were dry when they turned home again. [26]
+Cyrus himself, they tell us, rode away in tears. He heaped gifts on all
+his comrades, sharing with them what Astyages had given to himself; and
+at last he took off the splendid Median cloak he wore and gave it to one
+of them, to tell him, plainer than words could say, how his heart clung
+to him above the rest. And his friends, they say, took the gifts he gave
+them, but they brought them all back to Astyages, who sent them to Cyrus
+again. But once more Cyrus sent them back to Media with this prayer to
+his grandfather:--"If you would have me hold my head up when I come back
+to you again, let my friends keep the gifts I gave them." And Astyages
+did as the boy asked.
+
+[27] And here, if a tale of boyish love is not out of place, we might
+tell how, when Cyrus was just about to depart and the last good-byes
+were being said, each of his kinsmen in the Persian fashion--and to this
+day the custom holds in Persia--kissed him on the lips as they bade him
+god-speed. Now there was a certain Mede, as beautiful and brave a man
+as ever lived, who had been enamoured of Cyrus for many a long day,
+and, when he saw the kiss, he stayed behind, and after the others had
+withdrawn he went up to Cyrus and said, "Me, and me alone, of all your
+kindred, Cyrus, you refuse to recognize?" And Cyrus answered, "What, are
+you my kinsman too?" "Yes, assuredly," the other answered, and the lad
+rejoined, "Ah, then, that is why you looked at me so earnestly; and I
+have seen you look at me like that, I think, more than once before."
+"Yes," answered the Mede, "I have often longed to approach you, but as
+often, heaven knows, my heart failed me." "But why should that be," said
+Cyrus, "seeing you are my kinsman?" And with the word, he leant forward
+and kissed him on the lips. [28] Then the Mede, emboldened by the kiss,
+took heart and said, "So in Persia it is really the custom for relatives
+to kiss?" "Truly yes," answered Cyrus, "when we see each other after a
+long absence, or when we part for a journey." "Then the time has come,"
+said the other, "to give me a second kiss, for I must leave you now."
+With that Cyrus kissed him again and so they parted. But the travellers
+were not far on their way when suddenly the Mede came galloping after
+them, his charger covered with foam. Cyrus caught sight of him:--"You
+have forgotten something? There is something else you wanted to say?"
+"No," said the Mede, "it is only such a long, long while since we met."
+"Such a little, little while you mean, my kinsman," answered Cyrus. "A
+little while!" repeated the other. "How can you say that? Cannot you
+understand that the time it takes to wink is a whole eternity if it
+severs me from the beauty of your face?"
+
+Then Cyrus burst out laughing in spite of his own tears, and bade the
+unfortunate man take heart of grace and be gone. "I shall soon be back
+with you again, and then you can stare at me to your heart's content,
+and never wink at all."
+
+[C.5] Thus Cyrus left his grandfather's court and came home to Persia,
+and there, so it is said, he spent one year more as a boy among boys.
+At first the lads were disposed to laugh at him, thinking he must have
+learnt luxurious ways in Media, but when they saw that he could take
+the simple Persian food as happily as themselves, and how, whenever they
+made good cheer at a festival, far from asking for any more himself he
+was ready to give his own share of the dainties away, when they saw and
+felt in this and in other things his inborn nobleness and superiority to
+themselves, then the tide turned and once more they were at his feet.
+
+And when this part of his training was over, and the time was come for
+him to join the younger men, it was the same tale once more. Once more
+he outdid all his fellows, alike in the fulfilment of his duty, in
+the endurance of hardship, in the reverence he showed to age, and the
+obedience he paid to authority.
+
+[2] Now in the fullness of time Astyages died in Media, and Cyaxares
+his son, the brother of Cyrus' mother, took the kingdom in his stead.
+By this time the king of Assyria had subdued all the tribes of Syria,
+subjugated the king of Arabia, brought the Hyrcanians under his rule,
+and was holding the Bactrians in siege. Therefore he came to think that,
+if he could but weaken the power of the Medes, it would be easy for him
+to extend his empire over all the nations round him, since the Medes
+were, without doubt, the strongest of them all. [3] Accordingly he
+sent his messengers to every part of his dominions: to Croesus, king
+of Lydia, to the king of Cappadocia, to both the Phrygias, to the
+Paphlagonians and the Indians, to the Carians and the Cilicians. And he
+bade them spread slanders abroad against the Persians and the Medes, and
+say moreover that these were great and mighty kingdoms which had come
+together and made alliance by marriage with one another, and unless a
+man should be beforehand with them and bring down their power it could
+not be but that they would fall on each of their neighbours in turn and
+subdue them one by one. So the nations listened to the messengers and
+made alliance with the king of Assyria: some were persuaded by what he
+said and others were won over by gifts and gold, for the riches of the
+Assyrian were great. [4] Now Cyaxares, the son of Astyages, was aware of
+these plots and preparations, and he made ready on his side, so far as
+in him lay, sending word to the Persian state and to Cambyses the king,
+who had his sister to wife. And he sent to Cyrus also, begging him to
+come with all speed at the head of any force that might be furnished, if
+so be the Council of Persia would give him men-at-arms. For by this
+time Cyrus had accomplished his ten years among the youths and was now
+enrolled with the grown men. [5] He was right willing to go, and the
+Council of Elders appointed him to command the force for Media. They
+bade him choose two hundred men among the Peers, each of them to choose
+four others from their fellows. Thus was formed a body of a thousand
+Peers: and each of the thousand had orders to raise thirty men from the
+commons--ten targeteers, ten slingers, and ten archers--and thus three
+regiments were levied, 10,000 archers, 10,000 slingers, and 10,000
+targeteers, over and above the thousand Peers. The whole force was to
+be put under the command of Cyrus. [6] As soon as he was appointed,
+his first act had been to offer sacrifice, and when the omens were
+favourable he had chosen his two hundred Peers, and each of them had
+chosen their four comrades. Then he called the whole body together, and
+for the first time spoke to them as follows:--
+
+[7] "My friends, I have chosen you for this work, but this is not the
+first time that I have formed my opinion of your worth: from my boyhood
+I have watched your zeal for all that our country holds to be honourable
+and your abhorrence for all that she counts base. And I wish to tell you
+plainly why I accepted this office myself and why I ask your help. [8] I
+have long felt sure that our forefathers were in their time as good men
+as we. For their lives were one long effort towards the self-same deeds
+of valour as are held in honour now; and still, for all their worth,
+I fail to see what good they gained either for the state or for
+themselves. [9] Yet I cannot bring myself to believe that there is a
+single virtue practised among mankind merely in order that the brave and
+good should fare no better than the base ones of the earth. Men do
+not forego the pleasures of the moment to say good-bye to all joy for
+evermore--no, this self-control is a training, so that we may reap the
+fruits of a larger joy in the time to come. A man will toil day and
+night to make himself an orator, yet oratory is not the one aim of
+his existence: his hope is to influence men by his eloquence and thus
+achieve some noble end. So too with us, and those like us, who are
+drilled in the arts of war: we do not give our labours in order to fight
+for ever, endlessly and hopelessly, we hope that we too one day, when we
+have proved our mettle, may win and wear for ourselves and for our city
+the threefold ornament of wealth, of happiness, of honour. [10] And if
+there should be some who have worked hard all their lives and suddenly
+old-age, they find, has stolen on them unawares, and taken away their
+powers before they have gathered in the fruit of all their toil, such
+men seem to me like those who desire to be thrifty husbandmen, and who
+sow well and plant wisely, but when the time of harvest comes let the
+fruit drop back ungarnered into the soil whence it sprang. Or as if an
+athlete should train himself and reach the heights where victory may be
+won and at the last forbear to enter the lists--such an one, I take it,
+would but meet his deserts if all men cried out upon him for a fool.
+[11] Let not such be our fate, my friends. Our own hearts bear us
+witness that we, too, from our boyhood up, have been trained in the
+school of beauty and nobleness and honour, and now let us go forward to
+meet our foes. They, I know right well, when matched with us, will prove
+but novices in war. He is no true warrior, though he be skilled with the
+javelin and the bow and ride on horseback with the best, who, when the
+call for endurance comes, is found to fail: toil finds him but a novice.
+Nor are they warriors who, when they should wake and watch, give way to
+slumber: sleep finds them novices. Even endurance will not avail, if a
+man has not learnt to deal as a man should by friends and foes: such an
+one is unschooled in the highest part of his calling. [12] But with you
+it is not so: to you the night will be as the day; toil, your school
+has taught you, is the guide to happiness; hunger has been your daily
+condiment, and water you take to quench your thirst as the lion laps the
+stream. And you have that within your hearts which is the rarest of all
+treasures and the most akin to war: of all sweet sounds the sweetest
+sound for you is the voice of fame. You are fair Honour's suitors, and
+you must needs win your title to her favour. Therefore you undergo toil
+and danger gladly.
+
+[13] "Now if I said all this of you, and my heart were not in my words,
+I should but cheat myself. For in so far as you should fail to fulfil my
+hopes of you, it is on me that the shame would fall. But I have faith in
+you, bred of experience: I trust in your goodwill towards me, and in our
+enemy's lack of wit; you will not belie my hopes. Let us go forth with a
+light heart; we have no ill-fame to fear: none can say we covet
+another man's goods unlawfully. Our enemy strikes the first blow in an
+unrighteous cause, and our friends call us to protect them. What is more
+lawful than self-defence? What is nobler than to succour those we love?
+[14] And you have another ground of confidence--in opening this campaign
+I have not been forgetful of the gods: you have gone in and out with me,
+and you know how in all things, great and small, I strive to win their
+blessing. And now," he added, "what need of further words? I will leave
+you now to choose your own men, and when all is ready you will march
+into Media at their head. Meanwhile I will return to my father and start
+before you, so that I may learn what I can about the enemy as soon as
+may be, and thus make all needful preparations, so that by God's help we
+may win glory on the field."
+
+[C.6] Such were his orders and they set about them at once. But Cyrus
+himself went home and prayed to the gods of his father's house, to
+Hestia and Zeus, and to all who had watched over his race. And when he
+had done so, he set out for the war, and his father went with him on
+the road. They were no sooner clear of the city, so says the story, than
+they met with favourable omens of thunder and lightning, and after that
+they went forward without further divination, for they felt that no man
+could mistake the signs from the Ruler of the gods. [2] And as they went
+on their way Cyrus' father said to him, "My son, the gods are gracious
+to us, and look with favour on your journey--they have shown it in the
+sacrifices, and by their signs from heaven. You do not need another man
+to tell you so, for I was careful to have you taught this art, so that
+you might understand the counsels of the gods yourself and have no need
+of an interpreter, seeing with your own eyes and hearing with your own
+ears and taking the heavenly meaning for yourself. Thus you need not be
+at the mercy of any soothsayers who might have a mind to deceive you,
+speaking contrary to the omens vouchsafed from heaven, nor yet, should
+you chance to be without a seer, drift in perplexity and know not how to
+profit by the heavenly signs: you yourself through your own learning can
+understand the warnings of the gods and follow them."
+
+[3] "Yes, father," answered Cyrus, "so far as in me lies, I bear your
+words in mind, and pray to the gods continually that they may show us
+favour and vouchsafe to counsel us. I remember," he went on, "how once I
+heard you say that, as with men, so with the gods, it was but natural if
+the prayer of him should prevail who did not turn to flatter them only
+in time of need, but was mindful of them above all in the heyday of his
+happiness. It was thus indeed, you said, that we ought to deal with our
+earthly friends." [4] "True, my son," said his father, "and because of
+all my teaching, you can now approach the gods in prayer with a lighter
+heart and a more confident hope that they will grant you what you ask,
+because your conscience bears you witness that you have never forgotten
+them." "Even so," said Cyrus, "and in truth I feel towards them as
+though they were my friends." [5] "And do you remember," asked his
+father, "certain other conclusions on which we were agreed? How we
+felt there were certain things that the gods had permitted us to attain
+through learning and study and training? The accomplishment of these is
+the reward of effort, not of idleness; in these it is only when we have
+done all that it is our duty to do that we are justified in asking for
+blessings from the gods." [6] "I remember very well," said Cyrus, "that
+you used to talk to me in that way: and indeed I could not but agree
+with the arguments you gave. You used to say that a man had no right to
+pray he might win a cavalry charge if he had never learnt how to ride,
+or triumph over master-bowmen if he could not draw a bow, or bring
+a ship safe home to harbour if he did not know how to steer, or be
+rewarded with a plenteous harvest if he had not so much as sown grain
+into the ground, or come home safe from battle if he took no precautions
+whatsoever. All such prayers as these, you said, were contrary to the
+very ordinances of heaven, and those who asked for things forbidden
+could not be surprised if they failed to win them from the gods. Even as
+a petition in the face of law on earth would have no success with men."
+
+[7] "And do you remember," said his father, "how we thought that it
+would be a noble work enough if a man could train himself really and
+truly to be beautiful and brave and earn all he needed for his household
+and himself? That, we said, was a work of which a man might well be
+proud; but if he went further still, if he had the skill and the science
+to be the guide and governor of other men, supplying all their wants and
+making them all they ought to be, that, it seemed to us, would be indeed
+a marvel." [8] "Yes, my father," answered Cyrus, "I remember it very
+well. I agreed with you that to rule well and nobly was the greatest
+of all works, and I am of the same mind still," he went on, "whenever
+I think of government in itself. But when I look on the world at large,
+when I see of what poor stuff those men are made who contrive to uphold
+their rule and what sort of antagonists we are likely to find in them,
+then I can only feel how disgraceful it would be to cringe before them
+and not to face them myself and try conclusions with them on the field.
+All of them, I perceive," he added, "beginning with our own friends
+here, hold to it that the ruler should only differ from his subjects by
+the splendour of his banquets, the wealth of gold in his coffers, the
+length and depth of his slumbers, and his freedom from trouble and pain.
+But my views are different: I hold that the ruler should be marked out
+from other men, not by taking life easily, but by his forethought and
+his wisdom and his eagerness for work." [9] "True, my son," the father
+answered, "but you know the struggle must in part be waged not against
+flesh and blood but against circumstances, and these may not be overcome
+so easily. You know, I take it, that if supplies were not forthcoming,
+farewell to this government of yours." "Yes," Cyrus answered, "and that
+is why Cyaxares is undertaking to provide for all of us who join him,
+whatever our numbers are." "So," said the father, "and you really mean,
+my son, that you are relying only on these supplies of Cyaxares for this
+campaign of yours?" "Yes," answered Cyrus. "And do you know what they
+amount to?" "No," he said, "I cannot say that I do." "And yet," his
+father went on, "you are prepared to rely on what you do not know? Do
+you forget that the needs of the morrow must be high, not to speak
+of the outlay for the day?" "Oh, no," said Cyrus, "I am well aware of
+that." "Well," said the father, "suppose the cost is more than Cyaxares
+can bear, or suppose he actually meant to deceive you, how would your
+soldiers fare?" "Ill enough, no doubt," answered he. "And now tell
+me, father, while we are still in friendly country, if you know of any
+resources that I could make my own?" [10] "You want to know where you
+could find resources of your own?" repeated his father. "And who is to
+find that out, if not he who holds the keys of power? We have given you
+a force of infantry that you would not exchange, I feel sure, for one
+that was more than twice its size; and you will have the cavalry of
+Media to support you, the finest in the world. I conceive there are none
+of the nations round about who will not be ready to serve you, whether
+to win your favour or because they fear disaster. These are matters
+you must look into carefully, in concert with Cyaxares, so that nothing
+should ever fail you of what you need, and, if only for habit's sake,
+you should devise some means for supplying your revenue. Bear this maxim
+in mind before all others--never put off the collecting of supplies
+until the day of need, make the season of your abundance provide against
+the time of dearth. You will gain better terms from those on whom you
+must depend if you are not thought to be in straits, and, what is more,
+you will be free from blame in the eyes of your soldiers. That in itself
+will make you more respected; wherever you desire to help or to hurt,
+your troops will follow you with greater readiness, so long as they have
+all they need, and your words, you may be sure, will carry the greater
+weight the fuller your display of power for weal or woe."
+
+[11] "Yes, father," Cyrus said, "I feel all you say is true, and the
+more because as things now stand none of my soldiers will thank me for
+the pay that is promised them. They are well aware of the terms Cyaxares
+has offered for their help: but whatever they get over and above the
+covenanted amount they will look upon as a free gift, and for that they
+will, in all likelihood, feel most gratitude to the giver." "True," said
+the father, "and really for a man to have a force with which he could
+serve his friends and take vengeance on his foes, and yet neglect the
+supplies for it, would be as disgraceful, would it not? as for a farmer
+to hold lands and labourers and yet allow fields to lie barren for lack
+of tillage."
+
+"No such neglect," answered the son, "shall ever be laid at my door.
+Through friendly lands or hostile, trust me, in this business of
+supplying my troops with all they need I will always play my part."
+
+[12] "Well, my son," the father resumed, "and do you remember certain
+other points which we agreed must never be overlooked?" "Could I forget
+them?" answered Cyrus. "I remember how I came to you for money to pay
+the teacher who professed to have taught me generalship, and you gave it
+me, but you asked me many questions. 'Now, my boy,' you said, 'did this
+teacher you want to pay ever mention economy among the things a general
+ought to understand? Soldiers, no less than servants in a house, are
+dependent on supplies.' And I was forced to tell the truth and admit
+that not a syllable had been mentioned on that score. Then you asked
+me if anything had been taught about health and strength, since a true
+general is bound to think of these matters no less than of tactics and
+strategy. And when I was forced to say no, you asked me if he had taught
+me any of the arts which give the best aid in war. Once again I had to
+say no and then you asked whether he had ever taught me how to kindle
+enthusiasm in my men. For in every undertaking, you said, there was all
+the difference in the world between energy and lack of spirit. I shook
+my head and your examination went on:--Had this teacher laid no stress
+on the need for obedience in an army, or on the best means of securing
+discipline? [14] And finally, when it was plain that even this had been
+utterly ignored, you exclaimed, 'What in the world, then, does your
+professor claim to have taught you under the name of generalship?' To
+that I could at last give a positive answer: 'He taught me tactics.'
+And then you gave a little laugh and ran through your list point by
+point:--'And pray what will be the use of tactics to an army without
+supplies, without health, without discipline, without knowledge of those
+arts and inventions that are of use in war?' And so you made it clear
+to me that tactics and manoeuvres and drill were only a small part of all
+that is implied in generalship, and when I asked you if you could teach
+me the rest of it you bade me betake myself to those who stood high in
+repute as great generals, and talk with them and learn from their lips
+how each thing should be done. [15] So I consorted with all I thought to
+be of authority in these matters. As regards our present supplies I was
+persuaded that what Cyaxares intended to provide was sufficient, and, as
+for the health of the troops, I was aware that the cities where health
+was valued appointed medical officers, and the generals who cared for
+their soldiers took out a medical staff; and so when I found myself in
+this office I gave my mind to the matter at once: and I flatter myself,
+father," he added, "that I shall have with me an excellent staff of
+surgeons and physicians." [16] To which the father made reply, "Well,
+my son, but these excellent men are, after all, much the same as the
+tailors who patch torn garments. When folk are ill, your doctors can
+patch them up, but your own care for their health ought to go far deeper
+than that: your prime object should be to save your men from falling ill
+at all." "And pray, father," asked Cyrus, "how can I succeed in that?"
+"Well," answered Cambyses, "I presume if you are to stay long in one
+place you will do your best to discover a healthy spot for your camp,
+and if you give your mind to the matter you can hardly fail to find it.
+Men, we know, are forever discussing what places are healthy and what
+are not, and their own complexions and the state of their own bodies is
+the clearest evidence. But you will not content yourself with choosing a
+site, you will remember the care you take yourself for your own health."
+[17] "Well," said Cyrus, "my first rule is to avoid over-feeding as most
+oppressive to the system, and my next to work off all that enters the
+body: that seems the best way to keep health and gain strength." "My
+son," Cambyses answered, "these are the principles you must apply to
+others." "What!" said Cyrus; "do you think it will be possible for the
+soldiers to diet and train themselves?" "Not only possible," said the
+father, "but essential. For surely an army, if it is to fulfil its
+function at all, must always be engaged in hurting the foe or helping
+itself. A single man is hard enough to support in idleness, a household
+is harder still, an army hardest of all. There are more mouths to be
+filled, less wealth to start with, and greater waste; and therefore
+an army should never be unemployed." [18] "If I take your meaning,"
+answered Cyrus, "you think an idle general as useless as an idle farmer.
+And here and now I answer for the working general, and promise on his
+behalf that with God's help he will show you that his troops have all
+they need and their bodies are all they ought to be. And I think," he
+added, "I know a way by which an officer might do much towards training
+his men in the various branches of war. Let him propose competitions
+of every kind and offer prizes; the standard of skill will rise, and
+he will soon have a body of troops ready to his hand for any service he
+requires." "Nothing could be better," answered the father. "Do this, and
+you may be sure you will watch your regiments at their manoeuvres with as
+much delight as if they were a chorus in the dance."
+
+[19] "And then," continued Cyrus, "to rouse enthusiasm in the men, there
+can be nothing, I take it, like the power of kindling hope?" "True,"
+answered his father, "but that alone would be as though a huntsman were
+for ever rousing his pack with the view-halloo. At first, of course, the
+hounds will answer eagerly enough, but after they have been cheated
+once or twice they will end by refusing the call even when the quarry
+is really in sight. And so it is with hope. Let a man rouse false
+expectations often enough, and in the end, even when hope is at the
+door, he may cry the good news in vain. Rather ought he to refrain from
+speaking positively himself when he cannot know precisely; his agents
+may step in and do it in his place; but he should reserve his own appeal
+for the supreme crises of supreme danger, and not dissipate his credit."
+
+"By heaven, a most admirable suggestion!" cried Cyrus, "and one much
+more to my mind! [20] As for enforcing obedience, I hope I have had some
+training in that already; you began my education yourself when I was a
+child by teaching me to obey you, and then you handed me over to masters
+who did as you had done, and afterwards, when we were lads, my fellows
+and myself, there was nothing on which the governors laid more stress.
+Our laws themselves, I think, enforce this double lesson:--'Rule thou
+and be thou ruled.' And when I come to study the secret of it all, I
+seem to see that the real incentive to obedience lies in the praise and
+honour that it wins against the discredit and the chastisement which
+fall on the disobedient." [21] "That, my son," said the father, "is the
+road to the obedience of compulsion. But there is a shorter way to a
+nobler goal, the obedience of the will. When the interests of mankind
+are at stake, they will obey with joy the man whom they believe to be
+wiser than themselves. You may prove this on all sides: you may see how
+the sick man will beg the doctor to tell him what he ought to do, how a
+whole ship's company will listen to the pilot, how travellers will
+cling to the one who knows the way better, as they believe, than they do
+themselves. But if men think that obedience will lead them to disaster,
+then nothing, neither penalties, nor persuasion, nor gifts, will avail
+to rouse them. For no man accepts a bribe to his own destruction." [22]
+"You would have me understand," said Cyrus, "that the best way to
+secure obedience is to be thought wiser than those we rule?" "Yes," said
+Cambyses, "that is my belief."
+
+"And what is the quickest way," asked Cyrus, "to win that reputation?"
+
+"None quicker, my lad, than this: wherever you wish to seem wise, be
+wise. Examine as many cases as you like, and you will find that what I
+say is true. If you wished to be thought a good farmer, a good horseman,
+a good physician, a good flute-player, or anything else whatever,
+without really being so, just imagine what a world of devices you would
+need to invent, merely to keep up the outward show! And suppose you did
+get a following to praise you and cry you up, suppose you did burden
+yourself with all kinds of paraphernalia for your profession, what
+would come of it all? You succeed at first in a very pretty piece of
+deception, and then by and by the test comes, and the impostor stands
+revealed."
+
+[23] "But," said Cyrus, "how can a man really and truly attain to the
+wisdom that will serve his turn?"
+
+"Well, my son, it is plain that where learning is the road to wisdom,
+learn you must, as you learnt your battalion-drill, but when it comes to
+matters which are not to be learnt by mortal men, nor foreseen by mortal
+minds, there you can only become wiser than others by communicating with
+the gods through the art of divination. But, always, wherever you know
+that a thing ought to be done, see that it is done, and done with care;
+for care, not carelessness, is the mark of the wise man."
+
+[24] "And now," said Cyrus, "to win the affection of those we rule--and
+there is nothing, I take it, of greater importance--surely the path to
+follow lies open to all who desire the love of their friends. We must, I
+mean, show that we do them good." "Yes, my child, but to do good really
+at all seasons to those we wish to help is not always possible: only one
+way is ever open, and that is the way of sympathy; to rejoice with the
+happy in the day of good things, to share their sorrow when ill befalls
+them, to lend a hand in all their difficulties, to fear disaster for
+them, and guard against it by foresight--these, rather than actual
+benefits, are the true signs of comradeship. [25] And so in war; if the
+campaign is in summer the general must show himself greedy for his share
+of the sun and the heat, and in winter for the cold and the frost, and
+in all labours for toil and fatigue. This will help to make him beloved
+of his followers." "You mean, father," said Cyrus, "that a commander
+should always be stouter-hearted in everything than those whom he
+commands." "Yes, my son, that is my meaning," said he; "only be well
+assured of this: the princely leader and the private soldier may be
+alike in body, but their sufferings are not the same: the pains of the
+leader are always lightened by the glory that is his and by the very
+consciousness that all his acts are done in the public eye."
+
+[26] "But now, father, suppose the time has come, and you are satisfied
+that your troops are well supplied, sound in wind and limb, well able to
+endure fatigue, skilled in the arts of war, covetous of honour, eager to
+show their mettle, anxious to follow, would you not think it well to try
+the chance of battle without delay?" "By all means," said the father,
+"if you are likely to gain by the move: but if not, for my own part, the
+more I felt persuaded of my own superiority and the power of my troops,
+the more I should be inclined to stand on my guard, just as we put our
+greatest treasures in the safest place we have." [27] "But how can a man
+make sure that he will gain?" "Ah, there you come," said the father,
+"to a most weighty matter. This is no easy task, I can tell you. If your
+general is to succeed he must prove himself an arch-plotter, a king of
+craft, full of deceits and stratagems, a cheat, a thief, and a robber,
+defrauding and overreaching his opponent at every turn."
+
+"Heavens!" said Cyrus, and burst out laughing, "is this the kind of man
+you want your son to be!" "I want him to be," said the father, "as just
+and upright and law-abiding as any man who ever lived." [28] "But how
+comes it," said his son, "that the lessons you taught us in boyhood and
+youth were exactly opposed to what you teach me now?" "Ah," said the
+father, "those lessons were for friends and fellow-citizens, and for
+them they still hold good, but for your enemies--do you not remember
+that you were also taught to do much harm?"
+
+"No, father," he answered, "I should say certainly not."
+
+"Then why were you taught to shoot? Or to hurl the javelin? Or to trap
+wild-boars? Or to snare stags with cords and caltrops? And why did you
+never meet the lion or the bear or the leopard in fair fight on equal
+terms, but were always trying to steal some advantage over them? Can you
+deny that all that was craft and deceit and fraud and greed?"
+
+[29] "Why, of course," answered the young man, "in dealing with animals,
+but with human beings it was different; if I was ever suspected of a
+wish to cheat another, I was punished, I know, with many stripes."
+
+"True," said the father, "and for the matter of that we did not permit
+you to draw bow or hurl javelin against human beings; we taught you
+merely to aim at a mark. But why did we teach you that? Not so that you
+might injure your friends, either then or now, but that in war you might
+have the skill to make the bodies of living men your targets. So also we
+taught you the arts of deceit and craft and greed and covetousness, not
+among men it is true, but among beasts; we did not mean you ever to turn
+these accomplishments against your friends, but in war we wished you to
+be something better than raw recruits."
+
+[30] "But, father," Cyrus answered, "if to do men good and to do men
+harm were both of them things we ought to learn, surely it would have
+been better to teach them in actual practice?"
+
+[31] Then the father said, "My son, we are told that in the days of our
+forefathers there was such a teacher once. This man did actually teach
+his boys righteousness in the way you suggest, to lie and not to lie,
+to cheat and not to cheat, to calumniate and not to calumniate, to be
+grasping and not grasping. He drew the distinction between our duty to
+friends and our duty to enemies; and he went further still; he taught
+men that it was just and right to deceive even a friend for his own
+good, or steal his property. [32] And with this he must needs teach
+his pupils to practise on one another what he taught them, just as the
+people of Hellas, we are told, teach lads in the wrestling-school to
+fence and to feint, and train them by their practice with one another.
+Now some of his scholars showed such excellent aptitudes for deception
+and overreaching, and perhaps no lack of taste for common money-making,
+that they did not even spare their friends, but used their arts on them.
+[33] And so an unwritten law was framed by which we still abide, bidding
+us teach our children as we teach our servants, simply and solely not to
+lie, and not to cheat, and not to covert, and if they did otherwise to
+punish them, hoping to make them humane and law-abiding citizens. [34]
+But when they came to manhood, as you have come, then, it seemed, the
+risk was over, and it would be time to teach them what is lawful against
+our enemies. For at your age we do not believe you will break out into
+savagery against your fellows with whom you have been knit together
+since childhood in ties of friendship and respect. In the same way we do
+not talk to the young about the mysteries of love, for if lightness were
+added to desire, their passion might sweep them beyond all bounds."
+
+[35] "Then in heaven's name, father," said Cyrus, "remember that
+your son is but a backward scholar and a late learner in this lore of
+selfishness, and teach me all you can that may help me to overreach the
+foe."
+
+"Well," said the father, "you must plot and you must plan, whatever the
+size of his force and your own, to catch his men in disorder when yours
+are all arrayed, unarmed when yours are armed, asleep when yours are
+awake, or you must wait till he is visible to you and you invisible
+to him, or till he is labouring over heavy ground and you are in your
+fortress and can give him welcome there."
+
+[36] "But how," asked Cyrus, "can I catch him in all these blunders?"
+
+"Simply because both you and he are bound to be often in some such case;
+both of you must take your meals sometime; both of you must sleep; your
+men must scatter in the morning to satisfy the needs of nature, and,
+for better for worse, whatever the roads are like, you will be forced
+to make use of them. All these necessities you must lay to heart, and
+wherever you are weaker, there you must be most on your guard, and
+wherever your foe is most assailable, there you must press the attack."
+
+[37] Then Cyrus asked, "And are these the only cases where one can apply
+the great principle of greed, or are there others?"
+
+"Oh, yes, there are many more; indeed in these simple cases any general
+will be sure to keep good watch, knowing how necessary it is. But your
+true cheat and prince of swindlers is he who can lure the enemy on
+and throw him off his guard, suffer himself to be pursued and get the
+pursuers into disorder, lead the foe into difficult ground and then
+attack him there. [38] Indeed, as an ardent student, you must not
+confine yourself to the lessons you have learnt; you must show yourself
+a creator and discoverer, you must invent stratagems against the foe;
+just as a real musician is not content with the mere elements of his
+art, but sets himself to compose new themes. And if in music it is the
+novel melody, the flower-like freshness, that wins popularity, still
+more in military matters it is the newest contrivance that stands the
+highest, for the simple reason that such will give you the best chance
+of outwitting your opponent. [39] And yet, my son, I must say that if
+you did no more than apply against human beings the devices you learnt
+to use against the smallest game, you would have made considerable
+progress in this art of overreaching. Do you not think so yourself?
+Why, to snare birds you would get up by night in the depth of winter
+and tramp off in the cold; your nets were laid before the creatures were
+astir, and your tracks completely covered and you actually had birds of
+your own, trained to serve you and decoy their kith and kin, while you
+yourself lay in some hiding-place, seeing yet unseen, and you had learnt
+by long practice to jerk in the net before the birds could fly away.
+[40] Or you might be out after hares, and for a hare you had two breeds
+of dogs, one to track her out by scent, because she feeds in the dusk
+and takes to her form by day, and another to cut off her escape and run
+her down, because she is so swift. And even if she escaped these, she
+did not escape you; you had all her runs by heart and knew all her
+hiding-places, and there you would spread your nets, so that they were
+scarcely to be seen, and the very haste of her flight would fling her
+into the snare. And to make sure of her you had men placed on the spot
+to keep a look-out, and pounce on her at once. And there were you at her
+heels, shouting and scaring her out of her wits, so that she was caught
+from sheer terror, and there lay your men, as you had taught them,
+silent and motionless in their ambuscade. [41] I say, therefore, that if
+you chose to act like this against human beings, you would soon have no
+enemies left to fight, or I am much mistaken. And even if, as well may
+be, the necessity should arise for you to do battle on equal terms in
+open field, even so, my son, there will still be power in those arts
+which you have studied so long and which teach you to out-villain
+villainy. And among them I include all that has served to train the
+bodies and fire the courage of your men, all that has made them adepts
+in every craft of war. One thing you must ever bear in mind: if you wish
+your men to follow you, remember that they expect you to plan for them.
+[42] Hence you must never know a careless mood; if it be night, you must
+consider what your troops shall do when it is day; if day, how the night
+had best be spent. [43] For the rest, you do not need me to tell you
+now how you should draw up your troops or conduct your march by day or
+night, along broad roads or narrow lanes, over hills or level ground, or
+how you should encamp and post your pickets, or advance into battle
+or retreat before the foe, or march past a hostile city, or attack a
+fortress or retire from it, or cross a river or pass through a defile,
+or guard against a charge of cavalry or an attack from lancers or
+archers, or what you should do if the enemy comes into sight when you
+are marching in column and how you are to take up position against him,
+or how deploy into action if you are in line and he takes you in flank
+or rear, and how you are to learn all you can about his movements, while
+keeping your own as secret as may be; these are matters on which you
+need no further word of mine; all that I know about them you have
+heard a hundred times, and I am sure you have not neglected any other
+authority on whom you thought you could rely. You know all their
+theories, and you must apply them now, I take it, according to
+circumstances and your need. [44] But," he added, "there is one lesson
+that I would fain impress on you, and it is the greatest of them all.
+Observe the sacrifices and pay heed to the omens; when they are against
+you, never risk your army or yourself, for you must remember that men
+undertake enterprises on the strength of probability alone and without
+any real knowledge as to what will bring them happiness. [45] You may
+learn this from all life and all history. How often have cities allowed
+themselves to be persuaded into war, and that by advisers who were
+thought the wisest of men, and then been utterly destroyed by those
+whom they attacked! How often have statesmen helped to raise a city or a
+leader to power, and then suffered the worst at the hands of those whom
+they exalted! And many who could have treated others as friends and
+equals, giving and receiving kindnesses, have chosen to use them as
+slaves, and then paid the penalty at their hands; and many, not content
+to enjoy their own share of good, have been swept on by the craving to
+master all, and thereby lost everything that they once possessed; and
+many have won the very wealth they prayed for and through it have found
+destruction. [46] So little does human wisdom know how to choose the
+best, helpless as a man who could but draw lots to see what he should
+do. But the gods, my son, who live for ever, they know all things, the
+things that have been and the things that are and the things that are to
+be, and all that shall come from these; and to us mortals who ask their
+counsel and whom they love they will show signs, to tell us what we
+should do and what we should leave undone. Nor must we think it strange
+if the gods will not vouchsafe their wisdom to all men equally; no
+compulsion is laid on them to care for men, unless it be their will."
+
+
+                                NOTES
+
+[This work concludes the translation of Xenophon undertaken by Mr.
+Dakyns. ("The Works of Xenophon," with maps, introductions, and notes,
+Vols. I.-III., Macmillan.) From references in the earlier vols. (e.g.
+Vol. I. pp. lvii., lxx., xc., cxiii., cxxxi.; Vol. III. Part I. pp.
+v.-vii.) it is plain the translator considered that the historical
+romance of the _Cyropaedia_ was written in Xenophon's old age (completed
+_circa_ 365 B.C.) embodying many of his own experiences and his maturest
+thoughts on education, on government, on the type of man,--a rare type,
+alone fitted for leadership. The figure of his hero, Cyrus the Great,
+the founder of the Persian empire, known to him by story and legend, is
+modelled on the Spartan king Agesilaus, whom he loved and admired, and
+under whom he served in Persia and in Greece (op. cit. Vol. II., see
+under _Agesilaus_, Index, and _Hellenica_, Bks. III.-V. _Agesilaus_,
+_an Encomium_, passim). Certain traits are also taken from the younger
+Cyrus, whom Xenophon followed in his famous march against his brother,
+the Persian king, up from the coast of Asia Minor into the heart of
+Babylonia (see the _Anabasis_, Bk. I., especially c. ix.; op. cit. Vol.
+I. p. 109). Clearly, moreover, many of the customs and institutions
+described in the work as Persian are really Dorian, and were still in
+vogue among Xenophon's Spartan friends (vide e.g. _Hellenica_, Bk. IV.,
+i. S28; op. cit. Vol. II. p. 44).]
+
+C2.4. Qy. Were these tribal customs of the Persians, as doubtless of the
+Dorians, or is it all a Dorian idealisation?
+
+C2.13. Good specimen of the "annotative" style with a parenthetic
+comment. The passage in brackets might be a gloss, but is it?
+
+C3.3. When did Xenophon himself first learn to ride? Surely this is a
+boyish reminiscence, full of sympathy with boy-nature.
+
+C3.12. Beautiful description of a child subject to his parents, growing
+in stature and favour with God and man.
+
+C4.2. Perhaps his own grandson, Xenophon the son of Grylus, is the
+prototype, and Xenophon himself a sort of ancient Victor Hugo in this
+matter of fondness for children.
+
+C4.3. Contrast Autolycus in the _Symposium_, who had, however, reached
+the more silent age [e.g. _Symp_., c. iii., fin. tr. Works, Vol. III.
+Part I. p. 309].
+
+C4.4. The touch about the puppy an instance of Xenophon's {katharotes}
+[clear simplicity of style].
+
+C4.8. Reads like a biographical incident in some hunt of Xenophon, boy
+or father.
+
+C4.9-10. The rapidity, one topic introducing and taken up by another,
+wave upon wave, {anerithmon lelasma} ["the multitudinous laughter of the
+sea"].
+
+C4.12. The truth of this due to sympathy (cf. Archidamus and his father
+Agesilaus, _Hell_., V. c. iv.; tr. Works, Vol. II. p. 126).
+
+C4.22. Cyaxares recalls John Gilpin.
+
+C4.24. An Hellenic trait; madness of battle-rage, {menis}. Something of
+the fierceness of the _Iliad_ here.
+
+C5.7. Cyrus. His first speech as a general; a fine one; a spirit
+of athleticism breathes through it. Cf. _Memorabilia_ for a similar
+rationalisation of virtuous self-restraint (e.g. _Mem_., Bk. I. c. 5, 6;
+Bk. III. c. 8). Paleyan somewhat, perhaps Socratic, not devoid of common
+sense. What is the end and aim of our training? Not only for an earthly
+aim, but for a high spiritual reward, all this toil.
+
+C5.10. This is Dakyns.
+
+C5.11. "Up, Guards, and at 'em!"
+
+C6. This chapter might have been a separate work appended to the
+_Memorabilia_ on Polemics or Archics ["Science of War" and "Science of
+Rule"].
+
+C6.3-6. Sounds like some Socratic counsel; the righteous man's
+conception of prayer and the part he must himself play.
+
+C6.7. Personal virtue and domestic economy a sufficiently hard task,
+let alone that still graver task, the art of grinding masses of men into
+virtue.
+
+C6.8, fin. The false theory of ruling in vogue in Media: the _plus_ of
+ease instead of the _plus_ of foresight and danger-loving endurance. Cf.
+Walt Whitman.
+
+C6.30. Is like the logical remark of a disputant in a Socratic dialogue
+of the Alcibiades type, and §§ 31-33 a Socratic _mythos_ to escape
+from the dilemma; the breakdown of this ideal _plus_ and _minus_
+righteousness due to the hardness of men's hearts and their feeble
+intellects.
+
+C6.31. Who is this ancient teacher or who is his prototype if he is an
+ideal being? A sort of Socrates-Lycurgus? Or is Xenophon thinking of the
+Spartan Crypteia?
+
+C6.34. For _pleonexia_ and deceit in war, vide _Hipparch_., c. 5 [tr.
+Works, Vol. III. Part II. p. 20]. Interesting and Hellenic, I think,
+the mere raising of this sort of question; it might be done nowadays,
+perhaps, with advantage _or_ disadvantage, less cant and more plain
+brutality.
+
+C6.39. Hunting devices applied: throws light on the date of the
+_Cyropaedia_, after the Scilluntine days, probably. [After Xenophon was
+exiled from Athens, his Spartan friends gave him a house and farm
+at Scillus, a township in the Peloponnese, not far from Olympia. See
+_Sketch of Xenophon's Life_, Works, Vol. I., p. cxxvi.]
+
+C6.41, init. Colloquial exaggerated turn of phrase; almost "you could
+wipe them off the earth."
+
+
+
+
+BOOK II
+
+[C.1] Thus they talked together, and thus they journeyed on until they
+reached the frontier, and there a good omen met them: an eagle swept
+into view on the right, and went before them as though to lead the way,
+and they prayed the gods and heroes of the land to show them favour and
+grant them safe entry, and then they crossed the boundary. And when they
+were across, they prayed once more that the gods of Media might receive
+them graciously, and when they had done this they embraced each other,
+as father and son will, and Cambyses turned back to his own city, but
+Cyrus went forward again, to his uncle Cyaxares in the land of Media.
+[2] And when his journey was done and he was face to face with him and
+they had greeted each other as kinsmen may, then Cyaxares asked
+the prince how great an armament he had brought with him? And Cyrus
+answered, "I have 30,000 with me, men who have served with you before as
+mercenaries; and more are coming on behind, fresh troops, from the Peers
+of Persia."
+
+"How many of those?" asked Cyaxares. [3] And Cyrus answered, "Their
+numbers will not please you, but remember these Peers of ours, though
+they are few, find it easy to rule the rest of the Persians, who are
+many. But now," he added, "have you any need of us at all? Perhaps
+it was only a false alarm that troubled you, and the enemy are not
+advancing?"
+
+"Indeed they are," said the other, "and in full force."
+
+[4] "How do you know?" asked Cyrus.
+
+"Because," said he, "many deserters come to us, and all of them, in one
+fashion or another, tell the same tale."
+
+"Then we must give battle?" said Cyrus.
+
+"Needs must," Cyaxares replied.
+
+"Well," answered Cyrus, "but you have not told me yet how great their
+power is, or our own either. I want to hear, if you can tell me, so that
+we may make our plans."
+
+"Listen, then," said Cyaxares. [5] "Croesus the Lydian is coming, we
+hear, with 10,000 horse and more than 40,000 archers and targeteers.
+Artamas the governor of Greater Phrygia is bringing, they say, 8000
+horse, and lancers and targeteers also, 40,000 strong. Then there is
+Aribaius the king of Cappadocia with 6000 horse and 30,000 archers
+and targeteers. And Aragdus the Arabian with 10,000 horse, a hundred
+chariots, and innumerable slingers. As for the Hellenes who dwell in
+Asia, it is not clear as yet whether they will send a following or not.
+But the Phrygians from the Hellespont, we are told, are mustering in the
+Caystrian plain under Gabaidus, 6000 horse and 40,000 targeteers. Word
+has been sent to the Carians, Cilicians, and Paphlagonians, but it is
+said they will not rise; the Lord of Assyria and Babylon will himself,
+I believe, bring not less than 20,000 horse, and I make no doubt as many
+as 200 chariots, and thousands upon thousands of men on foot; such at
+least has been his custom whenever he invaded us before."
+
+[6] Cyrus answered: "Then you reckon the numbers of the enemy to be, in
+all, something like 60,000 horse and 200,000 archers and targeteers. And
+what do you take your own to be?"
+
+"Well," he answered, "we ourselves can furnish over 10,000 horse and
+perhaps, considering the state of the country, as many as 60,000 archers
+and targeteers. And from our neighbours, the Armenians," he added, "we
+look to get 4000 horse and 20,000 foot."
+
+"I see," said Cyrus, "you reckon our cavalry at less than a third of the
+enemy's, and our infantry at less than half."
+
+[7] "Ah," said Cyaxares, "and perhaps you feel that the force you are
+bringing from Persia is very small?"
+
+"We will consider that later on," answered Cyrus, "and see then if we
+require more men or not. Tell me first the methods of fighting that the
+different troops adopt."
+
+"They are much the same for all," answered Cyaxares, "that is to say,
+their men and ours alike are armed with bows and javelins."
+
+"Well," replied Cyrus, "if such arms are used, skirmishing at long range
+must be the order of the day." "True," said the other. [8] "And in that
+case," went on Cyrus, "the victory is in the hands of the larger force;
+for even if the same numbers fall on either side, the few would be
+exhausted long before the many." "If that be so," cried Cyaxares, "there
+is nothing left for us but to send to Persia, and make them see that if
+disaster falls on Media it will fall on Persia next, and beg them for
+a larger force." "Ah, but," said Cyrus, "you must remember that even if
+every single Persian were to come at once, we could not outnumber our
+enemies." [9] "But," said the other, "can you see anything else to be
+done?" "For my part," answered Cyrus, "if I could have my way, I would
+arm every Persian who is coming here in precisely the same fashion as
+our Peers at home, that is to say, with a corslet for the breast, a
+shield for the left arm, and a sword or battle-axe for the right hand.
+If you will give us these you will make it quite safe for us to close
+with the enemy, and our foes will find that flight is far pleasanter
+than defence. But we Persians," he added, "will deal with those who do
+stand firm, leaving the fugitives to you and to your cavalry, who must
+give them no time to rally and no time to escape."
+
+[10] That was the counsel of Cyrus, and Cyaxares approved it. He thought
+no more of sending for a larger force, but set about preparing the
+equipment he had been asked for, and all was in readiness just about the
+time when the Peers arrived from Persia at the head of their own troops.
+[11] Then, so says the story, Cyrus called the Peers together and spoke
+to them as follows: "Men of Persia, my friends and comrades, when I
+looked at you first and saw the arms you bore and how you were all on
+fire to meet the enemy, hand to hand, and when I remembered that your
+squires are only equipped for fighting on the outskirts of the field,
+I confess my mind misgave me. Few and forlorn they will be, I said to
+myself, swallowed up in a host of enemies; no good can come of it. But
+to-day you are here, and your men behind you, stalwart and stout of
+limb, and to-morrow they shall have armour like our own. None could find
+fault with their thews and sinews, and as for their spirit, it is for
+us to see it does not fail. A leader must not only have a stout heart
+himself; he must see to it that his followers are as valiant as he."
+
+[12] Thus Cyrus spoke, and the Peers were well satisfied at his words,
+feeling that on the day of battle they would have more to help them in
+the struggle. [13] And one of them said, "Perhaps it will seem strange
+if I ask Cyrus to speak in our stead to our fellow-combatants when they
+receive their arms, and yet I know well that the words of him who has
+the greatest power for weal or woe sink deepest into the listener's
+heart. His very gifts, though they should be less than the gifts of
+equals, are valued more. These new comrades of ours," he went on, "would
+rather be addressed by Cyrus himself than by us, and now that they are
+to take their place among the Peers their title will seem to them
+far more secure if it is given them by the king's own son and our
+general-in-chief. Not that we have not still our own duties left. We are
+bound to do our best in every way to rouse the spirit of our men. Shall
+we not gain ourselves by all they gain in valour?"
+
+[14] So it came about that Cyrus had the new armour placed before him
+and summoned a general meeting of the Persian soldiery, and spoke to
+them as follows:
+
+[15] "Men of Persia, born and bred in the same land as ourselves, whose
+limbs are as stout and as strong as our own, your hearts should be as
+brave. I know they are; and yet at home in the land of our fathers you
+did not share our rights; not that we drove you out ourselves, but
+you were banished by the compulsion that lay upon you to find your
+livelihood for yourselves. Now from this day forward, with heaven's
+help, it shall be my care to provide it for you; and now, if so
+you will, you have it in your power to take the armour that we wear
+ourselves, face the same perils and win the same honours, if so be you
+make any glorious deed your own. [16] In former days you were trained,
+like ourselves, in the use of bow and javelin, and if you were at all
+inferior to us in skill, that was not to be wondered at; you had not
+the same leisure for practice as we; but now in this new accoutrement we
+shall have no pre-eminence at all. Each of us will wear a corslet fitted
+to his breast and carry a shield on his left arm of the type to which we
+are all accustomed, and in his right hand a sabre or a battle-axe. With
+these we shall smite the enemy before us, and need have no fear that we
+shall miss the mark. [17] How can we differ from one another with these
+arms? There can be no difference except in daring. And daring you may
+foster in your hearts as much as we in ours. What greater right have we
+than you to love victory and follow after her, victory who wins for us
+and preserves to us all things that are beautiful and good? Why should
+you, any more than we, be found lacking in that power which takes the
+goods of weaklings and bestows them on the strong?"
+
+[18] He ended: "Now you have heard all. There lie your weapons; let him
+who chooses take them up and write his name with the brigadier in the
+same roll as ours. And if a man prefers to remain a mercenary, let him
+do so; he carries the arms of a servant."
+
+[19] Thus spoke Cyrus; and the Persians, every man of them, felt they
+would be ashamed for the rest of their days, and deservedly, if they
+drew back now, when they were offered equal honour in return for equal
+toil. One and all they inscribed their names and took up the new arms.
+
+[20] And now in the interval, before the enemy were actually at hand,
+but while rumour said they were advancing, Cyrus took on himself a
+three-fold task: to bring the physical strength of his men to the
+highest pitch, to teach them tactics, and to rouse their spirit for
+martial deeds. [21] He asked Cyaxares for a body of assistants whose
+duty it should be to provide each of his soldiers with all they could
+possibly need, thus leaving the men themselves free for the art of war.
+He had learnt, he thought, that success, in whatever sphere, was only to
+be won by refusing to attempt a multitude of tasks and concentrating the
+mind on one.
+
+Thus in the military training itself he gave up the practice with bow
+and javelin, leaving his men to perfect themselves in the use of sabre,
+shield, and corslet, accustoming them from the very first to the thought
+that they must close with the enemy, or confess themselves worthless as
+fellow-combatants; a harsh conclusion for those who knew that they were
+only protected in order to fight on behalf of their protectors. [22] And
+further, being convinced that wherever the feeling of emulation can
+be roused, there the eagerness to excel is greatest, he instituted
+competitions for everything in which he thought his soldiers should be
+trained. The private soldier was challenged to prove himself prompt
+to obey, anxious to work, eager for danger, and yet ever mindful of
+discipline, an expert in the science of war, an artist in the conduct
+of his arms, and a lover of honour in all things. The petty officer
+commanding a squad of five was not only to equal the leading private, he
+must also do what he could to bring his men to the same perfection; the
+captain of ten must do the same for his ten, and the company's captain
+for the company, while the commander of the whole regiment, himself
+above reproach, must take the utmost care with the officers under him so
+that they in their turn should see that their subordinates were perfect
+in all their duties. [23] For prizes, Cyrus announced that the brigadier
+in command of the finest regiment should be raised to the rank of
+general, the captain of the finest company should be made a brigadier,
+the captain of the finest squad of ten captain of a company, and the
+captain of the best five a captain of ten, while the best soldiers from
+the ranks should become captains of five themselves. Every one of these
+officers had the privilege of being served by those beneath him, and
+various other honours also, suited to their several grades, while ampler
+hopes were offered for any nobler exploits. [24] Finally prizes were
+announced to be won by a regiment or a company or a squad taken as a
+whole, by those who proved themselves most loyal to their leaders and
+most zealous in the practice of their duty. These prizes, of course,
+were such as to be suitable for men taken in the mass.
+
+Such were the orders of the Persian leader, and such the exercises of
+the Persian troops. [25] For their quarters, he arranged that a separate
+shelter should be assigned to every brigadier, and that it should be
+large enough for the whole regiment he commanded; a regiment consisting
+of 100 men. Thus they were encamped by regiments, and in the mere fact
+of common quarters there was this advantage, Cyrus thought, for the
+coming struggle, that the men saw they were all treated alike, and
+therefore no one could pretend that he was slighted, and no one sink to
+the confession that he was a worse man than his neighbours when it came
+to facing the foe. Moreover the life in common would help the men to
+know each other, and it is only by such knowledge, as a rule, that a
+common conscience is engendered; those who live apart, unknowing and
+unknown, seem far more apt for mischief, like those who skulk in the
+dark. [26] Cyrus thought the common life would lead to the happiest
+results in the discipline of the regiments. By this system all the
+officers--brigadiers, company-captains, captains of the squads--could
+keep their men in as perfect order as if they were marching before them
+in single file. [27] Such precision in the ranks would do most to guard
+against disorder and re-establish order if ever it were broken; just as
+when timbers and stones have to be fitted together it is easy enough
+to put them into place, wherever they chance to lie, provided only that
+they are marked so as to leave no doubt where each belongs. [28] And
+finally, he felt, there was the fact that those who live together are
+the less likely to desert one another; even the wild animals, Cyrus
+knew, who are reared together suffer terribly from loneliness when they
+are severed from each other.
+
+[29] There was a further matter, to which he gave much care; he wished
+no man to take his meal at morning or at night till he had sweated for
+it. He would lead the men out to hunt, or invent games for them, or
+if there was work to be done, he would so conduct it that they did not
+leave it without sweat. He believed this regimen gave them zest for
+their food, was good for their health, and increased their powers of
+toil; and the toil itself was a blessed means for making the men more
+gentle towards each other; just as horses that work together grow
+gentle, and will stand quietly side by side. Moreover the knowledge of
+having gone through a common training would increase tenfold the courage
+with which they met the foe.
+
+[30] Cyrus had his own quarters built to hold all the guests he might
+think it well to entertain, and, as a rule, he would invite such of the
+brigadiers as the occasion seemed to call for, but sometimes he would
+send for the company-captains and the officers in command of the smaller
+squads, and even the private soldiers were summoned to his board, and
+from time to time a squad of five, or of ten, or an entire company, or
+even a whole regiment, or he would give a special invitation by way of
+honour to any one whom he knew had undertaken some work he had at heart
+himself. In every case there was no distinction whatever between the
+meats for himself and for his guests. [31] Further he always insisted
+that the army servants should share and share alike with the soldiers
+in everything, for he held that those who did such service for the army
+were as much to be honoured as heralds or ambassadors. They were bound,
+he said, to be loyal and intelligent, alive to all a soldier's needs,
+active, swift, unhesitating, and withal cool and imperturbable. Nor
+was that all; he was convinced that they ought also to possess those
+qualities which are thought to be peculiar to what we call "the better
+classes," and yet never despise their work, but feel that everything
+their commander laid upon them must be fit for them to do.
+
+[C.2] It was the constant aim of Cyrus whenever he and his soldiers
+messed together, that the talk should be lively and full of grace, and
+at the same time do the listeners good. Thus one day he brought the
+conversation round to the following theme:--
+
+"Do you think, gentlemen," said he, "that our new comrades appear
+somewhat deficient in certain respects simply because they have not been
+educated in the same fashion as ourselves? Or will they show themselves
+our equals in daily life and on the field of battle when the time comes
+to meet the foe?"
+
+[2] Hystaspas took up the challenge:--"What sort of warriors they will
+prove I do not pretend to know, but this I do say, in private life some
+of them are cross-grained fellows enough. Only the other day," he went
+on, "Cyaxares sent a present of sacrificial meat to every regiment.
+There was flesh enough for three courses apiece or more, and the
+attendant had handed round the first, beginning with myself. So when he
+came in again, I told him to begin at the other end of the board, and
+serve the company in that order. [3] But I was greeted by a yell from
+the centre: one of these men who was sitting there bawled out, 'Equality
+indeed! There's not much of it here, if we who sit in the middle
+are never served first at all!' It nettled me that they should fancy
+themselves treated worse than we, so I called him up at once and made
+him sit beside me. And I am bound to say he obeyed that order with the
+most exemplary alacrity. But when the dish came round to us, we found,
+not unnaturally, since we were the last to be served, that only a few
+scraps were left. At this my man fell into the deepest dudgeon, and made
+no attempt to conceal it, muttering to himself, 'Just like my ill-luck!
+To be invited here just now and never before!' [4] I tried to comfort
+him. 'Never mind,' I said, 'presently the servant will begin again with
+us, and then you will help yourself first and you can take the biggest
+piece.' Just then the third course, and, as it proved, the last, came
+round, and so the poor fellow took his helping, but as he did so it
+struck him that the piece he had chosen first was too small, and he put
+it back, meaning to pick out another. But the carver, thinking he had
+changed his mind and did not want any more, passed on to the next man
+before he had time to secure his second slice. [5] At this our friend
+took his loss so hard that he only made matters worse: his third course
+was clean gone, and now in his rage and his bad luck he somehow managed
+to overset the gravy, which was all that remained to him. The captain
+next to us seeing how matters stood rubbed his hands with glee and went
+into peals of laughter. And," said Hystaspas, "I took refuge in a fit
+of coughing myself, for really I could not have controlled my laughter.
+There, Cyrus," said he, "that is a specimen of our new comrades, as
+nearly as I can draw his portrait."
+
+[6] The description, as may be guessed, was greeted with shouts of
+laughter, and then another brigadier took up the word: "Well, Cyrus,"
+said he, "our friend here has certainly met with an absolute boor: my
+own experience is somewhat different. You remember the admonitions you
+gave us when you dismissed the regiments, and how you bade each of us
+instruct his own men in the lessons we had learnt from you. Well, I,
+like the rest of us, went off at once and set about instructing one of
+the companies under me. I posted the captain in front with a fine young
+fellow behind him, and after them the others in the order I thought
+best; I took my stand facing them all, and waited, with my eyes fixed on
+the captain, until I thought the right moment had come, and then I gave
+the order to advance. [7] And what must my fine fellow do but get in
+front of the captain and march off ahead of the whole troop. I cried
+out, 'You, sir, what are you doing?' 'Advancing as you ordered.' 'I
+never ordered you to advance alone,' I retorted, 'the order was given
+to the whole company.' At which he turned right round and addressed the
+ranks: 'Don't you hear the officer abusing you? The orders are for all
+to advance!' Whereupon the rest of them marched right past their captain
+and up to me. [8] Of course the captain called them back, and they began
+to grumble and growl: 'Which of the two are we to obey? One tells us to
+advance, the other won't let us move.'
+
+"Well, I had to take the whole matter very quietly and begin again from
+the beginning, posting the company as they were, and explaining that no
+one in the rear was to move until the front rank man led off: all they
+had to do was to follow the man in front. [9] As I was speaking, up came
+a friend of mine; he was going off to Persia, and had come to ask me for
+a letter I had written home. So I turned to the captain who happened to
+know where I had left the letter lying, and bade him fetch it for me.
+Off he ran, and off ran my young fellow at his heels, breast-plate,
+battle-axe, and all. The rest of the company thought they were bound to
+follow suit, joined in the race, and brought my letter back in style.
+That is how my company, you see, carries out your instructions to the
+full."
+
+[10] He paused, and the listeners laughed to their hearts' content, as
+well as they might, over the triumphant entry of the letter under its
+armed escort. Then Cyrus spoke:
+
+"Now heaven be praised! A fine set they are, these new friends of ours,
+a most rare race! So grateful are they for any little act of courtesy,
+you may win a hundred hearts by a dish of meat! And so docile, some of
+them must needs obey an order before they have understood it! For my
+part I can only pray to be blest with an army like them all."
+
+[11] Thus he joined in the mirth, but he turned the laughter to the
+praise of his new recruits.
+
+Then one of the company, a brigadier called Aglaïtadas, a somewhat
+sour-tempered man, turned to him and said:
+
+"Cyrus, do you really think the tales they tell are true?"
+
+"Certainly," he answered, "why should they say what is false?"
+
+"Why," repeated the other, "simply to raise a laugh, and make a brag
+like the impostors that they are." [12] But Cyrus cut him short, "Hush!
+hush! You must not use such ugly names. Let me tell you what an impostor
+is. He is a man who claims to be wealthier or braver than he is in fact,
+and who undertakes what he can never carry out, and all this for the
+sake of gain. But he who contrives mirth for his friends, not for his
+own profit, or his hearers' loss, or to injure any man, surely, if we
+must needs give him a name, we ought to call him a man of taste and
+breeding and a messenger of wit."
+
+[13] Such was the defence of Cyrus in behalf of the merrymakers. And the
+officer who had begun the jest turned to Aglaïtadas and said:
+
+"Just think, my dear sir, if we had tried to make you weep! What
+fault you would have found with us! Suppose we had been like the
+ballad-singers and story-tellers who put in lamentable tales in the hope
+of reducing their audience to tears! What would you have said about us
+then? Why, even now, when you know we only wish to amuse you, not to
+make you suffer, you must needs hold us up to shame."
+
+[14] "And is not the shame justified?" Aglaïtadas replied. "The man who
+sets himself to make his fellows laugh does far less for them than he
+who makes them weep. If you will but think, you will admit that what
+I say is true. It is through tears our fathers teach self-control unto
+their sons, and our tutors sound learning to their scholars, and the
+laws themselves lead the grown man to righteousness by putting him to
+sit in the place of penitence. But your mirth-makers, can you say they
+benefit the body or edify the soul? Can smiles make a man a better
+master or a better citizen? Can he learn economy or statesmanship from a
+grin?"
+
+[15] But Hystaspas answered back:
+
+"Take my advice, Aglaïtadas, pluck up heart and spend this precious gift
+of yours on your enemies: make them sit in the seat of the sorrowful,
+and fling away on us, your friends, that vile and worthless laughter.
+You must have an ample store of it in reserve: it cannot be said you
+have squandered it on yourself, or ever wasted a smile on friend or
+foreigner if you could help it. So you have no excuse to be niggardly
+now, and cannot refuse us a smile."
+
+"I see," said Aglaïtadas, "you are trying to get a laugh out of me, are
+you not?"
+
+But the brigadier interposed, "Then he is a fool for his pains, my
+friend: one might strike fire out of you, perhaps, but not a laugh, not
+a laugh."
+
+[16] At this sally all the others shouted with glee, and even Aglaïtadas
+could not help himself: he smiled.
+
+And Cyrus, seeing the sombre face light up said:
+
+"Brigadier, you are very wrong to corrupt so virtuous a man, luring him
+to laughter, and that too when he is the sworn foe of gaiety."
+
+So they talked and jested. [17] And then Chrysantas began on another
+theme.
+
+[18] "Cyrus," he said, "and gentlemen all, I cannot help seeing that
+within our ranks are men of every kind, some better and some worse, and
+yet if anything is won every man will claim an equal share. Now to my
+mind nothing is more unfair than that the base man and the good should
+be held of equal account."
+
+"Perhaps it would be best, gentlemen," said Cyrus in answer, "to bring
+the matter before the army in council and put it to them, whether,
+if God grant us success, we should let all share and share alike, or
+distribute the rewards and honours in proportion to the deserts of
+each."
+
+[19] "But why," asked Chrysantas, "why discuss the point? Why not simply
+issue a general order that you intend to do this? Was not that enough in
+the case of the competitions?"
+
+"Doubtless," Cyrus answered, "but this case is different. The troops, I
+take it, will feel that all they win by their services on the campaign
+should belong to them in common: but they hold that the actual command
+of the expedition was mine by right even before we left home, so that I
+was fully entitled, on their view, to appoint umpires and judges at my
+own will."
+
+[20] "And do you really expect," asked Chrysantas, "that the mass of the
+army will pass a resolution giving up the right of all to an equal share
+in order that the best men should receive the most?"
+
+"Yes, I do," said Cyrus, "partly because we shall be there to argue for
+that course, but chiefly because it would seem too base to deny that
+he who works the hardest and does most for the common good deserves
+the highest recompense. Even the worst of men must admit that the brave
+should gain the most."
+
+[21] It was, however, as much for the sake of the Peers themselves as
+for any other reason that Cyrus wished the resolution to be passed.
+They would prove all the better men, he thought, if they too were to be
+judged by their deeds and rewarded accordingly. And this was the right
+moment, he felt, to raise the question and put it to the vote, now when
+the Peers were disposed to resent being put on a level with the common
+people. In the end it was agreed by all the company that the question
+should be raised, and that every one who claimed to call himself a man
+was bound to argue in its favour.
+
+[22] And on that one of the brigadiers smiled to himself and said: "I
+know at least one son of the soil who will be ready to agree that the
+principle of share and share alike should not be followed everywhere."
+
+"And who is he?" another asked.
+
+"Well," said the first, "he is a member of our quarters, I can tell you
+that, and he is always hunting after the lion's share of every single
+thing."
+
+"What? Of everything?" said a third. "Of work as well?" "Oh, no!" said
+the first, "you have caught me there. I was wrong to say so much, I must
+confess. When it comes to work, I must admit, he is quite ready to go
+short: he will give up his own share of that, without a murmur, to any
+man whatever."
+
+[23] "For my part, gentlemen," said Cyrus, "I hold that all such idlers
+ought to be turned out of the army, that is, if we are ever to cultivate
+obedience and energy in our men. The bulk of our soldiers, I take it,
+are of the type to follow a given lead: they will seek after nobleness
+and valour if their leaders are valiant and noble, but after baseness if
+these are base. [24] And we know that only too often the worthless will
+find more friends than the good. Vice, passing lightly along her path
+of pleasure, wins the hearts of thousands with her gifts; but Virtue,
+toiling up the steep ascent, has little skill to snare the souls of men
+and draw them after her, when all the while their comrades are calling
+to them on the easy downward way. [25] It is true there are degrees,
+and where the evil springs only from sloth and lethargy, I look on the
+creatures as mere drones, only injuring the hive by what they cost: but
+there are others, backward in toil and forward in greed, and these are
+the captains in villainy: for not seldom can they show that rascality
+has its advantages. Such as they must be removed, cut out from among us,
+root and branch. [26] And I would not have you fill their places from
+our fellow-citizens alone, but, just as you choose your horses from
+the best stocks, wherever you find them, not limiting yourselves to
+the national breed, so you have all mankind before you, and you should
+choose those, and those only, who will increase your power and add
+to your honour. Let me clinch my argument by examples: no chariot can
+travel fast if the horses in the team are slow, or run straight if they
+will not be ruled; no house can stand firm if the household is evil:
+better empty walls than traitors who will bring it to the ground.
+
+[27] "And be sure, my friends," he added, "the removal of the bad means
+a benefit beyond the sheer relief that they are taken away and will
+trouble us no more: those who are left and were ripe for contagion are
+purified, and those who were worthy will cleave to virtue all the closer
+when they see the dishonour that falls on wickedness."
+
+[28] So Cyrus spoke, and his words won the praise of all his friends,
+and they set themselves to do as he advised.
+
+But after that Cyrus began to jest again. His eye fell on a certain
+captain who had chosen for his comrade at the feast a great hairy lad, a
+veritable monster of ugliness, and Cyrus called to the captain by name:
+"How now, Sambulas? Have you adopted the Hellenic fashion too? And
+will you roam the world together, you and the lad who sits beside you,
+because there is none so fair as he?" "By heaven," answered Sambulas,
+"you are not far wrong. It is bliss to me to feast my eyes upon him."
+[29] At that all the guests turned and looked on the young man's
+face, but when they saw how ugly it was, they could not help laughing
+outright. "Heavens, Sambulas, tell us the valiant deed that knit your
+souls together! How has he drawn you to himself?" [30] "Listen then," he
+answered, "and I will tell you the whole truth. Every time I call
+him, morning, noon, or night, he comes to me; never yet has he excused
+himself, never been too busy to attend; and he comes at a run, he does
+not walk. Whatever I have bidden him do, he has always done it, and at
+the top of his speed. He has made all the petty captains under him the
+very models of industry; he shows them, not by word but deed, what they
+ought to be." [31] "And so," said another, "for all these virtues you
+give him, I take it, the kiss of kinship?" But the ugly lad broke out:
+"Not he! He has no great love for work. And to kiss me, if it came to
+that, would mean more effort than all his exercises."
+
+[C.3] So the hours passed in the general's tent, from grave to gay,
+until at last the third libation was poured out, and the company bent
+in prayer to the gods--"Grant us all that is good"--and so broke up, and
+went away to sleep.
+
+But the next day Cyrus assembled the soldiers in full conclave, and
+spoke to them: [2] "My men," he said, "my friends, the day of struggle
+is at hand, and the enemy are near. The prizes of victory, if victory
+is to be ours--and we must believe it will be ours, we must make it
+ours--the prizes of victory will be nothing short of the enemy himself
+and all that he possesses. And if the victory should be his, then, in
+like manner, all the goods of the vanquished must lie at the victor's
+feet. [3] Therefore I would have you take this to your hearts: wherever
+those who have joined together for war remember that unless each and
+every one of them play his part with zeal nothing good can follow; there
+we may look for glorious success. For there nothing that ought to be
+done will be left undone. But if each man thinks 'My neighbour will
+toil and fight, even though my own heart should fail and my own arm
+fall slack,' then, believe me, disaster is at the door for each and all
+alike, and no man shall escape. [4] Such is the ordinance of God: those
+who will not work out their own salvation he gives into the hands of
+other men to bear rule over them. And now I call on any man here," he
+added, "to stand up and say whether he believes that virtue will best
+be nourished among us if he who bears the greatest toil and takes the
+heaviest risk shall receive the highest honours. Or whether we should
+hold that cowardice makes no difference in the end, seeing that we all
+must share alike?"
+
+[5] Thereupon Chrysantas of the Peers rose up. He was a man of
+understanding, but his bodily presence was weak. And now he spoke thus:
+
+"I do not imagine, Cyrus, that you put this question with any belief
+that cowards ought really to receive the same share as the brave. No,
+you wished to make trial of us and see whether any man would dare to
+claim an equal part in all that his fellows win by their nobleness,
+though he never struck a single valiant stroke himself. [6] I myself,"
+he continued, "am neither fleet of foot nor stout of limb, and for aught
+I can do with my body, I perceive that on the day of trial neither the
+first place nor the second can be mine, no, nor yet the hundredth, nor
+even, it may be, the thousandth. But this I know right well, that if
+our mighty men put forth all their strength, I too shall receive such
+portion of our blessings as I may deserve. But if the cowards sit at
+ease and the good and brave are out of heart, then I fear that I shall
+get a portion, a larger than I care to think, of something that is no
+blessing but a curse."
+
+[7] And so spoke Chrysantas, and then Pheraulas stood up. He was a
+man of the people, but well known to Cyrus in the old days at home and
+well-beloved by him: no mean figure to look at, and in soul like a man
+of noble birth. Now he spoke as follows:
+
+[8] "Cyrus, friends, and Persians, I hold to the belief that on this
+day we all start equal in that race where valour is the goal. I speak of
+what I see: we are trained on the same fare; we are held worthy of the
+same comradeship; we contend for the same rewards. All of us alike are
+told to obey our leaders, and he who obeys most frankly never fails
+to meet with honour at the hands of Cyrus. Valour is no longer the
+privilege of one class alone: it has become the fairest prize that can
+fall to the lot of any man. [9] And to-day a battle is before us where
+no man need teach us how to fight: we have the trick of it by nature,
+as a bull knows how to use his horns, or a horse his hoofs, or a dog
+his teeth, or a wild boar his tusks. The animals know well enough," he
+added, "when and where to guard themselves: they need no master to tell
+them that. [10] I myself, when I was a little lad, I knew by instinct
+how to shield myself from the blow I saw descending: if I had nothing
+else, I had my two fists, and used them with all my force against my
+foe: no one taught me how to do it, on the contrary they beat me if they
+saw me clench my fists. And a knife, I remember, I never could resist:
+I clutched the thing whenever I caught sight of it: not a soul showed me
+how to hold it, only nature herself, I do aver. I did it, not because I
+was taught to do it, but in spite of being forbidden, like many another
+thing to which nature drove me, in spite of my father and mother both.
+Yes, and I was never tired of hacking and hewing with my knife whenever
+I got the chance: it did not seem merely natural, like walking or
+running, it was positive joy. [11] Well, to-day we are to fight in
+this same simple fashion: energy, rather than skill, is called for, and
+glorious it will be to match ourselves against our friends, the Peers of
+Persia. And let us remember that the same prizes are offered to us
+all, but the stakes differ: our friends give up a life of honour,
+the sweetest life there can be, but we escape from years of toil and
+ignominy, and there can be no life worse than that. [12] And what fires
+me most of all, my friends, and sends me into the lists most gladly, is
+the thought that Cyrus will be our judge: one who will give no partial
+verdict. I call the gods to witness when I say that he loves a valiant
+man as he loves his own soul: I have seen him give such an one more than
+he ever keeps for himself. [13] And now," he added, "I know that our
+friends here pride themselves upon their breeding and what it has done
+for them. They have been brought up to endure hunger and thirst, cold
+and nakedness, and yet they are aware that we too have been trained in
+the self-same school and by a better master than they: we were taught by
+Necessity, and there is no teacher so good, and none so strict. [14] How
+did our friends here learn their endurance? By bearing arms, weapons
+of war, tools that the wit of the whole human race has made as light as
+well could be: but Necessity drove us, my fellows and myself, to stagger
+under burdens so heavy that to-day, if I may speak for myself, these
+weapons of mine seem rather wings to lift me than weights to bear. [15]
+I for one am ready, Cyrus, to enter the lists, and, however I prove, I
+will ask from you no more than I deserve: I would have you believe this.
+And you," he added, turning to his fellows, "you, men of the people, I
+would have you plunge into the battle and match yourselves with these
+gentlemen-warriors: the fine fellows must meet us now, for this is the
+people's day."
+
+[16] That is what Pheraulas said, and many rose to follow him and
+support his views. And it was resolved that each man should be honoured
+according to his deserts and that Cyrus should be the judge. So the
+matter ended, and all was well.
+
+[17] Now Cyrus gave a banquet and a certain brigadier was the chief
+guest, and his regiment with him. Cyrus had marked the officer one
+day when he was drilling his men; he had drawn up the ranks in two
+divisions, opposite each other, ready for the charge. They were all
+wearing corslets and carrying light shields, but half were equipped
+with stout staves of fennel, and half were ordered to snatch up clods of
+earth and do what they could with these. [18] When all were ready, the
+officer gave the signal and the artillery began, not without effect: the
+missiles fell fast on shields and corslets, on thighs and greaves. But
+when they came to close quarters the men of the staves had their turn:
+they struck at thighs and hands and legs, or, if the adversary stooped
+and twisted, they belaboured back and shoulders, till they put the foe
+to utter rout, delivering their blows with shouts of laughter and the
+glee of boys. Then there was an exchange of weapons, and the other side
+had their revenge: they took the staves in their turn, and once more the
+staff triumphed over the clod. [19] Cyrus was full of admiration, partly
+at the inventiveness of the commander, partly at the discipline of the
+men; it was good to see the active exercise, and the gaiety of heart,
+and good to know that the upshot of the battle favoured those who fought
+in the Persian style. In every way he was pleased, and then and there
+he bade them all to dinner. But at the feast many of the guests wore
+bandages, some on their hands, others on their legs, and Cyrus saw it
+and asked what had befallen them. They told him they had been bruised
+by the clods. [20] "At close quarters?" said he, "or at long range?" "At
+long range," they answered, and all the club-bearers agreed that when
+it came to close quarters, they had the finest sport. But here those who
+had been carbonaded by that weapon broke in and protested loudly that
+it was anything but sport to be clubbed at short range, and in proof
+thereof they showed the weals on hand and neck and face. Thus they
+laughed at one another as soldiers will; and on the next day the whole
+plain was studded with combats of this type, and whenever the army had
+nothing more serious in hand, this sport was their delight.
+
+[21] Another day Cyrus noticed a brigadier who was marching his regiment
+up from the river back to their quarters. They were advancing in single
+file on his left, and at the proper moment he ordered the second company
+to wheel round and draw up to the front alongside the first, and then
+the third, and then the fourth; and when the company-captains were
+all abreast, he passed the word along, "Companies in twos," and the
+captains-of-ten came into line; and then at the right moment he gave the
+order, "Companies in fours," and the captains of five wheeled round and
+came abreast, and when they reached the tent doors he called a halt,
+made them fall into single file once more, and marched the first company
+in first, and then the second at its heels, and the third and fourth
+behind them, and as he introduced them, he seated them at the table,
+keeping the order of their entry. What Cyrus commended was the quiet
+method of instruction and the care the officer showed, and it was for
+that he invited him and all his regiment to dinner in the royal tent.
+
+[22] Now it chanced that another brigadier was among the guests, and
+he spoke up and said to Cyrus: "But will you never ask my men to dinner
+too? Day after day, morning and evening, whenever we come in for a meal
+we do just the same as they, and when the meal is over the hindmost
+man of the last company leads out his men with their fighting-order
+reversed, and the next company follows, led by their hindmost man, and
+then the third, and then the fourth: so that all of them, if they have
+to retire before an enemy, will know how to fall back in good order.
+And as soon as we are drawn up on the parade-ground we set off marching
+east, and I lead off with all my divisions behind me, in their regular
+order, waiting for my word. By-and-by we march west, and then the
+hindmost man of the last division leads the way, but they must still
+look to me for commands, though I am marching last: and thus they learn
+to obey with equal promptitude whether I am at the head or in the rear."
+
+[23] "Do you mean to tell me," said Cyrus, "that this is a regular rule
+of yours?"
+
+"Truly yes," he answered, "as regular as our meals, heaven help us!"
+
+"Then I hereby invite you all to dinner, and for three good reasons; you
+practice your drill in both forms, you do this morning and evening both,
+and by your marching and counter-marching you train your bodies and
+benefit your souls. And since you do it all twice over every day, it is
+only fair to give you dinner twice."
+
+[24] "Not twice in one day, I beg you!" said the officer, "unless you
+can furnish us with a second stomach apiece."
+
+And so the conversation ended for the time. But the next day Cyrus was
+as good as his word. He had all the regiment to dinner; and the day
+after he invited them again: and when the other regiments knew of it
+they fell to doing as they did.
+
+[C.4] Now it chanced one day as Cyrus was holding a review, a messenger
+came from Cyaxares to tell him that an embassy from India had just
+arrived, and to bid him return with all despatch.
+
+"And I bring with me," said the messenger, "a suit of splendid apparel
+sent from Cyaxares himself: my lord wishes you to appear in all possible
+splendour, for the Indians will be there to see you."
+
+[2] At that Cyrus commanded the brigadier of the first regiment to draw
+up to the front with his men behind him on the left in single file, and
+to pass the order on to the second, and so throughout the army. Officers
+and men were quick to obey; so that in a trice the whole force on the
+field was drawn up, one hundred deep and three hundred abreast, with
+their officers at the head. [3] When they were in position Cyrus bade
+them follow his lead and off they went at a good round pace. However the
+road leading to the royal quarters was too narrow to let them pass
+with so wide a front and Cyrus sent word along the line that the first
+detachment, one thousand strong, should follow as they were, and then
+the second, and so on to the last, and as he gave the command he led
+on without a pause and all the detachments followed in due order, one
+behind the other. [4] But to prevent mistakes he sent two gallopers up
+to the entrance with orders to explain what should be done in case the
+men were at a loss. And when they reached the gates, Cyrus told the
+leading brigadier to draw up his regiment round the palace, twelve deep,
+the front rank facing the building, and this command he was to pass on
+to the second, and the second to the third, and so on till the last. [5]
+And while they saw to this he went in to Cyaxares himself, wearing his
+simple Persian dress without a trace of pomp. Cyaxares was well pleased
+at his celerity, but troubled by the plainness of his attire, and said
+to him, "What is the meaning of this, Cyrus? How could you show yourself
+in this guise to the Indians? I wished you to appear in splendour:
+it would have done me honour for my sister's son to be seen in great
+magnificence."
+
+[6] But Cyrus made answer: "Should I have done you more honour if I had
+put on a purple robe, and bracelets for my arms, and a necklace about my
+neck, and so presented myself at your call after long delay? Or as now,
+when to show you respect I obey you with this despatch and bring you
+so large and fine a force, although I wear no ornament but the dust and
+sweat of speed, and make no display unless it be to show you these
+men who are as obedient to you as I am myself." Such were the words of
+Cyrus, and Cyaxares felt that they were just, and so sent for the
+Indian ambassadors forthwith. [7] And when they entered they gave this
+message:--The king of the Indians bade them ask what was the cause of
+strife between the Assyrians and the Medes, "And when we have heard
+you," they said, "our king bids us betake ourselves to the Assyrian and
+put the same question to him, and in the end we are to tell you both
+that the king of the Indians, when he has enquired into the justice of
+the case, will uphold the cause of him who has been wronged."
+
+[8] To this Cyaxares replied:
+
+"Then take from me this answer: we do the Assyrian no wrong nor any
+injustice whatsoever. And now go and make inquiry of him, if you are so
+minded, and see what answer he will give."
+
+Then Cyrus, who was standing by, asked Cyaxares, "May I too say what
+is in my mind?" "Say on," answered Cyaxares. Then Cyrus turned to the
+ambassadors: "Tell your master," he said, "unless Cyaxares is otherwise
+minded, that we are ready to do this: if the Assyrian lays any injustice
+to our charge we choose the king of the Indians himself to be our judge,
+and he shall decide between us."
+
+[9] With that the embassy departed. And when they had gone out Cyrus
+turned to his uncle and began, "Cyaxares, when I came to you I had scant
+wealth of my own and of the little I brought with me only a fragment is
+left. I have spent it all on my soldiers. You may wonder at this," he
+added, "when it is you who have supported them, but, believe me, the
+money has not been wasted: it has all been spent on gifts and rewards
+to the soldiers who deserved it. [10] And I am sure," he added, "if
+we require good workers and good comrades in any task whatever, it is
+better and pleasanter to encourage them by kind speeches and kindly acts
+than to drive them by pains and penalties. And if it is for war that we
+need such trusty helpers, we can only win the men we want by every charm
+of word and grace of deed. For our true ally must be a friend and not a
+foe, one who can never envy the prosperity of his leader nor betray him
+in the day of disaster. [11] Such is my conviction, and such being so,
+I do not hide from myself the need of money. But to look to you for
+everything, when I know that you spend so much already, would be
+monstrous in my eyes. I only ask that we should take counsel together so
+as to prevent the failure of your funds. I am well aware that if you won
+great wealth, I should be able to help myself at need, especially if I
+used it for your own advantage. [12] Now I think you told me the other
+day that the king of Armenia has begun to despise you, because he hears
+we have an enemy, and therefore he will neither send you troops nor pay
+the tribute which is due." [13] "Yes," answered Cyaxares, "such are his
+tricks. And I cannot decide whether to march on him at once and try
+to subdue him by force, or let the matter be for the time, for fear of
+adding to the enemies we have." Then Cyrus asked, "Are his dwellings
+strongly fortified, or could they be attacked?" And Cyaxares answered,
+"The actual fortifications are not very strong: I took good care of
+that. But he has the hill-country to which he can retire, and there for
+the moment lie secure, knowing that he himself is safely out of reach,
+with everything that he can convoy thither; unless we are prepared to
+carry on a siege, as my father actually did."
+
+[14] Thereupon Cyrus said, "Now if you are willing to send me with
+a moderate force of cavalry--I will not ask for many men--I believe,
+heaven helping me, I could compel him to send the troops and the
+tribute. And I even hope that in the future he may become a firmer
+friend that he is now." [15] And Cyaxares said: "I think myself they are
+more likely to listen to you than to me. I have been told that his sons
+were your companions in the chase when you were lads, and possibly old
+habits will return and they will come over to you. Once they were in our
+power, everything could be done as we desire." "Then," said Cyrus,
+"this plan of ours had better be kept secret, had it not?" "No doubt,"
+answered Cyaxares. "In that way they would be more likely to fall into
+our hands, and if we attack them they would be taken unprepared."
+
+[16] "Listen then," said Cyrus, "and see what you think of this. I have
+often hunted the marches between your country and Armenia with all
+my men, and sometimes I have taken horsemen with me from our comrades
+here." "I see," said Cyaxares, "and if you chose to do the like again
+it would seem only natural, but if your force was obviously larger than
+usual, suspicion would arise at once." [17] "But it is possible," said
+Cyrus, "to frame a pretext which would find credit with us and with them
+too, if any rumour reached them. We might give out that I intend to hold
+a splendid hunt and I might ask you openly for a troop of horse."
+
+"Admirable!" said Cyaxares. "And I shall refuse to give you more than a
+certain number, my reason being that I wish to visit the outposts on the
+Syrian side. And as a matter of fact," he added, "I do wish to see them
+and put them in as strong a state as possible. Then, as soon as you have
+started with your men, and marched, let us say, for a couple of days,
+I could send you a good round number of horse and foot from my own
+detachment. And when you have them at your back, you could advance at
+once, and I will follow with the rest of my men as near you as I may,
+close enough to appear in time of need."
+
+[18] Accordingly, Cyaxares proceeded to muster horse and foot for his
+own march, and sent provision-waggons forward to meet him on the road.
+Meanwhile Cyrus offered sacrifice for the success of his expedition and
+found an opportunity to ask Cyaxares for a troop of his junior cavalry.
+But Cyaxares would only spare a few, though many wished to go. Soon
+afterwards he started for the outposts himself with all his horse and
+foot, and then Cyrus found the omens favourable for his enterprise, and
+led his soldiers out as though he meant to hunt. [19] He was scarcely
+on his way when a hare started up at their feet, and an eagle, flying on
+the right, saw the creature as it fled, swooped down and struck it,
+bore it aloft in its talons to a cliff hard by, and did its will upon it
+there. The omen pleased Cyrus well, and he bowed in worship to Zeus the
+King, and said to his company, "This shall be a right noble hunt, my
+friends, if God so will."
+
+[20] When he came to the borders he began the hunt in his usual way, the
+mass of horse and foot going on ahead in rows like reapers, beating out
+the game, with picked men posted at intervals to receive the animals and
+give them chase. And thus they took great numbers of boars and stags and
+antelopes and wild-asses: even to this day wild-asses are plentiful in
+those parts. [21] But when the chase was over, Cyrus had touched the
+frontier of the Armenian land, and there he made the evening meal. The
+next day he hunted till he reached the mountains which were his goal.
+And there he halted again and made the evening meal. At this point he
+knew that the army from Cyaxares was advancing, and he sent secretly to
+them and bade them keep about eight miles off, and take their evening
+meal where they were, since that would make for secrecy. And when their
+meal was over he told them to send their officers to him, and after
+supper he called his own brigadiers together and addressed them thus:
+
+[22] "My friends, in old days the Armenian was a faithful ally and
+subject of Cyaxares, but now when he sees an enemy against us, he
+assumes contempt: he neither sends the troops nor pays the tribute. He
+is the game we have come to catch, if catch we can. And this, I think,
+is the way. You, Chrysantas," said he, "will sleep for a few hours, and
+then take half the Persians with you, make for the hill country, and
+seize the heights which we hear are his places of refuge when alarmed.
+I will give you guides. [23] The hills, they tell us, are covered with
+trees and scrub, so that we may hope you will escape unseen: still you
+might send a handful of scouts ahead of you, disguised as a band of
+robbers. If they should come across any Armenians they can either make
+them prisoners and prevent them from spreading the news, or at least
+scare them out of the way, so that they will not realise the whole of
+your force, and only take measures against a pack of thieves. [24] That
+is your task, Chrysantas, and now for mine. At break of day I shall take
+half the foot and all the cavalry and march along the level straight to
+the king's residence. If he resists, we must fight, if he retreats
+along the plain we must run him down, if he makes for the mountains, why
+then," said Cyrus, "it will be your business to see that none of your
+visitors escape. [25] Think of it as a hunt: we down below are the
+beaters rounding up the game, and you are the men at the nets: only bear
+in mind that the earths must all be stopped before the game is up, and
+the men at the traps must be hidden, or they will turn back the flying
+quarry. [26] One last word, Chrysantas: you must not behave now as I
+have known you do in your passion for the chase: you must not sit up the
+whole night long without a wink of sleep, you must let all your men have
+the modicum of rest that they cannot do without. [27] Nor must you--just
+because you scour the hills in the hunt without a guide, following the
+lead of the quarry and that alone, checking and changing course wherever
+it leads you--you must not now plunge into the wildest paths: you must
+tell your guides to take you by the easiest road unless it is much the
+longest. [28] In war, they say, the easiest way is the quickest. And
+once more, because you can race up a mountain yourself you are not to
+lead on your men at the double; suit your pace to the strength of all.
+[29] Indeed, it were no bad thing if some of your best and bravest were
+to fall behind here and there and cheer the laggards on: and it would
+quicken the pace of all, when the column has gone ahead, to see them
+racing back to their places past the marching files."
+
+[30] Chrysantas listened, and his heart beat high at the trust reposed
+in him. He took the guides, and gave the necessary orders for those who
+were to march with him, and then he lay down to rest. And when all his
+men had had the sleep he thought sufficient he set out for the hills.
+[31] Day dawned, and Cyrus sent a messenger to the Armenian with these
+words: "Cyrus bids you see to it that you bring your tribute and troops
+without delay." "And if he asks you where Cyrus is, tell the truth and
+say I am on the frontier. And if he asks whether I am advancing myself,
+tell the truth again and say that you do not know. And if he enquires
+how many we are, bid him send some one with you to find out."
+
+[32] Having so charged the messenger he sent him on forthwith, holding
+this to be more courteous than to attack without warning. Then he drew
+up his troops himself in the order best suited for marching, and, if
+necessary, for fighting, and so set forth. The soldiers had orders that
+not a soul was to be wronged, and if they met any Armenians they were
+to bid them to have no fear, but open a market wherever they wished, and
+sell meat or drink as they chose.
+
+
+                                NOTES
+
+C1.5. Is this historical, i.e. _quasi_-historical? Are any of the names
+real or all invented to give verisimilitude?
+
+C1.13. Any touch of the sycophancy of the future in it? As in modern
+Germany, a touch of that involved in the system of royalty.
+
+C1.15. The raw material is good, but not worked up. Important for
+the conception of Hellenic democracy (cf. § 17). Daring, courage,
+virtue--there is no monopoly of these things.
+
+C1.21. (Cf. below VIII. C2.5) Worthy of Adam Smith. Xenophon has bump of
+economy strongly developed; he resembles J. P.[*] in that respect. The
+economic methodism, the mosaic interbedding, the architectonic structure
+of it all, a part and parcel of Xenophon's genius. Was Alexander's
+army a highly-organised, spiritually and materially built-up, vitalised
+machine of this sort? What light does Arrian, that younger Xenophon,
+throw upon it?
+
+[* "J. P." = John Percival, Bishop of Hereford (the writer of the
+Introduction to this volume), at the time the notes were written
+Headmaster of Clifton College.--F.M.S.]
+
+C1.25. Camaraderie encouraged and developed through a sense of equality
+and fraternity, the life _au grand jour_ in common, producing a common
+consciousness (cf. Comte and J. P.; Epaminondas and the Sacred Band at
+Thebes).
+
+C2. Contrast of subject enlivening the style--light concrete as a foil
+to the last drier abstract detail. Humorous also, with a dramatising
+and development of the characters, Shakespeare-wise--Hystaspas, and the
+rest. Aglaïtadas, a type of educator we know well (cf. Eccles. "Cocker
+not a child"), grim, dry person with no sense of humour. Xenophon's own
+humour shines out.
+
+C2.12. The term given to the two stories {eis tagathon}. T. E. B.[*]
+could do it, or Socrates, without dullness or seeming to preach. There
+is a crispness in the voice which is anti-pedantic.
+
+[* "T. E. B." = T. E. Brown, the Manx poet, at that time a colleague of
+Mr. Dakyns at Clifton.--F.M.S.]
+
+C2.19. Cyrus recognises the ideal principle of co-operation and
+collective ownership. Xenophon, Economist, ahead of the moderns.
+
+C2.26. Xenophon's breadth of view: virtue is not confined to citizens,
+but we have the pick of the whole world. Cosmopolitan Hellenism.
+
+C3.4. Xenophon's theory of rule (cf. Ruskin): a right, inalienable,
+God-bestowed, of the virtuous; subjection an inevitable consequence on
+lack of self-discipline.
+
+C3.5, init. Is this a carelessness, or what? Chrysantas has been
+introduced before, but here he is described as if stepping on the stage
+for the first time. The sentence itself suggests the mould for the New
+Testament narrative.
+
+C3.7. Pheraulas, and of him we shall hear much. A sharp contrast to
+Chrysantas, the Peer, with his pointed plebeian similes. His speech
+important again for Xenophon's sympathetic knowledge of children and
+also of the hard-working poor.
+
+C3.10. How true to nature this. Cannot one see the little boy doubling
+his little fists, a knife in his pocket, possibly a ball of string?
+
+C3.11. Is there a touch of flunkeyism in this? Not so; it is the
+clear-sighted scientific Greek, that is all.
+
+C3.14. Very Scotch all this.
+
+C3.21-22. _Locus classicus_ for regimental marching tactics. Qy.: Are
+any of these tactical improvements by Xenophon himself?
+
+C3.21. The "regiment" of a hundred men was divided into four
+"companies" of twenty-five, to each of these one company-captain and
+twenty-four men, viz.: twenty privates, two captains-of-ten, and two
+captains-of-five, the two captains of ten having also especial charge
+over the two remaining squads of five. A condensed diagram may make
+the little manoeuvre clear. An X represents one group of five plus its
+captain, either a captain-of-five or a captain-of-ten. A C represents a
+company-captain.
+
+  First position--One long column. All in single file.
+
+  Second position--Four columns. Single file for each company.
+
+  Third position--Eight columns. Double files.
+
+  Fourth position--Sixteen columns. Quadruple files.
+
+    C      C   C       C     C          C       C
+    X      X   X  ->  X X   X X  ->  X X X X X X X X
+    X  ->  X   X      X X   X X
+    X      X   X
+    X      X   X
+    C
+    X
+    X
+    X
+    X]
+
+C4.15. Cyaxares means to kidnap them, doesn't he? That is not quite
+Cyrus' method. If so, it contrasts Cyaxares and Cyrus again.
+
+C4.17. Cyaxares the old fox improves upon the plan.
+
+C4.30, init. It is these touches which give the thrilling subjective
+feeling to the writings of Xenophon, or, rather, thus his nerves tingle,
+just as the external touches give a sense of objective health (e.g.
+above, C1.29).
+
+C4.32. All this is entirely modern, never yet excelled, I imagine.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK III
+
+
+[C.1] Thus Cyrus made his preparations. But the Armenian, when he heard
+what the messenger had to say, was terror-stricken: he knew the wrong
+he had done in neglecting the tribute and withholding the troops, and,
+above all, he was afraid it would be discovered that he was beginning
+to put his palace in a fit state for defence. [2] Therefore, with much
+trepidation, he began to collect his own forces, and at the same time
+he sent his younger son Sabaris into the hills with the women, his own
+wife, and the wife of his elder son and his daughters, taking the best
+of their ornaments and furniture with them and an escort to be their
+guide. Meanwhile he despatched a party to discover what Cyrus was doing,
+and organised all the Armenian contingents as they came in. But it was
+not long before other messengers arrived, saying that Cyrus himself was
+actually at hand. [3] Then his courage forsook him; he dared not come
+to blows and he withdrew. As soon as the recruits saw this they took to
+their heels, each man bent on getting his own property safely out of
+the way. When Cyrus saw the plains full of them, racing and riding
+everywhere, he sent out messengers privately to explain that he had no
+quarrel with any who stayed quietly in their homes, but if he caught a
+man in flight, he warned them he would treat him as an enemy. Thus
+the greater part were persuaded to remain, though there were some who
+retreated with the king.
+
+[4] But when the escort with the women came on the Persians in the
+mountain, they fled with cries of terror, and many of them were taken
+prisoners. In the end the young prince himself was captured, and the
+wife of the king, and his daughters, and his daughter-in-law, and
+all the goods they had with them. And when the king learnt what had
+happened, scarcely knowing where to turn, he fled to the summit of a
+certain hill. [5] Cyrus, when he saw it, surrounded the spot with his
+troops and sent word to Chrysantas, bidding him leave a force to
+guard the mountains and come down to him. So the mass of the army was
+collected under Cyrus, and then he sent a herald to the king with this
+enquiry:
+
+"Son of Armenia, will you wait here and fight with hunger and thirst,
+or will you come down into the plain and fight it out with us?" But the
+Armenian answered that he wished to fight with neither. [6] Cyrus sent
+again and asked, "Why do you sit there, then, and refuse to come down?"
+"Because I know not what to do," answered the other. "It is simple
+enough," said Cyrus, "come down and take your trial." "And who shall try
+me?" asked the king. "He," answered Cyrus, "to whom God has given the
+power to treat you as he lists, without a trial at all."
+
+Thereupon the Armenian came down, yielding to necessity, and Cyrus took
+him and all that he had and placed him in the centre of the camp, for
+all his forces were now at hand.
+
+[7] Meanwhile Tigranes, the elder son of the king, was on his way home
+from a far country. In old days he had hunted with Cyrus and been his
+friend, and now, when he heard what had happened, he came forward just
+as he was; but when he saw his father and his mother, his brother and
+sisters, and his own wife all held as prisoners, he could not keep back
+the tears. [8] But Cyrus gave him no sign of friendship or courtesy, and
+only said, "You have come in time, you may be present now to hear your
+father tried." With that he summoned the leaders of the Persians and the
+Medes, and any Armenian of rank and dignity who was there, nor would
+he send away the women as they sat in covered carriages, but let them
+listen too. [9] When all was ready he began: "Son of Armenia, I would
+counsel you, in the first place, to speak the truth, so that at least
+you may stand free from what deserves the utmost hate: beyond all
+else, be assured, manifest lying checks the sympathy of man and man.
+Moreover," said he, "your own sons, your daughters, and your wife are
+well aware of all that you have done, and so are your own Armenians
+who are here: if they perceive that you say what is not true, they must
+surely feel that out of your own lips you condemn yourself to suffer
+the uttermost penalty when I learn the truth." "Nay," answered the king,
+"ask me whatever you will, and I will answer truly, come what come may."
+[10] "Answer then," said Cyrus, "did you once make war upon Astyages,
+my mother's father, and his Medes?" "I did," he answered. "And were you
+conquered by him, and did you agree to pay tribute and furnish troops
+whenever he required, and promise not to fortify your dwellings?" "Even
+so," he said. "Why is it, then, that to-day you have neither brought the
+tribute nor sent the troops, and are building forts?" "I set my heart on
+liberty: it seemed to me so fair a thing to be free myself and to leave
+freedom to my sons." [11] "And fair and good it is," said Cyrus, "to
+fight for freedom and choose death rather than slavery, but if a man is
+worsted in war or enslaved by any other means and then attempts to rid
+himself of his lord, tell me yourself, would you honour such a man as
+upright, and a doer of noble deeds, or would you, if you got him in
+your power, chastise him as a malefactor?" "I would chastise him," he
+answered, "since you drive me to the truth." [12] "Then answer me now,
+point by point," said Cyrus. "If you have an officer and he does wrong,
+do you suffer him to remain in office, or do you set up another in his
+stead?" "I set up another." "And if he have great riches, to you leave
+him all his wealth, or do you make him a beggar?" "I take away from him
+all that he has." "And if you found him deserting to your enemies, what
+would you do?" "I would kill him," he said: "why should I perish with a
+lie on my lips rather than speak the truth and die?"
+
+[13] But at this his son rent his garments and dashed the tiara from his
+brows, and the women lifted up their voices in wailing and tore their
+cheeks, as though their father was dead already, and they themselves
+undone. But Cyrus bade them keep silence, and spoke again. "Son of
+Armenia, we have heard your own judgment in this case, and now tell us,
+what ought we to do?" But the king sat silent and perplexed, wondering
+whether he should bid Cyrus put him to death, or act in the teeth of the
+rule he had laid down for himself. [14] Then his son Tigranes turned to
+Cyrus and said, "Tell me, Cyrus, since my father sits in doubt, may I
+give counsel in his place and say what I think best for you?"
+
+Now Cyrus remembered that, in the old hunting days, he had noticed a
+certain man of wisdom who went about with Tigranes and was much admired
+by him, and he was curious to know what the youth would say. So he
+readily agreed and bade him speak his mind.
+
+[15] "In my view, then," said Tigranes, "if you approve of all that my
+father has said and done, certainly you ought to do as he did, but if
+you think he has done wrong, then you must not copy him."
+
+"But surely," said Cyrus, "the best way to avoid copying the wrongdoer
+is to practise what is right?"
+
+"True enough," answered the prince.
+
+"Then on your own reasoning, I am bound to punish your father, if it is
+right to punish wrong."
+
+"But would you wish your vengeance to do you harm instead of good?"
+
+"Nay," said Cyrus, "for then my vengeance would fall upon myself."
+
+[16] "Even so," said Tigranes, "and you will do yourself the greatest
+harm if you put your own subjects to death just when they are most
+valuable to you."
+
+"Can they have any value," asked Cyrus, "when they are detected doing
+wrong?"
+
+"Yes," answered Tigranes, "if that is when they turn to good and learn
+sobriety. For it is my belief, Cyrus, that without this virtue all
+others are in vain. What good will you get from a strong man or a brave
+if he lack sobriety, be he never so good a horseman, never so rich,
+never so powerful in the state? But with sobriety every friend is a
+friend in need and every servant a blessing."
+
+[17] "I take your meaning," answered Cyrus; "your father, you would have
+me think, has been changed in this one day from a fool into a wise and
+sober-minded man?"
+
+"Exactly," said the prince.
+
+"Then you would call sober-mindedness a condition of our nature, such
+as pain, not a matter of reason that can be learnt? For certainly, if
+he who is to be sober-minded must learn wisdom first, he could not be
+converted from folly in a day."
+
+[18] "Nay, but, Cyrus," said the prince, "surely you yourself have
+known one man at least who out of sheer folly has set himself to fight
+a stronger man than he, and on the day of defeat his senselessness has
+been cured. And surely you have known a city ere now that has marshalled
+her battalions against a rival state, but with defeat she changes
+suddenly and is willing to obey and not resist?"
+
+[19] "But what defeat," said Cyrus, "can you find in your father's case
+to make you so sure that he has come to a sober mind?"
+
+"A defeat," answered the young man, "of which he is well aware in the
+secret chambers of his soul. He set his heart on liberty, and he has
+found himself a slave as never before: he had designs that needed
+stealth and speed and force, and not one of them has he been able to
+carry through. With you he knows that design and fulfilment went hand
+in hand; when you wished to outwit him, outwit him you did, as though he
+had been blind and deaf and dazed; when stealth was needed, your stealth
+was such that the fortresses he thought his own you turned into traps
+for him; and your speed was such that you were upon him from miles away
+with all your armament before he found time to muster the forces at his
+command."
+
+[20] "So you think," said Cyrus, "that merely to learn another is
+stronger than himself is defeat enough to bring a man to his senses?"
+
+"I do," answered Tigranes, "and far more truly than mere defeat in
+battle. For he who is conquered by force may fancy that if he trains
+he can renew the war, and captured cities dream that with the help of
+allies they will fight again one day, but if we meet with men who are
+better than ourselves and whom we recognise to be so, we are ready to
+obey them of our own free will." [21] "You imagine then," said
+Cyrus, "that the bully and the tyrant cannot recognise the man
+of self-restraint, nor the thief the honest man, nor the liar the
+truth-speaker, nor the unjust man the upright? Has not your own father
+lied even now and broken his word with us, although he knew that we had
+faithfully observed every jot and tittle of the compact Astyages made?"
+[22] "Ah, but," replied the prince, "I do not pretend that the bare
+knowledge alone will bring a man to his senses, it cannot cure him
+unless he pays the penalty as my father pays it to-day." "But," answered
+Cyrus, "your father has suffered nothing at all so far: although he
+fears, I know, that the worst suffering may be his." [23] "Do you
+suppose then," asked Tigranes, "that anything can enslave a man more
+utterly than fear? Do you not know that even the men who are beaten with
+the iron rod of war, the heaviest rod in all the world, may still be
+ready to fight again, while the victims of terror cannot be brought to
+look their conquerors in the face, even when they try to comfort them?"
+"Then, you maintain," said Cyrus, "that fear will subdue a man more than
+suffering?" [24] "Yes," he answered, "and you of all men know that what
+I say is true: you know the despondency men feel in dread of banishment,
+or on the eve of battle facing defeat, or sailing the sea in peril of
+shipwreck--they cannot touch their food or take their rest because
+of their alarm: while it may often be that the exiles themselves, the
+conquered, or the enslaved, can eat and sleep better than men who have
+not known adversity. [25] Think of those panic-stricken creatures who
+through fear of capture and death have died before their day, have
+hurled themselves from cliffs, hanged themselves, or set the knife to
+their throats; so cruelly can fear, the prince of horrors, bind and
+subjugate the souls of men. And what, think you, does my father feel at
+this moment? He, whose fears are not for himself alone, but for us all,
+for his wife, and for his children." [26] And Cyrus said, "To-day and
+at this time, it may be with him as you say: but I still think that the
+same man may well be insolent in good fortune and cringing in defeat:
+let such an one go free again, and he will return to his arrogance and
+trouble us once more." [27] "I do not deny it, Cyrus," said the prince.
+"Our offences are such that you may well mistrust us: but you have it in
+your power to set garrisons in our land and hold our strong places and
+take what pledges you think best. And even so," he added, "you will not
+find that we fret against our chains, for we shall remember we have only
+ourselves to blame. Whereas, if you hand over the government to some
+who have not offended, they may either think that you mistrust them, and
+thus, although you are their benefactor, you cannot be their friend, or
+else in your anxiety not to rouse their enmity you may leave no check
+on their insolence, and in the end you will need to sober them even
+more than us." [28] "Nay, but by all the gods," cried Cyrus, "little joy
+should I ever take in those who served me from necessity alone. Only if
+I recognise some touch of friendship or goodwill in the help it is their
+duty to render, I could find it easier to forgive them all their faults
+than to accept the full discharge of service paid upon compulsion by
+those who hate me."
+
+Then Tigranes answered, "You speak of friendship, but can you ever find
+elsewhere so great a friendship as you may find with us?" "Surely I
+can," he answered, "and with those who have never been my enemies, if
+I choose to be their benefactor as you would have me yours." [29] "But
+to-day, and now, can you find another man in the world whom you could
+benefit as you can benefit my father? Say you let a man live who has
+never done you wrong, will he be grateful for the boon? Say he need not
+lose his children and his wife, will he love you for that more than one
+who knows he well deserved the loss? Say he may not sit upon the throne
+of Armenia, will he suffer from that as we shall suffer? And is it not
+clear that the one who feels the pain of forfeiture the most will be the
+one most grateful for the granting of the gift? [30] And if you have it
+at all at heart to leave matters settled here, think for yourself, and
+see where tranquillity will lie when your back is turned. Will it be
+with the new dynasty, or with the old familiar house? And if you want
+as large a force as possible at your command, where will you find a man
+better fitted to test the muster-roll than the general who has used it
+time and again? If you need money, who will provide the ways and means
+better than he who knows and can command all the resources of the
+country? I warn you as a friend," he added, "that if you throw us aside
+you will do yourself more harm than ever my father could have done."
+
+[31] Such were the pleadings of the prince, and Cyrus, as he listened,
+was overjoyed, for he felt he would accomplish to the full all he had
+promised Cyaxares; his own words came back to him, "I hope to make the
+Armenian a better friend than before."
+
+Thereupon he turned to the king and said, "Son of Armenia, if I were
+indeed to hearken unto you and yours in this, tell me, how large an army
+would you send me and how much money for the war?"
+
+[32] And the king replied, "The simplest answer I can make and the most
+straightforward is to tell you what my power is, and then you may take
+the men you choose, and leave the rest to garrison the country. And so
+with the money: it is only fair that you should know the whole of our
+wealth, and with that knowledge to guide you, you will take what you
+like and leave what you like." [33] And Cyrus said, "Tell me then, and
+tell me true: how great is your power and your wealth?" Whereupon the
+Armenian replied: "Our cavalry is 8000 strong and our infantry 40,000;
+and our wealth," said he, "if I include the treasures which my father
+left, amounts in silver to more than 3000 talents."
+
+[34] And Cyrus, without more ado, said at once, "Of your whole armament
+you shall give me half, not more, since your neighbours the Chaldaeans
+are at war with you: but for the tribute, instead of the fifty talents
+which you paid before, you shall hand over twice as much to Cyaxares
+because you made default; and you will lend me another hundred for
+myself, and I hereby promise you, if God be bountiful, I will requite
+you for the loan with things of higher worth, or I will pay the money
+back in full, if I can; and if I cannot, you may blame me for want of
+ability, but not for want of will." [35] But the Armenian cried, "By all
+the gods, Cyrus, speak not so, or you will put me out of heart. I beg
+you to look on all I have as yours, what you leave behind as well as
+what you take away."
+
+"So be it then," answered Cyrus, "and to ransom your wife, how much
+money would you give?" "All that I have," said he. "And for your sons?"
+"For them too, all that I have." "Good," answered Cyrus, "but is not
+that already twice as much as you possess? [36] And you, Tigranes," said
+he, "at what price would you redeem your bride?" Now the youth was but
+newly wedded, and his wife was beyond all things dear to him. "I would
+give my life," said he, "to save her from slavery." [37] "Take her
+then," said Cyrus, "she is yours. For I hold that she has never yet been
+made a prisoner, seeing that her husband never deserted us. And you,
+son of Armenia," said he, turning to the king, "you shall take home your
+wife and children, and pay no ransom for them, so that they shall not
+feel they come to you from slavery. But now," he added, "you shall stay
+and sup with us, and afterwards you shall go wherever you wish."
+
+And so the Armenians stayed. [38] But when the company broke up after
+the evening meal, Cyrus asked Tigranes, "Tell me, where is that friend
+of yours who used to hunt with us, and whom, as it seemed to me, you
+admired so much?" "Do you not know," he said, "that my father put him
+to death?" "And why?" said Cyrus, "what fault did he find in him?" "He
+thought he corrupted me," said the youth; "and yet, I tell you, Cyrus,
+he was so gentle and so brave, so beautiful in soul, that when he came
+to die, he called me to him and said, 'Do not be angry with your father,
+Tigranes, for putting me to death. What he does is not done from
+malice, but from ignorance; and the sins of ignorance, I hold, are
+unintentional.'"
+
+[39] And at that Cyrus could not but say: "Poor soul! I grieve for him."
+But the king spoke in his own defence: "Remember this, Cyrus, that the
+man who finds another with his wife kills him not simply because he
+believes that he has turned the woman to folly, but because he has
+robbed him of her love. Even so I was jealous of that man who seemed to
+put himself between my son and me and steal away his reverence." [40]
+"May the gods be merciful to us!" said Cyrus, "you did wrong, but your
+fault was human. And you, Tigranes," said he, turning to the son, "you
+must forgive your father."
+
+And so they talked in all friendliness and kindliness, as befitted
+that time of reconciliation; and then the father and son mounted their
+carriages, with their dear ones beside them, and drove away rejoicing.
+
+[41] But when they were home again, they all spoke of Cyrus, one
+praising his wisdom, another his endurance, a third the gentleness
+of his nature, and a fourth his stature and his beauty. Then Tigranes
+turned to his wife and asked, "Did Cyrus seem so beautiful in your
+eyes?" But she answered, "Ah, my lord, he was not the man I saw." "Who
+was it then?" asked Tigranes. "He," she answered, "who offered his own
+life to free me from slavery."
+
+And so they took their delight together, as lovers will, after all their
+sufferings.
+
+[42] But on the morrow the king of Armenia sent gifts of hospitality to
+Cyrus and all his army, and bade his own contingent make ready to march
+on the third day, and himself brought Cyrus twice the sum which he had
+named. But Cyrus would take no more than he had fixed, and gave the
+rest back to the king, only asking whether he or his son was to lead the
+force. And the father answered that it should be as Cyrus chose, but the
+son said, "I will not leave you, Cyrus, if I must carry the baggage to
+follow you." [43] And Cyrus laughed and said, "What will you take to let
+us tell your wife that you have become a baggage-bearer?" "She will not
+need to be told," he answered, "I mean to bring her with me, and she can
+see for herself all that her husband does." "Then it is high time," said
+Cyrus, "that you got your own baggage together now." "We will come,"
+said he, "be sure of that, in good time, with whatever baggage my father
+gives."
+
+So the soldiers were the guests of Armenia for the day, and rested for
+that night.
+
+[C.2] But on the day following Cyrus took Tigranes and the best of the
+Median cavalry, with chosen followers of his own, and scoured the whole
+country to decide where he should build a fort. He halted on the top of
+a mountain-pass and asked Tigranes where the heights lay down which the
+Chaldaeans swept when they came to plunder. Tigranes showed him. Then
+Cyrus asked him if the mountains were quite uninhabited. "No, indeed,"
+said the prince, "there are always men on the look-out, who signal to
+the others if they catch sight of anything." "And what do they do," he
+asked, "when they see the signal?" "They rush to the rescue," he said,
+"as quickly as they can." [2] Cyrus listened and looked, and he could
+see that large tracts lay desolate and untilled because of the war. That
+day they came back to camp and took their supper and slept. [3] But the
+next morning Tigranes presented himself with all his baggage in order
+and ready for the march, 4000 cavalry at his back, 10,000 bowmen, and as
+many targeteers. While they were marching up, Cyrus offered sacrifice,
+and finding that the victims were favourable, he called the leaders of
+the Persians together and the chief captains of the Medes and spoke to
+them thus:
+
+[4] "My friends, there lie the Chaldaean hills. If we could seize
+them and set a garrison to hold the pass, we should compel them both,
+Chaldaeans and Armenians alike, to behave themselves discreetly. The
+victims are favourable; and to help a man in such a work as this there
+is no ally half so good as speed. If we scale the heights before the
+enemy have time to gather, we may take the position out of hand without
+a blow, and at most we shall only find a handful of weak and scattered
+forces to oppose us. [5] Steady speed is all I ask for, and surely I
+could ask for nothing easier or less dangerous. To arms then! The Medes
+will march on our left, half the Armenians on our right, and the rest
+in the van to lead the way, the cavalry in our rear, to cheer us on and
+push us forward and let none of us give way."
+
+[6] With that Cyrus led the advance, the army in column behind him.
+As soon as the Chaldaeans saw them sweeping up from the plain, they
+signalled to their fellows till the heights re-echoed with answering
+shouts, and the tribesmen gathered on every side. Then Cyrus sent word
+along his lines, "Soldiers of Persia, they are signalling to us to make
+haste. If only we reach the top before them, all they can do will be in
+vain."
+
+[7] Now the Chaldaeans were said to be the most warlike of all the
+tribes in that country, and each of them was armed with a shield and a
+brace of javelins. They fight for pay wherever they are needed, partly
+because they are warriors born, but partly through poverty; for their
+country is mountainous, and the fertile part of it small. [8] As Cyrus
+and his force drew near the head of the pass, Tigranes, who was marching
+at his side, said:
+
+"Do you know, Cyrus, that before long we shall be in the thick of the
+fight ourselves? Our Armenians will never stand the charge." Cyrus
+answered that he was well aware of that, and immediately sent word that
+the Persians should be ready to give chase at once, "as soon as we see
+the Armenians decoying the enemy by feigning flight and drawing them
+within our reach."
+
+[9] Thus they marched up with the Armenians in the van: and the
+Chaldaeans who had collected waited till they were almost on them,
+and then charged with a tremendous shout, as their custom was, and the
+Armenians, as was ever theirs, turned and ran. [10] But in the midst
+of the pursuit the Chaldaeans met new opponents streaming up the pass,
+armed with short swords, and some of them were cut to pieces at once
+before they could withdraw, while others were taken prisoners and the
+rest fled, and in a few moments the heights were won. From the top
+of the pass Cyrus and his staff looked down and saw below them the
+Chaldaean villages with fugitives pouring from the nearest houses. [11]
+Soon the rest of the army came up, and Cyrus ordered them all to take
+the morning meal. When it was over, and he had ascertained that the
+look-out was really in a strong position, and well supplied with water,
+he set about fortifying a post without more ado, and he bade Tigranes
+send to his father and bid him come at once with all the carpenters and
+stonemasons he could fetch, and while a messenger went off to the king
+Cyrus did all he could with what he had at hand.
+
+[12] Meanwhile they brought up the prisoners, all of them bound in
+chains and some wounded. But Cyrus when he saw their plight ordered the
+chains to be struck off, and sent for surgeons to dress their wounds,
+and then he told them that he came neither to destroy them nor to war
+against them, but to make peace between them and the Armenians. "I
+know," he said, "before your pass was taken you did not wish for peace.
+Your own land was in safety and you could harry the Armenians: but you
+can see for yourselves how things stand to-day. [13] Accordingly I will
+let you all go back to your homes in freedom, and I will allow you and
+your fellows to take counsel together and choose whether you will have
+us for your enemies or your friends. If you decide on war, you had
+better not come here again without your weapons, but if you choose
+peace, come unarmed and welcome: it shall be my care to see that all is
+well with you, if you are my friends."
+
+[14] And when the Chaldaeans heard that, they poured out praises and
+thanks, and then they turned homewards and departed.
+
+Meanwhile the king, receiving the call of Cyrus, and hearing the
+business that was at hand, had gathered his workmen together and took
+what he thought necessary and came with all speed. [15] And when he
+caught sight of Cyrus, he cried: "Ah, my lord, blind mortals that we
+are! How little can we see of the future, and how much we take in hand
+to do! I set myself to win freedom and I made myself a slave, and now,
+when we were captured and said to ourselves that we were utterly undone,
+suddenly we find a safety we never had before. Those who troubled us are
+taken now, even as I would have them. [16] Be well assured, Cyrus," he
+added, "that I would have paid the sum you had from me over and over
+again simply to dislodge the Chaldaeans from these heights. The things
+of worth you promised me when you took the money have been paid in full
+already, and we discover that we are not your creditors, but deep in
+your debt for many kindnesses; and we shall be ashamed not to return
+them, or we should be base indeed, for try as we may, we shall never be
+able to requite in full so great a benefactor."
+
+[17] Such thanks the Armenian gave.
+
+Then the Chaldaeans came back, begging Cyrus to make peace with them.
+And Cyrus asked them: "Am I right in thinking that you desire peace
+to-day because you believe it will be safer for you than war, now that
+we hold these heights?"
+
+And the Chaldaeans said that so it was. [18] "Well and good," said he.
+"And what if other benefits were gained by peace?" "We should be all the
+better pleased," said they. "Is there any other reason," he asked, "for
+your present poverty, except your lack of fertile soil?" They said that
+there was none. "Well then," Cyrus went on, "would you be willing to pay
+the same dues as the Armenians, if you were allowed to cultivate as much
+of their land as you desired?" And the Chaldaeans said they would, if
+only they could rely on being fairly treated. [19] "Now," said Cyrus,
+turning to the Armenian king, "would you like that land of yours which
+is now lying idle to be tilled and made productive, supposing the
+workers paid you the customary dues?" "I would, indeed," said the king,
+"so much so that I am ready to pay a large sum for it. It would mean a
+great increase to my revenue." [20] "And you, Chaldaeans," said Cyrus,
+"with your splendid mountains, would you let the Armenians use them for
+pasture if the graziers paid you what was fair?" "Surely yes," said the
+Chaldaeans, "it would mean much profit and no pains."
+
+"Son of Armenia," said Cyrus, "would you take this land for grazing,
+if by paying a small sum to the Chaldaeans you got a far greater return
+yourself?"
+
+"Right willingly," said he, "if I thought my flocks could feed in
+safety."
+
+"And would they not be safe enough," suggested Cyrus, "if this pass were
+held for you?" To which the king agreed. [21] But the Chaldaeans cried,
+"Heaven help us! We could not till our own fields in safety, not to
+speak of theirs, if the Armenians held the pass." "True," answered
+Cyrus, "but how would it be if the pass were held for you?" "Ah, then,"
+said they, "all would be well enough." "Heaven help us!" cried the
+Armenian in his turn, "all might be well enough for them, but it would
+be ill for us if these neighbours of ours recovered the post, especially
+now that it is fortified." [22] Then Cyrus said, "See, then, this is
+what I will do: I will hand over the pass to neither of you: we Persians
+will guard it ourselves, and if either of you injure the other, we will
+step in and side with the sufferers."
+
+[23] Then both parties applauded the decision, and said that only thus
+could they establish a lasting peace, and on these terms they exchanged
+pledges, and a covenant was made that both nations alike were to be free
+and independent, but with common rights of marriage, and tillage, and
+pasturage, and help in time of war if either were attacked. [24] Thus
+the matter was concluded, and to this day the treaty holds between the
+Chaldaeans and Armenia.
+
+Peace was no sooner made than both parties began building what they now
+considered their common fortress, working side by side and bringing up
+all that was needed. [25] And when evening fell, Cyrus summoned them all
+as fellow-guests to his board, saying that they were friends already.
+At the supper as they sat together, one of the Chaldaeans said to Cyrus
+that the mass of his nation would feel they had received all they
+could desire, "But there are men among us," he added, "who live as
+freebooters: they do not know how to labour in the field, and they could
+not learn, accustomed as they are from youth up to get their livelihood
+either by plundering for themselves or serving as mercenaries, often
+under the king of India, for he is a man of much wealth, but sometimes
+under Astyages." [26] Then Cyrus said: "Why should they not take service
+with me? I undertake to give them at least as much as they ever got
+elsewhere." The Chaldaeans readily agreed with him and prophesied that
+he would have many volunteers.
+
+[27] So this matter was settled to the mind of all. But Cyrus, on
+hearing that the Chaldaeans were in the habit of going to India,
+remembered how Indian ambassadors had come to the Medes to spy out their
+affairs, and how they had gone on to their enemies--doubtless to do the
+same there--and he felt a wish that they should hear something of
+what he had achieved himself. [28] So he said to the company: "Son of
+Armenia, and men of the Chaldaeans, I have something to ask you. Tell
+me, if I were to send ambassadors to India, would you send some of your
+own folk with them to show them the way, and support them in gaining
+for us all that I desire? I still need more money if I am to pay all the
+wages, as I wish, in full, and give rewards and make presents to such of
+my soldiers as deserve them. It is for such things I need all the money
+I can get, for I believe them to be essential. It would be pleasanter
+for me not to draw on you, because I look on you already as my friends,
+but I should be glad to take from the Indian as much as he will give me.
+My messenger--the one for whom I ask guides and coadjutors--will go to
+the king and say: 'Son of India, my master has sent me to you, bidding
+me say that he has need of more money. He is expecting another army from
+Persia,' and indeed I do expect one," Cyrus added. "Then my messenger
+will proceed, 'If you can send my master all that you have at hand he
+will do his best, if God grant him success, that you should feel your
+kindness has not been ill-advised.' [30] That is what my emissary will
+say: and you must give such instructions to yours as you think fit
+yourselves. If I get money from the king, I shall have abundance at my
+disposal: if I fail, at least we shall owe him no gratitude, and as far
+as he is concerned we may look to our own interests alone."
+
+[31] So Cyrus spoke, convinced that the ambassadors from Armenia and
+Chaldaea would speak of him as he desired all men might do. And then, as
+the hour was come, they broke up the meeting and took their rest.
+
+[C.3] But on the next day Cyrus despatched his messenger with
+the instructions, and the Armenians and Chaldaeans sent their own
+ambassadors, choosing the men they thought would help Cyrus most and
+speak of his exploits in the most fitting terms. Cyrus put a strong
+garrison in the fort and stored it with supplies, and left an officer in
+command, a Mede, whose appointment, he thought, would gratify Cyaxares,
+and then he turned homewards, taking with him not only the troops he had
+brought, but the force the Armenians had furnished, and a picked body
+of Chaldaeans who considered themselves stronger than all the rest
+together. [2] And as he come down from the hills into the cultivated
+land, not one of the Armenians, man or woman, stayed indoors: with one
+accord they all went out to meet him, rejoicing that peace was made, and
+bringing him offerings from their best, driving before them the animals
+they valued most. The king himself was not ill-pleased at this, for he
+thought that Cyrus would take delight in the honour the people showed
+him. Last of all came the queen herself, with her daughters and her
+younger son, bearing many gifts, and among them the golden treasure that
+Cyrus had refused before. [3] But when he saw it he said: "Nay, you must
+not make me a mercenary and a benefactor for pay; take this treasure
+back and hie you home, but do not give it to your lord that he may bury
+it again; spend it on your son, and send him forth gloriously equipped
+for war, and with the residue buy yourself and for your husband and your
+children such precious things as shall endure, and bring joy and beauty
+into all your days. As for burying, let us only bury our bodies on the
+day when each must die."
+
+[4] With that he rode away, the king and all his people escorting him,
+like a guard of honour, calling him their saviour, their benefactor, and
+their hero, and heaping praises on him until he had left the land.
+And the king sent with him a larger army than ever he had sent before,
+seeing that now he had peace at home. [5] Thus Cyrus took his departure,
+having gained not only the actual money he took away with him, but a far
+ampler store of wealth, won by his own graciousness, on which he could
+draw in time of need.
+
+For the first night he encamped on the borders of Armenia, but the next
+day he sent an army and the money to Cyaxares, who was close at hand,
+as he had promised to be, while he himself took his pleasure in hunting
+wherever he could find the game, in company with Tigranes and the flower
+of the Persian force.
+
+[6] And when he came back to Media he gave gifts of money to his chief
+officers, sufficient for each to reward their own subordinates, for he
+held to it that, if every one made his own division worthy of praise,
+all would be well with the army as a whole. He himself secured anything
+that he thought of value for the campaign, and divided it among the most
+meritorious, convinced that every gain to the army was an adornment to
+himself.
+
+[7] At every distribution he would take occasion to address the officers
+and all whom he chose to honour in some such words as these: "My
+friends, the god of mirth must be with us to-day: we have found a source
+of plenty, and we have the wherewithal to honour whom we wish and as
+they may deserve. [8] Let us call to mind, all of us, the only way
+in which these blessings can be won. We shall find it is by toil, and
+watchfulness, and speed, and the resolve never to yield to our foes.
+After this pattern must we prove ourselves to be men, knowing that
+all high delights and all great joys are only gained by obedience and
+hardihood, and through pains endured and dangers confronted in their
+proper season."
+
+[9] But presently, when Cyrus saw that his men were strong enough for
+all the work of war, and bold enough to meet their enemies with scorn,
+expert and skilful in the use of the weapons each man bore, and all of
+them perfect in obedience and discipline, the desire grew in his heart
+to be up and doing and achieve something against the foe. He knew well
+how often a general has found delay ruin his fairest armament. [10] He
+noticed, moreover, that in the eagerness of rivalry and the strain of
+competition many of the soldiers grew jealous of each other; and for
+this, if for no other reason, he desired to lead them into the enemy's
+country without delay, feeling that common dangers awaken comradeship
+among those who are fighting in a common cause, and then all such
+bickerings cease, and no man is galled by the splendour of his comrade's
+arms, or the passion of his desire for glory: envy is swallowed up
+in praise, and each competitor greets his rivals with delight as
+fellow-workers for the common good.
+
+[11] Therefore Cyrus ordered his whole force to assemble under arms, and
+drew them up into battle-array, using all his skill to make the display
+a wonder of beauty and perfection. Then he summoned his chief officers,
+his generals, his brigadiers, and his company-captains. These men were
+not bound to be always in the ranks, and some were always free to
+wait on the commander-in-chief or carry orders along the lines without
+leaving the troops unofficered: for the captains-of-twelve and the
+captains-of-six stepped into the gaps, and absolute order was preserved.
+[12] So Cyrus assembled his staff and led them along the lines, pointing
+out the merits of the combined forces and the special strength of each,
+and thus he kindled in their hearts the passion for achievement, and
+then he bade them return to their regiments and repeat the lessons he
+had taught them, trying to implant in their own men the same desire for
+action, so that one and all might sally out in the best of heart; and
+the next morning they were to present themselves at Cyaxares' gates.
+[13] So the officers went away and did as he commanded, and the next
+morning at daybreak they assembled at the trysting-place, and Cyrus met
+them and came before Cyaxares and said to him:
+
+"I know well that what I am about to say must often have been in your
+own mind, but you have shrunk from suggesting it yourself lest it seem
+that you were weary of supporting us. [14] Therefore since you must keep
+silence, let me speak for both of us. We are all agreed that since our
+preparations are complete we should not wait until the enemy invades our
+territory before we give him battle, nor loiter here in a friendly land,
+but attack him on his own ground with what speed we may. [15] For while
+we linger here, we injure your property in spite of ourselves, but once
+on the enemy's soil, we can damage his, and that with the best will in
+the world. [16] As things are, you must maintain us, and the cost is
+great; but once launched on foreign service, we can maintain ourselves,
+and at our foe's expense. [17] Possibly, if it were more dangerous to go
+forward than to stay here, the more cautious might seem the wiser plan.
+But whether we stay or whether we go, the enemy's numbers will be the
+same, and so will ours, whether we receive them here or join battle with
+them there. [18] Moreover, the spirit of our soldiers will be all the
+higher and all the bolder if they feel that they are marching against
+the foe and not cowering before him; and his alarm will be all the
+greater when he hears that we are not crouching at home in terror but
+coming out to meet him as soon as we have heard of his advance, eager to
+close at once, not holding back until our territory suffers, but prompt
+to seize the moment and ravage his own land first. [19] Indeed," he
+added, "if we do no more than quicken our own courage and his fears, I
+would reckon it a substantial gain, and count it so much the less danger
+for us and so much the more for him. My father never tires of telling me
+what I have heard you say yourself, and what all the world admits, that
+battles are decided more by the character of the troops than by their
+bodily strength."
+
+[20] He ended, and Cyaxares answered:
+
+"Cyrus, both you and all my Persian friends may feel sure that I find
+it no trouble to maintain you; do not imagine such a thing; but I agree
+with you that the time is ripe for an advance on the enemy's land."
+
+"Then," said Cyrus, "since we are all of one mind, let us make our final
+preparations, and, if heaven will, let us set forth without delay."
+
+[21] So they bade the soldiers prepare for the start, and Cyrus offered
+sacrifices to Zeus the Lord and to the other gods in due order, and
+prayed, "Look on us with favour, and be gracious to us; guide our army,
+stand beside us in the battle, aid us in council, help us in action, be
+the comrades of the brave." Also he called upon the Heroes of Media,
+who dwell in the land and guard it. [22] Then, when the signs were
+favourable and his army was mustered on the frontier, he felt that the
+moment had come, and with all good omens to support him, he invaded
+the enemy's land. And so soon as he had crossed the border he offered
+libations to the Earth and victims to the gods, and sought to win the
+favour of the Heroes who guard Assyria. And having so done, once more he
+sacrificed to Zeus, the god of his fathers, and was careful to reverence
+every other god who came before his mind.
+
+[23] But when these duties were fulfilled, there was no further pause.
+He pushed his infantry on at once, a short day's march, and then
+encamped, while the cavalry made a swift descent and captured much spoil
+of every kind. For the future they had only to shift their camp from
+time to time, and they found supplies in abundance, and could ravage the
+enemy's land at their ease while waiting his approach. [24] Presently
+news came of his advance: he was said to be barely ten days' off, and
+at that Cyrus went to Cyaxares and said: "The hour has come, and we
+must face the enemy. Let it not seem to friend or foe that we fear the
+encounter: let us show them that we enjoy the fight."
+
+[25] Cyaxares agreed, and they moved forward in good order, marching
+each day as far as appeared desirable. They were careful to take their
+evening meal by daylight, and at night they lit no fires in the camp:
+they made them in front of it, so that in case of attack they might see
+their assailants, while they themselves remained unseen. And often they
+lit other fires in their rear as well, to deceive the enemy; so that
+at times the Assyrian scouts actually fell in with the advance-guard,
+having fancied from the distance of the fires that they were still some
+way from the encampment.
+
+[26] Meanwhile the Assyrians and their allies, as the two armies came
+into touch, halted, and threw up an entrenchment, just as all barbarian
+leaders do to-day, whenever they encamp, finding no difficulty in the
+work because of the vast numbers at their command, and knowing that
+cavalry may easily be thrown into confusion and become unmanageable,
+especially if they are barbarians. [27] The horses must be tethered
+at their stalls, and in case of attack a dozen difficulties arise: the
+soldier must loose his steed in the dark, bridle and saddle him, put on
+his own armour, mount, and then gallop through the camp, and this
+last it is quite impossible to do. Therefore the Assyrians, like all
+barbarians, throw up entrenchments round their position, and the mere
+fact of being inside a fastness leaves them, they consider, the choice
+of fighting at any moment they think fit. [28] So the two armies drew
+nearer and nearer, and when they were about four miles apart, the
+Assyrians proceeded to encamp in the manner described: their position
+was completely surrounded by a trench, but also perfectly visible,
+while Cyrus took all the cover he could find, screening himself behind
+villages and hillocks, in the conviction that the more sudden the
+disclosure of a hostile force the greater will be the enemy's alarm.
+
+[29] During the first night neither army did more than post the
+customary guards before they went to sleep, and on the next day the
+king of Assyria, and Croesus, and their officers, still kept the troops
+within their lines. But Cyrus and Cyaxares drew up their men, prepared
+to fight if the enemy advanced.
+
+Ere long it was plain that they would not venture out that day, and
+Cyaxares summoned Cyrus and his staff and said:
+
+[30] "I think, gentlemen, it would be well for us to march up to the
+breastworks in our present order, and show them that we wish to fight.
+If we do so," he added, "and they refuse our challenge, it will increase
+the confidence of our own men, and the mere sight of our boldness will
+add to the enemy's alarm."
+
+[31] So it seemed to Cyaxares, but Cyrus protested: "In the name of
+heaven, Cyaxares, let us do no such thing. By such an advance we should
+only reveal our numbers to them: they would watch us at their ease,
+conscious that they are safe from any danger, and when we retire without
+doing them any harm they will have another look at us and despise us
+because of our inferiority in numbers, and to-morrow they will come
+out much emboldened. [32] At present," he added, "they know that we are
+here, but they have not seen us, and you may be sure they do not despise
+us; they are asking what all this means, and they never cease discussing
+the problem; of that I am convinced. They ought not to see us until
+they sally out, and in that moment we ought to come to grips with them,
+thankful to have caught them as we have so long desired."
+
+[33] So Cyrus spoke, and Cyaxares and the others were convinced, and
+waited. In the evening they took their meal, and posted their pickets
+and lit watch-fires in front of their outposts, and so turned to sleep.
+[34] But early the next morning Cyrus put a garland on his head and went
+out to offer sacrifice, and sent word to all the Peers of Persia to
+join him, wearing garlands like himself. And when the rite was over, he
+called them together and said: "Gentlemen, the soothsayers tell us, and
+I agree, that the gods announce by the signs in the victims that the
+battle is at hand, and they assure us of victory, they promise us
+salvation. [35] I should be ashamed to admonish you at such a season, or
+tell you how to bear yourselves: I do not forget that we have all been
+brought up in the same school, you have learnt the same lessons as I,
+and practised them day by day, and you might well instruct others. But
+you may not have noticed one point, and for this I would ask a hearing.
+[36] Our new comrades, the men we desire to make our peers--it may be
+well to remind them of the terms on which Cyaxares has kept us and of
+our daily discipline, the goal for which we asked their help, and the
+race in which they promised to be our friendly rivals. [37] Remind them
+also that this day will test the worth of every man. With learners late
+in life, we cannot wonder if now and then a prompter should be needed:
+it is much to be thankful for if they show themselves good men and true
+with the help of a reminder. [38] Moreover, while you help them you will
+be putting your own powers to the test. He who can give another strength
+at such a crisis may well have confidence in his own, whereas one who
+keeps his ideal to himself and is content with that, ought to remember
+that he is only half a man. [39] There is another reason," he added,
+"why I do not speak to them myself, but ask you to do so. I want them to
+try to please you: you are nearer to them than I, each of you to the
+men of his own division: and be well assured that if you show yourselves
+stout-hearted you will be teaching them courage, and others too, by
+deeds as well as words."
+
+[40] With that Cyrus dismissed them, and bade them break their fast and
+make libation, and then take their places in the ranks, still wearing
+their garlands on their heads. As they went away he summoned the leaders
+of the rearguard and gave them his instructions:
+
+[41] "Men of Persia, you have been made Peers and chosen for special
+duties, because we think you equal to the best in other matters, and
+wiser than most in virtue of your age. The post that you hold is every
+whit as honourable as theirs who form the front: from your position in
+the rear you can single out the gallant fighters, and your praise will
+make them outdo themselves in valour, while if any man should be tempted
+to give way, your eyes will be upon him and you will not suffer it. [42]
+Victory will mean even more to you than to the others, because of your
+age and the weight of your equipment. If the men in front call on you to
+follow, answer readily, and let them see that you can hold your own with
+them, shout back to them, and bid them lead on quicker still. And now,"
+said he, "go back and take your breakfast, and then join your ranks with
+the rest, wearing your garlands on your heads."
+
+[43] Thus Cyrus and his men made their preparations, and meanwhile the
+Assyrians on their side took their breakfast, and then sallied forth
+boldly and drew up in gallant order. It was the king himself who
+marshalled them, driving past in his chariot and encouraging his troops.
+
+[44] "Men of Assyria," he said, "to-day you must show your valour.
+To-day you fight for your lives and your land, the land where you were
+born and the homes where you were bred, and for your wives and your
+children, and all the blessings that are yours. If you win, you
+will possess them all in safety as before, but if you lose, you must
+surrender them into the hands of your enemies. [45] Abide, therefore,
+and do battle as though you were enamoured of victory. It would be folly
+for her lovers to turn their backs to the foe, sightless, handless,
+helpless, and a fool is he who flies because he longs to live, for he
+must know that safety comes to those who conquer, but death to those
+who flee; and fools are they whose hearts are set on riches, but whose
+spirits are ready to admit defeat. It is the victor who preserves his
+own possessions and wins the property of those whom he overcomes: the
+conquered lose themselves and all they call their own."
+
+[46] Thus spoke the king of Assyria.
+
+But meanwhile Cyaxares sent to Cyrus saying that the moment for attack
+had come. "Although," he added, "there are as yet but few of them
+outside the trenches, by the time we have advanced there will be quite
+enough. Let us not wait until they outnumber us, but charge at once
+while we are satisfied we can master them easily."
+
+[47] But Cyrus answered him, "Unless those we conquer are more than half
+their number, they are sure to say that we attacked when they were few,
+because we were afraid of their full force, and in their hearts they
+will not feel that they are beaten; and we shall have to fight another
+battle, when perhaps they will make a better plan than they have made
+to-day, delivering themselves into our hands one by one, to fight with
+as we choose."
+
+[48] So the messengers took back his reply, but meanwhile Chrysantas and
+certain other Peers came to Cyrus bringing Assyrian deserters with
+them, and Cyrus, as a general would, questioned the fugitives about the
+enemy's doings, and they told him that the Assyrians were marching out
+in force and that the king himself had crossed the trenches and was
+marshalling his troops, addressing them in stirring words, as all the
+listeners said. [49] Then Chrysantas turned to Cyrus:
+
+"What if you also were to summon our men, while there is yet time, and
+inspire them with your words?"
+
+[50] But Cyrus answered:
+
+"Do not be disturbed by the thought of the Assyrian's exhortations;
+there are no words so fine that they can turn cowards into brave men
+on the day of hearing, nor make good archers out of bad, nor doughty
+spearmen, nor skilful riders, no, nor even teach men to use their arms
+and legs if they have not learnt before."
+
+[51] "But," replied Chrysantas, "could you not make the brave men braver
+still, and the good better?"
+
+"What!" cried Cyrus, "can one solitary speech fill the hearer's soul on
+the selfsame day with honour and uprightness, guard him from all that is
+base, spur him to undergo, as he ought, for the sake of glory every
+toil and every danger, implant in him the faith that it is better to die
+sword in hand than to escape by flight? [52] If such thoughts are ever
+to be engraved in the hearts of men and there abide, we must begin with
+the laws, and frame them so that the righteous can count on a life of
+honour and liberty, while the bad have to face humiliation, suffering,
+and pain, and a life that is no life at all. [53] And then we ought to
+have tutors and governors to instruct and teach and train our citizens
+until the belief is engendered in their souls that the righteous and
+the honourable are the happiest of all men born, and the bad and the
+infamous the most miserable. This is what our men must feel if they are
+to show that their schooling can triumph over their terror of the foe.
+[54] Surely, if in the moment of onset, amid the clash of arms, at a
+time when lessons long learnt seem suddenly wiped away, it were possible
+for any speaker, by stringing a few fine sentiments together, to
+manufacture warriors out of hand, why, it would be the easiest thing in
+all the world to teach men the highest virtue man can know. [55] For my
+own part," he added, "I would not trust our new comrades yonder, whom
+we have trained ourselves, to stand firm this day unless they saw you at
+their side, to be examples unto them and to remind them if they forget.
+As for men who are utterly undisciplined, I should be astonished if any
+speech, however splendid, did one whit more to encourage valour in their
+hearts than a song well sung could do to make a musician of a man who
+had no music in his soul."
+
+[56] But while they were speaking, Cyaxares sent again, saying that
+Cyrus did ill to loiter instead of advancing against the enemy with all
+speed. And Cyrus sent back word there and then by the messengers:
+
+"Tell Cyaxares once more, that even now there are not as many before us
+as we need. And tell him this so that all may hear. But add that, if it
+so please him, I will advance at once."
+
+[57] So saying and with one prayer to the gods, he led his troops into
+battle.
+
+Once the advance began he quickened the pace, and his men followed
+in perfect order, steadily, swiftly, joyously, brimful of emulation,
+hardened by toil, trained by their long discipline, every man in the
+front a leader, and all of them alert. They had laid to heart the lesson
+of many a day that it was always safest and easiest to meet enemies at
+close quarters, especially archers, javelin-men, and cavalry. [58] While
+they were still out of range, Cyrus sent the watchword along the lines,
+"Zeus our help and Zeus our leader." And as soon as it was returned to
+him, he sounded the first notes of the battle-paean, and the men took
+up the hymn devoutly, in one mighty chorus. For at such times those
+who fear the gods have less fear of their fellow-men. [59] And when the
+chant was over, the Peers of Persia went forward side by side, radiant,
+high-bred, disciplined, a band of gallant comrades; they looked into
+each other's eyes, they called each other by name, with many a cheery
+cry, "Forward, friends, forward, gallant gentlemen!" And the rear-ranks
+heard the call, and sent back a ringing cheer, bidding the van lead on.
+The whole army of Cyrus was brimming with courage and zeal and strength
+and hardihood and comradeship and self-control; more terrible, I
+imagine, to an opponent than aught else could be. [60] On the Assyrian
+side, those in the van who fought from the chariots, as soon as the mass
+of the Persian force drew near, leapt back and drove to their own main
+body; but the archers, javelin-men, and slingers, let fly long before
+they were in range. [61] And as the Persians steadily advanced, stepping
+over the spent missiles, Cyrus called to his men:
+
+"Forward now, bravest of the brave! Show us what your pace can be!"
+
+They caught the word and passed it on, and in their eagerness and
+passion for the fray some of the leaders broke into a run, and the whole
+phalanx followed at their heels. [62] Cyrus himself gave up the regular
+march and dashed forward at their head, shouting:
+
+"Brave men to the front! Who follows me? Who will lay the first Assyrian
+low?"
+
+At this the men behind took up the shout till it rang through the field
+like a battle-cry: "Who follows? Brave men to the front!" [63] Thus the
+Persians closed. But the enemy could not hold their ground; they turned
+and fled to their entrenchments. [64] The Persians swept after them,
+many a warrior falling as they crowded in at the gates or tumbled into
+the trenches. For in the rout some of the chariots were carried into the
+fosse, and the Persians sprang down after them and slew man and horse
+where they fell. [65] Then the Median troopers, seeing how matters
+stood, charged the Assyrian cavalry, who swerved and broke before them,
+chased and slaughtered, horse and rider, by their conquerors. [66]
+Meanwhile the Assyrians within the camp, though they stood upon the
+breastworks, had neither wit nor power to draw bow or fling spear
+against the destroyers, dazed as they were by their panic and the horror
+of the sight. Then came the tidings that the Persians had cut their way
+through to the gates, and at that they fled from the breastworks.
+[67] The women, seeing the rout in the camp, fell to wailing and
+lamentations, running hither and thither in utter dismay, young maidens,
+and mothers with children in their arms, rending their garments and
+tearing their cheeks and crying on all they met, "Leave us not, save us,
+save your children and yourselves!" [68] Then the princes gathered
+the trustiest men and stood at the gates, fighting on the breastworks
+themselves, and urging their troops to make a stand. [69] Cyrus, seeing
+this, and fearing that if his handful of Persians forced their way into
+the camp they would be overborne by numbers, gave the order to fall back
+out of range. [70] Then was shown the perfect discipline of the Peers;
+at once they obeyed the order and passed it on at once. And when they
+were all out of range they halted and reformed their ranks, better than
+any chorus could have done, every man of them knowing exactly where he
+ought to be.
+
+
+                                NOTES
+
+C1.6. Oriental in feeling; situation well realised. Hellenic = Oriental,
+also in part perhaps. Also, we know the Oriental through the medium of
+Greek to a great extent (cf. Greek Testament, and earlier still LXX.).
+
+C1.8, init. Cf. Joseph and his brethren for this hardening of his heart.
+
+C1.11. Hellenic political ethics = modern in this matter, apart from
+modern theory of nationalism, i.e. right of nations to exist free.
+
+C1.12. Quite after the manner of an advocate in a Greek law-court, but
+also Oriental (cf. David and Nathan the seer).
+
+C1.24. Fear of exile; autobiographical touch? Is anything passing
+through the mind of Xenophon? I dare say there is. [Xenophon was
+banished from his native city of Athens because of his friendship with
+Sparta and with Cyrus the Younger. See Works, Vol. I. p. xcix.]
+
+C1.33, fin. 3000 talents. Something under £750,000.
+
+C1.35. Cyrus drives home the conscience of indebtedness _à la_ Portia v.
+Shylock. N.B.--Humorous also and an Oriental tinge.
+
+C1.38. One can't help thinking of Socrates and the people of Athens
+here. If so, this is a quasi-apology for the Athenian _bons pères
+de famille_ who condemned Socrates. Beautiful story of the sophist
+teacher's last injunction to Tigranes.
+
+C1.40-41. What smiles after tears! Like a sunny day succeeding clouds
+and blackness. A pretty story this, of the wife of Tigranes. _Xenophon's
+women:_ this one, Pantheia, Croesus' wife, the wife of Ischomachus
+(_Economist_), the daughter of Gobryas.
+
+C2.12. Archaeologically interesting. N.B.--Humanity towards wounded,
+Hellenic. Xenophon's own strategy in the _Anabasis_ is probably the
+prototype.
+
+C2.15. For Hellenic and Xenophontine religiousness. The incalculableness
+of human life: God fulfils himself in many unforeseen ways. N.B.--Irony
+also of the situation, since Cyrus doesn't intend the Armenian to
+triumph over the Chaldaean in the way he anticipates.
+
+C2.20. Note how Socratically it is made to work itself out.
+
+C3. Cyrus, the Archic Man, the "born ruler," is also the diplomatic man
+(cf., no doubt, Gladstone), a diplomacy based on organic economic sense
+and friendly-naturedness.
+
+C3.10. Xenophon's theory of fraternity in action, all petty jealousies
+brushed aside.
+
+[C3.11. The "captains-of-twelve" and the "captains-of-six" are the
+same officers as those called elsewhere "captains-of-ten" and
+"captains-of-five" (cf. above Bk. II. C2.21 note). The titles vary
+because sometimes the officers themselves are included in the squads and
+sometimes not.]
+
+C3.19. Nice touch, quoting his father as an authority.
+
+C3.40. With garlands, like the Spartans. Was it conceivably a Persian
+custom too?
+
+C3.44. Assyrian's speech; not a bad one, though platitudinous.
+Xenophon's dramatic form is shown in the intellectual and emotional side
+of his characters, rather than by the diction in their mouths, is it
+not?
+
+C3.51-52. Most important for Xenophon, Educationalist. Cyrus on the
+powerlessness of a speech to create valour in the soul of the
+untrained: there must be a physical, moral, and spiritual training there
+beforehand. The speech is in Xenophon's best earnest rhetorical style.
+
+C3.57. The march into battle, _vide_ Milton. A beautiful bit of
+word-painting.
+
+C3.58. Cf. the Prussian army singing a hymn [in 1870].
+
+
+
+
+BOOK IV
+
+[C.1] Cyrus waited, with his troops as they were, long enough to show
+that he was ready to do battle again if the enemy would come out; but
+as they did not stir he drew the soldiers off as far as he thought well,
+and there encamped. He had guards posted and scouts sent forward, and
+then he gathered his warriors round him and spoke to them as follows:
+
+[2] "Men of Persia, first and foremost I thank the gods of heaven with
+all my soul and strength; and I know you render thanks with me, for we
+have won salvation and victory, and it is meet and right to thank the
+gods for all that comes to us. But in the next place I must praise you,
+one and all; it is through you all that this glorious work has been
+accomplished, and when I have learnt what each man's part has been from
+those whose place it is to tell me, I will do my best to give each man
+his due, in word and deed. [3] But I need none to tell me the exploits
+of your brigadier Chrysantas; he was next to me in the battle and I
+could see that he bore himself as I believe you all have done. Moreover,
+at the very moment when I called on him to retire, he had just raised
+his sword to strike an Assyrian down, but he heard my voice, and at once
+he dropped his hand and did my bidding. He sent the word along the lines
+and led his division out of range before the enemy could lay one arrow
+to the string or let one javelin fly. Thus he brought himself and his
+men safely out of action, because he had learnt to obey. [4] But some
+of you, I see, are wounded, and when I hear at what moment they received
+their wounds I will pronounce my opinion on their deserts. Chrysantas
+I know already to be a true soldier and a man of sense, able to command
+because he is able to obey, and here and now I put him at the head of a
+thousand troops, nor shall I forget him on the day when God may please
+to give me other blessings. [5] There is one reminder I would make to
+all. Never let slip the lesson of this day's encounter, and judge for
+yourselves whether it is cowardice or courage that saves a man in war,
+whether the fighters or the shirkers have the better chance, and what
+the joy is that victory can yield. To-day of all days you can decide,
+for you have made the trial and the result is fresh. [6] With such
+thoughts as these in your hearts you will grow braver and better still.
+And now you may rest in the consciousness that you are dear to God and
+have done your duty bravely and steadily, and so take your meal and make
+your libations and sing the paean and be ready for the watchword."
+
+So saying, Cyrus mounted his horse and galloped on to Cyaxares, and
+the two rejoiced together as victors will. And then, after a glance at
+matters there and an inquiry if aught were needed, he rode back to his
+own detachment. Then the evening meal was taken and the watches were
+posted and Cyrus slept with his men.
+
+[8] Meanwhile the Assyrians, finding that their king was among the slain
+and almost all his nobles with him, fell into utter despair, and many of
+them deserted during the night. And at this fear crept over Croesus and
+the allies; they saw dangers on every side, and heaviest of all was the
+knowledge that the leading nation, the head of the whole expedition, had
+received a mortal blow. Nothing remained but to abandon the encampment
+under cover of night. [9] Day broke, and the camp was seen to be
+deserted, and Cyrus, without more ado, led his Persians within the
+entrenchments, where they found the stores that the enemy had left:
+herds of sheep and goats and kine, and long rows of waggons laden with
+good things. Cyaxares and his Medes followed, and all arms took their
+breakfast in the camp. [10] But when the meal was over, Cyrus summoned
+his brigadiers and said to them:
+
+"Think what blessings we are flinging away now, spurning, as it were,
+the very gifts of heaven! So at least it seems to me. The enemy have
+given us the slip, as you see with your own eyes. Is it likely that men
+who forsook the shelter of their own fortress will ever face us in fair
+field on level ground? Will those who shrink from us before they put our
+prowess to the test ever withstand us now when we have overthrown and
+shattered them? They have lost their best and bravest, and will the
+cowards dare to give us battle?"
+
+[11] At that one of his officers cried, "Why not pursue at once, if such
+triumphs are before us?"
+
+And Cyrus answered, "Because we have not the horses. The stoutest of our
+enemies, those whom we must seize or slay, are mounted on steeds that
+could sweep past us like the wind. God helping us, we can put them to
+flight, but we cannot overtake them."
+
+[12] "Then," said they, "why not go and lay the matter before Cyaxares?"
+
+And he answered, "If so, you must all go with me, that Cyaxares may see
+it is the wish of all."
+
+So they all went together and spoke as they thought best. [13] Now
+Cyaxares felt, no doubt, a certain jealousy that the Persians should be
+the first to broach the matter, but he may also have felt that it was
+really wiser to run no further risks for the present; he had, moreover,
+abandoned himself to feasting and merrymaking, and he saw that most of
+his Medes were in like case. Whatever the reason, this was the answer he
+gave:
+
+[14] "My good nephew, I have always heard and always seen that you
+Persians of all men think it your duty never to be insatiate in the
+pursuit of any pleasure; and I myself believe that the greater the joy
+the more important is self-restraint. Now what greater joy could there
+be than the good fortune which waits on us to-day? [15] When fortune
+comes to us, if we guard her with discretion, we may live to grow old
+in peace, but if we are insatiate, if we use and abuse our pleasures,
+chasing first one and then another, we may well fear lest that fate be
+ours which, the proverb tells us, falls on those mariners who cannot
+forgo their voyages in the pursuit of wealth, and one day the deep sea
+swallows them. Thus has many a warrior achieved one victory only to
+clutch at another and lose the first. [16] If indeed, our enemies who
+have fled were weaker than we, it might be safe enough to pursue them.
+But now, bethink you, how small a portion of them we have fought and
+conquered; the mass have had no part in the battle, and they, if we
+do not force them to fight, will take themselves off through sheer
+cowardice and sloth. As yet they know nothing of our powers or their
+own, but if they learn that to fly is as dangerous as to hold their
+ground, we run the risk of driving them to be brave in spite of
+themselves. [17] You may be sure they are just as anxious to save their
+wives and children as you can be to capture them. Take a lesson from
+hunting: the wild sow when she is sighted will scamper away with her
+young, though she be feeding with the herd; but if you attack her little
+ones she will never fly, even if she is all alone; she will turn on the
+hunters. [18] Yesterday the enemy shut themselves up in a fort, and then
+handed themselves over to us to choose how many we cared to fight. But
+if we meet them in open country, and they learn how to divide their
+forces and take us in front and flank and rear, I wonder how many pairs
+of eyes and hands each man of us would need! Finally," he added, "I have
+no great wish myself to disturb my Medes in their enjoyment, and drive
+them out to further dangers."
+
+[19] Then Cyrus took him up: "Nay, I would not have you put pressure on
+any man; only let those who are willing follow me, and perhaps we shall
+come back with something for all of you to enjoy. The mass of the enemy
+we should not think of pursuing; indeed, how could we overtake them? But
+if we cut off any stragglers, we could clap hands on them and bring them
+back to you. [20] Remember," he added, "when you sent for us, we came
+a long way to do you service; is it not fair that you should do us a
+kindness in return, and let us have something to take back with us for
+ourselves, and not stand here agape at all your treasures?"
+
+[21] At that Cyaxares answered, "Ah, if any will follow you of their own
+free will, I can but be most grateful."
+
+"Send some one with me then," said Cyrus, "from these trusty men of
+yours, to carry your commands."
+
+"Take whomever you like," he answered, "and begone."
+
+[22] Now, as it chanced, among the officers present was the Mede who
+had claimed kinship with Cyrus long ago and won a kiss thereby. Cyrus
+pointed to him and said, "That man will do for me." "He shall go with
+you then," Cyaxares replied. And turning to the officer, "Tell your
+fellows," he said, "that he who lists may follow Cyrus." [23] Thus
+Cyrus chose his man and went forth. And when they were outside he said,
+"To-day you can show me if you spoke truth long ago when you told me
+that the sight of me was your joy."
+
+"If you say that," said the Mede, "I will never leave you."
+
+"And will you not do your best," added Cyrus, "to bring me others too?"
+"By the gods in heaven," cried the Mede, "that I will, until you say in
+your turn that to see me is your joy." Thereupon, with the authority
+of Cyaxares to support him, the officer went to the Medes and delivered
+with message with all diligence, adding that he for one would never
+forsake Cyrus, the bravest, noblest, and best of men, and a hero whose
+lineage was divine.
+
+[C.2] While Cyrus was busied with these matters, by some strange chance
+two ambassadors arrived from the Hyrcanians. These people are neighbours
+of the Assyrians, and being few in number, they were held in subjection.
+But they seemed then, as they seem now, to live on horseback. Hence the
+Assyrians used them as the Lacedaemonians employ the Skirites, for
+every toil and every danger, without sparing them. In fact, at that very
+moment they had ordered them to furnish a rear-guard of a thousand
+men and more, so as to bear the brunt of any rear attack. [2] The
+Hyrcanians, as they were to be the hindmost, had put their waggons and
+families in the rear, for, like most of the tribes in Asia, they take
+their entire households with them on the march. [3] But when they
+thought of the sorry treatment they got from the Assyrians and when they
+saw the king fallen, the army worsted and a prey to panic, the allies
+disheartened and ready to desert, they judged it a fine moment to revolt
+themselves, if only the Medes and Persians would make common cause with
+them. So they sent an embassy to Cyrus, for after the late battle there
+was no name like his. [4] They told him what good cause they had to
+hate the Assyrians, and how if he was willing to attack them now, they
+themselves would be his allies and show him the way. At the same time
+they gave a full account of the enemy's doings, being eager to get Cyrus
+on the road. [5] "Do you think," said Cyrus, "we should overtake the
+Assyrians before they reach their fortresses? We look on it as a great
+misfortune," he added, "that they ever slipped through our fingers and
+escaped." (This he said, wishing to give his hearers as high an opinion
+as possible of himself and his friends.) [6] "You should certainly catch
+them," they answered, "and that to-morrow, ere the day is old, if you
+gird up your loins: they move heavily because of their numbers and their
+train of waggons, and to-day, since they did not sleep last night,
+they have only gone a little way ahead, and are now encamped for the
+evening."
+
+[7] "Can you give us any guarantee," said Cyrus, "that what you say is
+true?"
+
+"We will give you hostages," they said; "we will ride off at once and
+bring them back this very night. Only do you on your side call the gods
+to witness and give us the pledge of your own right hand, that we may
+give our people the assurance we have received from you ourselves."
+
+[8] Thereupon Cyrus gave them his pledge that if they would make good
+what they promised he would treat them as his true friends and faithful
+followers, of no less account than the Persians and the Medes. And to
+this day one may see Hyrcanians treated with trust and holding office on
+an equal footing with Persians and Medes of high distinction.
+
+[9] Now Cyrus and his men took their supper and then while it was still
+daylight he led his army out, having made the two Hyrcanians wait so
+that they might go with them. The Persians, of course, were with him to
+a man, and Tigranes was there, with his own contingent, and the Median
+volunteers, who had joined for various reasons. [10] Some had been
+friends of Cyrus in boyhood, others had hunted with him and learnt to
+admire his character, others were grateful, feeling he had lifted a load
+of fear from them, others were flushed with hope, nothing doubting that
+great things were reserved for the man who had proved so brave and so
+fortunate already. Others remembered the time when he was brought up in
+Media, and were glad to return the kindnesses that he had shown
+them; many could recall the favours the boy had won for them from his
+grandfather through his sheer goodness of heart; and many, now that they
+had seen the Hyrcanians and heard say they were leading them to untold
+treasures, went out from simple love of gain. [11] So they sallied
+forth, the entire body of the Persians and all the Medes, except those
+who were quartered with Cyaxares: these stayed behind, and their men
+with them. But all the rest went out with radiant faces and eager
+hearts, not following him from constraint, but offering willing service
+in their gratitude. [12] So, as soon as they were well afield, Cyrus
+went to the Medes and thanked them, praying that the gods in their mercy
+might guide them all, and that he himself might have power given him to
+reward their zeal. He ended by saying that the infantry would lead the
+van, while they would follow with the cavalry, and whenever the column
+halted on the march they were to send him gallopers to receive his
+orders. [13] Then he bade the Hyrcanians lead the way, but they
+exclaimed, "What? Are you not going to wait until we bring the hostages?
+Then you could begin the march with pledges from us in return for
+yours."
+
+But he answered, as the story says, "If I am not mistaken, we hold the
+pledges now, in our own hearts and our own right hands. We believe that
+if you are true to us we can do you service, and if you play us false,
+you will not have us at your mercy; God willing, we shall hold you at
+ours. Nevertheless," he added, "since you tell us your own folk follow
+in the Assyrian rear, point them out to us as soon as you set eyes upon
+them, that we may spare their lives."
+
+[14] When the Hyrcanians heard this they led the way as he ordered,
+marvelling at his strength of soul. Their own fear of the Assyrians, the
+Lydians, and their allies, had altogether gone; their dread now was lest
+Cyrus should regard themselves as mere dust in the balance, and count it
+of no importance whether they stayed with him or not.
+
+[15] As night closed in on their march, the legend runs that a strange
+light shone out, far off in the sky, upon Cyrus and his host, filling
+them with awe of the heavenly powers and courage to meet the foe.
+Marching as they did, their loins girt and their pace swift, they
+covered a long stretch of road in little time, and with the half light
+of the morning they were close to the Hyrcanian rear-guard. [16] As soon
+as the guides saw it, they told Cyrus that these were their own men:
+they knew this, they added, from the number of their fires, and the fact
+that they were in the rear. [17] Therefore Cyrus sent one of the guides
+to them, bidding them come out at once, if they were friendly, with
+their right hands raised. And he sent one of his own men also to say,
+"According as you make your approach, so shall we Persians comport
+ourselves."
+
+Thus one of the two messengers stayed with Cyrus while the other rode up
+to his fellows. [18] Cyrus halted his army to watch what the tribe would
+do, and Tigranes and the Median officers rode along the ranks to ask
+for orders. Cyrus explained that the troops nearest to them were the
+Hyrcanians, and that one of the ambassadors had gone, and a Persian with
+him, to bid them come out at once, if they were friendly, with their
+right hands raised. "If they do so," he added, "you must welcome them
+as they come, each of you at your post, and take them by the hand and
+encourage them, but if they draw sword or try to escape, you must make
+an example of them: not a man of them must be left."
+
+Such were his orders. [19] However, as soon as the Hyrcanians heard the
+message, they were overjoyed: springing to their steeds they galloped up
+to Cyrus, holding out their right hands as he had bidden. Then the Medes
+and Persians gave them the right hand of fellowship in return, and bade
+them be of courage. [20] And Cyrus spoke:
+
+"Sons of the Hyrcanians, we have shown our trust in you already, and
+you must trust us in return. And now tell me, how far from here do
+the Assyrian headquarters lie, and their main body?" "About four miles
+hence," they answered.
+
+[21] "Forward then, my men," said Cyrus, "Persians, Medes, and
+Hyrcanians. I have learnt already, you see, to call you friends and
+comrades. All of you must remember that the moment has come when, if
+hand falters or heart fails, we meet with utter disaster: our enemies
+know why we are here. But if we summon our strength and charge home,
+you shall see them caught like a pack of runaway slaves, some on their
+knees, others in full flight, and the rest unable to do even so much for
+themselves. They are beaten already, and they will see their conquerors
+fall on them before they dream of an approach, before their ranks are
+formed or their preparations made, and the sight will paralyse them.
+[22] If we wish to sleep and eat and live in peace and happiness from
+this time forth, let us not give them leisure to take counsel or arrange
+defence, or so much as see that we are men, and not a storm of shields
+and battle-axes and flashing swords, sweeping on them in one rain of
+blows. [23] You Hyrcanians must go in front of us as a screen, that we
+may lie behind you as long as may be. And as soon as I close with them,
+you must give me, each of you, a squadron of horse, to use in case of
+need while I am waiting at the camp. [24] I would advise the older men
+among you and the officers, to ride in close order, so that your ranks
+should not be broken, if you come across a compact body of the foe; let
+the younger men give chase, and do the killing; our safest plan to-day
+is to leave as few of the enemy alive as possible. [25] And if we
+conquer," he added, "we must beware of what has overset the fortune
+of many a conqueror ere now, I mean the lust for plunder. The man who
+plunders is no longer a man, he is a machine for porterage, and all
+who list may treat him as a slave. [26] One thing we must bear in mind:
+nothing can bring such gain as victory; at one clutch the victor seizes
+all, men and women, and wealth, and territory. Therefore make it your
+one object to secure the victory; if he is conquered, the greatest
+plunderer is caught. One more word--remember, even in the heat of
+pursuit to rejoin me while it is still daylight, for when darkness has
+fallen we will not admit a soul within the lines."
+
+[27] With these words he sent them off to their appointed stations,
+bidding them repeat his instructions on the way to their own
+lieutenants, who were posted in front to receive the orders, and make
+each of them pass down the word to his own file of ten. Thereupon the
+advance began, the Hyrcanians leading off, Cyrus holding the centre
+himself, marching with his Persians, and the cavalry in the usual way,
+drawn up on either flank.
+
+[28] As the day broke the enemy saw them for the first time: some simply
+stared at what was happening, others began to realise the truth, calling
+and shouting to each other, unfastening their horses, getting their
+goods together, tearing what they needed off the beasts of burden, and
+others arming themselves, harnessing their steeds, leaping to horse,
+others helping the women into their carriages, or seizing their
+valuables, some caught in the act of burying them, others, and by far
+the greatest number, in sheer headlong flight. Many and divers were
+their shifts, as one may well conceive, save only that not one man stood
+at bay: they perished without a blow. [29] Now Croesus, king of Lydia,
+seeing that it was summer-time, had sent his women on during the night,
+so that they might travel more pleasantly in the cool, and he himself
+had followed with his cavalry to escort them. [30] The Lord of
+Hellespontine Phrygia, it is said, had done the same. And these two,
+when they heard what was happening from the fugitives who overtook them,
+fled for their lives with the rest. [31] But it was otherwise with the
+kings of Cappadocia and Arabia; they had not gone far, and they stood
+their ground, but they had not even time to put on their corslets, and
+were cut down by the Hyrcanians. Indeed, the mass of those who fell were
+Assyrians and Arabians, for, being in their own country, they had
+taken no precautions on the march. [32] The victorious Medes and the
+Hyrcanians had their hands full with the chase, and meanwhile Cyrus made
+the cavalry who were left with him ride all round the camp and cut down
+any man who left it with weapons in his hands. Then he sent a herald to
+those who remained, bidding the horsemen and targeteers and archers come
+out on foot, with their weapons tied in bundles, and deliver them up to
+him, leaving their horses in their stalls: he who disobeyed should lose
+his head, and a cordon of Persian troops stood round with their swords
+drawn. [33] At that the weapons were brought at once, and flung down,
+and Cyrus had the whole pile burnt.
+
+[34] Meanwhile he did not forget that his own troops had come without
+food or drink, that nothing could be done without provisions, and that
+to obtain these in the quickest way, it was necessary on every campaign
+to have some one to see that quarters were prepared and supplies ready
+for the men on their return. [35] It occurred to him it was more than
+likely that such officers, of all others, would be left behind in the
+Assyrian camp, because they would have been delayed by the packing.
+
+Accordingly, he sent out a proclamation that all the stewards should
+present themselves before him, and if there was no such officer left,
+the oldest man in every tent must take his place; any one failing to
+obey would suffer the severest penalties. The stewards, following the
+example of their masters, obeyed at once. And when they came before him
+he ordered those who had more than two months' rations in their quarters
+to sit down on the ground, and then those who had provisions for one
+month. [36] Thereupon very few were left standing. [37] Having thus got
+the information he needed, he spoke to them as follows:
+
+"Gentlemen, if any of you dislike hard blows and desire gentle treatment
+at our hands, make it your business to provide twice as much meat and
+drink in every tent as you have been wont to do, with all things that
+are needed for a fine repast. The victors, whoever they are, will be
+here anon, and will expect an overflowing board. You may rest assured
+it will not be against your interests to give them a welcome they can
+approve."
+
+[38] At that the stewards went off at once and set to work with all zeal
+to carry out their instructions. Then Cyrus summoned his own officers
+and said to them:
+
+"My friends, it is clear that we have it in our power, now that our
+allies' backs are turned, to help ourselves to breakfast, and take our
+choice of the most delicate dishes and the rarest wines. But I scarcely
+think this would do us so much good as to show that we study the
+interest of our friends: the best of cheer will not give us half the
+strength we could draw from the zeal of loyal allies whose gratitude we
+had won. [39] If we forget those who are toiling for us now, pursuing
+our foes, slaying them, and fighting wherever they resist, if they see
+that we sit down to enjoy ourselves and devour our meal before we know
+how it goes with them, I fear we shall cut a sorry figure in their eyes,
+and our strength will turn to weakness through lack of friends. The true
+banquet for us is to study the wants of those who have run the risk and
+done the work, to see that they have all they need when they come home,
+a banquet that will give us richer delight than any gorging of the
+belly. [40] And remember, that even if the thought of them were not
+enough to shame us from it, in no case is this a moment for gluttony
+and drunkenness: the thing we set our minds to do is not yet done:
+everything is full of danger still, and calls for carefulness. We have
+enemies in this camp ten times more numerous than ourselves, and they
+are all at large: we need both to guard against them and to guard them,
+so that we may have servants to furnish us with supplies. Our cavalry
+are not yet back, and we must ask ourselves where they are and whether
+they mean to stay with us when they return. [41] Therefore, gentlemen, I
+would say, for the present let us above all be careful to avoid the
+food and drink that leads to slumber and stupefaction. [42] And there is
+another matter: this camp contains vast treasures, and I am well aware
+we have it in our power to pick and choose as much as we like for
+ourselves out of what belongs by right to all who helped in its capture.
+But it does not seem to me that grasping will be so lucrative as proving
+ourselves just toward our allies, and so binding them closer. [43] I go
+further: I say that we should leave the distribution of the spoil to the
+Medes, the Hyrcanians, and Tigranes, and count it gain if they allot us
+the smaller share, for then they will be all the more willing to stay
+with us. [44] Selfishness now could only secure us riches for the
+moment, while to let these vanities go in order to obtain the very fount
+of wealth, that, I take it, will ensure for us and all whom we call ours
+a far more enduring gain. [45] Was it not," he continued, "for this very
+reason that we trained ourselves at home to master the belly and its
+appetites, so that, if ever the need arose, we might turn our education
+to account? And where, I ask, shall we find a nobler opportunity than
+this, to show what we have learnt?"
+
+[46] Such were his words and Hystaspas the Persian rose to support him,
+saying:
+
+"Truly, Cyrus, it would be a monstrous thing if we could go fasting when
+we hunt, and keep from food so often and so long merely to lay some poor
+beast low, worth next to nothing, maybe, and yet, when a world of wealth
+is our quarry, let ourselves be baulked by one of those temptations
+which flee before the noble and rule the bad. Such conduct, methinks,
+would be little worthy of our race."
+
+[47] So Hystaspas spoke, and the rest approved him, one and all. Then
+Cyrus said:
+
+"Come now, since we are all of one mind, each of you give me five of the
+trustiest fellows in his company, and let them go the rounds, and see
+how the supplies are furnished; let them praise the active servants,
+and where they see neglect, chastise them more severely than their own
+masters could."
+
+Thus they dealt with these matters.
+
+[C.3] But it was not long before some of the Medes returned: one set had
+overtaken the waggons that had gone ahead, seized them and turned them
+back, and were now driving them to the camp, laden with all that an army
+could require, and others had captured the covered carriages in which
+the women rode, the wives of the Assyrian grandees or their concubines,
+whom they had taken with them because of their beauty. [2] Indeed, to
+this day the tribes of Asia never go on a campaign without their most
+precious property: they say they can fight better in the presence of
+their beloved, feeling they must defend their treasures, heart and soul.
+It may be so, but it may also be that the desire for pleasure is the
+cause.
+
+[3] And when Cyrus saw the feats of arms that the Medes and the
+Hyrcanians had performed, he came near reproaching himself and those
+that were with him; the others, he felt, had risen with the time, had
+shown their strength and won their prizes, while he and his had stayed
+behind like sluggards. Indeed it was a sight to watch the victors riding
+home, driving their spoil before them, pointing it out with some
+display to Cyrus, and then dashing off again at once in search of more,
+according to the instructions they had received.
+
+But though he ate out his heart with envy Cyrus was careful to set all
+their booty apart; and then he summoned his own officers again, and
+standing where they could all hear what he had to propose, he spoke as
+follows:
+
+[4] "My friends, you would all agree, I take it, that if the spoils
+displayed to us now were our own to keep, wealth would be showered on
+every Persian in the land, and we ourselves, no doubt, through whom it
+was won, would receive the most. But what I do not see is how we are
+to get possession of such prizes unless we have cavalry of our own. [5]
+Consider the facts," he continued, "we Persians have weapons with which,
+we hope, we can rout the enemy at close quarters: but when we do rout
+them, what sort of horsemen or archers or light-armed troops could ever
+be caught and killed, if we can only pursue them on foot? Why should
+they ever be afraid to dash up and harry us, when they know full well
+that they run no greater risk at our hands than if we were stumps in
+their orchards? [6] And if this be so, it is plain that the cavalry now
+with us consider every gain to be as much theirs as ours, and possibly
+even more, God wot! [7] At present things must be so: there is no help
+for it. But suppose we were to provide ourselves with as good a force
+as our friends, it must be pretty evident to all of us, I think, that we
+could then deal with the enemy by ourselves precisely as we do now with
+their help, and then perhaps we should find that they would carry their
+heads less high. It would be of less importance to us whether they chose
+to stay or go, we should be sufficient for ourselves without them. [8]
+So far then I expect that no one will disagree: if we could get a body
+of Persian cavalry it would make all the difference to us; but no doubt
+you feel the question is, how are we to get it? Well, let us consider
+first, suppose we decide to raise the force, exactly what we have to
+start with and what we need. [9] We certainly have hundreds of horses
+now captured in this camp, with their bridles and all their gear.
+Besides these, we have all the accoutrements for a mounted force,
+breast-plates to protect the trunk, and light spears to be flung or
+wielded at close quarters. What else do we need? It is plain we need
+men. [10] But that is just what we have already at our own command. For
+nothing is so much ours as our own selves. Only, some will say, we have
+not the necessary skill. No, of course not, and none of those who have
+it now had it either before they learnt to get it. Ah, you object, but
+they learnt when they were boys. [11] Maybe; but are boys more capable
+of learning what they are taught then grown men? Which are the better at
+heavy physical tasks, boys or men? [12] Besides, we, of all pupils, have
+advantages that neither boys nor other men possess: we have not to be
+taught the use of the bow as boys have, we are skilled in that already;
+nor yet the use of the javelin, we are versed in that; our time has not
+been taken up like other men's with toiling on the land or labouring at
+some craft or managing household matters; we have not only had leisure
+for war, it has been our life. [13] Moreover, one cannot say of riding
+as of so many warlike exercises that it is useful but disagreeable. To
+ride a-horseback is surely pleasanter than to trudge a-foot? And as for
+speed--how pleasant to join a friend betimes whenever you wish, or
+come up with your quarry be it man or beast! And then, the ease and
+satisfaction of it! Whatever weapon the rider carries his horse must
+help to bear the load: 'wear arms' and 'bear arms,'--they are the same
+thing on horseback. [14] But now, to meet the worst we can apprehend:
+suppose, before we are adepts, we are called upon to run some risk, and
+then find that we are neither infantry nor thoroughgoing cavalry? This
+may be a danger, but we can guard against it. We have it always in our
+power to turn into infantry again at a moment's notice. I do not propose
+that by learning to ride we should unlearn the arts of men on foot."
+
+[15] Thus spoke Cyrus, and Chrysantas rose to support him, saying:
+
+"For my part I cannot say I so much desire to be a horseman as flatter
+myself that once I can ride I shall be a sort of flying man. [16] At
+present when I race I am quiet content if, with a fair start, I can beat
+one of my rivals by the head, or when I sight my game I am happy if, by
+laying legs to the ground, I can get close enough to let fly javelin or
+arrow before he is clean out of range. But when once I am a horseman
+I shall be able to overhaul my man as far as I can see him, or come up
+with the beasts I chase and knock them over myself or else spear them
+as though they stood stock still, for when hunter and hunted are both
+of them racing, if they are only side by side, it is as good as though
+neither of them moved. [17] And the creature I have always envied," he
+continued, "the centaur--if only he had the intelligence and forethought
+of a man, the adroit skill and the cunning hand, with the swiftness and
+strength of a horse, so as to overtake all that fled before him, and
+overthrow all that resisted--why, all these powers I shall collect
+and gather in my own person when once I am a rider. [18] Forethought I
+intend to keep with my human wits, my hands can wield my weapons, and my
+horse's legs will follow up the foe, and my horse's rush overthrow him.
+Only I shall not be tied and fettered to my steed, flesh of his flesh,
+and blood of his blood, like the old centaur. [19] And that I count
+a great improvement on the breed, far better than being united to the
+animal, body and soul. The old centaur, I imagine, must have been
+for ever in difficulties; as a horse, he could not use the wonderful
+inventions of man, and as a man, he could not enjoy the proper pleasures
+of a horse. [20] But I, if I learn to ride, once set me astride my
+horse, and I will do all that the centaur can, and yet, when I dismount,
+I can dress myself as a human being, and dine, and sleep in my bed, like
+the rest of my kind: in short, I shall be a jointed centaur that can be
+taken to pieces and put together again. [21] And I shall gain another
+point or so over the original beast: he, we know, had only two eyes to
+see with and two ears to hear with, but I shall watch with four eyes and
+with four ears I shall listen. You know, they tell us a horse can often
+see quicker than any man, and hear a sound before his master, and give
+him warning in some way. Have the goodness, therefore," he added, "to
+write my name down among those who want to ride."
+
+[22] "And ours too," they all cried, "ours too, in heaven's name!"
+
+Then Cyrus spoke: "Gentlemen, since we are all so well agreed, suppose
+we make it a rule that every one who receives a horse from me shall
+be considered to disgrace himself if he is seen trudging afoot, be his
+journey long or short?"
+
+[23] Thus Cyrus put the question, and one and all assented; and hence it
+is that even to this day the custom is retained, and no Persian of the
+gentle class would willingly be seen anywhere on foot.
+
+[C.4] In this debate their time was spent, and when it was past midday
+the Median cavalry and the Hyrcanians came galloping home, bringing in
+men and horses from the enemy, for they had spared all who surrendered
+their arms. [2] As they rode up the first inquiry of Cyrus was whether
+all of them were safe, and when they answered yes, he asked what they
+had achieved. And they told their exploits in detail, and how bravely
+they had borne themselves, magnifying it all. [3] Cyrus heard their
+story through with a pleasant smile, and praised them for their work.
+"I can see for myself," he said, "that you have done gallant deeds. You
+seem to have grown taller and fairer and more terrible to look on than
+when we saw you last."
+
+[4] Then he made them tell him how far they had gone, and whether they
+had found the country inhabited. They said they had ridden a long way,
+and that the whole country was inhabited, and full of sheep and goats
+and cattle and horses, and rich in corn and every good thing.
+
+[5] "Then there are two matters," he said, "to which we must attend;
+first we must become masters of those who own all this, and next we must
+ensure that they do not run away. A well-populated country is a rich
+possession, but a deserted land will soon become a desert. [6] You have
+put the defenders to the sword, I know, and rightly--for that is the
+only safe road to victory; but you have brought in as prisoners those
+who laid down their arms. Now if we let these men go, I maintain we
+should do the very best thing for ourselves. [7] We gain two points;
+first, we need neither be on our guard against them nor mount guard over
+them nor find them victuals (and we do not propose to starve them, I
+presume), and in the next place, their release means more prisoners
+to-morrow. [8] For if we dominate the country all the inhabitants are
+ours, and if they see that these men are still alive and at large they
+will be more disposed to stay where they are, and prefer obedience to
+battle. That is my own view, but if any one sees a better course, let
+him point it out."
+
+[9] However, all his hearers approved the plan proposed. Thus it came to
+pass that Cyrus summoned the prisoners and said to them:
+
+[10] "Gentlemen, you owe it to your own obedience this day that your
+lives are safe; and for the future if you continue in this conduct, no
+evil whatsoever shall befall you; true, you will not have the same ruler
+as before, but you will dwell in the same houses, you will cultivate the
+same land, you will live with your wives and govern your children as you
+do now. Moreover you will not have us to fight with, nor any one else.
+[11] On the contrary, if any wrong is done you, it is we who will fight
+on your behalf. And to prevent any one from ordering you to take the
+field, you will bring your arms to us and hand them over. Those who do
+this can count on peace and the faithful fulfilment of our promises;
+those who will not, must expect war, and that at once. [12] Further,
+if any man of you comes to us and shows a friendly spirit, giving
+us information and helping us in any way, we will treat him not as a
+servant, but as a friend and benefactor. This," he added, "we wish you
+to understand yourselves and make known among your fellows. [13] And if
+it should appear that you yourselves are willing to comply but others
+hinder you, lead us against them, and you shall be their masters, not
+they yours."
+
+Such were his words; and they made obeisance and promised to do as he
+bade.
+
+[C.5] And when they were gone, Cyrus turned to the Medes and the men of
+Armenia, and said, "It is high time, gentlemen, that we should dine,
+one and all of us; food and drink are prepared for you, the best we had
+skill to find. Send us, if you will, the half of the bread that has
+been baked; there is ample, I know, for both of us; but do not send any
+relish with it, nor any drink, we have quite enough at hand. [2] And do
+you," he added, turning to the Hyrcanians, "conduct our friends to
+their quarters, the officers to the largest tents--you know where they
+are--and the rest where you think best. For yourselves, you may dine
+where you like; your quarters are intact, and you will find everything
+there prepared for you exactly as it is for the others. [3] All of you
+alike must understand that during the night we Persians will guard the
+camp outside, but you must keep an eye over what goes on within; and see
+that your arms are ready to hand; our messmates are not our friends as
+yet."
+
+[4] So the Medes and Tigranes with his men washed away the stains of
+battle, and put on the apparel that was laid out for them, and fell to
+dinner, and the horses had their provender too. They sent half the bread
+to the Persians but no relish with it and no wine, thinking that Cyrus
+and his men possessed a store, because he had said they had enough and
+to spare. But Cyrus meant the relish of hunger, and the draught from the
+running river. [5] Thus he regaled his Persians, and when the darkness
+fell he sent them out by fives and tens and ordered them to lie in
+ambush around the camp, so as to form a double guard, against attack
+from without, and absconders from within; any one attempting to make off
+with treasures would be caught in the act. And so it befell; for many
+tried to escape, and all of them were seized. [6] As for the treasures,
+Cyrus allowed the captors to keep them, but he had the absconders
+beheaded out of hand, so that for the future a thief by night was hardly
+to be found. Thus the Persians passed their time. [7] But the Medes
+drank and feasted and made music and took their fill of good cheer and
+all delights; there was plenty to serve their purpose, and work enough
+for those who did not sleep.
+
+[8] Cyaxares, the king of the Medes, on the very night when Cyrus set
+forth, drank himself drunk in company with the officers in his own
+quarters to celebrate their good fortune. Hearing uproar all about him,
+he thought that the rest of the Medes must have stayed behind in the
+camp, except perhaps a few, but the fact was that their domestics,
+finding the masters gone, had fallen to drinking in fine style and
+were making a din to their hearts' content, the more so that they had
+procured wine and dainties from the Assyrian camp. [9] But when it was
+broad day and no one knocked at the palace gate except the guests
+of last night's revel, and when Cyaxares heard that the camp was
+deserted--the Medes gone, the cavalry gone--and when he went out and saw
+for himself that it was so, then he fumed with indignation against Cyrus
+and his own men, to think that they had gone off and left him in the
+lurch. It is said that without more ado, savage and mad with anger as he
+was, he ordered one of his staff to take his troopers and ride at once
+to Cyrus and his men, and there deliver this message:
+
+[10] "I should never have dreamed that Cyrus could have acted towards
+me with such scant respect, or, if he could have thought of it, that the
+Medes could have borne to desert me in this way. And now, whether Cyrus
+will or no, I command the Medes to present themselves before me without
+delay."
+
+[11] Such was the message. But he who was to take it said, "And how
+shall I find them, my lord?"
+
+"Why," said Cyaxares, "as Cyrus and his men found those they went to
+seek."
+
+"I only asked," continued the messenger, "because I was told that some
+Hyrcanians who had revolted from the enemy came here, and went off with
+him to act as guides."
+
+[12] When Cyaxares heard that, he was the more enraged to think that
+Cyrus had never told him, and the more urgent to have his Medes removed
+from him at once, and he summoned them home under fiercer threats
+than ever; threatening the officer as well if he failed to deliver the
+message in full force.
+
+[13] So the emissary set off with his troopers, about one hundred
+strong, fervently regretting that he had not gone with Cyrus himself. On
+the way they took a turning which led them wrong, and they did not
+reach the Persians until they had chanced upon some of the Assyrians
+in retreat and forced them to be their guides, and so at last arrived,
+sighting the watch-fires about midnight. [14] But though they had got to
+the camp, the pickets, acting on the orders of Cyrus, would not let them
+in till dawn. With the first faint gleam of morning Cyrus summoned
+the Persian Priests, who are called Magians, and bade them choose the
+offerings due to the gods for the blessings they had vouchsafed. [15]
+And while they were about this, Cyrus called the Peers together and said
+to them:
+
+"Gentlemen, God has put before us many blessings, but at present we
+Persians are but a scant company to keep them. If we fail to guard what
+we have toiled for, it will soon fall back into other hands, and if we
+leave some of our number to watch our gains, it will soon be seen that
+we have no strength in us. [16] I propose therefore that one of you
+should go home to Persia without loss of time, and explain what I need
+and bid them despatch an army forthwith, if they desire Persia to
+win the empire of Asia and the fruits thereof. [17] Do you," said he,
+turning to one of the Peers, "do you, who are the eldest, go and repeat
+these words, and tell them that it shall be my care to provide for the
+soldiers they send me as soon as they are here. And as to what we have
+won--you have seen it yourself--keep nothing back, and ask my father how
+much I ought to send home for an offering to the gods, if I wish to act
+in honour and according to the law, and ask the magistrates how much is
+due to the commonwealth. And let them send commissioners to watch all
+that we do and answer all that we ask. So, sir," he ended, "you will get
+your baggage together, and take your company with you as an escort. Fare
+you well."
+
+[18] With that message he turned to the Medes and at the same moment the
+messenger from Cyaxares presented himself, and in the midst of the whole
+assembly announced the anger of the king against Cyrus, and his threats
+against the Medes, and so bade the latter return home at once, even if
+Cyrus wished them to stay. [19] The Medes listened, but were silent; for
+they were sore bested; they could hardly disobey the summons, and
+yet they were afraid to go back after his threats, being all too well
+acquainted with the savage temper of their lord. [20] But Cyrus spoke:
+
+"Herald," said he, "and sons of the Medes, I am not surprised that
+Cyaxares, who saw the host of the enemy so lately, and knows so little
+of what we have done now, should tremble for us and for himself. But
+when he learns how many have fallen, and that all have been dispersed,
+his fears will vanish, and he will recognise that he is not deserted on
+this day of all days when his friends are destroying his foes. [21] Can
+we deserve blame for doing him a service? And that not even without his
+own consent? I am acting as I am, only after having gained his leave
+to take you out; it is not as though you had come to me in your own
+eagerness, and begged me to let you go, and so were here now; he himself
+ordered you out, those of you who did not find it a burthen. Therefore,
+I feel sure, his anger will melt in the sunshine of success, and, when
+his fears are gone, it will vanish too. [22] For the moment then," he
+added, turning to the messenger, "you must recruit yourself; you have
+had a heavy task; and for ourselves," said he, turning to the Persians,
+"since we are waiting for an enemy who will either offer us battle
+or render us submission, we must draw up in our finest style; the
+spectacle, perhaps, will bring us more than we could dare to hope. And
+do you," he said, taking the Hyrcanian chieftain aside, "after you
+have told your officers to arm their men, come back and wait with me a
+moment."
+
+[23] So the Hyrcanian went and returned. Then Cyrus said to him, "Son
+of Hyrcania, it gives me pleasure to see that you show not only
+friendliness, but sagacity. It is clear that our interests are the same;
+the Assyrians are my foes as well as yours, only they hate you now even
+more bitterly than they hate me. [24] We must consult together and see
+that not one of our present allies turns his back on us, and we must do
+what we can to acquire more. You heard the Mede summon the cavalry to
+return, and if they go, we shall be left with nothing but infantry. [25]
+This is what we must do, you and I; we must make this messenger, who is
+sent to recall them, desirous to stay here himself. You must find him
+quarters where he will have a merry time and everything heart can wish,
+and I will offer him work which he will like far better than going back.
+And do you talk to him yourself, and dilate on all the wonders we expect
+for our friends if things go well. And when you have done this, come
+back again and tell me."
+
+[26] So the chieftain took the Mede away to his own quarters, and
+meanwhile the messenger from Persia presented himself equipped for the
+journey, and Cyrus bade him tell the Persians all that had happened,
+as it has been set out in this story, and then he gave him a letter to
+Cyaxares. "I would like to read you the very words," he added, "so that
+what you say yourself may agree with it, in case you have questions
+asked you."
+
+[27] The letter ran as follows:--"Cyrus to Cyaxares, greeting. We do not
+admit that we have deserted you; for no one is deserted when he is being
+made the master of his enemies. Nor do we consider that we put you in
+jeopardy by our departure; on the contrary, the greater the distance
+between us the greater the security we claim to have won for you. [28]
+It is not the friend at a man's elbow who serves him and puts him out of
+danger, but he who drives his enemies farthest and furthest away. [29]
+And I pray you to remember what I have done for you, and you for me,
+before you blame me. I brought you allies, not limiting myself to those
+you asked for, but pressing in every man that I could find; you allowed
+me while we were on friendly soil only to take those whom I could
+persuade to follow me, and now that I am in hostile territory you insist
+that they must all return; you do not leave it to their own choice. [30]
+Yesterday I felt that I owed both you and them a debt of gratitude,
+but to-day you drive me to forget your share, you make me wish to repay
+those, and those only, who followed me. [31] Not that I could bring
+myself to return you like for like; even now I am sending to Persia for
+more troops, and instructing all the men who come that, if you need them
+before we return, they must hold themselves at your service absolutely,
+to act not as they wish, but as you may care to use them. [32] In
+conclusion, I would advise you, though I am younger than yourself, not
+to take back with one hand what you give with the other, or else you
+will win hatred instead of gratitude; nor to use threats if you wish
+men to come to you speedily; nor to speak of being deserted when you
+threaten an army, unless you would teach them to despise you. [33]
+For ourselves, we will do our best to rejoin you as soon as we have
+concluded certain matters which we believe will prove a common blessing
+to yourself and us. Farewell."
+
+[34] "Deliver this," said Cyrus, "to Cyaxares, and whatever questions he
+puts to you, answer in accordance with it. My injunctions to you about
+the Persians agree exactly with what is written here." With that he gave
+him the letter and sent him off, bidding him remember that speed was of
+importance.
+
+[35] Then he turned to review his troops, who were already fully armed,
+Medes, Hyrcanians, the men Tigranes had brought, and the whole body of
+the Persians. And already some of the neighbouring folk were coming up,
+to bring in their horses or hand over their arms. [36] The javelins
+were then piled in a heap as before and burnt at his command, after his
+troops had taken what they needed for themselves, but he bade the owners
+stay with their horses until they received fresh orders. This done,
+Cyrus called together the officers of the Hyrcanians and of the cavalry,
+and spoke as follows:
+
+[37] "My friends and allies, you must not be surprised that I summon
+you so often. Our circumstances are so novel that much still needs
+adjustment, and we must expect difficulty until everything has found
+its place. [38] At present we have a mass of spoil, and prisoners set to
+guard it. But we do not ourselves know what belongs to each of us, nor
+could the guards say who the owners are: and thus it is impossible for
+them to be exact in their duties, since scarcely any of them know what
+these duties may be. [39] To amend this, you must divide the spoil.
+There will be no difficulty where a man has won a tent that is fully
+supplied with meat and drink, and servants to boot, bedding, apparel,
+and everything to make it a comfortable home; he has only to understand
+that this is now his private property, and he must look after it
+himself. But where the quarters are not furnished so well, there you
+must make it your business to supply what is lacking. [40] There will be
+more than enough for this; of that I am sure; the enemy had a stock
+of everything quite out of proportion to our scanty numbers. Moreover,
+certain treasurers have come to me, men who were in the service of the
+king of Assyria and other potentates, and according to what they tell
+me, they have a supply of gold coin, the produce of certain tributes
+they can name. [41] You will send out a proclamation that this deposit
+must be delivered up to you in your quarters; you must terrify those who
+fail to execute the order, and then you must distribute the money; the
+mounted men should have two shares apiece for the foot-soldier's one;
+and you should keep the surplus, so that in case of need you may have
+wherewith to make your purchases. [42] With regard to the camp-market,
+proclamation must be made at once, forbidding any injustice; the
+hucksters must be allowed to sell the goods they have brought, and when
+these are disposed of they may bring more, so that the camp may be duly
+supplied."
+
+[43] So the proclamations were issued forthwith. But the Medes and the
+Hyrcanians asked Cyrus:
+
+"How are we to distribute the spoil alone, without your men and
+yourself?"
+
+[44] But Cyrus met question by question: "Do you really think,
+gentlemen, that we must all preside over every detail, each and all of
+us together? Can I never act for you, and you for me? I could scarcely
+conceive a surer way of creating trouble, or of reducing results. See,"
+said he, "I will take a case in point. [45] We Persians guarded this
+booty for you, and you believe that we guarded it well: now it is for
+you to distribute it, and we will trust you to be fair. [46] And there
+is another benefit that I should be glad to obtain for us all. You see
+what a number of horses we have got already, and more are being brought
+in. If they are left riderless we shall get no profit out of them; we
+shall only have the burden of looking after them. But if we set riders
+on them, we shall be quit of the trouble and add to our strength. [47]
+Now if you have other men in view, men whom you would choose before us
+to share the brunt of danger with you, by all means give these horses
+to them. But if you would rather have us fight at your side than any
+others, bestow them upon us. [48] To-day when you dashed ahead to meet
+danger all alone, great was our fear lest you might come to harm, and
+bitter our shame to think that where you were we were not. But if once
+we have horses, we can follow at your heels. [49] And if it is clear
+that we do more good so mounted, shoulder to shoulder with yourselves,
+we shall not fail in zeal; or if it appears better to support you on
+foot, why, to dismount is but the work of a moment, and you will have
+your infantry marching by your side at once, and we will find men to
+hold our horses for us."
+
+[50] To which they answered:
+
+"In truth, Cyrus, we have not men for these horses ourselves, and even
+if we had them, we should not do anything against your wish. Take them,
+we beg you, and use them as you think best."
+
+[51] "I will," said he, "and gladly, and may good fortune bless us all,
+you in your division of the spoil and us in our horsemanship. In the
+first place," he added, "you will set apart for the gods whatever our
+priests prescribe, and after that you must select for Cyaxares what you
+think will please him most."
+
+[52] At that they laughed, and said they must choose him a bevy of fair
+women. "So let it be," said Cyrus, "fair women, and anything else you
+please. And when you have chosen his share, the Hyrcanians must see to
+it that our friends among the Medes who followed us of their own free
+will shall have no cause to find fault with their own portion. [53] And
+the Medes on their side must show honour to the first allies we have
+won, and make them feel their decision was wise when they chose us
+for their friends. And be sure to give a share of everything to the
+messenger who came from Cyaxares and to his retinue; persuade him
+to stay on with us, say that I would like it, and that he could tell
+Cyaxares all the better how matters stood. [54] As for my Persians," he
+added, "we shall be quite content with what is left over, after you are
+all provided for; we are not used to luxury, we were brought up in a
+very simple fashion, and I think you would laugh at us if you saw us
+tricked out in grand attire, just as I am sure you will when you see us
+seated on our horses, or, rather, rolling off them."
+
+[55] So they dispersed to make the distribution, in great mirth over the
+thought of the riding; and then Cyrus called his own officers and bade
+them take the horses and their gear, and the grooms with them, number
+them all, and then distribute them by lot in equal shares for each
+division. [56] Finally he sent out another proclamation, saying that if
+there was any slave among the Syrians, Assyrians, or Arabians who was
+a Mede, a Persian, a Bactrian, a Carian, a Cilician, or a Hellene, or a
+member of any other nation, and who had been forcibly enrolled, he
+was to come forward and declare himself. [57] And when they heard the
+herald, many came forward gladly, and out of their number Cyrus selected
+the strongest and fairest, and told them they were now free, and would
+be required to bear arms, with which he would furnish them, and as to
+necessaries, he would see himself that they were not stinted. [58] With
+that he brought them to the officers and had them enrolled forthwith,
+saying they were to be armed with shields and light swords, so as to
+follow the troopers, and were to receive supplies exactly as if they
+were his own Persians. The Persian officers themselves, wearing corslets
+and carrying lances, were for the future to appear on horseback, he
+himself setting the example, and each one was to appoint another of the
+Peers to lead the infantry for him.
+
+[C.6] While they were concerned with these matters, an old Assyrian
+prince, Gobryas by name, presented himself before Cyrus, mounted on
+horseback and with a mounted retinue behind him, all of them armed as
+cavalry. The Persian officers who were appointed to receive the weapons
+bade them hand over their lances and have them burnt with the rest, but
+Gobryas said he wished to see Cyrus first. At that the adjutants led him
+in, but they made his escort stay where they were. [2] When the old man
+came before Cyrus, he addressed him at once, saying:
+
+"My lord, I am an Assyrian by birth; I have a strong fortress in my
+territory, and I rule over a wide domain; I have cavalry at my command,
+two thousand three hundred of them, all of which I offered to the king
+of Assyria; and if ever he had a friend, that friend was I. But he
+has fallen at your hands, the gallant heart, and his son, who is my
+bitterest foe, reigns in his stead. Therefore I have come to you, a
+suppliant at your feet. I am ready to be your slave and your ally, and
+I implore you to be my avenger. You yourself will be a son to me, for
+I have no male children now. [3] He whom I had, my only son, he was
+beautiful and brave, my lord, and loved me and honoured me as a father
+rejoices to be loved. And this vile king--his father, my old master, had
+sent for my son, meaning to give him his own daughter in marriage; and
+I let my boy go, with high hopes and a proud heart, thinking that when
+I saw him again the king's daughter would be his bride. And the prince,
+who is now king, invited him to the chase, and bade him do his best,
+for he thought himself far the finer horseman of the two. So they hunted
+together, side by side, as though they were friends, and suddenly a bear
+appeared, and the two of them gave chase, and the king's son let fly his
+javelin, but alas! he missed his aim, and then my son threw--oh, that he
+never had!--and laid the creature low. [4] The prince was stung to the
+quick, though for the moment he kept his rancour hidden. But, soon after
+that, they roused a lion, and then he missed a second time--no unusual
+thing for him, I imagine--but my son's spear went home, and he brought
+the beast down, and cried, 'See, I have shot but twice, and killed
+each time!' And at this the monster could not contain his jealousy; he
+snatched a spear from one of his followers and ran my son through the
+body, my only son, my darling, and took his life. [5] And I, unhappy
+that I am, I, who thought to welcome a bride-groom, carried home a
+corpse. I, who am old, buried my boy with the first down on his chin, my
+brave boy, my well-beloved. And his assassin acted as though it were an
+enemy that he had done to death. He never showed one sign of remorse, he
+never paid one tribute of honour to the dead, in atonement for his cruel
+deed. Yet his own father pitied me, and showed that he could share the
+burden of my grief. [6] Had he lived, my old master, I would never have
+come to you to do him harm; many a kindness have I received from
+him, and many a service have I done him. But now that his kingdom has
+descended to my boy's murderer--I could never be loyal to that man, and
+he, I know, could never regard me as a friend. He knows too well how I
+feel towards him, and how, after my former splendour, I pass my days in
+mourning, growing old in loneliness and grief. [7] If you can receive
+me, if you can give me some hope of vengeance for my dear son, I think
+I should grow young again, I should not feel ashamed to live, and when I
+came to die I should not die in utter wretchedness."
+
+[8] So he spoke, and Cyrus answered:
+
+"Gobryas, if your heart be set towards us as you say, I receive you as
+my suppliant, and I promise, God helping me, to avenge your son. But
+tell me," he added, "if we do this for you, and if we suffer you to keep
+your stronghold, your land, your arms, and the power which you had, how
+will you serve us in return?"
+
+[9] And the old man answered:
+
+"My stronghold shall be yours, to live in as often as you come to me;
+the tribute which I used to pay to Assyria shall be paid to you; and
+whenever you march out to war, I will march at your side with the men
+from my own land. Moreover, I have a daughter, a well-beloved maiden,
+ripe for marriage; once I thought of bringing her up to be the bride of
+the man who is now king; but she besought me herself, with tears, not
+to give her to her brother's murderer, and I have no mind to oppose her.
+And now I will put her in your hands, to deal with as I shall deal with
+you."
+
+[10] So it came to pass that Cyrus said, "On the faith that you have
+spoken truly and with true intent, I take your hand and I give you mine;
+let the gods be witness."
+
+And when this was done, Cyrus bade the old man depart in peace, without
+surrendering his arms, and then he asked him how far away he lived,
+"Since," said he, "I am minded to visit you." And Gobryas answered, "If
+you set off early to-morrow, the next day you may lodge with us." [11]
+With that he took his own departure, leaving a guide for Cyrus.
+
+Then the Medes presented themselves; they had set apart for the gods
+what the Persian Priests thought right, and had left it in their hands,
+and they had chosen for Cyrus the finest of all the tents, and a lady
+from Susa, of whom the story says that in all Asia there was never a
+woman so fair as she, and two singing-girls with her, the most skilful
+among the musicians. The second choice was for Cyaxares, and for
+themselves they had taken their fill of all they could need on the
+campaign, since there was abundance of everything. [12] The Hyrcanians
+had all they wanted too, and they made the messenger from Cyaxares share
+and share alike with them. The tents which were left over they delivered
+to Cyrus for his Persians; and the coined money they said should be
+divided as soon as it was all collected, and divided it was.
+
+
+                                NOTES
+
+C1.10. Two theories of hedonism: (1) Cyaxares' "Economise the greatest
+joy when you have got it," and by contrast (2) Cyrus' roaming from joy
+to joy.
+
+C1.22. Xenophon the Artist: the "kinsman" of Cyrus again, and the light
+by-play to enliven the severe history. The economic organising genius of
+Cyrus is also brought out.
+
+C2.25. No looting, an order of the Duke of Wellington, Napier, Wolseley.
+
+C2.32. Cf. modern times; humane orders, but strict.
+
+C2.34. The question of commissariat. Would a modern force storm a camp
+without taking rations? I dare say they would.
+
+C2.37. Notice the tone he adopts to these slaves; no bullying, but
+appealing to appetite and lower motives. This is doubtless Xenophontine
+and Hellenic.
+
+C2.38. Important as illustrating the stern Spartan self-denial of
+the man and his followers. There is a hedonistic test, but the higher
+hedonism prevails against the lower: ignoble and impolitic to sit here
+feasting while they are fighting, and we don't even know how it fares
+with them, our allies. The style rises and is at times Pauline. St.
+Paul, of course, is moving on a higher spiritual plane, but still--
+
+C2.45, fin. The Education of Cyrus, Cyropaedia, {Keroupaideia}; the name
+justified.
+
+C2.46. Hystaspas' simple response: important, with other passages, to
+show how naturally it came to them (i.e. the Hellenes and Xenophon)
+to give a spiritual application to their rules of bodily and mental
+training. These things to them are an allegory. The goal is lofty, if
+not so sublime as St. Paul's or Comte's, the Christians or Positivists
+(there has been an alteration for the better in the spiritual plane, and
+Socrates helped to bring it about, I believe), but _ceteris paribus_,
+the words of St. Paul are the words of Hystaspas and Xenophon. They for
+a corruptible crown, and we for an incorruptible--and one might find a
+still happier parable!
+
+C2.46. Fine sentiment, this _noblesse oblige_ (cf. the archangelic
+dignity in Milton, _Paradise Lost_, I think).
+
+C2.47. The aristocratic theory (cf. modern English "nigger" theory,
+Anglo-Indian, etc.).
+
+C3.3. Xenophon's dramatic skill. We are made to feel the touch of
+something galling in the manner of these Median and Hyrcanian troopers.
+
+C3.4. A 'cute beginning rhetorically, because in the most graceful
+way possible, and without egotism _versus_ Medes and Hyrcanians, it
+postulates the Persian superiority, moral, as against the accidental
+inferiority of the moment caused by want of cavalry and the dependence
+on others which that involves. I suppose it's no reflection on Cyrus'
+military acumen not to foreseen this need. It would have been premature
+then, now it organically grows; and there's no great crisis to pass
+through.
+
+C3.11. I should have thought this was a dangerous argument; obviously
+boys do learn better than men certain things.
+
+C3.12. Short sharp snap of argumentative style.
+
+C3.19. The antithetic balance and word-jingle, with an exquisite,
+puristic, precise, and delicate lisp, as of one tasting the flavour of
+his words throughout.
+
+C3.23. I think one sees how Xenophon built up his ideal structure on a
+basis of actual living facts. The actual diverts the creator of Cyrus
+from the ideal at times, as here. It is a slight declension in the
+character of Cyrus to lay down this law, "equestrian once, equestrian
+always." Xenophon has to account for the actual Persian horror of
+pedestrianism: Cyrus himself can dismount, and so can the Persian nobles
+with Cyrus the Younger, but still the rule is "never be seen walking;"
+and without the concluding paragraph the dramatic narrative that
+precedes would seem a little bit unfinished and pointless: with the
+explanation it floats, and we forgive "the archic man" his partiality to
+equestrianism, as later on we have to forgive him his Median get-up and
+artificiality generally, which again is contrary to the Xenophontine and
+the ideal Spartan spirit.
+
+C4. Xenophon has this theory of mankind: some are fit to rule, the
+rest to be ruled. It is parallel to the Hellenic slavery theory. Some
+moderns, e.g. Carlyle (Ruskin perhaps) inherit it, and in lieu of
+Hellenic slavery we have a good many caste-distinction crotchets still
+left.
+
+C4.13, fin. The first salaam, ominous of the advent of imperialism; the
+sun's rim visible, and a ray shot up to the zenith.
+
+C5. Here the question forces itself in the midst of all this "ironic"
+waiting on the part of the Persians in Spartan durance for a future
+apotheosis of splendour and luxuriance,--what is the moral? "Hunger
+now and thirst, for ye shall be filled"--is that it? Well, anyhow it's
+parallel to the modern popular Christianity, reward-in-heaven theory,
+only on a less high level, but exactly the same logicality.
+
+C5.6. A point, this reward to the catcher, and this rigid _couvrefeu_
+habit (cf. modern military law).
+
+C5.8. A dramatic contrast, the Median Cyaxares who follows Pleasure,
+and the Persian Cyrus who follows Valour, _vide_ Heracles' choice
+[_Memorabilia_, II. i. 21]. This allegorising tendency is engrained in
+Xenophon: it is his view of life; one of the best things he got from
+Socrates, no doubt. Later (§ 12) the "ironic" suicidal self-assertion of
+Cyaxares is contrasted with the health-giving victorious self-repression
+of Cyrus.
+
+C5.9-10. Xenophon can depict character splendidly: this is the crapulous
+{orge} of the somewhat "hybristic" nature, seeing how the land lies,
+_siccis luminibus_, the day after the premature revel. Theophrastus
+couldn't better have depicted the irascible man. These earliest
+portraits of character are, according to Xenophon's genius, all sketched
+in the concrete, as it were. The character is not philosophised and then
+illustrated by concrete instances after the manner of Theophrastus,
+but we see the man moving before us and are made aware of his nature at
+once.
+
+C5.17. {kalos ka nomimos}, "in all honour, and according to the
+law," almost a Xenophontine motto, and important in reference to the
+"questionable" conduct on his part in exile--"questionable" from a
+modern rather than an "antique" standard. [The chief reference is to
+Xenophon's presence on the Spartan side at the battle of Coronea against
+his native city of Athens. See _Sketch_, Works, Vol. I. pp. cxxiii. ff.]
+
+C5.20. The "archic man" does not recognise the littleness of soul of
+the inferior nature, he winks at it, and so disarms at once and triumphs
+over savagery, and this not through cunning and pride, but a kind of
+godlike imperturbable sympathy, as of a fearless man with a savage
+hound. Still there is a good dash of diplomacy.
+
+C5.21, fin. Pretty sentence. Xenophon's words: some of these are
+prettily-sounding words, some are rare and choice and exquisite, some
+are charged with feeling, you can't touch them with your finger-tips
+without feeling an "affective" thrill. That is in part the _goeteia_,
+the witchery, of his style.
+
+C5.30-31. A brilliant stroke of diplomacy worthy of the archic man. This
+{arkinoia} of the Hellene is the necessary sharp shrewdness of a brain,
+which, however "affectively" developed, is at bottom highly organised
+intellectually. H. S.[*] has it, all 'cute people and nations have it,
+the Americans, e.g.--every proposition must, however else it presents
+itself, be apprehended in its logical bearings: the result may be
+logically damaging to the supporter of it, but does not necessarily
+banish an affective sympathetic attitude on the part of the common-sense
+antagonist, who is not bound, in other words, to be a sharp practitioner
+because he sees clearly. Affection is the inspirer, intellect the
+up-and-doing agent of the soul. The Hellenes and all 'cute people put
+the agent to the fore in action, but if besides being 'cute they
+are affective, the operations of the agent will be confined within
+prescribed limits.
+
+[* "H. S." = Henry Sidgwick, the philosopher, author of _Methods of
+Ethics_, etc., a life-long friend of Mr. Dakyns.]
+
+C5.32. This is almost pummelling, but it's fair: it's rather, "See, I
+have you now in Chancery, I could pummel if I would."
+
+C5.37. These constant masters' meetings!
+
+C5.38 ff. The mind of Xenophon: guiding principles, rule of Health, rule
+of Forethought. Religious trust in the divine, and for things beyond
+man's control; orderly masterly working out of problems within his
+power. Economic, diplomatic, anchinoetic, archic manhood. Moral theory,
+higher hedonism.
+
+C5.45. The archic man trusts human nature: this appeal to their good
+faith is irresistible. The archic is also the diplomatic method.
+
+C5.54. N.B.--Rhetorical artifice of winding-up a speech with a joke.
+This is the popular orator. Xenophon the prototype himself perhaps.
+
+C6.3. Is this by chance a situation in Elizabethan or other drama? It's
+tragic enough for anything.
+
+C6.4. Admirable colloquial style: "well done, me!"
+
+C6.6, fin. Beautifully-sounding sentence [in the Greek]. Like harp or
+viol with its dying mournful note.
+
+C6.8. A new tributary for the archic man, and a foothold in the enemy's
+country.
+
+C6.9, fin. As to this daughter, _vide infra_. Who do you think will win
+her? We like her much already.
+
+C6.11. The first flutings of this tale. The lady of Susa,
+quasi-historic, or wholly imaginative, or mixed?
+
+
+
+
+BOOK V
+
+[C.1] Such were the deeds they did and such the words they spoke.
+Then Cyrus bade them set a guard over the share chosen for Cyaxares,
+selecting those whom he knew were most attached to their lord, "And what
+you have given me," he added, "I accept with pleasure, but I hold it at
+the service of those among you who would enjoy it the most."
+
+At that one of the Medes who was passionately fond of music said, "In
+truth, Cyrus, yesterday evening I listened to the singing-girls who are
+yours to-day, and if you could give me one of them, I would far rather
+be serving on this campaign than sitting at home."
+
+And Cyrus said, "Most gladly I will give her; she is yours. And I
+believe I am more grateful to you for asking than you can be to me for
+giving; I am so thirsty to gratify you all."
+
+So this suitor carried off his prize. [2] And then Cyrus called to his
+side Araspas the Mede, who had been his comrade in boyhood. It was he
+to whom Cyrus gave the Median cloak he was wearing when he went back to
+Persia from his grandfather's court. Now he summoned him, and asked him
+to take care of the tent and the lady from Susa. [3] She was the wife of
+Abradatas, a Susian, and when the Assyrian army was captured it happened
+that her husband was away: his master had sent him on an embassy to
+Bactria to conclude an alliance there, for he was the friend and host of
+the Bactrian king. And now Cyrus asked Araspas to guard the captive
+lady until her husband could take her back himself. [4] To that Araspas
+replied, "Have you seen the lady whom you bid me guard?"
+
+"No, indeed," said Cyrus, "certainly I have not."
+
+"But I have," rejoined the other, "I saw here when we chose her for you.
+When we came into the tent, we did not make her out at first, for she
+was seated on the ground with all her maidens round her, and she was
+clad in the same attire as her slaves, but when we looked at them all
+to discover the mistress, we soon saw that one outshone the others,
+although she was veiled and kept her eyes on the ground. [5] And when we
+bade her rise, all her women rose with her, and then we saw that she was
+marked out from them all by her height, and her noble bearing, and her
+grace, and the beauty that shone through her mean apparel. And, under
+her veil, we could see the big tear-drops trickling down her garments to
+her feet. [6] At that sight the eldest of us said, 'Take comfort, lady,
+we know that your husband was beautiful and brave, but we have chosen
+you a man to-day who is no whit inferior to him in face or form or mind
+or power; Cyrus, we believe, is more to be admired than any soul on
+earth, and you shall be his from this day forward.' But when the lady
+heard that, she rent the veil that covered her head and gave a pitiful
+cry, while her maidens lifted up their voice and wept with their
+mistress. [7] And thus we could see her face, and her neck, and her
+arms, and I tell you, Cyrus," he added, "I myself, and all who looked
+on her, felt that there never was, and never had been, in broad Asia
+a mortal woman half so fair as she. Nay, but you must see her for
+yourself."
+
+[8] "Say, rather, I must not," answered Cyrus, "if she be such as you
+describe."
+
+"And why not?" asked the young man.
+
+"Because," said he, "if the mere report of her beauty could persuade me
+to go and gaze on her to-day, when I have not a moment to spare, I fear
+she would win me back again and perhaps I should neglect all I have to
+do, and sit and gaze at her for ever."
+
+[9] At that the young man laughed outright and said:
+
+"So you think, Cyrus, that the beauty of any human creature can compel
+a man to do wrong against his will? Surely if that were the nature of
+beauty, all men would feel its force alike. [10] See how fire burns
+all men equally; it is the nature of it so to do; but these flowers of
+beauty, one man loves them, and another loves them not, nor does every
+man love the same. For love is voluntary, and each man loves what he
+chooses to love. The brother is not enamoured of his own sister, nor the
+father of his own daughter; some other man must be the lover. Reverence
+and law are strong enough to break the heart of passion. [11] But if a
+law were passed saying, 'Eat not, and thou shalt not starve; Drink not,
+and thou shalt not thirst; Let not cold bite thee in winter nor heat
+inflame thee in summer,' I say there is no law that could compel us to
+obey; for it is our nature to be swayed by these forces. But love is
+voluntary; each man loves to himself alone, and according as he chooses,
+just as he chooses his cloak or his sandals."
+
+[12] "Then," said Cyrus, "if love be voluntary, why cannot a man cease
+to love when he wishes? I have seen men in love," said he, "who have
+wept for very agony, who were the very slaves of those they loved,
+though before the fever took them they thought slavery the worst of
+evils. I have seen them make gifts of what they ill could spare, I have
+seen them praying, yes, praying, to be rid of their passion, as though
+it were any other malady, and yet unable to shake it off; they were
+bound hand and foot by a chain of something stronger than iron. There
+they stood at the beck and call of their idols, and that without rhyme
+or reason; and yet, poor slaves, they make no attempt to run away, in
+spite of all they suffer; on the contrary, they mount guard over their
+tyrants, for fear these should escape."
+
+[13] But the young man spoke in answer: "True," he said, "there are such
+men, but they are worthless scamps, and that is why, though they are
+always praying to die and be put out of their misery and though ten
+thousand avenues lie open by which to escape from life, they never
+take one of them. These are the very men who are prepared to steal and
+purloin the goods of others, and yet you know yourself, when they do it,
+you are the first to say stealing is not done under compulsion, and you
+blame the thief and the robber; you do not pity him, you punish him.
+[14] In the same way, beautiful creatures do not compel others to
+love them or pursue them when it is wrong, but these good-for-nothing
+scoundrels have no self-control, and then they lay the blame on love.
+But the nobler type of man, the true gentleman, beautiful and brave,
+though he desire gold and splendid horses and lovely women, can still
+abstain from each and all alike, and lay no finger on them against the
+law of honour. [15] Take my own case," he added, "I have seen this lady
+myself, and passing fair I found her, and yet here I stand before you,
+and am still your trooper and can still perform my duty."
+
+[16] "I do not deny it," said Cyrus; "probably you came away in time.
+Love takes a little while to seize and carry off his victim. A man may
+touch fire for a moment and not be burnt; a log will not kindle all at
+once; and yet for all that, I am not disposed to play with fire or look
+on beauty. You yourself, my friend, if you will follow my advice, will
+not let your own eyes linger there too long; burning fuel will only burn
+those who touch it, but beauty can fire the beholder from afar, until he
+is all aflame with love."
+
+[17] "Oh, fear me not, Cyrus," answered he; "if I looked till the end of
+time I could not be made to do what ill befits a man."
+
+"A fair answer," said Cyrus. "Guard her then, as I bid you, and be
+careful of her. This lady may be of service to us all one day."
+
+[18] With these words they parted. But afterwards, after the young man
+saw from day to day how marvellously fair the woman was, and how noble
+and gracious in herself, after he took care of her, and fancied that she
+was not insensible to what he did, after she set herself, through her
+attendants, to care for his wants and see that all things were ready for
+him when he came in, and that he should lack for nothing if ever he were
+sick, after all this, love entered his heart and took possession, and it
+may be there was nothing surprising in his fate. So at least it was.
+
+[19] Meanwhile Cyrus, who was anxious that the Medes and the allies
+should stay with him of their own free choice, called a meeting of their
+leading men, and when they were come together he spoke as follows:
+
+[20] "Sons of the Medes and gentlemen all, I am well aware it was not
+from need of money that you went out with me, nor yet in order to serve
+Cyaxares; you came for my sake. You marched with me by night, you ran
+into danger at my side, simply to do me honour. [21] Unless I were a
+miscreant, I could not but be grateful for such kindness. But I must
+confess that at present I lack the ability to make a fit requital. This
+I am not ashamed to tell you, but I would feel ashamed to add, 'If you
+will stay with me, I will be sure to repay you,' for that would look
+as though I spoke to bribe you into remaining. Therefore I will not say
+that; I will say instead, 'Even if you listen to Cyaxares and go back
+to-day, I will still act so that you shall praise me, I will not forget
+you in the day of my good fortune.' [22] For myself, I will never go
+back; I cannot, for I must confirm my oath to the Hyrcanians and the
+pledge I gave them; they are my friends and I shall never be found a
+traitor to them. Moreover, I am bound to Gobryas, who has offered us the
+use of his castle, his territory, and his power; and I would not have
+him repent that he came to me. [23] Last of all, and more than all, when
+the great gods have showered such blessings on us, I fear them and I
+reverence them too much to turn my back on all they have given us. This,
+then, is what I myself must do; it is for you to decide as you think
+best, and you will acquaint me with your decision."
+
+[24] So he spoke, and the first to answer was the Mede who had claimed
+kinship with Cyrus in the old days.
+
+"Listen to me," he said, "O king! For king I take you to be by right of
+nature; even as the king of the hive among the bees, whom all the bees
+obey and take for their leader of their own free will; where he stays
+they stay also, not one of them departs, and where he goes, not one of
+them fails to follow; so deep a desire is in them to be ruled by him.
+[25] Even thus, I believe, do our men feel towards you. Do you remember
+the day you left us to go home to Persia? Was there one of us, young or
+old, who did not follow you until Astyages turned us back? And later,
+when you returned to bring us aid, did we not see for ourselves how your
+friends poured after you? And again, when you had set your heart on this
+expedition, we know that the Medes flocked to your standard with one
+consent. [26] To-day we have learnt to feel that even in an enemy's
+country we may be of good heart if you are with us, but, without you,
+we should be afraid even to return to our homes. The rest may speak for
+themselves, and tell you how they will act, but for myself, Cyrus, and
+for those under me, I say we will stand by you; we shall not grow weary
+of gazing at you, and we will continue to endure your benefits."
+
+[27] Thereupon Tigranes spoke:
+
+"Do not wonder, Cyrus, if I am silent now. The soul within me is ready,
+not to offer counsel, but to do your bidding." [28] And the Hyrcanian
+chieftain said, "For my part, if you Medes turn back to-day I shall say
+it was the work of some evil genius, who could not brook the fulfilment
+of your happiness. For no human heart could think of retiring when the
+foe is in flight, refusing to receive his sword when he surrenders it,
+rejecting him when he offers himself and all that he calls his own;
+above all, when we have a prince of men for our leader, one who, I
+swear it by the holy gods, takes delight to do us service, not to enrich
+himself."
+
+[29] Thereupon the Medes cried with one consent:
+
+"It was you, Cyrus, who led us out, and it is you who must lead us home
+again, when the right moment comes."
+
+And when Cyrus heard that, he prayed aloud:
+
+"O most mighty Zeus, I supplicate thee, suffer me to outdo these friends
+of mine in courtesy and kindly dealing."
+
+[30] Upon that he gave his orders. The rest of the army were to place
+their outposts and see to their own concerns, while the Persians took
+the tents allotted to them, and divided them among their cavalry and
+infantry, to suit the needs of either arm. Then they arranged for the
+stewards to wait on them in future, bring them all they needed, and keep
+their horses groomed, so that they themselves might be free for the work
+of war. Thus they spent that day.
+
+[C.2] But on the morrow they set out for their march to Gobryas. Cyrus
+rode on horseback at the head of his new Persian cavalry, two thousand
+strong, with as many more behind them, carrying their shields and
+swords, and the rest of the army followed in due order. The cavalry were
+told to make their new attendants understand that they would be punished
+if they were caught falling behind the rear-guard, or riding in advance
+of the column, or straggling on either flank. [2] Towards evening of the
+second day the army found themselves before the castle of Gobryas, and
+they saw that the place was exceedingly strong and that all preparations
+had been made for the stoutest possible defence. They noticed also that
+great herds of cattle and endless flocks of sheep and goats had been
+driven up under the shelter of the castle walls. [3] Then Gobryas
+sent word to Cyrus, bidding him ride round and see where the place was
+easiest of approach, and meanwhile send his trustiest Persians to enter
+the fortress and bring him word what they found within. [4] Cyrus, who
+really wished to see if the citadel admitted of attack in case Gobryas
+proved false, rode all round the walls, and found they were too strong
+at every point. Presently the messengers who had gone in brought back
+word that there were supplies enough to last a whole generation and
+still not fail the garrison. [5] While Cyrus was wondering what this
+could mean, Gobryas himself came out, and all his men behind him,
+carrying wine and corn and barley, and driving oxen and goats and
+swine, enough to feast the entire host. [6] And his stewards fell to
+distributing the stores at once, and serving up a banquet. Then Gobryas
+invited Cyrus to enter the castle now that all the garrison had left it,
+using every precaution he might think wise; and Cyrus took him at his
+word, and sent in scouts and a strong detachment before he entered the
+palace himself. Once within, he had the gates thrown open and sent for
+all his own friends and officers. [7] And when they joined him, Gobryas
+had beakers of gold brought out, and pitchers, and goblets, and costly
+ornaments, and golden coins without end, and all manner of beautiful
+things, and last of all he sent for his own daughter, tall and fair,
+a marvel of beauty and stateliness, still wearing mourning for her
+brother. And her father said to Cyrus, "All these riches I bestow on
+you for a gift, and I put my daughter in your hands, to deal with as you
+think best. We are your suppliants; I but three days gone for my son,
+and she this day for her brother; we beseech you to avenge him."
+
+[8] And Cyrus made answer:
+
+"I gave you my promise before that if you kept faith with me I would
+avenge you, so far as in me lay, and to-day I see the debt is due, and
+the promise I made to you I repeat to your daughter; God helping me, I
+will perform it. As for these costly gifts," he added, "I accept them,
+and I give them for a dowry to your daughter, and to him who may win her
+hand in marriage. One gift only I will take with me when I go, but
+that is a thing so precious that if I changed it for all the wealth of
+Babylon or the whole world itself I could not go on my way with half so
+blithe a heart."
+
+[9] And Gobryas wondered what this rare thing could be, half suspecting
+it might be his daughter. "What is it, my lord?" said he. And Cyrus
+answered, "I will tell you. A man may hate injustice and impiety
+and lies, but if no one offers him vast wealth or unbridled power or
+impregnable fortresses or lovely children, he dies before he can show
+what manner of man he is. [10] But you have placed everything in my
+hands to-day, this mighty fortress, treasures of every kind, your own
+power, and a daughter most worthy to be won. And thus you have shown
+all men that I could not sin against my friend and my host, nor act
+unrighteously for the sake of wealth, nor break my plighted word of my
+own free will. [11] This is your gift, and, so long as I am a just man
+and known to be such, receiving the praise of my fellow-men, I will
+never forget it; I will strive to repay you with every honour I can
+give. [12] Doubt not," he added, "but that you will find a husband
+worthy of your daughter. I have many a good man and true among my
+friends, and one of them will win her hand; but I could not say whether
+he will have less wealth, or more, than what you offer me. Only of one
+thing you may be certain; there are those among them who will not admire
+you one whit the more because of the splendour of your gifts; they will
+only envy me and supplicate the gods that one day it will be given to
+them to show that they too are loyal to their friends, that they too
+will never yield to their foes while life is in them, unless some god
+strike them down; that they too would never sacrifice virtue and fair
+renown for all the wealth you proffer and all the treasure of Syria and
+Assyria to boot. Such is the nature, believe me, of some who are seated
+here."
+
+[13] And Gobryas smiled. "By heaven, I wish you would point them out to
+me, and I would beg you to give me one of them to be my son-in-law." And
+Cyrus said, "You will not need to learn their names from me; follow us,
+and you will be able to point them out yourself."
+
+[14] With these words he rose, clasped the hand of Gobryas, and went
+out, all his men behind him. And though Gobryas pressed him to stay and
+sup in the citadel, he would not, but took his supper in the camp and
+constrained Gobryas to take his meal with them. [15] And there, lying on
+a couch of leaves, he put this question to him, 'Tell me, Gobryas, who
+has the largest store of coverlets, yourself, or each of us?" And the
+Assyrian answered, "You, I know, have more than I, more coverlets, more
+couches, and a far larger dwelling-place, for your home is earth and
+heaven, and every nook may be a couch, and for your coverlets you need
+not count the fleeces of your flocks, but the brushwood, and the herbage
+of hill and plain."
+
+[16] Nevertheless, when the meal began, it must be said that Gobryas,
+seeing the poverty of what was set before him, thought at first that his
+own men were far more open-handed than the Persians. [17] But his mood
+changed as he watched the grace and decorum of the company; and saw that
+not a single Persian who had been schooled would ever gape, or snatch at
+the viands, or let himself be so absorbed in eating that he could attend
+to nothing else; these men prided themselves on showing their good sense
+and their intelligence while they took their food, just as a perfect
+rider sits his horse with absolute composure, and can look and listen
+and talk to some purpose while he puts him through his paces. To be
+excited or flustered by meat and drink was in their eyes something
+altogether swinish and bestial. [18] Nor did Gobryas fail to notice that
+they only asked questions which were pleasant to answer, and only jested
+in a manner to please; all their mirth was as far from impertinence and
+malice as it was from vulgarity and unseemliness. [19] And what struck
+him most was their evident feeling that on a campaign, since the danger
+was the same for all, no one was entitled to a larger share than any
+of his comrades; on the contrary, it was thought the perfection of the
+feast to perfect the condition of those who were to share the fighting.
+[20] And thus when he rose to return home, the story runs that he said:
+
+"I begin to understand, Cyrus, how it is that while we have more goblets
+and more gold, more apparel and more wealth than you, yet we ourselves
+are not worth as much. We are always trying to increase what we possess,
+but you seem to set your hearts on perfecting your own souls."
+
+[21] But Cyrus only answered:
+
+"My friend, be here without fail to-morrow, and bring all your cavalry
+in full armour, so that we may see your power, and then lead us through
+your country and show us who are hostile and who are friendly."
+
+[22] Thus they parted for the time and each saw to his own concerns.
+
+But when the day dawned Gobryas appeared with his cavalry and led the
+way. And Cyrus, as a born general would, not only supervised the march,
+but watched for any chance to weaken the enemy and add to his own
+strength. [23] With this in view, he summoned the Hyrcanian chief and
+Gobryas himself; for they were the two he thought most likely to give
+him the information that he needed.
+
+"My friends," said he, "I think I shall not err if I trust to your
+fidelity and consult you about the campaign. You, even more than I, are
+bound to see that the Assyrians do not overpower us. For myself, if I
+fail, there may well be some loophole of escape. But for you, if
+the king conquers, I see nothing but enmity on every side. [24] For,
+although he is my enemy, he bears me no malice, he only feels that it is
+against his interest for me to be powerful and therefore he attacks me.
+But you he hates with a bitter hatred, believing he is wronged by you."
+
+To this his companions answered that he must finish what he had to say;
+they were well aware of the facts, and had the deepest interest in the
+turn events might take.
+
+[25] Thereupon Cyrus put his questions: "Does the king suppose that
+you alone are his enemies, or do you know of others who hate him too?"
+"Certainly we do," replied the Hyrcanian, "the Cadousians are his
+bitterest foes, and they are both numerous and warlike. Then there are
+the Sakians, our neighbours, who have suffered severely at his hands,
+for he tried to subdue them as he subdued us."
+
+[26] "Then you think," said Cyrus, "that they would be glad to attack
+him in our company?" "Much more than glad," answered they; "if they
+could manage to join us." "And what stands in their way?" asked he. "The
+Assyrians themselves," said they, "the very people among whom you are
+marching now." [27] At that Cyrus turned to Gobryas:
+
+"And what of this lad who is now on the throne? Did you not charge him
+with unbridled insolence?"
+
+"Even so," replied Gobryas, "and I think he gave me cause." "Tell me,"
+said Cyrus, "were you the only man he treated thus, or did others suffer
+too?"
+
+[28] "Many others," said Gobryas, "but some of them were weak, and why
+should I weary you with the insults they endured? I will tell you of a
+young man whose father was a much greater personage than I, and who was
+himself, like my own son, a friend and comrade of the prince. One day
+at a drinking-bout this monster had the youth seized and mutilated, and
+why? Some say simply because a paramour of his own had praised the boy's
+beauty and said his bride was a woman to be envied. The king himself now
+asserts it was because he had tried to seduce his paramour. That young
+man, eunuch as he is, is now at the head of his province, for his father
+is dead."
+
+[29] "Well," rejoined Cyrus, "I take it, you believe he would welcome
+us, if he thought we came to help him?" "I am more than sure of that,"
+said Gobryas, "but it is not so easy to set eyes on him." "And why?"
+asked Cyrus. "Because if we are to join him at all, we must march right
+past Babylon itself." [30] "And where is the difficulty in that?" said
+Cyrus. "Heaven help us!" cried Gobryas. "The city has only to open
+her gates, and she can send out an army ten thousand times as large as
+yours. That is why," he added, "the Assyrians are less prompt than they
+were at bringing in their weapons and their horses, because those who
+have seen your army think it so very small, and their report has got
+about. So that in my opinion it would be better to advance with the
+utmost care."
+
+[31] Cyrus listened and replied.
+
+"You do well, Gobryas, my friend, in urging as much care as possible.
+But I cannot myself see a safer route for us than the direct advance
+on Babylon, if Babylon is the centre of the enemy's strength. They are
+numerous, you say, and if they are in good heart, we shall soon know it.
+[32] Now, if they cannot find us and imagine that we have disappeared
+from fear of them, you may take it as certain that they will be quit of
+the terror we have inspired. Courage will spring up in its place, and
+grow the greater the longer we lie hid. But if we march straight on
+then, we shall find them still mourning for the dead whom we have slain,
+still nursing the wounds we have inflicted, still trembling at the
+daring of our troops, still mindful of their own discomfiture and
+flight. [33] Gobryas," he added, "be assured of this; men in the mass,
+when aflame with courage, are irresistible, and when their hearts fail
+them, the more numerous they are the worse the panic that seizes them.
+[34] It comes upon them magnified by a thousand lies, blanched by a
+thousand pallors, it gathers head from a thousand terror-stricken looks,
+until it grows so great that no orator can allay it by his words, no
+general arouse the old courage by a charge, or revive the old confidence
+by retreat; the more their leader cheers them on, the worse do the
+soldiers take their case to be. [35] Now by all means let us see exactly
+how things stand with us. If from henceforward victory must fall
+to those who can reckon the largest numbers, your fears for us are
+justified, and we are indeed in fearful danger; but if the old rule
+still holds, and battles are decided by the qualities of those who
+fight, then, I say, take heart and you will never fail. You will find
+far more stomach for the fight among our ranks than theirs. [36] And to
+hearten you the more, take note of this: our enemies are far fewer now
+than when we worsted them, far weaker than when they fled from us, while
+we are stronger because we are conquerors, and greater because fortune
+has been ours; yes, and actually more numerous because you and yours
+have joined us, for I would not have you hold your men too low, now that
+they are side by side with us. In the company of conquerors, Gobryas,
+the hearts of the followers beat high. [37] Nor should you forget," he
+added, "that the enemy is well able to see us as it is, and the sight of
+us will certainly not be more alarming if we wait for him where we are
+than if we advance against him. That is my opinion, and now you must
+lead us straight for Babylon."
+
+[C.3] And so the march continued, and on the fourth day they found
+themselves at the limit of the territory over which Gobryas ruled. Since
+they were now in the enemy's country Cyrus changed the disposition of
+his men, taking the infantry immediately under his own command, with
+sufficient cavalry to support them, and sending the rest of the mounted
+troops to scour the land. Their orders were to cut down every one with
+arms in his hands, and drive in the rest, with all the cattle they could
+find. The Persians were ordered to take part in this raid, and though
+many came home with nothing for their trouble but a toss from their
+horses, others brought back a goodly store of booty.
+
+[2] When the spoil was all brought in, Cyrus summoned the officers of
+the Medes and the Hyrcanians, as well as his own peers, and spoke as
+follows:
+
+"My friends, Gobryas has entertained us nobly; he has showered good
+things upon us. What say you then? After we have set aside the customary
+portion for the gods and a fair share for the army, shall we not give
+all the rest of the spoil to him? Would it not be a noble thing, a sign
+and symbol at the outset that we desire to outdo in well-doing those who
+do good to us?"
+
+[3] At that all his hearers with one consent applauded, and a certain
+officer rose and said:
+
+"By all means, Cyrus, let us do so. I myself cannot but feel that
+Gobryas must have thought us almost beggars because we were not laden
+with coins of gold and did not drink from golden goblets. But if we do
+this, he will understand that men may be free and liberal without the
+help of gold."
+
+[4] "Come then," said Cyrus, "let us pay the priests our debt to heaven,
+select what the army requires, and then summon Gobryas and give the rest
+to him."
+
+So they took what they needed and gave all the rest to Gobryas.
+
+[5] Forthwith Cyrus pressed on towards Babylon, his troops in battle
+order. But as the Assyrians did not come out to meet them, he bade
+Gobryas ride forward and deliver this message:
+
+"If the king will come out to fight for his land, I, Gobryas, will fight
+for him, but, if he will not defend his own country, we must yield to
+the conquerors."
+
+[6] So Gobryas rode forward, just far enough to deliver the message in
+safety. And the king sent a messenger to answer him:
+
+"Thy master says to thee: 'It repents me, Gobryas, not that I slew thy
+son, but that I stayed my hand from slaying thee. And now if ye will do
+battle, come again on the thirtieth day from hence. We have no leisure
+now, our preparations are still on foot.'"
+
+[7] And Gobryas made answer:
+
+"It repents thee: may that repentance never cease! I have begun to make
+thee suffer, since the day repentance took hold on thee."
+
+[8] Then Gobryas brought back the words of the king to Cyrus, and Cyrus
+led his army off, and then he summoned Gobryas and said to him:
+
+"Surely you told me that you thought the man who was made an eunuch by
+the king would be upon our side?"
+
+"And I am sure he will," answered Gobryas, "for we have spoken freely to
+each other many a time, he and I." [9] "Then," said Cyrus, "you must go
+to him when you think the right moment has come: and you must so act at
+first that only he and you may know what he intends, and when you are
+closeted with him, if you find he really wishes to be a friend, you
+must contrive that his friendship remain a secret: for in war a man can
+scarcely do his friends more good than by a semblance of hostility, or
+his enemies more harm than under the guise of friendship." [10] "Aye,"
+answered Gobryas, "and I know that Gadatas would pay a great price to
+punish the king of Assyria. But it is for us to consider what he can
+best do." [11] "Tell me now," rejoined Cyrus, "you spoke of an outpost,
+built against the Hyrcanians and the Sakians, which was to protect
+Assyria in time of war,--could the eunuch be admitted there by the
+commandant if he came with a force at his back?" "Certainly he could,"
+said Gobryas, "if he were as free from suspicion as he is to-day."
+[12] "And free he would be," Cyrus went on, "if I were to attack his
+strongholds as though in earnest, and he were to repel me in force.
+I might capture some of his men, and he some of my soldiers, or some
+messengers sent by me to those you say are the enemies of Assyria, and
+these prisoners would let it be known that they were on their way to
+fetch an army with scaling-ladders to attack this fortress, and the
+eunuch, hearing their story, would pretend that he came to warn the
+commandant in time." [13] "Undoubtedly," said Gobryas, "if things went
+thus, the commandant would admit him; he would even beg him to stay
+there until you withdrew."
+
+"And then," Cyrus continued, "once inside the walls, he could put the
+place into our hands?" [14] "We may suppose so," said Gobryas. "He
+would be there to settle matters within, and you would be redoubling the
+pressure from without."
+
+"Then be off at once," said Cyrus, "and do your best to teach him his
+part, and when you have arranged affairs, come back to me; and as for
+pledges of good faith, you could offer him none better than those you
+received from us yourself."
+
+[15] Then Gobryas made haste and was gone, and the eunuch welcomed
+him gladly; he agreed to everything and helped to arrange all that was
+needed. Presently Gobryas brought back word that he thought the eunuch
+had everything in readiness, and so, without more ado, Cyrus made his
+feigned attack on the following day, and was beaten off. [16] But on
+the other hand there was a fortress, indicated by Gadatas himself, that
+Cyrus took. The messengers Cyrus had sent out, telling them exactly
+where to go, fell into the hands of Gadatas: some were allowed
+to escape--their business was to fetch the troops and carry the
+scaling-ladders--but the rest were narrowly examined in the presence of
+many witnesses, and when Gadatas heard the object of their journey he
+got his equipment together and set out in the night at full speed
+to take the news. [17] In the end he made his way into the fortress,
+trusted and welcomed as a deliverer, and for a time he helped the
+commandant to the best of his ability. But as soon as Cyrus appeared he
+seized the place, aided by the Persian prisoners he had taken. [18] This
+done, and having set things in order within the fortress, Gadatas went
+out to Cyrus, bowed before him according to the custom of his land, and
+said, "Cyrus, may joy be yours!"
+
+[19] "Joy is mine already," answered he, "for you, God helping you, have
+brought it to me. You must know," he added, "that I set great store by
+this fortress, and rejoice to leave it in the hands of my allies here.
+And for yourself, Gadatas," he added, "if the Assyrian has robbed you of
+the ability to beget children, remember he has not stolen your power to
+win friends; you have made us yours, I tell you, by this deed, and we
+will stand by as faithfully as sons and grandsons of your own."
+
+[20] So Cyrus spoke. And at that instant the Hyrcanian chief, who had
+only just learnt what had happened, came running up to him, and seizing
+him by the hand cried out:
+
+"O Cyrus, you godsend to your friends! How often you make me thank the
+gods for bringing me to you!"
+
+[21] "Off with you, then," said Cyrus, "and occupy this fortress for
+which you bless me so. Take it and make the best use of it you can, for
+your own nation, and for all our allies, and above all for Gadatas, our
+friend, who won it and surrenders it to us."
+
+[22] "Then," said the chieftain, "as soon as the Cadousians arrive and
+the Sakians and my countrymen, we must, must we not? call a council of
+them all, so that we may consult together, and see how best to turn it
+to account."
+
+[23] Cyrus thought the proposal good, and when they met together it was
+decided to garrison the post with a common force, chosen from all who
+were concerned that it should remain friendly and be an outer balwark to
+overawe the Assyrians. [24] This heightened the enthusiasm of them all,
+Cadousians, Sakians, and Hyrcanians, and their levies rose high, until
+the Cadousians sent in 20,000 light infantry and 4000 cavalry, and
+the Sakians 11,000 bowmen, 10,000 on foot and 1000 mounted, while the
+Hyrcanians were free to despatch all their reserves of infantry and make
+up their horsemen to a couple of thousand strong, whereas previously
+the larger portion of their cavalry had been left at home to support the
+Cadousians and Sakians against Assyria.
+
+[25] And while Cyrus was kept in the fortress, organising and arranging
+everything, many of the Assyrians from the country round brought in
+their horses and handed over their arms, being by this time in great
+dread of their neighbours.
+
+[26] Soon after this Gadatas came to Cyrus and told him that messengers
+had come to say that the king of Assyria, learning what had happened to
+the fortress, was beside himself with anger, and was preparing to attack
+his territory. "If you, Cyrus," said he, "will let me go now, I will try
+to save my fortresses: the rest is of less account." [27] Cyrus said,
+"If you go now, when will you reach home?" And Gadatas answered, "On the
+third day from this I can sup in my own house." "Do you think," asked
+Cyrus, "that you will find the Assyrian already there?" "I am sure of
+it," he answered, "for he will make haste while he thinks you are still
+far off." [28] "And I," said Cyrus, "when could I be there with my
+army?" But to this Gadatas made answer, "The army you have now, my lord,
+is very large, and you could not reach my home in less than six days or
+seven." "Well," Cyrus replied, "be off yourself: make all speed, and I
+will follow as best I can."
+
+[29] So Gadatas was gone, and Cyrus called together all the officers of
+the allies, and a great and goodly company they seemed, noble gentlemen,
+beautiful and brave. And Cyrus stood up among them all and said:
+
+[30] "My allies and my friends, Gadatas has done deeds that we all feel
+worthy of high reward, and that too before ever he had received any
+benefit from us. The Assyrians, we hear, have now invaded his territory,
+to take vengeance for the monstrous injury they consider he has done
+them, and moreover, they doubtless argue that if those who revolt to us
+escape scot-free, while those who stand by them are cut to pieces, ere
+long they will not have a single supporter on their side. [31] To-day,
+gentlemen, we may do a gallant deed, if we rescue Gadatas, our friend
+and benefactor; and truly it is only just and right thus to repay
+gift for gift, and boon for boon. Moreover, as it seems to me, what we
+accomplish will be much to our own interest. [32] If all men see that we
+are ready to give blow for blow and sting for sting, while we outdo our
+benefactors in generous deeds, it is only natural that multitudes will
+long to be our friends, and no man care to be our foe. [33] Whereas, if
+it be thought that we left Gadatas in the lurch, how in heaven's name
+shall we persuade another to show us any kindness? How shall we dare to
+think well of ourselves again? How shall one of us look Gadatas in
+the face, when all of us, so many and so strong, showed ourselves less
+generous than he, one single man and in so sore a plight?"
+
+[34] Thus Cyrus spoke, and all of them assented right willingly, and
+said it must be done.
+
+"Come then," concluded Cyrus, "since you are all of one mind with me,
+let each of us choose an escort for our waggons and beasts of burden.
+[35] Let us leave them behind us, and put Gobryas at their head. He is
+acquainted with the roads, and for the rest he is a man of skill. But we
+ourselves will push on with our stoutest men and our strongest horses,
+taking provision for three days and no more: the lighter and cheaper
+our gear the more gaily shall we break our fast and take our supper and
+sleep on the road. [36] And now," said he, "let us arrange the order
+of the march. You, Chrysantas, must lead the van with your cuirassiers,
+since the road is broad and smooth, and you must put your brigadiers
+in the first line, each regiment marching in file, for if we keep close
+order we shall travel all the quicker and be all the safer. [37] I put
+the cuirassiers in the front," he added, "because they are our heaviest
+troops, and if the heaviest are leading, the lighter cannot find it hard
+to follow: whereas where the swiftest lead and the march is at night,
+it is no wonder if the column fall to pieces: the vanguard is always
+running away. [38] And behind the cuirassiers," he went on, "Artabazas
+is to follow with the Persian targeteers and the bowmen, and behind
+them Andamyas the Mede with the Median infantry, and then Embas and
+the Armenian infantry, and then Artouchas with the Hyrcanians, and
+then Thambradas with the Sakian foot, and finally Datamas with the
+Cadousians. [39] All these officers will put their brigadiers in the
+first line, their targeteers on the right, and their bowmen on the left
+of their own squares: this is the order in which they will be of most
+use. [40] All the baggage-bearers are to follow in the rear: and their
+officers must see that they get everything together before they sleep,
+and present themselves betimes in the morning, with all their gear,
+and always keep good order on the march. [41] In support of the
+baggage-train," he added, "there will be, first, Madatas the Persian
+with the Persian cavalry, and he too must put his brigadiers in the
+front, each regiment following in single file, as with the infantry.
+[42] Behind them Rambacas the Mede and his cavalry, in the same order,
+and then you, Tigranes, and yours, and after you the other cavalry
+leaders with the men they brought. The Sakians will follow you, and last
+of all will come the Cadousians, who were the last to join us, and
+you, Alkeunas, who are to command them, for the present you will take
+complete control of the rear, and allow no one to fall behind your men.
+[43] All of you alike, officers, and all who respect yourselves, must be
+most careful to march in silence. At night the ears, and not the eyes,
+are the channels of information and the guides for action, and at night
+any confusion is a far more serious matter than by day, and far more
+difficult to put right. For this reason silence must be studied and
+order absolutely maintained. [44] Whenever you mean to rise before
+daybreak, you must make the night-watches as short and as numerous as
+possible, so that no one may suffer on the march because of his long
+vigil before it; and when the hour for the start arrives the horn must
+be blown. [45] Gentlemen, I expect you all to present yourselves on
+the road to Babylon with everything you require, and as each detachment
+starts, let them pass down the word for those in the rear to follow."
+
+[46] So the officers went to their quarters, and as they went they
+talked of Cyrus, and what a marvellous memory he had, always naming
+each officer as he assigned him his post. [47] The fact was Cyrus took
+special pains over this: it struck him as odd that a mere mechanic could
+know the names of all his tools, and a physician the names of all his
+instruments, but a general be such a simpleton that he could not name
+his own officers, the very tools he had to depend on each time he wanted
+to seize a point or fortify a post or infuse courage or inspire terror.
+Moreover it seemed to him only courteous to address a man by name when
+he wished to honour him. [48] And he was sure that the man who feels he
+is personally known to his commander is more eager to be seen performing
+some noble feat of arms, and more careful to refrain from all that is
+unseemly and base. [49] Cyrus thought it would be quite foolish for him
+to give his orders in the style of certain householders: "Somebody fetch
+the water, some one split the wood." [50] After a command of that kind,
+every one looks at every one else, and no one carries it out, every one
+is to blame, and no one is ashamed or afraid, because there are so many
+beside himself. Therefore Cyrus always named the officers whenever he
+gave an order.
+
+[51] That, then, was his view of the matter. The army now took supper
+and posted their guards and got their necessaries together and went to
+rest. [52] And at midnight the horn was blown. Cyrus had told Chrysantas
+he would wait for him at a point on the road in advance of the troops,
+and therefore he went on in front himself with his own staff, and
+waited till Chrysantas appeared shortly afterwards at the head of his
+cuirassiers. [53] Then Cyrus put the guides under his command, and told
+him to march on, but to go slowly until he received a message, for all
+the troops were not yet on the road. This done, Cyrus took his stand on
+the line of march, and as each division came up, hurried it forward to
+its place, sending messengers meanwhile to summon those who were still
+behind. [54] When all had started, he despatched gallopers to Chrysantas
+to tell him that the whole army was now under way, and that he might
+lead on as quick as he could. [55] Then he galloped to the front
+himself, reined up, and quietly watched the ranks defile before him.
+Whenever a division advanced silently and in good order, he would ride
+up and ask their names and pay them compliments; and if he saw any sign
+of confusion he would inquire the reason and restore tranquillity. [56]
+One point remains to add in describing his care that night; he sent
+forward a small but picked body of infantry, active fellows all of them,
+in advance of the whole army. They were to keep Chrysantas in sight, and
+he was not to lose sight of them; they were to use their ears and all
+their wits, and report at once to Chrysantas if they thought there
+was any need. They had an officer to direct their movements, announce
+anything of importance, and not trouble about trifles.
+
+[57] Thus they pressed forward through the night, and when day broke
+Cyrus ordered the mass of the cavalry to the front, the Cadousians alone
+remaining with their own infantry, who brought up the rear, and who
+were as much in need as others of cavalry support. But the rest of the
+horsemen he sent ahead because it was ahead that the enemy lay, and in
+case of resistance he was anxious to oppose them in battle-order, while
+if they fled he wished no time to be lost in following up the pursuit.
+[58] It was always arranged who were to give chase and who were to stay
+with himself: he never allowed the whole army to be broken up. [59] Thus
+Cyrus conducted the advance, but it is not to be thought that he kept
+to one particular spot; he was always galloping backwards and forwards,
+first at one point and then at another, supervising everything and
+supplying any defect as it arose. Thus Cyrus and his men marched
+forward.
+
+[C.4] Now there was a certain officer in the cavalry with Gadatas, a man
+of power and influence, who, when he saw that his master had revolted
+from Assyria, thought to himself, "If anything should happen to him, I
+myself could get from the king all that he possessed."
+
+Accordingly he sent forward a man he could trust, with instructions
+that, if he found the Assyrian army already in the territory of Gadatas,
+he was to tell the king that he could capture Gadatas and all who were
+with him, if he thought fit to make an ambuscade. [2] And the messenger
+was also to say what force Gadatas had at his command and to announce
+that Cyrus was not with him. Moreover, the officer stated the road by
+which Gadatas was coming. Finally, to win the greater confidence, he
+sent word to his own dependents and bade them deliver up to the king of
+Assyria the castle which he himself commanded in the province, with all
+that it contained: he would come himself, he added, if possible, after
+he had slain Gadatas, and, even if he failed in that, he would always
+stand by the king.
+
+[3] Now the emissary rode as hard as he could and came before the king
+and told his errand, and, hearing it, the king at once took over the
+castle and formed an ambuscade, with a large body of horse and many
+chariots, in a dense group of villages that lay upon the road. [4]
+Gadatas, when he came near the spot, sent scouts ahead to explore,
+and the king, as soon as he sighted them, ordered two or three of his
+chariots and a handful of horsemen to dash away as though in flight,
+giving the impression that they were few in number and panic-stricken.
+At this the scouting party swept after them, signalling to Gadatas, who
+also fell into the trap and gave himself up to the chase.
+
+The Assyrians waited till the quarry was within their grasp and then
+sprang out from their ambuscade. [5] The men, with Gadatas, seeing
+what had happened, turned back and fled, as one might expect, with
+the Assyrians at their heels, while the officer who had planned it all
+stabbed Gadatas himself. He struck him in the shoulder, but the blow was
+not mortal. Thereupon the traitor fled to the pursuers, and when
+they found out who he was he galloped on with them, his horse at full
+stretch, side by side with the king. [6] Naturally the men with the
+slower horses were overtaken by the better mounted, and the fugitives,
+already wearied by their long journey, were at the last extremity when
+suddenly they caught sight of Cyrus advancing at the head of his army,
+and were swept into safety, as glad and thankful, we may well believe,
+as shipwrecked mariners into port.
+
+[7] The first feeling of Cyrus was sheer astonishment, but he soon saw
+how matters stood. The whole force of the Assyrian cavalry was rolling
+on him, and he met it with his own army in perfect order, till the
+enemy, realising what had happened, turned and fled. Then Cyrus ordered
+his pursuing party to charge, while he followed more slowly at the pace
+he thought the safest. [8] The enemy were utterly routed: many of the
+chariots were taken, some had lost their charioteers, others were seized
+in the sudden change of front, others surrounded by the Persian cavalry.
+Right and left the conquerors cut down their foes, and among them fell
+the officer who had dealt the blow at Gadatas. [9] But of the Assyrian
+infantry, those who were besieging the fortress of Gadatas escaped
+to the stronghold that had revolted from him, or managed to reach an
+important city belonging to the king, where he himself, his horsemen,
+and his chariots had taken refuge.
+
+[10] After this exploit Cyrus went on to the territory of Gadatas, and
+as soon as he had given orders to those who guarded the prisoners, he
+went himself to visit the eunuch and see how it was with him after his
+wound. Gadatas came out to meet him, his wound already bandaged. And
+Cyrus was gladdened and said, "I came myself to see how it was with
+you." [11] "And I," said Gadatas, "heaven be my witness, I came out to
+see how a man would look who had a soul like yours. I cannot tell what
+need you had of me, or what promise you ever gave me, to make you do as
+you have done. I had shown you no kindness for your private self: it was
+because you thought I had been of some little service to your friends,
+that you came to help me thus, and help me you did, from death to life.
+Left to myself I was lost. [12] By heaven above, I swear it, Cyrus, if
+I had been a father as I was born to be, God knows whether I could
+have found in the son of my loins so true a friend as you. I know of
+sons--this king of ours is such an one, who has caused his own father
+ten thousand times more trouble than ever he causes you."
+
+[13] And Cyrus made answer:
+
+"You have overlooked a much more wonderful thing, Gadatas, to turn and
+wonder at me."
+
+"Nay," said Gadatas, "what could that be?"
+
+"That all these Persians," he answered, "are so zealous in your behalf,
+and all these Medes and Hyrcanians, and every one of our allies,
+Armenians, Sakians, Cadousians."
+
+[14] Then Gadatas prayed aloud:
+
+"O Father Zeus, may the gods heap blessings on them also, but above
+all on him who has made them what they are! And now, Cyrus, that I may
+entertain as they deserve these men you praise, take the gifts I bring
+you as their host, the best I have it in my power to bring."
+
+And with the word he brought out stores of every kind, enough for all
+to over sacrifice who listed; and the whole army was entertained in a
+manner worthy of their feat and their success.
+
+[15] Meanwhile the Cadousians had been always in the rear, unable to
+share in the pursuit, and they longed to achieve some exploit of their
+own. So their chieftain, with never a word to Cyrus, led them forth
+alone, and raided the country towards Babylon. But, as soon as they
+were scattered the Assyrians came out from their city of refuge in good
+battle-order. [16] When they saw that the Cadousians were unsupported
+they attacked them, killing the leader himself and numbers of his men,
+capturing many of their horses and retaking the spoil they were in the
+act of driving away. The king pursued as far as he thought safe, and
+then turned back, and the Cadousians at last found safety in their own
+camp, though even the vanguard only reached it late in the afternoon.
+[17] When Cyrus saw what had happened he went out to meet them,
+succouring every wounded man and sending him off to Gadatas at once, to
+have his wounds dressed, while he helped to house the others in their
+quarters, and saw that they had all they needed, his Peers aiding him,
+for at such times noble natures will give help with all their hearts.
+[18] Still it was plain to see that he was sorely vexed, and when the
+hour for dinner came, and the others went away, he was still there on
+the ground with the attendants and the surgeons; not a soul would he
+leave uncared for if anything could be done: he either saw to it himself
+or sent for the proper aid.
+
+[19] So for that night they rested. But with daybreak Cyrus sent out
+a herald and summoned a gathering of all the officers and the whole
+Cadousian army, and spoke as follows:
+
+"My friends and allies, what has happened is only natural; for it is
+human nature to err, and I cannot find it astonishing. Still we may gain
+at least one advantage from what has occurred, if we learn that we must
+never cut off from our main body a detachment weaker than the force of
+the enemy. [20] I do not say that one is never to march anywhere, if
+necessary, with an even smaller fraction than the Cadousians had; but,
+before doing so you must communicate with some one able to bring up
+reinforcements, and then, though you may be trapped yourself, it is at
+least probable that your friends behind you may foil the foilers, and
+divert them from your own party: there are fifty ways in which one can
+embarrass the enemy and save one's friends. Thus separation need not
+mean isolation, and union with the main force may still be kept, whereas
+if you sally forth without telling your plan, you are no better off than
+if you were alone in the field. [21] However, God willing, we shall take
+our revenge for this ere long; indeed, as soon as you have breakfasted,
+I will lead you out to the scene of yesterday's skirmish, and there we
+will bury those who fell, and show our enemies that the very field where
+they thought themselves victorious is held by those who are stronger
+than they: they shall never look again with joy upon the spot where they
+slew our comrades. Or else, if they refuse to come out and meet us, we
+will burn their villages and harry all their land, so that in lieu of
+rejoicing at the sight of what they did to us, they shall gnash their
+teeth at the spectacle of their own disasters. [22] Go now," said
+he, "the rest of you, and take your breakfast forthwith, but let the
+Cadousians first elect a leader in accordance with their own laws, and
+one who will guide them well and wisely, by the grace of God, and with
+our human help, if they should need it. And when you have chosen your
+leader, and had your breakfast, send him hither to me."
+
+[23] So they did as Cyrus bade them, and when he led the army out, he
+stationed their new general close to his own person, and told him to
+keep his detachment there, "So that you and I," said he, "may rekindle
+the courage in their souls."
+
+In this order they marched out, and thus they buried the Cadousian dead
+and ravaged the country. Which done, they went back to the province of
+Gadatas, laden with supplies taken from the foe.
+
+[24] Now Cyrus felt that those who had come over to his side and who
+dwelt in the neighbourhood of Babylon would be sure to suffer unless he
+were constantly there himself, and so he bade all the prisoners he set
+free take a message to the king, and he himself despatched a herald
+to say that he would leave all the tillers of the soil unmolested and
+unhurt if the Assyrian would let those who had come over to him continue
+their work in peace. [25] "And remember," he added, "that even if you
+try to hinder my friends, it is only a few whom you could stop, whereas
+there is a vast territory of yours that I could allow to be cultivated.
+As for the crops," he added, "if we have war, it will be the conqueror,
+I make no doubt, who will reap them, but if we have peace, it will be
+you. If, however, any of my people take up arms against you, or any of
+yours against me, we must, of course, each of us, defend ourselves as
+best we can."
+
+[26] With this message Cyrus despatched the herald, and when the
+Assyrians heard it, they urged the king to accept the proposal, and so
+limit the war as much as possible. [27] And he, whether influenced by
+his own people or because he desired it himself, consented to the terms.
+So an agreement was drawn up, proclaiming peace to the tillers of the
+soil and war to all who carried arms.
+
+[28] Thus Cyrus arranged matters for the husbandmen, and he asked his
+own supporters among the drovers to bring their herds, if they liked,
+into his dominions and leave them there, while he treated the enemy's
+cattle as booty wherever he could, so that his allies found attraction
+in the campaign. For the risk was no greater if they took what they
+needed, while the knowledge that they were living at the enemy's expense
+certainly seemed to lighten the labour of the war.
+
+[29] When the time came for Cyrus to go back, and the final preparations
+were being made, Gadatas brought him gifts of every kind, the produce
+of a vast estate, and among the cattle a drove of horses, taken from
+cavalry of his own, whom he distrusted owing to the late conspiracy.
+[30] And when he brought them he said, "Cyrus, this day I give you these
+for your own, and I would pray you to make such use of them as you think
+best, but I would have you remember that all else which I call mine
+is yours as well. For there is no son of mine, nor can there ever be,
+sprung from my own loins, to whom I may leave my wealth: when I die
+myself, my house must perish with me, my family and my name. [31] And I
+must suffer this, Cyrus, I swear to you by the great gods above us, who
+see all things and hear all things, though never by word or deed did I
+commit injustice or foulness of any kind."
+
+But here the words died on his lips; he burst into tears over his
+sorrows, and could say no more. [32] Cyrus was touched with pity at his
+suffering and said to him:
+
+"Let me accept the horses, for in that I can help you, if I set loyal
+riders on them, men of a better mind, methinks, than those who had them
+before, and I myself can satisfy a wish that has long been mine, to
+bring my Persian cavalry up to ten thousand men. But take back, I pray
+you, all these other riches, and guard them safely against the time
+when you may find me able to vie with you in gifts. If I left you now so
+hugely in your debt, heaven help me if I could hold up my head again for
+very shame."
+
+[33] Thereto Gadatas made answer, "In all things I trust you, and will
+trust you, for I see your heart. But consider whether I am competent
+to guard all this myself. [34] While I was at peace with the king, the
+inheritance I had from my father was, it may be, the fairest in all the
+land: it was near that mighty Babylon, and all the good things that can
+be gathered from a great city fell into our laps, and yet from all the
+trouble of it, the noise and the bustle, we could be free at once by
+turning our backs and coming home here. But now that we are at war, the
+moment you have left us we are sure to be attacked, ourselves and all
+our wealth, and methinks we shall have a sorry life of it, our enemies
+at our elbow and far stronger than ourselves. [35] I seem to hear
+some one say, why did you not think of this before you revolted? But I
+answer, Cyrus, because the soul within me was stung beyond endurance by
+my wrongs; I could not sit and ponder the safest course, I was always
+brooding over one idea, always in travail of one dream, praying for
+the day of vengeance on the miscreant, the enemy of God and man, whose
+hatred never rested, once aroused, once he suspected a man, not of
+doing wrong, but of being better than himself. [36] And because he is a
+villain, he will always find, I know, worse villains that himself to
+aid him, but if one day a nobler rival should appear--have no concern,
+Cyrus, you will never need to do battle with such an one, yonder fiend
+would deal with him and never cease to plot against him until he had
+dragged him in the dust, only because he was the better man. And to work
+me trouble and disaster, he and his wicked tools will, I fear me, have
+strength enough and to spare."
+
+[37] Cyrus thought there was much in what he said, and he answered
+forthwith:
+
+"Tell me, Gadatas, did we not put a stout garrison in your fortress,
+so as to make it safe for you whenever you needed it, and are you not
+taking the field with us now, so that, if the gods be on our side as
+they are to-day, that scoundrel may fear you, not you him? Go now, bring
+with you all you have that is sweet to look on and to love, and then
+join our march: you shall be, I am persuaded, of the utmost service to
+me, and I, so far as in me lies, will give you help for help."
+
+[38] When Gadatas heard that, he breathed again, and he said:
+
+"Could I really be in time to make my preparations and be back before
+you leave? I would fain take my mother with me on the march."
+
+"Assuredly," said Cyrus, "you will be in time: for I will wait until you
+say that all is ready."
+
+[39] So it came to pass that Gadatas went his way, and with the aid of
+Cyrus put a strong garrison in his fortress, and got together the
+wealth of his broad estates. And moreover he brought with him in his own
+retinue servants he could trust and in whom he took delight, as well as
+many others in whom he put no trust at all, and these he compelled to
+bring their wives with them, and their sisters, that so they might be
+bound to his service.
+
+[40] Thus Gadatas went with Cyrus, and Cyrus kept him ever at his side,
+to show him the roads and the places for water and fodder and food, and
+lead them where there was most abundance.
+
+[41] At last they came in sight of Babylon once more, and it seemed
+to Cyrus that the road they were following led under the very walls.
+Therefore he summoned Gobryas and Gadatas, and asked them if there was
+not another way, so that he need not pass so close to the ramparts. [42]
+"There are many other ways, my lord," answered Gobryas, "but I thought
+you would certainly want to pass as near the city as possible, and
+display the size and splendour of your army to the king. I knew that
+when your force was weaker you advanced to his walls, and let him
+see us, few as we were, and I am persuaded that if he has made any
+preparation for battle now, as he said he would, when he sees the
+power you have brought with you, he will think once more that he is
+unprepared."
+
+[435] But Cyrus said:
+
+"Does it seem strange to you, Gobryas, that when I had a far smaller
+army I took it right up to the enemy's walls, and to-day when my force
+is greater I will not venture there? [44] You need not think it strange:
+to march up is not the same as to march past. Every leader will march up
+with his troops disposed in the best order for battle and a wise leader
+will draw them off so as to secure safety rather than sped. [45] But
+in marching past there is no means of avoiding long straggling lines of
+waggons, long strings of baggage-bearers, and all these must be screened
+by the fighting-force so as never to leave the baggage unprotected. [46]
+But this must mean a thin weak order for the fighting-men, and if the
+enemy choose to attack at any point with their full force, they can
+strike with far more weight than any of the troops available to meet
+them at the moment. [47] Again, the length of line means a long delay in
+bringing up relief, whereas the enemy have only a handsbreadth to cover
+as they rush out from the walls or retire. [48] But now, if we leave
+a distance between ourselves and them as wide as our line is long,
+not only with they realise our numbers plainly enough, but our veil of
+glittering armour will make the whole multitude more formidable in
+their eyes. [49] And, if they do attack us anywhere, we shall be able to
+foresee their advance a long way off and be quite prepared to give them
+welcome. But it is far more likely, gentlemen," he added, "that they
+will not make the attempt, with all that ground to cover from the walls,
+unless they imagine that their whole force is superior to the whole of
+ours: they know that retreat will be difficult and dangerous."
+
+[50] So Cyrus spoke, and his listeners felt that he was right, and
+Gobryas led the army by the way that he advised. And as one detachment
+after another passed the city, Cyrus strengthened the protection for the
+rear and so withdrew in safety.
+
+[51] Marching in this order, he came back at last to his first
+starting-point, on the frontier between Assyria and Media. Here he dealt
+with three Assyrian fortresses: one, the weakest, he attacked and took
+by force, while the garrisons of the other two, what with the eloquence
+of Gadatas and the terror inspired by Cyrus, were persuaded to
+surrender.
+
+[C.5] And now that his expedition was completed, Cyrus sent to Cyaxares
+and urged him to come to the camp in order that they might decide best
+how to use the forts which they had taken, and perhaps Cyaxares, after
+reviewing the army, would advise him what the next move ought to be, or,
+Cyrus added to the messenger, "if he bids me, say I will come to him
+and take up my encampment there." [2] So the emissary went off with the
+message, and meanwhile Cyrus gave orders that the Assyrian tent chosen
+for Cyaxares should be furnished as splendidly as possible, and the
+woman brought to her apartment there, and the two singing-girls also,
+whom they had set aside for him.
+
+[3] And while they were busied with these things the envoy went to
+Cyaxares and delivered his message, and Cyaxares listened and decided
+it was best for Cyrus and his men to stay on the frontier. The Persians
+whom Cyrus had sent for had already arrived, forty thousand bowmen and
+targeteers. [4] To watch these eating up the land was bad enough, and
+Cyaxares thought he would rather be quit of one horde before he received
+another. On his side the officer in command of the Persian levy,
+following the instructions from Cyrus, asked Cyaxares if he had any need
+of the men, and Cyaxares said he had not. Thereupon, and hearing that
+Cyrus had arrived, the Persian put himself at the head of his troops and
+went off at once to join him. [5] Cyaxares himself waited till the next
+day and then set out with the Median troopers who had stayed behind. And
+when Cyrus knew of his approach he took his Persian cavalry, who were
+now a large body of men, and all the Medes, Hyrcanians, and Armenians,
+and the best-mounted and best-armed among the rest, and so went out to
+meet Cyaxares and show the power he had won. [6] But when Cyaxares saw
+so large a following of gallant gentlemen with Cyrus, and with
+himself so small and mean a retinue, it seemed to him an insult, and
+mortification filled his heart. And when Cyrus sprang from his horse
+and came up to give him the kiss of greeting, Cyaxares, though he
+dismounted, turned away his head and gave him no kiss, while the tears
+came into his eyes. [7] Whereupon Cyrus told the others to stand aside
+and rest, and then he took Cyaxares by the hand and led him apart under
+a grove of palm-trees, and bade the attendants spread Median carpets for
+them, and made Cyaxares sit down, and then, seating himself beside him,
+he said:
+
+[8] "Uncle of mine, tell me, in heaven's name, I implore you, why are
+you angry with me? What bitter sight have you seen to make you feel such
+bitterness?"
+
+And then Cyaxares answered:
+
+"Listen, Cyrus; I have been reputed royal and of royal lineage as far
+back as the memory of man can go; my father was a king and a king I
+myself was thought to be; and now I see myself riding here, meanly
+and miserably attended, while you come before me in splendour and
+magnificence, followed by the retinue that once was mine and all your
+other forces. [9] That would be bitter enough, methinks, from the hand
+of an enemy, but--O gods above us!--how much more bitter at the hands of
+those from whom we least deserve it! Far rather would I be swallowed in
+the earth than live to be seen so low, aye, and to see my own kinsfolk
+turn against me and make a mock of me. And well I know," said he, "that
+not only you but my own slaves are now stronger and greater than myself:
+they come out equipt to do me far more mischief than ever I could
+repay."
+
+[10] But here he stopped, overcome by a passion of weeping, so much so
+that for very pity Cyrus' own eyes filled with tears. There was silence
+between them for a while, and then Cyrus said:
+
+"Nay, Cyaxares, what you say is not true, and what you think is not
+right, if you imagine that because I am here, your Medes have been
+equipt to do you any harm. [11] I do not wonder that you are pained, and
+I will not ask if you have cause or not for your anger against them:
+you will ill brook apologies for them from me. Only it seems to me a
+grievous error in a ruler to quarrel with all his subjects at once.
+Widespread terror must needs be followed by widespread hate: anger with
+all creates unity among all. [12] It was for this reason, take my word
+for it, that I would not send them back to you without myself, fearing
+that your wrath might be the cause of what would injure all of us.
+Through my presence here and by the blessing of heaven, all is safe for
+you: but that you should regard yourself as wronged by me,--I cannot but
+feel it bitter, when I am doing all in my power to help my friends, to
+be accused of plotting against them. [13] However," he continued, "let
+us not accuse each other in this useless way; if possible, let us see
+exactly in what I have offended. And as between friend and friend, I
+will lay down the only rule that is just and fair: if I can be shown to
+have done you harm, I will confess I am to blame, but if it appears that
+I have never injured you, not even in thought, will you not acquit me of
+all injustice towards you?"
+
+"Needs must I," answered Cyaxares.
+
+[14] "And if I can show that I have done you service, and been zealous
+in your cause to the utmost of my power, may I not claim, instead of
+rebuke, some little meed of praise?"
+
+"That were only fair," said Cyaxares.
+
+[15] "Then," said Cyrus, "let us go through all I have done, point by
+point, and see what is good in it and what is evil. [16] Let us begin
+from the time when I assumed my generalship, if that is early enough.
+I think I am right in saying that it was because you saw your enemies
+gathering together against you, and ready to sweep over your land and
+you, that you sent to Persia asking for help, and to me in private,
+praying me to come, if I could, myself, at the head of any forces they
+might send. Was I not obedient to your word? Did I not come myself with
+the best and bravest I could bring?"
+
+[17] "You did indeed," answered Cyaxares.
+
+"Tell me, then, before we go further, did you see any wrong in this? Was
+it not rather a service and a kindly act?" "Certainly," said Cyaxares,
+"so far as that went, I saw nothing but kindliness." [18] "Well, after
+the enemy had come, and we had to fight the matter out, did you ever see
+me shrink from toil or try to escape from danger?" "That I never did,"
+said Cyaxares, "quite the contrary."
+
+[19] "And afterwards, when, through the help of heaven, victory was
+ours, and the enemy retreated, and I implored you to let us pursue them
+together, take vengeance on them together, win together the fruits
+of any gallant exploit we might achieve, can you accuse me then of
+self-seeking or self-aggrandisement?"
+
+[20] But at that Cyaxares was silent. Then Cyrus spoke again. "If you
+would rather not reply to that, tell me if you thought yourself injured
+because, when you considered pursuit unsafe, I relieved you of the risk,
+and only begged you to lend me some of your cavalry? If my offence lay
+in asking for that, when I had already offered to work with you, side by
+side, you must prove it to me; and it will need some eloquence."
+
+[21] He paused, but Cyaxares still kept silence. "Nay," said Cyrus, "if
+you will not answer that either, tell me at least if my offence lay in
+what followed, when you said that you did not care to stop your Medes in
+their merry-making and drive them out into danger, do you think it was
+wrong in me, without waiting to quarrel on that score, to ask you for
+what I knew was the lightest boon you could grant and the lightest
+command you could lay on your soldiers? For I only asked that he who
+wished it might be allowed to follow me. [22] And thus, when I had
+won your permission, I had won nothing, unless I could win them too.
+Therefore I went and tried persuasion, and some listened to me, and with
+these I set off on my march, holding my commission from your own self.
+So that, if you look on this act as blameworthy, it would seem that not
+even the acceptance of your own gifts can be free from blame. [23] It
+was thus we started, and after we had gone, was there, I ask you, a
+single deed of mine that was not done in the light of day? Has not the
+enemy's camp been taken? Have not hundreds of your assailants fallen?
+And hundreds been deprived of their horses and their arms? Is not the
+spoiler spoiled? The cattle and the goods of those who harried your land
+are now in the hands of your friends, they are brought to you, or to
+your subjects. [24] And, above all and beyond all, you see your own
+country growing great and powerful and the land of your enemy brought
+low. Strongholds of his are in your power, and your own that were torn
+from you in other days by the Syrian domination are now restored to you
+again. I cannot say I should be glad to learn that any of these things
+can be bad for you, or short of good, but I am ready to listen, if so it
+is. [25] Speak, tell me your judgment of it all."
+
+Then Cyrus paused, and Cyaxares made answer:
+
+"To call what you have done evil, Cyrus, is impossible. But your
+benefits are of such a kind that the more they multiply upon me, the
+heavier burden do they bring. [26] I would far rather," he went on,
+"have made your country great by own power than see mine exalted in this
+way by you. These deeds of yours are a crown of glory to you; but they
+bring dishonour to me. [27] And for the wealth, I would rather have made
+largess of it to yourself than receive it at your hands in the way
+you give it now. Goods so gotten only leave me the poorer. And for my
+subjects--I think I would have suffered less if you had injured them
+a little than I suffer now when I see how much they owe you. [28]
+Perhaps," he added, "you find it inhuman of me to feel thus, but I would
+ask you to forget me and imagine that you are in my place and see how it
+would appear to you then. Suppose a friend of yours were to take care of
+your dogs, dogs that you bred up to guard yourself and your house, such
+care that he made them fonder of him than of yourself, would you be
+pleased with him for his attention? [29] Or take another instance, if
+that one seems too slight: suppose a friend of yours were to do so much
+for your own followers, men you kept to guard you and to fight for
+you, that they would rather serve in his train than yours, would you be
+grateful to him for his kindness? [30] Or let me take the tenderest of
+human ties: suppose a friend of yours paid court to the wife of your
+bosom so that in the end he made her love him more than yourself, would
+he rejoice your heart by his courtesy? Far from it, I trow; he who did
+this, you would say, did you the greatest wrong in all the world. [31]
+And now, to come nearest to my own case, suppose some one paid such
+attention to your Persians that they learnt to follow him instead of
+you, would you reckon that man your friend? No; but a worse enemy
+than if he had slain a thousand. [32] Or again, say you spoke in all
+friendship to a friend and bade him take what he wished, and straightway
+he took all he could lay hands on and carried it off, and so grew rich
+with your wealth, and you were left in utter poverty, could you say that
+friend was altogether blameless? [33] And I, Cyrus, I feel that you have
+treated me, if not in that way, yet in a way exactly like it. What you
+say is true enough: I did allow you to take what you liked and go, and
+you took the whole of my power and went, leaving me desolate, and to-day
+you bring the spoil you have won with my forces, and lay it so grandly
+at my feet--magnificent! And you make my country great through the help
+of my own might, while I have no part or lot in the performance, but
+must step in at the end, like a woman, to receive your favours, while in
+the eyes of all men, not least my faithful subjects yonder, you are the
+man, and I--I am not fit to wear a crown. [34] Are these, I ask you,
+Cyrus, are these the deeds of a benefactor? Nay, had you been kind as
+you are kin, above all else you would have been careful not to rob me
+of my dignity and honour. What advantage is it to me for my lands to be
+made broad if I myself am dishonoured? When I ruled the Medes, I ruled
+them not because I was stronger than all of them, but because they
+themselves thought that our race was in all things better than theirs."
+
+[35] But while he was still speaking Cyrus broke in on his words,
+crying:
+
+"Uncle of mine, by the heaven above us, if I have ever shown you any
+kindness, be kind to me now. Do not find fault with me any more, wait,
+and put me to the test, and learn how I feel towards you, and if you see
+that what I have done has really brought you good, then, when I embrace
+you, embrace me in return and call me your benefactor, and if not, you
+may blame me as you please."
+
+[36] "Perhaps," answered Cyaxares, "you are right. I will do as you
+wish."
+
+"Then I may kiss you?" said Cyrus.
+
+"Yes, if it pleases you. "And you will not turn aside as you did just
+now?" "No, I will not turn aside." And he kissed him.
+
+[37] And when the Medes saw it and the Persians and all the allies--for
+all were watching to see how matters would shape--joy came into their
+hearts and gladness lit up their faces. Then Cyrus and Cyaxares mounted
+their horses and rode back, and the Medes fell in behind Cyaxares, at
+a nod from Cyrus, and behind Cyrus the Persians, and the others behind
+them. [38] And when they reached the camp and brought Cyaxares to the
+splendid tent, those who were appointed made everything ready for him,
+and while he was waiting for the banquet his Medes presented themselves,
+some of their own accord, it is true, but most were sent by Cyrus.
+[39] And they brought him gifts; one came with a beautiful cup-bearer,
+another with an admirable cook, a third with a baker, a fourth with a
+musician, while others brought cups and goblets and beautiful apparel;
+almost every one gave something out of the spoils they had won. [40] So
+that the mood of Cyaxares changed, and he seemed to see that Cyrus had
+not stolen his subjects from him, and that they made no less account of
+him than they used to do.
+
+[41] Now when the hour came for the banquet, Cyaxares sent to Cyrus and
+begged him to share it: it was so long, he said, since they had met.
+But Cyrus answered, "Bid me not to the feast, good uncle. Do you not see
+that all these soldiers of ours have been raised by us to the pitch of
+expectation? And it were ill on my part if I seemed to neglect them for
+the sake of my private pleasure. If soldiers feel themselves neglected
+even the good become faint-hearted, and the bad grow insolent. [42] With
+yourself it is different, you have come a long journey and you must fall
+to without delay, and if your subjects do you honour, welcome them and
+give them good cheer, that there may be confidence between you and them,
+but I must go and attend to the matters of which I speak. [43]
+Early to-morrow morning," he added, "our chief officers will present
+themselves at your gate to hear from you what you think our next step
+ought to be. You will tell us whether we ought to pursue the campaign
+further or whether the time has now come to disband our army."
+
+[44] Thereupon Cyaxares betook himself to the banquet and Cyrus called
+a council of his friends, the shrewdest and the best fitted to act with
+him, and spoke to them as follows:
+
+"My friends, thanks to the gods, our first prayers are granted. Wherever
+we set foot now we are the masters of the country: we see our enemies
+brought low and ourselves increasing day by day in numbers and in
+strength. [45] And if only our present allies would consent to stay with
+us a little longer, our achievements could be greater still, whether
+force were needed or persuasion. Now it must be your work as much as
+mine to make as many of them as possible willing and anxious to remain.
+[46] Remember that, just as the soldier who overthrows the greatest
+number in the day of battle is held to be the bravest, so the speaker,
+when the time has come for persuasion, who brings most men to his side
+will be thought the most eloquent, the best orator and the ablest man of
+action. [47] Do not, however, prepare your speeches as though we asked
+you to give a rhetorical display: remember that those whom you convince
+will show it well enough by what they do. [48] I leave you then," he
+added, "to the careful study of your parts: mine is to see, so far as in
+me lies, that our troops are provided with all they need, before we hold
+the council of war."
+
+
+                                NOTES
+
+C.1. Cyrus' generosity: he is not cold, not incapable of soft pleasure,
+but too pre-occupied with greater things. On the whole, if a hedonist,
+this type of man, a hedonist that = a stoic (cf. Socrates, H. Sidgwick,
+also J. P.).
+
+C1.4, init. Well told: we feel the character of Araspas at once, as soon
+as he opens his lips.
+
+C1.4, med. An Eastern picture. She is one of the Bible women, as Gadatas
+and Gobryas are brothers of Barzillai; she is sister of Ruth or Susanna
+or Judith or Bathsheba. Perhaps she is nobler than any of them. She
+is also the sister of the Greek tragedy women, Antigone, Alcestis;
+especially Euripidean is she: no doubt she is sister to the great women
+of all lands.
+
+C1.10 ff. Xenophon, Moralist. Cf. _Memorabilia_ for a similar
+philosophical difficulty about the will and knowledge. And for this
+raising of ethical problems in an artistic setting of narrative, cf.
+Lyly. I see a certain resemblance between the times and the writers'
+minds. _Vide_ J. A. Symonds on the predecessors of Shakespeare.
+Araspas' point is that these scamps have only themselves to blame, being
+{akrateis}, and then they turn round and accuse love. (We are thrown
+back on the origin of {akrasia}: _vide Memorabilia_ [e.g. I. ii. v.; IV.
+v.] for such answer as we can get to that question.) Whereas the {kaloi
+kagathoi} desire strongly but can curb their desires.
+
+C1.13. Shows a confidence in the healthy action of the will. When
+Araspas himself is caught later on he develops the theory of a double
+self, a higher and a lower (so hgd., and so, I think, Xenophon and
+Socrates. _Vide Memorabilia_).
+
+C1.16, fin. Cyrus || Socrates, his prototype here.
+
+C1.18. Very natural and beautiful. Xenophon sympathetic with such a
+beautiful humanity. The woman's nature brought out by these touches.
+Xenophon, Dramatist: the moral problem is subordinate, that is to say,
+is made to grow out of the dramatic action and characterisation.
+
+C1.20. Notice the absolutely fair and warrantable diplomatic advantage
+given to the archic man: each step he takes opens up new avenues of
+progress. Herein is fulfilled "to him who hath shall be given," but
+Cyrus plays his part also, he has the wisdom of serpents with the
+gentleness of doves.
+
+C1.21. This is the true rhetoric, the right road to persuasiveness, to
+be absolutely frank.
+
+C1.24. The desire to be ruled by the archic man, which the
+archomenoi--i.e. all men--feel, is thus manifest. Notice again how the
+Mede's own character is maintained: he speaks as he felt then.
+
+C2.8. The bridegroom will be found to be Hystaspas; but we have no
+suspicion as yet, without looking on.
+
+C2.9. In this interview Cyrus' character still further developed. _Ex
+ore Cyri._, Xenophon propounds his theory of the latent virtue in man,
+which only needs an opportunity to burst forth, but, this lacking,
+remains unrevealed. Now it is a great godsend to get such a chance. It
+is thoroughly Hellenic, or Xenophon-Socratic, this feeling, "Give me
+a chance to show my virtue." (But has Cyrus a touch of superhuman
+conscious rectitude?)
+
+C2.12. The same thought again: it is full of delicacy and spiritual
+discernment: the more one ponders it the more one feels that.
+
+C2.12, fin. For Hellenic or Xenophontine or old-world theory of the
+misfortunes which befall the virtuous, _vide_ Homer, _vide_ Book of Job
+(Satan), _vide_ Tragedians.
+
+C2.15. Cf. the _Economist_ for praise of rural simplicity. It is
+Xenophon _ipsissimus_.
+
+C2.17. Whose bad manners is Xenophon thinking of? Thebans'?
+
+C2.20, fin. A very noble sentence. The man who utters it and the people
+whose heart and mind it emanates from must be of a high order; and in
+the _Memorabilia_ Socrates has this highest praise, that he studied to
+make himself and _all others also_ as good as possible.
+
+C2.21. Notice the practical answer of Cyrus to this panegyric (cf. J.
+P.).
+
+C2.32. Prolix, Xenophontic.
+
+C3.6 ff. Here also I feel the mind of Xenophon shimmering under
+various lights. The _Cyropaedia_ is shot with Orientalism. Homeric
+Epicism--antique Hellenism and modern Hellenism are both there. Spartan
+simplicity and Eastern quaintness both say their say. In this passage
+the biblical element seems almost audible.
+
+C3.7. This is in the grand style, Oriental, dilatory, ponderous,
+savouring of times when battles were affairs of private arrangement
+between monarchs and hedged about by all the punctilios of an affair of
+honour.
+
+C3.12. N.B.--The archic man shows a very ready wit and inventiveness in
+the great art of "grab" in war, though as he said to his father he was
+"a late learner" in such matters. Cf. in modern times the duties of a
+detective or some such disagreeable office. G. O. Trevelyan as Irish
+secretary. Interesting for _war ethics_ in the abstract, and for
+Xenophon's view, which is probably Hellenic. Cyrus now has the
+opportunity of carrying out the selfish decalogue, the topsy-turvy
+morality set forth in I. C.6, C.26 ff.
+
+C3.13. Cf. Old Testament for the sort of subterfuges and preparations,
+e.g. the Gibeonites.
+
+C3.15. The archic man has no time. Cyrus {ou skholazei}. Cf. J. P. It
+comes from energy combined with high gifts of organisation, economic,
+architectonic.
+
+C3.19. Nice, I think, this contrasting of spiritual and natural
+productiveness.
+
+C3.32. Here is the rule of conduct clearly expressed, nor do I see how a
+military age could frame for itself any other. Christianity only emerged
+_sub pace Romana_, which for fraternal brotherhood was the fullness of
+time; and even in the commercial age the nations tumble back practically
+into the old system.
+
+C3.36 ff. An army on forced march: are there any novelties here?
+
+C3.53. These minute details probably not boring at the time, but
+interesting rather, perhaps useful.
+
+C4.13. Cyrus resembles Fawcett in his unselfish self-estimate. Gadatas
+is like the British public, or hgd.
+
+C4.16. Here we feel that the Assyrian is not a mere weakling: he can
+play his part well enough if he gets a good chance. It needs an Archic
+and Strategic Man to overpower him.
+
+C4.17. ANCIENT and MODERN parallelism in treatment of wounded.
+
+C4.24. Hellenic war ethics: non-combatant tillers of the soil to be let
+alone. Is this a novelty? If not, what is the prototype? Did the modern
+rights of non-combatants so originate?
+
+C4.27, fin. A touch which gives the impression of real history: that is
+the art of it.
+
+C4.34. Almost autobiographical: the advantage of having a country
+seat in the neighbourhood of a big town. Here we feel the MODERNISM
+of XENOPHON. The passage which Stevenson chose for the motto to his
+_Silverado Squatters_ would suit Xenophon very well (Cicero, De Off. I.
+xx.). Xenophon || Alfred Tennyson. [Mr. Dakyns used the geometric sign
+|| to indicate parallelism of any sort. The passage from Cicero might
+be translated thus: "Some have lived in the country, content with the
+happiness of home. These men have enjoyed all that kings could claim,
+needing nothing, under the dominion of no man, untrammelled and in
+freedom; for the free man lives as he chooses."]
+
+C4.36. The wicked man as conceived in Hellenico-Xenophontine fashion,
+charged with the spirit of meanness, envy, and hatred, which cannot
+brook the existence of another better than itself.
+
+C4.38. A nice touch: we learn to know Gadatas and Xenophon also, and the
+Hellenic mind.
+
+C5.10. Pathos well drawn: _vide_ Richard II. and Bolingbroke. Euripidean
+quality.
+
+C5.12. The archic man has got so far he can play the part of intercessor
+between Cyaxares and his Medes. The discussion involves the whole
+difficulty of suppression ("he must increase, but I must decrease" is
+one solution, not touched here).
+
+C5.34. Perhaps this is the very point which Xenophon, Philosopher,
+wishes to bring out, the pseudo-archic man and the archic man
+contrasted, but Xenophon, lover of man and artist, draws the situation
+admirably and truthfully without any doctrinal purpose. It is
+{anthropinon} human essentially, this jealousy and humiliation of
+spirit.
+
+C5.35. Cyrus' tone of voice and manner must have some compelling charm
+in them: the dialectic debate is not pursued, but by a word and look the
+archic man wins his way.
+
+C5.36. Oriental and antique Hellenic, also _modern_, formalities. I can
+imagine some of those crowned heads, emperors of Germany and Austria,
+going through similar ceremonies, walking arm-in-arm, kissing on both
+cheeks fraternally, etc.
+
+C5.39-40. This reveals the incorrigible weakness of Cyaxares. He can
+never hold his own against the archic man. As a matter of philosophic
+"historising," probably Xenophon conceives the Median element as the
+corrupting and sapping one in the Persian empire (_vide_ Epilogue), only
+he to some extent justifies and excuses Cyrus in his imitations of it.
+That is a difficulty.
+
+C5.41. The archic man shows self-command again: his energy somewhat
+relieves ignobler actors of responsibility and so far saps their wills.
+His up-and-doingness a foil to their indolence.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK VI
+
+[C.1] So the day ended, and they supped and went to rest. But early
+the next morning all the allies flocked to Cyaxares' gates, and while
+Cyaxares dressed and adorned himself, hearing that a great multitude
+were waiting, Cyrus gave audience to the suitors his own friends had
+brought. First came the Cadousians, imploring him to stay, and then
+the Hyrcanians, and after them the Sakians, and then some one presented
+Gobryas, and Hystaspas brought in Gadatas the eunuch, whose entreaty was
+still the same. [2] At that Cyrus, who knew already that for many a day
+Gadatas had been half-dead with fear lest the army should be disbanded,
+laughed outright and said, "Ah, Gadatas, you cannot conceal it: you have
+been bribed by my friend Hystaspas to take this view."
+
+[3] But Gadatas lifted up his hands to heaven and swore most solemnly
+that Hystaspas had not influenced him.
+
+"Nay," said he, "it is because I know myself that, if you depart, I am
+ruined utterly. And therefore it was that I took it upon me to speak
+with Hystaspas myself, and ask him if he knew what was in your mind
+about the disbanding of the army."
+
+[4] And Cyrus said, "It would be unjust then, I suppose, to lay the
+blame on Hystaspas." "Yes, Cyrus, most unjust," said Hystaspas, "for I
+only said to Gadatas that it would be impossible for you to carry on the
+campaign, as your father wanted you home, and had sent for you."
+
+[5] "What?" cried Cyrus, "you dared to let that be known whether I
+wished it or not?"
+
+"Certainly I did," he answered, "for I can see that you are mad to be
+home in Persia, the cynosure of every eye, telling your father how you
+wrought this and accomplished that."
+
+"Well," said Cyrus, "are you not longing to go home yourself?"
+
+"No," said the other. "I am not. Nor have I any intention of going: here
+I shall stay and be general-in-chief until I make our friend Gadatas the
+lord and the Assyrian his slave."
+
+[6] Thus half in jest and half in earnest they played with one another,
+and meanwhile Cyaxares had finished adorning himself and came forth in
+great splendour and solemnity, and sat down on a Median throne. And when
+all were assembled and silence was proclaimed, Cyaxares said:
+
+"My friends and allies, perhaps, since I am present and older than
+Cyrus, it is suitable that I should address you first. It appears to me
+that the moment has come to discuss one question before all others,
+the question whether we ought to go on with the campaign or disband the
+army. Be pleased," he added, "to state your opinions on the matter."
+
+[7] Then the leader of the Hyrcanians stood up at once and said:
+
+"Friends and allies, I hardly think that words are needed when facts
+themselves show us the path to take. All of us know that while we stand
+together we give our enemy more trouble than we get: but when we stood
+alone it was they who dealt with us as they liked best and we liked
+least."
+
+[8] Then the Cadousian followed.
+
+"The less we talk," said he, "about breaking-up and going home
+separately the better; separation has done us anything but good, it
+seems to me, even on the march. My men and I, at any rate, very soon
+paid the penalty for private excursions; as I dare say you have not
+forgotten."
+
+[9] Upon that Artabazus rode, the Mede who had claimed kinship with
+Cyrus in the old days.
+
+"Cyaxares," said he, "in one respect I differ from those who have spoken
+before me: they think we should stay here in order to go on with the
+campaign, but I think I am always on campaign at home. [10] I was for
+ever out on some expedition or other, because our people were being
+harried, or our fortresses threatened, and a world of trouble I had,
+what with fears within and fighting without, and all too at my own
+expense. As it is now, I occupy the enemy's forts, my fear of them is
+gone, I make good cheer on their own good things, and I drink their own
+good wine. Since home means fighting and service here means feasting, I
+am not in favour myself," said he, "of breaking up the company."
+
+[11] Then Gobryas spoke.
+
+"Friends," said he, "I have trusted Cyrus' word and had no fault to
+find with him: what he promises that he performs: but if he leaves the
+country now, the Assyrian will be reprieved, he will never be punished
+for the wrongs he tried to inflict on you and did inflict on me: I shall
+be punished instead, because I have been your friend."
+
+[12] At that Cyrus rose at last and said:
+
+"Gentlemen, I am well aware that the disbanding of our forces must mean
+the decrease of our power and the increase of theirs. If some of them
+have given up their weapons, they will soon procure others; if some have
+lost their horses, the loss will soon be made good; if some have fallen
+in battle, others, younger and stronger, will take their place. We need
+not be surprised if they are soon in a condition to cause us trouble
+again. [13] Why, then, did I ask Cyaxares to put the question to debate?
+Because, I answer, I am afraid of the future. I see opponents against
+us whom we cannot fight, if we conduct the campaign as we are doing now.
+[14] Winter is advancing against us, and though we may have shelter for
+ourselves we have nothing, heaven knows, for our horses and our servants
+and the great mass of our soldiery, without whom we cannot even think
+of a campaign. As to provisions, up to the limits of our advance and
+because of that advance they have been exhausted; and beyond that line,
+owing to the terror we inspire, the inhabitants will have stowed their
+supplies away in strong places where they can enjoy them and we cannot
+get them. [15] Where is the warrior, stout of heart and strong of will,
+who can wage war with cold and hunger? If our style of soldiering is to
+be only what it has been, I say we ought to disband at once of our own
+accord, and not wait to be driven from the field against our will by
+sheer lack of means. If we do wish to go forward, this is what we must
+do: we must detach from the enemy all the fortresses we can and secure
+all we can for our own: if this is done, the larger supply will be in
+the hands of those who can stow away the larger store, and the weaker
+will suffer siege. [16] At present we are like mariners on the ocean:
+they may sail on for ever, but the seas they have crossed are no
+more theirs than those that are still unsailed. But if we hold the
+fortresses, the enemy will find they are living in a hostile land,
+while we have halcyon weather. [17] Some of you may dread the thought of
+garrison duty far from home; if so, dispel your doubts. We Persians,
+who must, as it is, be exiles for the time, will undertake the positions
+that are nearest to the foe, while it will be for you to occupy the land
+on the marches between Assyria and yourselves and put it under tillage.
+[18] For, if we can hold his inner line, your peace will not be
+disturbed in the outlying parts: he will scarcely neglect the danger at
+his door to attack you out in the distance."
+
+[19] At this the whole assembly rose to express their eagerness and
+assent, and Cyaxares stood up with them. And both Gadatas and Gobryas
+offered to fortify a post if the allies wished, and thus provide two
+cities of refuge to start with.
+
+[20] Finally Cyrus, thus assured of the general consent to his
+proposals, said, "If we really wish to carry out what we have set
+ourselves, we must prepare battering-rams and siege engines, and get
+together mechanics and builders for our own castles." [21] Thereupon
+Cyaxares at once undertook to provide an engine at his own expense,
+Gadatas and Gobryas made themselves responsible for a second, Tigranes
+for a third, and Cyrus himself promised he would try to furnish two.
+[22] That done, every one set to work to find engineers and artisans and
+to collect material for the machines; and superintendents were appointed
+from those best qualified for the work.
+
+[23] Now Cyrus was aware that all this would take some time, and
+therefore he encamped his troops in the healthiest spot he could find
+and the easiest to supply, strengthening, wherever necessary, the
+natural defences of the place, so that the detachment left in charge for
+the time should always be in complete security, even though he might be
+absent himself with the main body of his force. [24] Nor was this all;
+he questioned those who knew the country best, and, learning where he
+would be rewarded for his pains, he would lead his men out to forage,
+and thus procure as large supplies as possible, keep his soldiers in the
+best of health and strength, and fix their drill in their minds.
+
+[25] So Cyrus spent his days, and meanwhile the deserters from Babylon
+and the prisoners who were captured all told the same story: they said
+that the king had gone off to Lydia, taking with him store of gold and
+silver, and riches and treasures of every kind. [26] The mass of the
+soldiers were convinced that he was storing his goods away from fear,
+but Cyrus knew that he must have gone to raise, if possible, an opponent
+who could face them, and therefore he pushed his preparations forward
+vigorously, feeling that another battle must be fought. He filled up the
+Persian cavalry to its full complement, getting the horses partly from
+the prisoners, partly from his own friends. There were two gifts he
+would never refuse, horses and good weapons. [27] He also procured
+chariots, taking them from the enemy or wherever he could find them.
+The old Trojan type of charioteering, still in use to this day among the
+Cyrenaeans, he abolished; before his time the Medes, the Syrians, the
+Arabians, and all Asiatics generally, used their chariots in the same
+way as the Cyrenaeans do now. [28] The fault of the system to his mind
+was that the very flower of the army, if the picked men were in the
+chariots, could only act at long range and so contribute little after
+all to the victory. Three hundred chariots meant twelve hundred horses
+and three hundred fighting-men, besides the charioteers, who would
+naturally be men above the common, in whom the warriors could place
+confidence: and that meant another three hundred debarred from injuring
+the enemy in any kind of way. [29] Such was the system he abolished in
+favour of the war-chariot proper, with strong wheels to resist the shock
+of collision, and long axles, on the principle that a broad base is the
+firmer, while the driver's seat was changed into what might be called
+a turret, stoutly built of timber and reaching up to the elbow,
+leaving the driver room to manage the horses above the rim. The drivers
+themselves were all fully armed, only their eyes uncovered. [30] He had
+iron scythes about two feet long attached to the axles on either side,
+and others, under the tree, pointing to the ground, for use in a charge.
+Such was the type of chariot invented by Cyrus, and it is still in use
+to-day among the subjects of the Great King. Beside the chariots he had
+a large number of camels, collected from his friends or captured
+from the enemy. [31] Moreover, he decided to send a spy into Lydia to
+ascertain the movements of the king, and he thought that the right man
+for this purpose was Araspas, the officer in charge of the fair lady
+from Susa. Matters had gone ill with Araspas: he had fallen passionately
+in love with his prisoner, and been led to entreat her to be his
+paramour. [32] She had refused, faithful to her husband who was far
+away, for she loved him dearly, but she forbore to accuse Araspas to
+Cyrus, being unwilling to set friend at strife with friend. [33] But
+when at length Araspas, thinking it would help him in his desires, began
+to threaten her, saying that if she would not yield he would have his
+will of her by force, then in her dread of violence she could keep the
+matter hid no longer, and she sent her eunuch to Cyrus with orders to
+tell him everything. [34] And when Cyrus heard it he smiled over the man
+who had boasted that he was superior to love, and sent Artabazus back
+with the eunuch to tell Araspas that he must use no violence against
+such a woman, but if he could persuade her, he might do so. [35] But
+Artabazus, when he saw Araspas, rebuked him sternly, saying that the
+woman was a sacred trust, and his conduct disgraceful, impious, and
+wicked, till Araspas burst into tears of misery and shame, and was half
+dead at the thought of what Cyrus would do. [36] Learning this, Cyrus
+sent for him, saw him alone, and said to him face to face:
+
+"Araspas, I know that you are afraid of me and in an agony of shame.
+Be comforted; we are told that the gods themselves are made subject to
+desire, and I could tell you what love has forced some men to undergo,
+men who seemed most lofty and most wise. Did I not pass sentence on
+myself, when I confessed I was too weak to consort with loveliness and
+remain unmoved? Indeed it is I who am most to blame in the matter, for I
+shut you up myself with this irresistible power."
+
+[37] But Araspas broke in on his words:
+
+"Ah, Cyrus, you are ever the same, gentle and compassionate to human
+weaknesses. But all the rest of the world has no pity on me; they drown
+me in wretchedness. As soon as the tattlers got wind of my misfortune,
+all my enemies exulted, and my friends came to me, advising me to make
+away with myself for fear of you, because my iniquity was so great."
+
+[38] Then Cyrus said, "Now listen: this opinion about you may be the
+means by which you can do me a great kindness and your comrades a great
+service." "Oh, that it were possible!" said Araspas, "for me ever to
+be of service to you!" [39] "Well," said the other, "if you went to the
+enemy, feigning that you had fled from me, I think they would believe
+you." "I am sure they would," said Araspas, "I know even my own friends
+would think that of course I ran away." [40] "Then you will come back
+to us," Cyrus went on, "with full information about the enemy's affairs;
+for, if I am right in my expectation, they will trust you and let you
+see all their plans, so that you need miss nothing of what we wish to
+know." "I will be off this moment," said Araspas; "it will be my best
+credential to have it thought I was just in time to escape punishment
+from you."
+
+[41] "Then you can really bring yourself to leave the beautiful
+Pantheia?"
+
+"Yes, Cyrus," he answered, "I can; for I see now that we have two souls.
+This is the lesson of philosophy that I have learnt from the wicked
+sophist Love. If we had but a single soul, how could she be at once evil
+and good? How could she be enamoured at once of nobleness and baseness,
+or at once desire and not desire one deed and the same? No, it is clear
+that we have two souls, and when the beautiful soul prevails, all fair
+things are wrought, and when the evil soul has the mastery, she lays her
+hand to shame and wickedness. But to-day my good soul conquers, because
+she has you to help her."
+
+[42] "Well," said Cyrus, "if you have decided on going, it is thus you
+had better go. Thus you will win their confidence, and then you must
+tell them what we are doing, but in such a way as to hinder their own
+designs. It would hinder them, for example, if you said that we were
+preparing an attack on their territory at a point not yet decided; for
+this would check the concentration of their forces, each leader being
+most concerned for the safety of his own home. [43] Stay with them," he
+added, "till the last moment possible: what they do when they are close
+at hand is just what is most important for us to know. Advise them how
+to dispose their forces in the way that really seems the best, for then,
+after you are gone and although it may be known that you are aware of
+their order, they will be forced to keep to it, they will not dare to
+change it, and should they do so at the last moment they will be thrown
+into confusion."
+
+[44] Thereupon Araspas took his leave, called together his trustiest
+attendants, said what he thought necessary for the occasion, and
+departed.
+
+[45] Now Pantheia, when she heard that Araspas had fled, sent a
+messenger to Cyrus, saying:
+
+"Grieve not, Cyrus, that Araspas has gone to join the foe: I will
+bring you a far trustier friend than he, if you will let me send for my
+husband, and I know he will bring with him all the power that he has. It
+is true that the old king was my husband's friend, but he who reigns now
+tried to tear us two asunder, and my husband knows him for a tyrant and
+a miscreant, and would gladly be quit of him and take service with such
+a man as you."
+
+[46] When Cyrus heard that, he bade Pantheia send word to her husband,
+and she did so. Now when Abradatas saw the tokens from his wife, and
+learnt how matters stood, he was full of joy, and set out for Cyrus'
+camp immediately, with a thousand horsemen in his train. And when he
+came to the Persian outposts he sent to Cyrus saying who he was, and
+Cyrus gave orders that he should be taken to Pantheia forthwith. [47] So
+husband and wife met again after hope had well-nigh vanished, and were
+in each other's arms once more. And then Pantheia spoke of Cyrus,
+his nobleness, his honour, and the compassion he had shown her, and
+Abradatas cried:
+
+"Tell me, tell me, how can I repay him all I owe him in your name and
+mine!" And she answered:
+
+"So deal with him, my husband, as he has dealt with you."
+
+[48] And thus Abradatas went to Cyrus, and took him by the hand, and
+said:
+
+"Cyrus, in return for the kindness you have shown us, I can say no more
+than this: I give myself to you, I will be your friend, your servant,
+and your ally: whatever you desire, I will help you to win, your
+fellow-worker always, so far as in me lies."
+
+[49] Then Cyrus answered:
+
+"And I will take your gift: but for the moment you must leave me, and
+sup with your wife: another day you will let me play the host, and give
+you lodging with your friends and mine."
+
+[50] Afterwards Abradatas perceived how much Cyrus had at heart the
+scythe-bearing chariots and the cavalry and the war-horses with their
+armour, and he resolved to equip a hundred chariots for him out of his
+own cavalry force. [51] These he proposed to lead himself in a chariot
+of his own, four-poled and drawn by eight horses, all the eight
+protected by chest-plates of bronze. [52] So Abradatas set to work, and
+this four-poled chariot of his gave Cyrus the idea of making a car
+with eight poles, drawn by eight yoke of oxen, to carry the lowest
+compartment of the battering engines, which stood, with its wheels,
+about twenty-seven feet from the ground. [53] Cyrus felt that he had a
+series of such towers brought into the field at a fair pace they would
+be of immense service to him, and inflict as much damage on the enemy.
+The towers were built with galleries and parapets, and each of them
+could carry twenty men. [54] When the whole was put together he tested
+it and found that the eight yoke of oxen could draw the whole tower with
+the men more easily than one yoke by itself could manage the ordinary
+weight of baggage, which came to about five-and-twenty talents apiece,
+whereas the tower, build of planks about as thick as the boards for
+a stage, weighed less than fifteen for each yoke. [55] Thus, having
+satisfied himself that the attempt was perfectly possible, he arranged
+to take the towers into action, believing that in war selfishness meant
+salvation, justice, and happiness.
+
+[C.2] About this time ambassadors came to Cyrus from India with gifts of
+courtesy and a message from their king, saying:
+
+"I send you greeting, Cyrus, and I rejoice that you told me of your
+needs. I desire to be your friend and I offer you gifts; and if you have
+need of anything more, I bid you say the word, and it shall be yours. I
+have told my men to do whatever you command."
+
+[2] Then Cyrus answered:
+
+"This, then, is my bidding: the rest of you shall stay where you have
+pitched your tents; you shall guard your treasures and live as you
+choose: but three of you shall go to the enemy and make believe that you
+have come to him about an alliance with your king, and thus you shall
+learn how matters stand, and all they say and all they do, and so bring
+me word again with speed. And if you serve me well in this, I shall owe
+you even more than I could owe you for these gifts. There are some spies
+who are no better than slaves, and have no skill to find out anything
+more than is known already, but there are men of another sort, men of
+your stamp, who can discover plans that are not yet disclosed."
+
+[3] The Indians listened gladly, and for the moment made themselves at
+home as the guests of Cyrus: but the next day they got ready and set
+off on their journey, promising to find out as much as they could of the
+enemy's secrets and bring him word again with all possible speed.
+
+[4] Meanwhile Cyrus continued his preparations for the war on
+a magnificent scale, like one who meant to accomplish no small
+achievement. Not only did he carry out all the resolutions of the
+allies, but he breathed a spirit of emulation into his own friends
+and followers, till each strove to outshine his fellows in arms
+and accoutrements, in horsemanship and spearmanship and archery, in
+endurance of toil and danger. [5] Cyrus would lead them out to the
+chase, and show especial honour to those who distinguished themselves in
+any way: he would whet the ambition of the officers by praising all who
+did their best to improve their men, and by gratifying them in every way
+he could. [6] At every sacrifice and festival he instituted games and
+contests in all martial exercises, and lavished prizes on the victors,
+till the whole army was filled with enthusiasm and confidence. [7] By
+this time Cyrus had almost everything in readiness for the campaign,
+except the battering-machines. The Persian cavalry was made up to its
+full number of ten thousand men, and the scythed chariots were complete,
+a hundred of his own, and a hundred that Abradatas of Susa had provided.
+[8] Beside these there were a hundred of the old Median chariots which
+Cyrus had persuaded Cyaxares to remodel on his own type, giving up
+the Trojan and Lydian style. The camels were ready also, each animal
+carrying a couple of mounted archers.
+
+The bulk of the great army felt almost as though they had already
+conquered, and the enemy's power was held of no account.
+
+[9] While matters were thus, the Indians whom Cyrus had sent out
+returned with their report. Croesus had been chosen leader and
+general-in-chief; a resolution had been passed, calling on all the
+allied kings to bring up their entire forces, raise enormous sums for
+the war, and spend them in hiring mercenaries where they could and
+making presents where they must. [10] Large numbers of Thracians, armed
+with the short sword, had already been enrolled, and a body of Egyptians
+were coming by sea, amounting--so said the Indians--to 120,000 men,
+armed with long shields reaching to their feet, huge spears (such as
+they carry to this day), and sabres. Beside these, an army was expected
+from Cyprus, and there were already on the spot all the Cilicians, the
+men of both the Phrygias, of Lycaonia, Paphlagonia, and Cappadocia,
+the Arabians, the Phoenicians, and all the Assyrians under the king of
+Babylon. Moreover, the Ionians, and Aeolians, and indeed nearly all the
+Hellenic colonists on the coast were compelled to follow in the train of
+Croesus. [11] Croesus himself had already sent to Lacedaemon to propose
+an alliance with the Spartans. The armament was mustering on the banks
+of the Pactolus, and they were to push forward presently to Thymbrara
+(the place which is still the mustering-ground for all the Asiatic
+subjects of the Great King west of Syria), and orders had been issued to
+open a market there. This report agreed with the accounts given by the
+prisoners, for Cyrus was always at pains to gave men captured from
+whom he could get some information, and he would also send out spies
+disguised as runaway slaves.
+
+[12] Such were the tidings, and when the army heard the news there was
+much anxiety and concern, as one may well suppose. The men went about
+their work with an unusual quietness, their faces clouded over, or
+gathered in knots and clusters everywhere, anxiously asking each other
+the news and discussing the report. [13] When Cyrus saw that fear was in
+the camp, he called a meeting of his generals, and indeed of all
+whose dejection might injure the cause and whose confidence assist it.
+Moreover, he sent word that any of the attendants, or any of the rank
+and file, who wished to hear what he had to say, would be allowed to
+come and listen. When they met, he spoke as follows:
+
+[14] "My friends and allies, I make no secret of the reason I have
+called you here. It was because I saw that some of you, when the reports
+of the enemy reached us, looked like men who were panic-stricken. But I
+must say I am astonished that any of you should feel alarm because the
+enemy is mustering his forces, and not be reassured by remembering that
+our own is far larger than it was when we conquered him before, and far
+better provided, under heaven, with all we need. [15] I ask you how you
+would have felt, you who are afraid now, if you had been told that a
+force exactly like our own was marching upon us, if you had heard that
+men who had conquered us already were coming now, carrying in their
+hearts the victory they had won, if you knew that those who made short
+work then of all our bows and javelins were advancing again, and others
+with them, ten thousand times as many? [16] Suppose you heard that the
+very men who had routed our infantry once were coming on now equipt as
+before, but this time on horseback, scorning arms and javelins, each man
+armed with one stout spear, ready to charge home? [17] Suppose you heard
+of chariots, made on a new pattern, not to be kept motionless, standing,
+as hitherto, with their backs turned to the foe as if for flight, but
+with the horses shielded by armour, and the drivers sheltered by wooden
+walls and protected by breastplates and helmets, and the axles fitted
+with iron scythes so that they can charge straight into the ranks of the
+foe? [18] And suppose you heard that they have camels to ride on, each
+one of which would scare a hundred horses, and that they will bring
+up towers from which to help their own friends, and overwhelm us with
+volleys of darts so that we cannot fight them on level ground? [19] If
+this were what you had heard of the enemy, I as you, once again, you who
+are now so fearful what would you have done? You who turn pale when
+told that Croesus has been chosen commander-in-chief, Croesus who proved
+himself so much more cowardly than the Syrians, that when they were
+worsted in battle and fled, instead of helping them, his own allies, he
+took to his heels himself. [20] We are told, moreover, that the enemy
+himself does not feel equal to facing you alone, he is hiring others
+to fight for him better than he could for himself. I can only say,
+gentlemen, that if any individual considers our position as I describe
+it alarming or unfavourable, he had better leave us. Let him join our
+opponents, he will do us far more service there than here."
+
+[21] When Cyrus had ended, Chrysantas the Persian stood up and said:
+
+"Cyrus, you must not wonder if the faces of some were clouded when they
+heard the news. The cloud was a sign of annoyance, not of fear. Just as
+if," he went on, "a company were expecting breakfast immediately, and
+then were told there was some business that must be got through first, I
+do not suppose any of them would be particularly pleased. Here we were,
+saying to ourselves that our fortunes were made, and now we are informed
+there is still something to be done, and of course our countenances
+fell, not because we were afraid, but because we could have wished it
+all over and done with. [22] However, since it now appears that Syria
+is not to be the only prize--though there is much to be got in Syria,
+flocks and herds and corn and palm-trees yielding fruit--but Lydia as
+well, Lydia the land of wine and oil and fig-trees, Lydia, to whose
+shores the sea brings more good things than eyes can feast on, I say
+that once we realise this we can mope no longer, our spirits will rise
+apace, and we shall hasten to lay our hands on the Lydian wealth without
+delay."
+
+So he spoke, and the allies were well pleased at his words and gave him
+loud applause.
+
+[23] "Truly, gentlemen," said Cyrus, "as Chrysantas says, I think we
+ought to march without delay, if only to be beforehand with our foes,
+and reach their magazines before they do themselves; and besides, the
+quicker we are, the fewer resources we shall find with them. [24] That
+is how I put the matter, but if any one sees a safer or an easier way,
+let him instruct us."
+
+But many speakers followed, all urging an immediate march, without one
+speech in opposition, and so Cyrus took up the word again and said:
+
+[25] "My friends and allies, God helping us, our hearts, our bodies,
+and our weapons have now been long prepared: all that remains is to get
+together what we need for ourselves and our animals on a march of at
+least twenty days. I reckon that the journey itself must take more than
+fifteen, and not a vestige of food shall we find from end to end. It has
+all been made away with, partly by ourselves, partly by our foes, so far
+as they could. [26] We must collect enough corn, without which one can
+neither fight nor live: and as for wine, every man must carry just
+so much as will accustom him to drink water: the greater part of the
+country will be absolutely devoid of wine, and the largest supply we
+could take with us would not hold out. [27] But to avoid too sudden a
+change and the sickness that might follow, this is what we must do. We
+must begin by taking water with our food: we can do this without any
+great change in our habits. [28] For every one who eats porridge has
+the oatmeal mixed with water, and every one who eats bread has the wheat
+soaked in water, and all boiled meat is prepared in water. We shall not
+miss the wine if we drink a little after the meal is done. [29] Then we
+must gradually lessen the amount, until we find that, without knowing
+it, we have become water-drinkers. Gradual change enables every creature
+to go through a complete conversion; and this is taught us by God, who
+leads us little by little out of winter until we can bear the blazing
+heat of summer, and out of heat back again into the depths of winter. So
+should we follow God, and take one step after another until we reach our
+goal. [30] What you might spend on heavy rugs and coverlets spend rather
+on food: any superfluity there will not be wasted: and you will not
+sleep less soundly for lack of bedclothes; if you do, I give you leave
+to blame me. But with clothing the case is different: a man can hardly
+have too much of that in sickness or in health. [31] And for seasoning
+you should take what is sharp and dry and salted, for such meats
+are more appetising and more satisfying. And since we may come into
+districts as yet unravaged where we may find growing corn, we ought to
+take handmills for grinding: these are the lightest machines for
+the purpose. [32] Nor must we forget to supply ourselves with
+medicines--they are small in bulk and, if need arises, invaluable. And
+we ought to have a large supply of straps--I wonder what is not fastened
+by a strap to man or horse? But straps wear out and get broken and then
+things are at a standstill unless there are spare ones to be had. [33]
+Some of you have learnt to shave spears, so that it would be as well not
+to forget a plane, and also to carry a rasp, for the man who sharpens a
+spearhead will sharpen his spirit too. He will feel ashamed to whet the
+edge and be a coward. And we must take plenty of timber for chariots and
+waggons; there is bound to be many a breakdown on the road. [34] Also
+we shall need the most necessary tools for repairs, since smiths and
+carpenters are not to be found at every turn, but there are few who
+cannot patch up a makeshift for the time. Then there should be a mattock
+and a shovel apiece for every waggon, and on every beast of burden a
+billhook and an axe, always useful to the owner and sometimes a boon
+to all. [35] The provisions must be seen to by the officers of the
+fighting-line; they must inspect the men under their command and see
+that nothing is omitted which any man requires; the omission would be
+felt by us all. Those of you who are in command of the baggage-train
+will inspect what I have ordered for the animals and insist upon every
+man being provided who is not already supplied. [36] You, gentlemen, who
+are in command of the road-makers, you have the lists of the soldiers I
+have disqualified from serving as javelin-men, bowmen, or slingers, and
+you will make the old javelin men march with axes for felling timber,
+the bowmen with mattocks, and the slingers with shovels. They will
+advance by squads in front of the waggons so that if there is any
+road-making to be done you may set to work at once, and in case of need
+I may know where to get the men I want. [37] I mean also to take a corps
+of smiths, carpenters, and cobblers, men of military age, provided with
+the proper tools, to supply any possible need. These men will not be
+in the fighting-line, but they will have a place assigned to them where
+they can be hired by any one who likes. [38] If any huckster wishes
+to follow the army with his wares, he may do so, but if caught selling
+anything during the fifteen days for which provisions have been ordered,
+he will be deprived of all his goods: after the fifteen days are done he
+may sell what he likes. Any merchant who offers us a well-stocked market
+will receive recompense and honour from the allies and myself. [39]
+And if any one needs an advance of money for trading, he must send me
+guarantors who will undertake that he will march with the army, and then
+he can draw on our funds. These are the general orders: and I will ask
+any of you who think that anything has been omitted to point it out
+to me. [40] You will now go back to your quarters and make your
+preparations, and while you do so I will offer sacrifice for our journey
+and when the signs are favourable we will give the signal. At that
+you must present yourselves, with everything I have ordered, at the
+appointed place, under your own officers. [41] And you, gentlemen," said
+he, turning to the officers, "when your divisions are all in line, you
+will come to me in a body to receive your final orders."
+
+[C.3] With these instructions the army went to make their preparations
+while Cyrus offered sacrifice.
+
+As soon as the victims were favourable, he set out with his force.
+
+On the first day they encamped as near by as possible, so that anything
+left behind could easily be fetched and any omission readily supplied.
+[2] Cyaxares stayed in Media with a third of the Median troops in order
+not to leave their own country undefended. Cyrus himself pushed forward
+with all possible speed, keeping his cavalry in the van and constantly
+sending explorers and scouts ahead to some look-out. Behind the cavalry
+came the baggage, and on the plains he had long strings of waggons and
+beasts of burden, and the main army behind them, so that if any of the
+baggage-train fell back, the officers who caught them up would see that
+they did not lose their places in the march. [3] But where the road was
+narrower the fighting-men marched on either side with the baggage in the
+middle, and in case of any block it was the business of the soldiers
+on the spot to attend to the matter. As a rule, the different regiments
+would be marching alongside their own baggage, orders having been
+given that all members of the train should advance by regiments
+unless absolutely prevented. [4] To help matters the brigadier's own
+body-servant led the way with an ensign known to his men, so that each
+regiment marched together, the men doing their best to keep up with
+their comrades. Thus there was no need to search for each other,
+everything was to hand, there was greater security, and the soldiers
+could get what they wanted more quickly.
+
+[5] After some days the scouts ahead thought they could see people in
+the plain collecting fodder and timber, and then they made out beasts of
+burden, some grazing and others already laden, and as they scanned the
+distance they felt sure they could distinguish something that was either
+smoke rising or clouds of dust; and from all this they concluded
+that the enemy's army was not far off. [6] Whereupon their commander
+despatched a messenger with the news to Cyrus, who sent back word that
+the scouts should stay where they were, on their look-out, and tell him
+if they saw anything more, while he ordered a squadron of cavalry to
+ride forward, and intercept, if they could, some of the men on the plain
+and so discover the actual state of affairs. [7] While the detachment
+carried out this order Cyrus halted the rest of his army to make such
+dispositions as he thought necessary before coming to close quarters.
+His first order was for the troops to take their breakfast: after
+breakfast they were to fall in and wait for the word of command. [8]
+When breakfast was over he sent for all the officers from the cavalry,
+the infantry, and the chariot brigade, and for the commanders of the
+battering engines and the baggage train, and they came to him. [9]
+Meanwhile the troop of horse had dashed into the plain, cut off some
+of the men, and now brought them in captive. The prisoners, on being
+questioned by Cyrus, said they belonged to the camp and had gone out
+to forage or cut wood and so had passed beyond their own pickets, for,
+owing to the size of their army, everything was scarce.
+
+[10] "How far is your army from here?" asked Cyrus. "About seven miles,"
+said they. "Was there any talk about us down there?" said he. "We should
+think there was," they answered; "it was all over the camp that you were
+coming." "Ah," said Cyrus, "I suppose they were glad to hear we were
+coming so soon?" (putting this question for his officers to hear the
+answer). "That they were not," said the prisoners, "they were anything
+but glad; they were miserable." [11] "And what are they doing now?"
+asked Cyrus. "Forming their line of battle," answered they; "yesterday
+and the day before they did the same."
+
+"And their commander?" said Cyrus, "who is he?" "Croesus himself," said
+they, "and with him a Greek, and also another man, a Mede, who is said
+to be a deserter from you."
+
+"Ah," cried Cyrus, "is that so? Most mighty Zeus, may I deal with him as
+I wish!"
+
+[12] Then he had the prisoners led away and turned to speak to his
+officers, but at this moment another scout appeared, saying that a large
+force of cavalry was in the plain. "We think," he added, "that they are
+trying to get a sight of our army. For about thirty of them are riding
+ahead at a good round pace and they seem to be coming straight for our
+little company, perhaps to capture our look-out if they can, for there
+are only ten of us there."
+
+[13] At that Cyrus sent off a detachment from his own bodyguard,
+bidding them gallop up to the place, unseen by the enemy, and stay there
+motionless. "Wait," he said, "until our own ten must leave the spot and
+then dash out on the thirty as they come up the hill. And to prevent any
+injury from the larger body, do you, Hystaspas," said he, turning to the
+latter, "ride out with a thousand horse, and let them see you suddenly,
+face to face. But remember not to pursue them out of sight, come back as
+soon as you have secured our post. And if any of your opponents ride up
+with their right hands raised, welcome them as friends."
+
+[14] Accordingly Hystaspas went off and got under arms, while the
+bodyguard galloped to the spot. But before they reached the scouts, some
+one met them with his squires, the man who had been sent out as a spy,
+the guardian of the lady from Susa, Araspas himself. [15] When the news
+reached Cyrus, he sprang up from his seat, went to meet him himself,
+and clasped his hand, but the others, who of course knew nothing, were
+utterly dumbfounded, until Cyrus said:
+
+"Gentlemen, the best of our friends has come back to us. It is high
+time that all men should know what he has done. It was not through any
+baseness, or any weakness, or any fear of me, that he left us; it was
+because I sent him to be my messenger, to learn the enemy's doings and
+bring us word. [16] Araspas, I have not forgotten what I promised you,
+I will repay you, we will all repay you. For, gentlemen, it is only
+just that all of you should pay him honour. Good and true I call him who
+risked himself for our good, and took upon himself a reproach that was
+heavy to bear."
+
+[17] At that all crowded round Araspas and took him by the hand and made
+him welcome. Then Cyrus spoke again:
+
+"Enough, my friends, Araspas has news for us, and it is time to hear it.
+Tell us your tale, Araspas, keep back nothing of the truth, and do not
+make out the power of the enemy less than it really is. It is far better
+that we should find it smaller than we looked for rather than strong
+beyond our expectations." [18] "Well," began Araspas, "in order to
+learn their numbers, I managed to be present at the marshalling of their
+troops." "Then you can tell us," said Cyrus, "not only their numbers but
+their disposition in the field." "That I can," answered Araspas, "and
+also how they propose to fight." "Good," said Cyrus, "but first let us
+hear their numbers in brief." [19] "Well," he answered, "they are drawn
+up thirty deep, infantry and cavalry alike, all except the Egyptians,
+and they cover about five miles; for I was at great pains," he added,
+"to find out how much ground they occupied."
+
+[20] "And the Egyptians?" Cyrus said, "how are they drawn up? I noticed
+you said, 'all except the Egyptians.'"
+
+"The Egyptians," he answered, "are drawn up in companies of ten
+thousand, under their own officers, a hundred deep, and a hundred
+broad: that, they insisted, was their usual formation at home. Croesus,
+however, was very loth to let them have their own way in this: he wished
+to outflank you as much as possible." "Why?" Cyrus asked, "what was his
+object?" "To encircle you, I imagine, with his wings." "He had better
+take care," said Cyrus, "or his circle may find itself in the centre.
+[21] But now you have told us what we most needed to know, and you,
+gentlemen," said he to the officers, "on leaving this meeting, you will
+look to your weapons and your harness. It often happens that the lack
+of some little thing makes man or horse or chariot useless. To-morrow
+morning early, while I am offering sacrifice, do you take your breakfast
+and give your steeds their provender, so that when the moment comes to
+strike you may not be found wanting. And then you, Araspas, must hold
+the right wing in the position it has now, and the rest of you who
+command a thousand men must do the same with your divisions: it is no
+time to be changing horses when the race is being run; and you will send
+word to the brigadiers and captains under you to draw up the phalanx
+with each company two deep." (Now a company consisted of four-and-twenty
+men.)
+
+[22] Then one of the officers, a captain of ten thousand, said:
+
+"Do you think, Cyrus, that with so shallow a depth we can stand against
+their tremendous phalanx?"
+
+"But do you suppose," rejoined he, "that any phalanx so deep that the
+rear-ranks cannot close with the enemy could do much either for friend
+or foe? [23] I myself," he added, "would rather this heavy infantry of
+theirs were drawn up, not a hundred, but ten thousand deep: we should
+have all the fewer to fight. Whereas with the depth that I propose, I
+believe we shall not waste a man: every part of our army will work with
+every other. [24] I will post the javelin-men behind the cuirassiers,
+and the archers behind them: it would be absurd to place in the van
+troops who admit that they are not made for hand-to-hand fighting;
+but with the cuirassiers thrown in front of them they will stand firm
+enough, and harass the enemy over the heads of our own men with their
+arrows and their darts. And every stroke that falls on the enemy means
+so much relief to our friends. [25] In the very rear of all I will post
+our reserve. A house is useless without a foundation as well as a roof,
+and our phalanx will be no use unless it has a rear-guard and a van, and
+both of them good. [26] You," he added, "will draw up the ranks to suit
+these orders, and you who command the targeteers will follow with your
+companies in the same depth, and you who command the archers will follow
+the targeteers. [27] Gentlemen of the reserve, you will hold your men in
+the rear, and pass the word down to your own subordinates to watch the
+men in front, cheer on those who do their duty, threaten him who plays
+the coward, and if any man show signs of treachery, see that he dies the
+death. It is for those in the van to hearten those behind them by word
+and deed; it is for you, the reserve, to make the cowards dread you more
+than the foe. [28] You know your work, and you will do it. Euphratus,"
+he added, turning to the officer in command of the artillery, "see that
+the waggons with the towers keep as close to the phalanx as possible.
+[29] And you, Daouchus, bring up the whole of your baggage-train under
+cover of the towers and make your squires punish severely any man who
+breaks the line. [30] You, Carouchas, keep the women's carriages close
+behind the baggage-train. This long line of followers should give
+an impression of vast numbers, allow our own men opportunity for
+ambuscades, and force the enemy, if he try to surround us, to widen his
+circuit, and the wider he makes it the weaker he will be. [31] That,
+then, is your business; and you, gentlemen, Artaozus and Artagersas,
+each of you take your thousand foot and guard the baggage. [32] And you,
+Pharnouchus and Asiadatas, neither of you must lead your thousand horse
+into the fighting-line, you must get them under arms by themselves
+behind the carriages: and then come to me with the other officers as
+fully-equipt as if you were to be the first to fight. [53] You, sir, who
+command the camel-corps will take up your post behind the carriages
+and look for further orders to Artagersas. [34] Officers of the
+war-chariots, you will draw lots among yourselves, and he on whom the
+lot falls will bring his hundred chariots in front of the fighting-line,
+while the other two centuries will support our flanks on the right and
+left."
+
+[35] Such were the dispositions made by Cyrus; but Abradatas, the lord
+of Susa, cried:
+
+"Cyrus, let me, I pray you, volunteer for the post in front."
+
+[36] And Cyrus, struck with admiration for the man, took him by the
+hand, and turning to the Persians in command of the other centuries
+said:
+
+"Perhaps, gentlemen, you will allow this?"
+
+But they answered that it was hard to resign the post of honour, and so
+they all drew lots, and the lot fell on Abradatas, and his post was
+face to face with the Egyptians. Then the officers left the council and
+carried out the orders given, and took their evening meal and posted the
+pickets and went to rest.
+
+[C.4] But early on the morrow Cyrus offered sacrifice, and meanwhile the
+rest of the army took their breakfast, and after the libation they armed
+themselves, a great and goodly company in bright tunics and splendid
+breastplates and shining helmets. All the horses had frontlets and
+chest-plates, the chargers had armour on their shoulders, and the
+chariot-horses on their flanks; so that the whole army flashed with
+bronze, and shone like a flower with scarlet. [2] The eight-horse
+chariot of Abradatas was a marvel of beauty and richness; and just as he
+was about to put on the linen corslet of his native land, Pantheia came,
+bringing him a golden breastplate and a helmet of gold, and armlets and
+broad bracelets for his wrists, and a full flowing purple tunic, and
+a hyacinth-coloured helmet-plume. All these she had made for him in
+secret, taking the measure of his armour without his knowledge. [3] And
+when he saw them, he gazed in wonder and said:
+
+"Dear wife, and did you destroy your own jewels to make this armour for
+me?"
+
+But she said, "No, my lord, at least not the richest of them all, for
+you shall be my loveliest jewel, when others see you as I see you now."
+
+As she spoke, she put the armour on him, but then, though she tried to
+hide it, the tears rolled down her cheeks.
+
+[4] And truly, when Abradatas was arrayed in the new panoply, he, who
+had been fair enough to look upon before, was now a sight of splendour,
+noble and beautiful and free, as indeed his nature was. [5] He took the
+reins from the charioteer, and was about to set foot on the car, when
+Pantheia bade the bystanders withdraw, and said to him, "My own lord,
+little need to tell you what you know already, yet this I say, if any
+woman loved her husband more than her own soul, I am of her company. Why
+should I try to speak? Our lives say more than any words of mine. [6]
+And yet, feeling for you what you know, I swear to you by the love
+between us that I would rather go down to the grave beside you after a
+hero's death than live on with you in shame. I have thought you worthy
+of the highest, and believed myself worthy to follow you. [7] And I
+bear in mind the great gratitude we owe to Cyrus, who, when I was his
+captive, chosen for his spoil, was too high-minded to treat me as a
+slave, or dishonour me as a free woman; he took me and saved me for
+you, as though I had been his brother's wife. [8] And when Araspas, my
+warder, turned from him, I promised, if he would let me send for you,
+I would bring him a friend in the other's place, far nobler and more
+faithful."
+
+[9] And as Pantheia spoke, Abradatas listened with rapture to her words,
+and when she ended, he laid his hand upon her head, and looking up to
+heaven he prayed aloud:
+
+"O most mighty Zeus, make me worthy to be Pantheia's husband, and the
+friend of Cyrus who showed us honour!"
+
+[10] Then he opened the driver's seat and mounted the car, and the
+driver shut the door, and Pantheia could not take him in her arms again,
+so she bent and kissed the chariot-box. Then the car rolled forward and
+she followed unseen till Abradatas turned and saw her and cried, "Be
+strong, Pantheia, be of a good heart! Farewell, and hie thee home!"
+
+[11] Thereupon her chamberlains and her maidens took her and brought her
+back to her own carriage, and laid her down and drew the awning. But
+no man, of all who was there that day, splendid as Abradatas was in his
+chariot, had eyes to look on him until Pantheia had gone.
+
+[12] Meanwhile Cyrus had found the victims favourable, and his army was
+already drawn up in the order he had fixed. He had scouts posted ahead,
+one behind the other, and then he called his officers together for his
+final words:
+
+[13] "Gentlemen, my friends and allies, the sacred signs from heaven are
+as they were the day the gods gave us victory before, and I would call
+to your minds thoughts to bring you gladness and confidence for the
+fight. [14] You are far better trained than your enemies, you have
+lived together and worked together far longer than they, you have won
+victories together. What they have shared with one another has been
+defeat, and those who have not fought as yet feel they have traitors to
+right and left of them, while our recruits know that they enter battle
+in company with men who help their allies. [15] Those who trust each
+other will stand firm and fight without flinching, but when confidence
+has gone no man thinks of anything but flight. [16] Forward then,
+gentlemen, against the foe; drive our scythed chariots against their
+defenceless cars, let our armed cavalry charge their unprotected horse,
+and charge them home. [17] The mass of their infantry you have met
+before; and as for the Egyptians, they are armed in much the same way as
+they are marshalled; they carry shields too big to let them stir or see,
+they are drawn up a hundred deep, which will prevent all but the merest
+handful fighting. [18] If they count on forcing us back by their weigh,
+they must first withstand our steel and the charge of our cavalry. And
+if any of them do hold firm, how can they fight at once against cavalry,
+infantry, and turrets of artillery? For our men on the towers will be
+there to help us, they will smite the enemy until he flies instead of
+fighting. [19] If you think there is anything wanting, tell me now; God
+helping us, we will lack nothing. And if any man wishes to say anything,
+let him speak now; if not, go to the altar and there pray to the gods to
+whom we have sacrificed, and then fall in. [20] Let each man say to his
+own men what I have said to him, let him show the men he rules that he
+is fit to rule, let them see the fearlessness in his face, his bearing,
+and his words."
+
+
+                                NOTES
+
+C1.9. Artabazus "the kinsman" named now for the first time, why?
+
+C1.11. Cf. Anglicè "his word": a delicate appeal to a man of honour. It
+suits G.'s character.
+
+C1.14-15. Speech full of metaphor: winter stalking on, with hunter and
+frost attendant on either side; a stealthy, but august advance.
+
+C1.16. A happy simile: _vide_ Book of Wisdom [c. 5, 10, "And as a ship
+that passeth over the waves of the water," etc.].
+
+C1.38. How a fault may be turned to account: Hellenic stool of
+repentance.
+
+C1.41. Theory of two souls, to account for the yielding to base desires.
+It works, but is it not the theory of a man whose will is weak, as we
+say, or whose sympathetic nature has been developed at the expense
+of his self-regulative? There is another way of putting it in
+_Memorabilia_, Bk. I. c. ii., §§ 19-28. Xenophon is not more a
+philosopher than a "philanthropist." He is full of compassion for human
+weaknesses.
+
+C1.44. Exit Araspas, to be baptised under this cloud of ignominy into
+the sunshine of recognised joyous serviceableness.
+
+C1.45. We grow fonder than ever of Pantheia.
+
+C1.50. Irony: the chariots that are to cost Abradatas his life
+hereafter. Is this tale "historic" at all? I mean, did Xenophon find
+or hear any such story current? What is the relation, if any, to it of
+Xenophon Ephesius, Antheia, and Abrocomas? [_Xenophon Ephesius_, a late
+writer of romances.] Had that writer any echo of the names in his head?
+What language are "Pantheia" and "Abradatas"?
+
+C1.52. All very well, but the author hasn't told us anything about the
+construction of these {mekhanai}, these battering engines, before, to
+prepare us for this. Is that a slip, or how explainable? I think he
+is betrayed into the description by reason of his interest in such
+strategic matters. The expression is intelligible enough to any one
+who knows about engines, just as we might speak of the butt or the
+stanchion, or whatever it be.
+
+C2.1-3. The Medians bring back the bread that was cast upon the waters.
+Cyrus turns this gain to new account. He sacrifices the present natural
+gain, i.e. the wealth, to the harder spiritual gain, viz., their
+positive as opposed to their merely negative alliance. Cyrus _is_ the
+archic man.
+
+C2.4. I have a sort of idea, or feeling that here the writer takes up
+his pen afresh after a certain interval. C4-6 are a reduplication, not
+unnatural indeed, but _pro tanto_ tautological.
+
+C2.7. Semi-historical basis. Prototype, when Agesilaus meditated the
+advance on Persia, just before his recall. [See _Hellenica_, III. iv.,
+Works II. p. 29.]
+
+C2.13 foll. The archic man can by a word of his mouth still the flutter
+and incipient heave of terror-stricken hearts.
+
+C2.15-18. A review of the improvements amounting to a complete
+revolution in arms and attack effected by Cyrus. This is imagined as an
+ideal accompaniment to the archic man and conqueror. Xenophon nowadays
+on the relative advantages of the bayonet and the sword, cavalry and
+infantry, etc., would have been very interesting. Cf. a writer like
+Forbes.
+
+[C2.19. "Syrians." The word is used loosely, including the Assyrians
+and their kindred. See below C.22. "Syria" = Assyria and the adjacent
+country.]
+
+C2.21, fin. Xenophon has more than once witnessed this clouding of the
+brow, the scowl or sulk of the less stalwart moral-fibred men (notably
+in _Hellenica_).
+
+C2.26 ff. How to give up wine: the art in it. Now listen, all you
+blue-ribbonists! Xenophon, Hygienist.
+
+C2.37. One would like to know how the price was regulated. Does any
+learned German know? Note the orderliness and economy of it all. Is it,
+as far as the army goes, novel in any respect, do you suppose, or only
+idealised Hellenic? Spartan?
+
+C3.14. A slight (intentional?) aposiopesis. Did H. have to drive back
+the great cavalry division of the enemy?
+
+C3.17. How quickly the archic man passes on! Cf. J. P.
+
+C3.19. Notice the part given to the Egyptians to play. Why? (Agesilaus
+died on his last campaign in Egypt.)
+
+C3.25. Is it dramatic to make Cyrus speak in this way as if he were
+lecturing a class on strategics?
+
+C3.30. The advantage even of sutlers and women. This
+several-times-repeated remark surprises me. But no doubt the arrangement
+would give the enemy pause, and waste his time in out-flanking
+movements: violà tout, hgd. At Cunaxa, however, the Persian did get
+behind the Greek camp. No prototype there, then. [Xenophon, _Anabasis_,
+Bk. I. c. 10.]
+
+C4.2. We are more and more enamoured of Pantheia.
+
+C4.7. As delicate as any modern in the respect for wedded womanhood.
+
+C4.13 ff. Notice how in this stirring and inspiriting speech Cyrus by
+dealing with the Egyptians (the only unknown quantity) strikes a new
+note and sets up a new motive, as it were, preparing us for the tragic
+struggle which is to come, which will cost Abradatas and other good
+men dear, not to speak of the brave Egyptians themselves (cf. Sudanese
+Arabs). Also note Xenophon's enthusiasm in reference to the new arming
+and the odds of encounter between cavalry and infantry (cf. Napier,
+Forbes, etc.).
+
+
+
+
+BOOK VII
+
+[C.1] So they prayed to the gods and went to their place, and the
+squires brought food and drink to Cyrus and his staff as they stood
+round the sacrifice. And he took his breakfast where he stood, after
+making the due offering, sharing what he had with all who needed it, and
+he poured out the libation and prayed, and then drank, and his men with
+him.
+
+Then he supplicated Zeus, the god of his fathers, to be his leader and
+helper in the fight, and so he mounted his horse and bade those about
+him follow. [2] All his squires were equipped as he was, with scarlet
+tunics, breastplates of bronze, and brazen helmets plumed with white,
+short swords, and a lance of cornel-wood apiece. Their horses had
+frontlets, chest-plates, and armour for their shoulders, all of bronze,
+and the shoulder-pieces served as leg-guards for the riders. In one
+thing only the arms of Cyrus differed from the rest: theirs was covered
+with a golden varnish and his flashed like a mirror. [3] As he sat on
+his steed, gazing into the distance, where he meant to go, a peal of
+thunder rang out on the right, and he cried, "We will follow thee, O
+Zeus most high!"
+
+So he set forth with Chrysantas on his right at the head of cavalry and
+Arsamas on his left with infantry. [4] And the word went down the lines,
+"Eyes on the standard and steady marching."
+
+The standard was a golden eagle, with outspread wings, borne aloft on
+a long spear-shaft, and to this day such is the standard of the Persian
+king.
+
+Before they came in full sight of the Assyrians Cyrus halted the army
+thrice. [5] And when they had gone about two miles or more, they began
+to see the enemy advancing. As soon as both armies were in full view
+of each other, and the Assyrians could see how much they outflanked
+the Persians on either side, Croesus halted, in order to prepare an
+encircling movement, and pushed out a column on the right wing and the
+left, so that the Persian forces might be attacked on every side at
+once.
+
+[6] Cyrus saw it, but gave no sign of stopping; he led straight on as
+before. Meanwhile he noticed that the turning-point where the Assyrians
+had pushed out on either flank was an immense distance from their
+centre, and he said to Chrysantas:
+
+"Do you see where they have fixed their angle?" "Yes, I do," answered
+Chrysantas, "and I am surprised at it: it seems to me they are drawing
+their wings too far away from their centre." "Just so," said Cyrus,
+"and from ours too." [7] "Why are they doing that?" asked the other.
+"Clearly," said Cyrus, "they are afraid we shall attack, if their wings
+are in touch with us while their centre is still some way off."
+"But," went on Chrysantas, "how can they support each other at such a
+distance?" "Doubtless," said Cyrus, "as soon as their wings are opposite
+our flanks, they will wheel round, and then advance at once on every
+side and so set us fighting everywhere at once." [8] "Well," said
+Chrysantas, "do you think the movement wise?" "Yes," said Cyrus, "it
+is good enough in view of what they can see, but, in view of what they
+cannot, it is worse for them than if they had advanced in a single
+column. Do you," he said, turning to Arsamas, "advance with your
+infantry, slowly, taking your pace from me, and do you, Chrysantas,
+march beside him with your cavalry, step for step. I will make for their
+angle myself, where I propose to join battle, first riding round the
+army to see how things are with all our men. [9] When I reach the point,
+and we are on the verge of action, I will raise the paean and then
+you must quicken your pace. You will know when we have closed with the
+enemy, the din will be loud enough. At the same moment Abradatas will
+dash out upon them: such will be his orders; your duty is to follow,
+keeping as close to the chariots as possible. Thus we shall fall on the
+enemy at the height of his confusion. And, God helping me, I shall be
+with you also, cutting my way through the rout by the quickest road I
+can.
+
+[10] So he spoke, and sent the watchword down the lines, "Zeus our
+saviour, and Zeus our leader," and went forward. As he passed between
+the chariots and the cuirassiers, he would say to some, "My men, the
+look on your faces rejoices my heart," and to others, "You understand,
+gentlemen, that this battle is not for the victory of a day, but for all
+that we have won ere now, and for all our happiness to come." [11] And
+to others, "My friends, we can never reproach the gods again: to-day
+they have put all blessings in our hands. [12] Let us show ourselves
+good men and true." Or else, "Gentlemen, can we invite each other to a
+more glorious feast than this? This day all gallant hearts are bidden;
+this day they may feast their friends." [13] Or again, "You know, I
+think, the prizes in this game: the victors pursue and smite and slay,
+and win wealth and fame and freedom and empire: the cowards lose them
+all. He who loves his own soul let him fight beside me: for I will have
+no disgrace." [14] But if he met soldiers who had fought for him before,
+he only said, "To you, gentlemen, what need I say? You know the brave
+man's part in battle, and the craven's." [15] And when he came to
+Abradatas, he halted, and Abradatas gave the reins to his charioteer
+and came up to him, and others gathered round from the infantry and the
+chariots, and Cyrus said:
+
+"God has rewarded you, Abradatas, according to your prayer, you and
+yours. You hold the first rank among our friends. And you will not
+forget, when the moment for action comes, that those who watch you will
+be Persians, and those who follow you, and they will not let you bear
+the brunt alone."
+
+[16] And Abradatas answered:
+
+"Even so, Cyrus; and with us here, methinks, all looks well enough: but
+the state of our flanks troubles me: the enemy's wings are strong and
+stretch far: he has chariots there, and every kind of arm as well, while
+we have nothing else with which to oppose him. So that for myself," said
+he, "if I had not won by lot the post I hold, I should feel ashamed to
+be here in the safest place of all."
+
+[17] "Nay," answered Cyrus, "if it is well with you, have no concern for
+the rest. God willing, I mean to relieve our flanks. But you yourself,
+I conjure you, do not attack until you see the rout of those detachments
+that you fear."
+
+So much of boasting did Cyrus allow himself on the eve of action, though
+he was the last man to boast at other times.
+
+"When you see them routed," he said, "you may take it that I am there,
+and then make your rush, for that is the moment when you will find the
+enemy weakest and your own men strongest. [18] And while there is time,
+Abradatas, be sure to drive along your front and prepare your men for
+the charge, kindle their courage by your looks, lift up their hearts by
+your hopes. Breathe a spirit of emulation into them, to make them prove
+themselves the flower of the chariot-force. Be assured if things go well
+with us all men will say nothing is so profitable as valour."
+
+[19] Accordingly Abradatas mounted his chariot and drove along the lines
+to do as Cyrus bade.
+
+Meanwhile Cyrus went on to the left where Hystaspas was posted with half
+the Persian cavalry, and he called to him and said:
+
+"Hystaspas, here is work to test your pace! If we are quick enough in
+cutting off their heads, none of us will be slaughtered first."
+
+[20] And Hystaspas answered with a laugh:
+
+"Leave it to us! We'll see to the men opposite. But set some one to deal
+with the fellows on our flank: it would be a pity for them to be idle."
+
+And Cyrus answered, "I am going to them myself. But remember, Hystaspas,
+to which ever of us God grants the victory, so long as a single foeman
+is on the field, attack we must, again and again, until the last has
+yielded."
+
+[21] With that he passed on, and as he came to the flank he went up to
+the officer in command of the chariots and said to him:
+
+"Good, I intend to support you myself. And when you hear me fall on
+the wing, at that instant do your best to charge straight through your
+opponents; you will be far safer once outside their ranks than if you
+are caught half-way."
+
+[22] Then he went on to the rear and the carriages, where the two
+detachments were stationed, a thousand horse and a thousand foot, and
+told Artagersas and Pharnouchus, their leaders, to keep the men where
+they were.
+
+"But when," he added, "you see me close with the enemy on our right,
+then set upon those in front of you: take them in flank, where they are
+weakest, while you advance in line, at your full strength. Their lines,
+as you see, are closed by cavalry; hurl your camels at these, and you
+may be sure, even before the fighting begins, they will cut a comic
+figure."
+
+[23] Thus, with all his dispositions made, Cyrus rode round the head
+of his right. By this time Croesus, believing that the centre, where he
+himself was marching, must be nearer the enemy than the distant wings,
+had the signal raised for them to stop their advance, halt, and wheel
+round where they were. When they were in position opposite the Persian
+force, he signalled for them to charge, and thus three columns came at
+once against Cyrus, one facing his front and one on either flank. [24]
+A tremor ran through the whole army; it was completely enclosed, like a
+little brick laid within a large, with the forces of the enemy all
+round it, on every side except the rear, cavalry and heavy infantry,
+targeteers, archers, and chariots. [25] None the less, the instant
+Cyrus gave the word they swung round to confront the foe. There was deep
+silence through the ranks as they realised what they had to face, and
+then Cyrus, when the moment came, began the battle-hymn and it thundered
+through the host. [26] And as it died away the war-cry rang out unto the
+God of Battles, and Cyrus swooped forward at the head of his cavalry,
+straight for the enemy's flank, and closed with them then and there,
+while the infantry behind him followed, swift and steady, wave on wave,
+sweeping out on either side, far out-flanking their opponents, for they
+attacked in line and the foe were in column, to the great gain of Cyrus.
+A short struggle, and the ranks broke and fled before him headlong. [27]
+Artagersas, seeing that Cyrus had got to work, made his own charge on
+the left, hurling his camels forward as Cyrus had advised. Even at a
+distance the horses could not face the camels: they seemed to go mad
+with fear, and galloped off in terror, rearing and falling foul of one
+another: such is the strange effect of camels upon horses. [28] So that
+Artagersas, his own troops well in hand, had easy work with the enemy's
+bewildered masses. At the same moment the war-chariots dashed in, right
+and left, so that many, flying from the chariots, were cut down by the
+troopers, and many, flying from these, were caught by the chariots.
+[29] And now Abradatas could wait no longer. "Follow me, my friends,"
+he shouted, and drove straight at the enemy, lashing his good steeds
+forward till their flanks were bloody with the goad, the other
+charioteers racing hard behind him. The enemy's chariots fled before
+them instantly, some not even waiting to take up their fighting-men.
+[30] But Abradatas drove on through them, straight into the main body of
+the Egyptians, his rush shared by his comrades on either hand. And then,
+what has often been shown elsewhere was shown here, namely, that of
+all strong formations the strongest is a band of friends. His
+brothers-in-arms and his mess-mates charged with him, but the others,
+when they saw that the solid ranks of the Egyptians stood firm, swung
+round and pursued the flying chariots. [31] Meanwhile Abradatas and his
+companions could make no further way: there was not a gap through the
+Egyptian lines on either hand, and they could but charge the single
+soldiers where they stood, overthrow them by the sheer weight of horse
+and car, and crush them and their arms beneath the hoofs and wheels. And
+where the scythes caught them, men and weapons were cut to shreds. [32]
+In the midst of indescribable confusion, the chariots rocking among the
+weltering mounds, Abradatas was thrown out and some of his comrades with
+him. There they stood, and fought like men, and there they were cut
+down and died. The Persians, pouring in after them, dealt slaughter
+and destruction where Abradatas and his men had charged and shaken the
+ranks, but elsewhere the Egyptians, who were still unscathed, and they
+were many, moved steadily on to meet them.
+
+[33] There followed a desperate struggle with lance and spear and sword,
+and still the Egyptians had the advantage, because of their numbers and
+their weapons. Their spears were immensely stout and long, such as they
+carry to this day, and the huge shield not only gave more protection
+than corslet and buckler, but aided the thrust of the fighter, slung as
+it was from the shoulder.
+
+[34] Shield locked into shield, they thrust their way forward; and the
+Persians could not drive them back, with their light bucklers borne on
+the forearm only. Step by step they gave ground, dealing blow for blow,
+till they came under cover of their own artillery. Then at last a second
+shower of blows fell on the Egyptians, while the reserves would allow no
+flight of the archers or the javelin-men: at the sword's point they made
+them do their duty. [35] Thick was the slaughter, and loud the din of
+clashing weapons and whirring darts, and shouting warriors, cheering
+each other and calling on the gods.
+
+[36] At this moment Cyrus appeared, cutting his way through his own
+opponents. To see the Persians thrust from their position was misery
+to him, but he knew he could check the enemy's advance most quickly by
+galloping round to their rear, and thither he dashed, bidding his troops
+follow, and there they fell upon them and smote them as they were gazing
+ahead, and there they mowed them down.
+
+[37] The Egyptians, seeing what had happened, cried out that the enemy
+had taken them in the rear, and wheeled round under a storm of blows. At
+this the confusion reached its height, cavalry and infantry struggling
+all together. An Egyptian fell under Cyrus' horse, and as the hoofs
+struck him he stabbed the creature in the belly. The charger reared
+at the blow and Cyrus was thrown. [38] Then was seen what it is for
+a leader to be loved by his men. With a terrible cry the men dashed
+forward, conquering thrust with thrust and blow with blow. One of his
+squires leapt down and set Cyrus on his own charger. [39] And as Cyrus
+sprang on the horse he saw the Egyptians worsted everywhere. For by now
+Hystaspas was on the ground with his cavalry, and Chrysantas also. Still
+Cyrus would not allow them to charge the Egyptian phalanx: the archers
+and javelin-men were to play on them from outside. Then he made his way
+along the lines to the artillery, and there he mounted one of the towers
+to take a survey of the field, and see if any of the foe still held
+their ground and kept up the fight. [40] But he saw the plain one chaos
+of flying horses and men and chariots, pursuers and pursued, conquerors
+and conquered, and nowhere any who still stood firm, save only the
+Egyptians. These, in sore straits as they were, formed themselves into
+a circle behind a ring of steel, and sat down under cover of their
+enormous shields. They no longer attempted to act, but they suffered,
+and suffered heavily. [41] Cyrus, in admiration and pity, unwilling that
+men so brave should be done to death, drew off his soldiers who were
+fighting round them, and would not let another man lift sword.
+
+Then he sent them a herald asking if they wished to be cut to pieces for
+the sake of those who had betrayed them, or save their lives and keep
+their reputation for gallantry? And they answered, "Is it possible that
+we can be saved and yet keep our reputation untarnished?" [42] And Cyrus
+said, "Surely yes, for we ourselves have seen that you alone have held
+your ground and been ready to fight." "But even so," said the Egyptians,
+"how can we act in honour if we save ourselves?"
+
+"By betraying none of those at whose side you fought," answered Cyrus:
+"only surrender your arms to us, and become our friends, the friends of
+men who chose to save you when they might have destroyed you." [43] "And
+if we become your friends," said they, "how will you treat us?" "As you
+treat us," answered he, "and the treatment shall be good."
+
+"And what will that good treatment be?" they asked once more. "This,"
+said Cyrus: "better pay than you have had, so long as the war lasts, and
+when peace comes, if you choose to stay with me, lands and cities and
+women and servants." [44] Then they asked him if he would excuse them
+from one duty, service against Croesus. Croesus, they said, was the only
+leader who knew them; for the rest, they were content to agree. And so
+they came to terms, and took and gave pledges of good faith. [45] Thus
+it came about that their descendants are to this day faithful subjects
+of the king, and Cyrus gave them cities, some in the interior, which are
+still called the cities of the Egyptians, beside Larissa and Kyllene and
+Kyme on the coast, still held by their descendants.
+
+When this matter was arranged darkness had already fallen, and Cyrus
+drew off his army and encamped at Thymbrara.
+
+[46] In this engagement the Egyptians alone among the enemy won
+themselves renown, and of the troops under Cyrus the Persian cavalry was
+held to have done the best, so much so that to this day they are still
+armed in the manner that Cyrus devised. [47] High praise also was given
+to the scythe-bearing chariots, and this engine of war is still employed
+by the reigning king. [48] As for the camels, all they did was to scare
+the horses; their riders could take no part in the slaughter, and were
+never touched themselves by the enemy's cavalry. For not a horse would
+come near the camels. [49] It was a useful arm, certainly, but no
+gallant gentleman would dream of breeding camels for his own use or
+learning to fight on camel-back. And so they returned to their old
+position among the baggage-train.
+
+[C.2] Then Cyrus and his men took their evening meal and posted their
+pickets and went to rest. But Croesus and his army fled in haste to
+Sardis, and the other tribes hurried away homewards under cover of
+night as fast and as far as they could. [2] When day broke Cyrus marched
+straight for Sardis, and when he came before the citadel he set up
+his engines as though for the assault and got out his ladders. But the
+following night he sent a scaling party of Persians and Chaldaeans to
+climb the fortifications at the steepest point. The guide was a Persian
+who had served as a slave to one of the garrison in the citadel, and who
+knew a way down to the river by which one could get up. [4] As soon as
+it became clear that the heights had been taken, all the Lydians without
+exception fled from the walls and hid wherever they could. At daybreak
+Cyrus entered the city and gave orders that not a man was to leave the
+ranks. [5] Croesus, who had shut himself up inside his palace, cried
+out on Cyrus, and Cyrus left a guard round the building while he himself
+went to inspect the captured citadel. Here he found the Persians keeping
+guard in perfect order, but the Chaldaean quarters were deserted, for
+the men had rushed down to pillage the town. Immediately he summoned
+their officers, and bade them leave his army at once. [6] "I could never
+endure," he said, "to have undisciplined fellows seizing the best of
+everything. You know well enough," he added, "all that was in store for
+you. I meant to make all who served with me the envy of their fellows;
+but now," he said, "you cannot be surprised if you encounter some one
+stronger than yourselves on your way home."
+
+[7] Fear fell on the Chaldaeans at this, and they intreated him to lay
+aside his anger and vowed they would give back all the booty they had
+taken. He answered that he had no need of it himself. "But if," he
+added, "you wish to appease me, you will hand it over to those who
+stayed and guarded the citadel. For if my soldiers see that discipline
+means reward, all will be well with us."
+
+[8] So the Chaldaeans did as he bade them, and the faithful and obedient
+received all manner of good things.
+
+Then Cyrus made his troops encamp in the most convenient quarter of
+the town, and told them to stay at their posts and take their breakfast
+there. [9] That done, he gave orders that Croesus should be brought to
+him, and when he came into his presence, Croesus cried:
+
+"Hail, Cyrus, my lord and master! Fate has given you that title from now
+henceforward, and thus must I salute you."
+
+[20] "All hail to you likewise," answered Cyrus: "we are both of us men.
+And tell me now," he continued, "would you be more willing to advise me
+as a friend?" "I should be more than glad," said Croesus, "to do you
+any good. It would mean good for myself, I know." [11] "Listen, then,"
+answered Cyrus: "I see that my soldiers have endured much toil and
+encountered many dangers, and now they are persuaded that they have
+taken the wealthiest city in all Asia, after Babylon. I would not have
+them cheated of their recompense, seeing that if they win nothing by
+their labour, I know not how I can keep them obedient to me for long.
+Yet I am unwilling to give them this city over to plunder. I believe
+it would be utterly destroyed, and moreover I know full well that in
+plunder the worst villains win the most."
+
+[12] To this Croesus answered, "Suffer me then to tell what Lydians I
+please that I have won your promise that the city shall not be sacked,
+nor their women and children made away with. [13] I promise you in
+return that my men will bring you willingly everything that is costly
+and beautiful in Sardis. If I can announce such terms, I am certain
+there is not one treasure belonging to man or woman that will not be
+yours to-morrow. Further, on this day year, the city will overflow once
+more with wealth and beauty. But if you sack it, you will destroy
+the crafts in its ruin, and they, we know, are the well-spring of all
+loveliness. [14] Howbeit, you need not decide at once, wait and see what
+is brought to you. Send first," he added, "to my own treasuries, and let
+your guards take some of my own men with them."
+
+To all this Cyrus consented, and then he said:
+
+[15] "And now, O Croesus, tell me one thing more. How did matters go
+between you and the oracle at Delphi? It is said that you did much
+reverence to Apollo and obeyed him in all things."
+
+[16] "I could wish it had been so," said Croesus, "but, truth to say,
+from the beginning I have acted in all things against him." "How can
+that be?" said Cyrus. "Explain it to me: for your words seem strange
+indeed." [17] "Because," he answered, "in the first place, instead of
+asking the god for all I wanted I must needs put him to the test, to see
+if he could speak the truth. This," he added, "no man of honour could
+endure, let be the godhead. Those who are doubted cannot love their
+doubters. [18] And yet he stood the test; for though the things I did
+were strange, and I was many leagues from Delphi, he knew them all. And
+so I resolved to consult him about my children. [19] At first he would
+not so much as answer me, but I sent him many an offering, some of gold
+and some of silver, and I propitiated him, as I deemed, by countless
+sacrifices, and at last he answered me when I asked him what I must do
+that sons might be born to me. He said they should be born. [20] And so
+they were; in that he uttered no lie, but they brought me no joy. One
+of them was dumb his whole life long, and the noblest perished in the
+flower of his youth. And I, crushed by these sorrows, sent again to the
+god and asked him how I could live in happiness for the rest of my days,
+and he answered:
+
+  "'Know thyself, O Croesus, and happiness shall be thine.'
+
+"And when I heard the oracle, I was comforted. [21] I said to myself,
+the god has laid the lightest of tasks upon me, and promised me
+happiness in return. Some of his neighbours a man may know and others
+not: but every one can know himself. [22] So I thought, and in truth so
+long as I was at peace I had no fault to find with my lot after my
+son's death; but when the Assyrian persuaded me to march against you
+I encountered every danger. Yet I was saved, I came to no harm. Once
+again, therefore, I have no charge to bring against the god: when I
+_knew myself_ incapable of warring against you, he came to my help
+and saved mine and me. [23] But afterwards, intoxicated by my wealth,
+cajoled by those who begged me to be their leader, tempted by the gifts
+they showered on me, flattered by all who said that if I would but lead
+them they would obey me to a man, and that I would be the greatest ruler
+in all the world, and that all their kings had met together and chosen
+me for their champion in the war, I undertook the generalship as though
+I were born to be the monarch of the world, for I did not _know myself_.
+[24] I thought myself able to fight against you, you who are sprung from
+the seed of the gods, born of a royal line, trained in valour and virtue
+from your youth, while I--I believe that the first of my ancestors to
+reign won his freedom and his crown on the self-same day. For this dull
+ignorance of mine I see I am justly punished. [25] But now at last, O
+Cyrus," he cried, "now I _know myself_. And tell me, do you think the
+god will still speak truth? Do you think that, knowing myself, I can be
+happy now? I ask you, because you of all men have it in your power to
+answer best. Happiness is yours to give."
+
+[26] Cyrus answered, "Give me time to deliberate, Croesus. I bear in
+mind your former happiness and I pity you. I give you back at once your
+wife and your daughters (for they tell me you have daughters), and your
+friends and your attendants; they are yours once more. And yours it is
+to sit at your own table as you used to live. But battles and wars I
+must put out of your power."
+
+[27] "Now by the gods above us," cried Croesus, "you need take no
+further thought about your answer: if you will do for me what you say,
+I shall live the life that all men called the happiest of lives, and I
+knew that they were right." [28] "And who," said Cyrus, "who was it that
+lived that life of happiness?" "My own wife," said Croesus; "she shared
+all my good things with me, my luxuries, my softest joys; but in the
+cares on which those joys were based, in war and battle and strife, she
+had no part or lot. Methinks, you will provide for me as I provided for
+her whom I loved beyond all others in the world, and I must needs send
+to Apollo again, and send thank-offerings."
+
+[29] And as Cyrus listened he marvelled at the man's contentedness of
+soul, and for the future wherever he went he took Croesus with him,
+either because he thought he might be useful or perhaps because he felt
+it was safer so.
+
+[C.3] So for that night they rested. But the next day Cyrus called his
+friends and generals together and told some to make an inventory of
+their treasures and others to receive all the wealth that Croesus
+brought in. First they were to set aside for the gods all that the
+Persian priests thought fit, and then store the rest in coffers, weight
+them, and pack them on waggons, distributing the waggons by lot to take
+with them on the march, so that they could receive their proper share at
+any convenient time. [2] So they set about the work.
+
+Then Cyrus called some of his squires and said:
+
+"Tell me, have any of you seen Abradatas? I wonder that he who used to
+come to me so often is nowhere to be found."
+
+[3] Then one of the squires made answer, "My lord, he is dead: he fell
+in the battle, charging straight into the Egyptian ranks: the rest, all
+but his own companions, swerved before their close array. [4] And now,"
+he added, "we hear that his wife has found his body and laid it in her
+own car, and has brought it here to the banks of the Pactolus. [5] Her
+chamberlains and her attendants are digging a grave for the dead man
+upon a hill, and she, they say, has put her fairest raiment on him
+and her jewels, and she is seated on the ground with his head upon her
+knees."
+
+[6] Then Cyrus smote his hand upon his thigh and leapt up and sprang to
+horse, galloping to the place of sorrow, with a thousand troopers at his
+back. [7] He bade Gadatas and Gobryas take what jewels they could find
+to honour the dear friend and brave warrior who had fallen, and follow
+with all speed: and he bade the keepers of the herds, the cattle, and
+the horses drive up their flocks wherever they heard he was, that he
+might sacrifice on the grave.
+
+[8] But when he saw Pantheia seated on the ground and the dead man lying
+there, the tears ran down his cheeks and he cried:
+
+"O noble and loyal spirit, have you gone from us?"
+
+Then he took the dead man by the hand, but the hand came away with his
+own: it had been hacked by an Egyptian blade. [9] And when he saw that,
+his sorrow grew, and Pantheia sobbed aloud and took the hand from Cyrus
+and kissed it and laid it in its place, as best she could, and said:
+
+[10] "It is all like that, Cyrus. But why should you see it?" And
+presently she said, "All this, I know, he suffered for my sake, and for
+yours too, Cyrus, perhaps as much. I was a fool: I urged him so to bear
+himself as became a faithful friend of yours, and he, I know, he never
+thought once of his own safety, but only of what he might do to show his
+gratitude. Now he has fallen, without a stain upon his valour: and I,
+who urged him, I live on to sit beside his grave."
+
+[11] And Cyrus wept silently for a while, and then he said:
+
+"Lady, his end was the noblest and the fairest that could be: he died
+in the hour of victory. Take these gifts that I have brought and adorn
+him."
+
+For now Gobryas and Gadatas appeared with store of jewels and rich
+apparel. "He shall not lack for honour," Cyrus said; "many hands will
+raise his monument: it shall be a royal one; and we will offer such
+sacrifice as befits a hero. [12] And you, lady," he added, "you shall
+not be left desolate. I reverence your chastity and your nobleness, and
+I will give you a guardian to lead you withersoever you choose, if you
+will but tell me to whom you wish to go."
+
+[13] And Pantheia answered:
+
+"Be at rest, Cyrus, I will not hide from you to whom I long to go."
+
+[14] Therewith Cyrus took his leave of her and went, pitying from his
+heart the woman who had lost so brave a husband, and the dead man in his
+grave, taken from so sweet a wife, never to see her more. Then Pantheia
+bade her chamberlains stand aside "until," she said, "I have wept over
+him as I would." But she made her nurse stay with her and she said:
+
+"Nurse, when I am dead, cover us with the same cloak." And the nurse
+entreated and besought her, but she could not move her, and when she
+saw that she did but vex her mistress, she sat down and wept in silence.
+Then Pantheia took the scimitar, that had been ready for her so long,
+and drew it across her throat, and dropped her head upon her husband's
+breast and died. And the nurse cried bitterly, but she covered the two
+with one cloak as her mistress had bidden her.
+
+[15] And when Cyrus heard what Pantheia had done he rushed out in horror
+to see if he could save her. And when the three chamberlains saw what
+had happened they drew their own scimitars and killed themselves, there
+where she had bidden them stand. [16, 17] And when Cyrus came to that
+place of sorrow, he looked with wonder and reverence on the woman, and
+wept for her and went his way and saw that all due honour was paid to
+those who lay there dead, and a mighty sepulchre was raised above them,
+mightier, men say, than had been seen in all the world before.
+
+[C.4] After this the Carians, who were always at war and strife with one
+another, because their dwellings were fortified, sent to Cyrus and
+asked for aid. Cyrus himself was unwilling to leave Sardis, where he
+was having engines of artillery made and battering-rams to overthrow
+the walls of those who would not listen to him. But he sent Adousius, a
+Persian, in his place, a man of sound judgment and a stout soldier
+and withal a person of winning presence. He gave him an army; and the
+Cilicians and Cypriotes were very ready to serve under him. [2] That
+was why Cyrus never sent a Persian satrap to govern either Cilicia or
+Cyprus; he was always satisfied with the native kings; only he exacted
+tribute and levied troops whenever he needed them.
+
+[3] So Adousius took his army and marched into Caria, where he was met
+by the men of both parties, ready to receive him inside their walls to
+the detriment of their opponents. Adousius treated each in exactly the
+same way, he told whichever side was pleading that he thought their case
+was just, but it was essential that the others should not realise he
+was their friend, "for thus, you perceive, I will take them unprepared
+whenever I attack."
+
+He insisted they should give him pledges of good faith, and the Carians
+had to swear they would receive him without fraud or guile within their
+walls and for the welfare of Cyrus and the Persians; and on his side he
+was willing to swear that he would enter without fraud or guile himself
+and for the welfare of those who received him. [4] Having imposed these
+terms on either party without the knowledge of the other, he fixed on
+the same night with both, entered the walls, and had the strongholds
+of both parties in his hands. At break of day he took his place in the
+midst with his army, and sent for the leading men on either side. Thus
+confronted with each other they were more than a little vexed, and both
+imagined they had been cheated. [5] However, Adousius began:
+
+"Gentlemen, I took an oath to you that I would enter your walls without
+fraud or guile and for the welfare of those who received me. Now if I am
+forced to destroy either of you, I am persuaded I shall have entered to
+the detriment of the Carians. But if I give you peace, so that you can
+till your lands in safety, I imagine I shall have come for your welfare.
+Therefore from this day forwards you must meet on friendly terms,
+cultivate your fields without fear, give your children to each other,
+and if any one offends against these laws, Cyrus and ourselves will be
+his enemies."
+
+[6] At that the city gates were flung wide open, the roads were filled
+with folk hurrying to one another, the fields were thronged with
+labourers. They held high festival together, and the land was full of
+peace and joyfulness.
+
+[7] Meanwhile messengers came from Cyrus inquiring whether there was
+need for more troops or siege-engines, but Adousius answered, on the
+contrary his present force was at Cyrus' service to employ elsewhere
+if he wished, and so drew off his army, only leaving a garrison in the
+citadels. Thereupon the Carians implored him to remain, and when he
+would not, they sent to Cyrus begging him to make Adousius their satrap.
+
+[8] Meanwhile Cyrus had sent Hystaspas with an army into Phrygia on
+the Hellespont, and when Adousius came back he bade him follow, for the
+Phrygians would be more willing to obey Hystaspas if they heard that
+another army was advancing.
+
+[9] Now the Hellenes on the seaboard offered many gifts and bargained
+not to receive the Asiatics within their walls, but only to pay tribute
+and serve wherever Cyrus commanded. [10] But the king of Phrygia made
+preparations to hold his fortresses and not yield, and sent out orders
+to that effect. However, when his lieutenants deserted him and he found
+himself all alone, he had to put himself in the hands of Hystaspas, and
+leave his fate to the judgment of Cyrus. Then Hystaspas stationed strong
+Persian garrisons in all the citadels, and departed, taking with him not
+only his own troops but many mounted men and targeteers from Phrygia.
+[11] And Cyrus sent word to Adousius to join Hystaspas, put himself at
+the head of those who had submitted and allow them to retain their arms,
+while those who showed a disposition to resist were to be deprived of
+their horses and their weapons and made to follow the army as slingers.
+
+[12] While his lieutenants were thus employed, Cyrus set out from
+Sardis, leaving a large force of infantry to garrison the place, and
+taking Croesus with him, and a long train of waggons laden with riches
+of every kind. Croesus presented an accurate inventory of everything in
+each waggon, and said, as he delivered the scrolls:
+
+"With these in your possession, Cyrus, you can tell whether your
+officers are handing over their freights in full or not."
+
+[13] And Cyrus answered:
+
+"It was kindly done, Croesus, on your part, to take thought for this:
+but I have arranged that the freights should be in charge of those who
+are entitled to them, so that if the men steal, they steal their own
+property."
+
+With these words he handed the documents to his friends and officers to
+serve as checks on their own stewards.
+
+[14] Cyrus also took Lydians in his train; allowing some to carry arms,
+those, namely, who were at pains to keep their weapons in good order,
+and their horses and chariots, and who did their best to please him, but
+if they gave themselves ungracious airs, he took away their horses and
+bestowed them on the Persians who had served him from the beginning of
+the campaign, burnt their weapons, and forced them to follow the army
+as slingers. [15] Indeed, as a rule, he compelled all the subject
+population who had been disarmed to practise the use of the sling: it
+was, he considered, a weapon for slaves. No doubt there are occasions
+when a body of slingers, working with other detachments, can do
+excellent service, but, taken alone, not all the slingers in the world
+could face a mere handful armed with steel.
+
+[16] Cyrus was marching to Babylon, but on his way he subdued the
+Phrygians of Greater Phrygia and the Cappadocians, and reduced the
+Arabians to subjection. These successes enabled him to increase his
+Persian cavalry till it was not far short of forty thousand men, and he
+had still horses left over to distribute among his allies at large.
+
+At length he came before Babylon with an immense body of cavalry,
+archers, and javelin-men, beside slingers innumerable.
+
+[C.5] When Cyrus reached the city he surrounded it entirely with his
+forces, and then rode round the walls himself, attended by his friends
+and the leading officers of the allies. [2] Having surveyed the
+fortifications, he prepared to lead off his troops, and at that moment
+a deserter came to inform him that the Assyrians intended to attack as
+soon as he began to withdraw, for they had inspected his forces from the
+walls and considered them very weak. This was not surprising, for the
+circuit of the city was so enormous that it was impossible to surround
+it without seriously thinning the lines. [3] When Cyrus heard of their
+intention, he took up his post in the centre of his troops with his own
+staff round him and sent orders to the infantry for the wings to double
+back on either side, marching past the stationary centre of the line,
+until they met in the rear exactly opposite himself. [4] Thus the men
+in front were immediately encouraged by the doubling of their depth,
+and those who retired were equally cheered, for they saw that the others
+would encounter the enemy first. The two wings being united, the power
+of the whole force was strengthened, those behind being protected by
+those in front and those in front supported by those behind. [5] When
+the phalanx was thus folded back on itself, both the front and the rear
+ranks were formed of picked men, a disposition that seemed calculated
+to encourage valour and check flight. On the flanks, the cavalry and the
+light infantry were drawn nearer and nearer to the commander as the line
+contracted. [6] When the whole phalanx was in close order, they fell
+back from the walls, slowly, facing the foe, until they were out of
+range; then they turned, marched a few paces, and then wheeled round
+again to the left, and halted, facing the walls, but the further they
+got the less often they paused, until, feeling themselves secure, they
+quickened their pace and went off in an uninterrupted march until they
+reached their quarters.
+
+[7] When they were encamped, Cyrus called a council of his officers and
+said, "My friends and allies, we have surveyed the city on every side,
+and for my part I fail to see any possibility of taking by assault walls
+so lofty and so strong: on the other hand, the greater the population
+the more quickly must they yield to hunger, unless they come out to
+fight. If none of you have any other scheme to suggest, I propose that
+we reduce them by blockade."
+
+[8] Then Chrysantas spoke:
+
+"Does not the river flow through the middle of the city, and it is not
+at least a quarter of a mile in width?"
+
+"To be sure it is," answered Gobryas, "and so deep that the water would
+cover two men, one standing on the other's shoulders; in fact the city
+is even better protected by its river than by its walls."
+
+[9] At which Cyrus said, "Well, Chrysantas, we must forego what is
+beyond our power: but let us measure off at once the work for each of
+us, set to, and dig a trench as wide and as deep as we can, that we may
+need as few guards as possible."
+
+[10] Thereupon Cyrus took his measurements all round the city, and,
+leaving a space on either bank of the river large enough for a lofty
+tower, he had a gigantic trench dug from end to end of the wall, his
+men heaping up the earth on their own side. [11] Then he set to work
+to build his towers by the river. The foundations were of palm-trees, a
+hundred feet long and more--the palm-tree grows to a greater height than
+that, and under pressure it will curve upwards like the spine of an
+ass beneath a load. [12] He laid these foundations in order to give the
+impression that he meant to besiege the town, and was taking precautions
+so that the river, even if it found its way into his trench, should not
+carry off his towers. Then he had other towers built along the mound,
+so as to have as many guard-posts as possible. [13] Thus his army was
+employed, but the men within the walls laughed at his preparations,
+knowing they had supplies to last them more than twenty years. When
+Cyrus heard that, he divided his army into twelve, each division to keep
+guard for one month in the year. [14] At this the Babylonians laughed
+louder still, greatly pleased at the idea of being guarded by Phrygians
+and Lydians and Arabians and Cappadocians, all of whom, they thought,
+would be more friendly to themselves than to the Persians.
+
+[15] However by this time the trenches were dug. And Cyrus heard that it
+was a time of high festival in Babylon when the citizens drink and make
+merry the whole night long. As soon as the darkness fell, he set his
+men to work. [16] The mouths of the trenches were opened, and during the
+night the water poured in, so that the river-bed formed a highway into
+the heart of the town.
+
+[17] When the great stream had taken to its new channel, Cyrus ordered
+his Persian officers to bring up their thousands, horse and foot alike,
+each detachment drawn up two deep, the allies to follow in their old
+order. [18] They lined up immediately, and Cyrus made his own bodyguard
+descend into the dry channel first, to see if the bottom was firm enough
+for marching. [19] When they said it was, he called a council of all his
+generals and spoke as follows:
+
+[20] "My friends, the river has stepped aside for us; he offers us a
+passage by his own high-road into Babylon. We must take heart and enter
+fearlessly, remembering that those against whom we are to march this
+night are the very men we have conquered before, and that too when they
+had their allies to help them, when they were awake, alert, and sober,
+armed to the teeth, and in their battle order. [21] To-night we go
+against them when some are asleep and some are drunk, and all are
+unprepared: and when they learn that we are within the walls, sheer
+astonishment will make them still more helpless than before. [22] If any
+of you are troubled by the thought of volleys from the roofs when the
+army enters the city, I bid you lay these fears aside: if our enemies
+do climb their roofs we have a god to help us, the god of Fire. Their
+porches are easily set aflame, for the doors are made of palm-wood and
+varnished with bitumen, the very food of fire. [23] And we shall come
+with the pine-torch to kindle it, and with pitch and tow to feed it.
+They will be forced to flee from their homes or be burnt to death. [24]
+Come, take your swords in your hand: God helping me, I will lead you on.
+Do you," he said, turning to Gadatas and Gobryas, "show us the streets,
+you know them; and once we are inside, lead us straight to the palace."
+
+[25] "So we will," said Gobryas and his men, "and it would not surprise
+us to find the palace-gates unbarred, for this night the whole city is
+given over to revelry. Still, we are sure to find a guard, for one is
+always stationed there."
+
+"Then," said Cyrus, "there is no time for lingering; we must be off at
+once and take them unprepared."
+
+[26] Thereupon they entered: and of those they met some were struck down
+and slain, and others fled into their houses, and some raised the hue
+and cry, but Gobryas and his friends covered the cry with their shouts,
+as though they were revellers themselves. And thus, making their way by
+the quickest route, they soon found themselves before the king's palace.
+[27] Here the detachment under Gobryas and Gadatas found the gates
+closed, but the men appointed to attack the guards rushed on them as
+they lay drinking round a blazing fire, and closed with them then and
+there. [28] As the din grew louder and louder, those within became aware
+of the tumult, till, the king bidding them see what it meant, some of
+them opened the gates and ran out. [29] Gadatas and his men, seeing the
+gates swing wide, darted in, hard on the heels of the others who fled
+back again, and they chased them at the sword's point into the presence
+of the king.
+
+[30] They found him on his feet, with his drawn scimitar in his hand. By
+sheer weight of numbers they overwhelmed him: and not one of his retinue
+escaped, they were all cut down, some flying, others snatching up
+anything to serve as a shield and defending themselves as best they
+could. [31] Cyrus sent squadrons of cavalry down the different roads
+with orders to kill all they found in the street, while those who knew
+Assyrian were to warn the inhabitants to stay indoors under pain of
+death. [32] While they carried out these orders, Gobryas and Gadatas
+returned, and first they gave thanks to the gods and did obeisance
+because they had been suffered to take vengeance on their unrighteous
+king, and then they fell to kissing the hands and feet of Cyrus,
+shedding tears of joy and gratitude. [33] And when it was day and those
+who held the heights knew that the city was taken and the king slain,
+they were persuaded to surrender the citadel themselves. [34] Cyrus took
+it over forthwith, and sent in a commandant and a garrison, while he
+delivered the bodies of the fallen to their kinsfolk for burial, and
+bade his heralds make proclamation that all the citizens must deliver
+up their arms: wherever weapons were discovered in any house all the
+inmates would be put to death. So the arms were surrendered, and Cyrus
+had them placed in the citadel for use in case of need. [35] When all
+was done he summoned the Persian priests and told them the city was the
+captive of his spear and bade them set aside the first-fruits of the
+booty as an offering to the gods and mark out land for sacred demesnes.
+Then he distributed the houses and the public buildings to those whom
+he counted his partners in the exploit; and the distribution was on
+the principle accepted, the best prizes to the bravest men: and if any
+thought they had not received their deserts they were invited to come
+and tell him. [36] At the same time he issued a proclamation to the
+Babylonians, bidding them till the soil and pay the dues and render
+willing service to those under whose rule they were placed. As for his
+partners the Persians, and such of his allies as elected to remain
+with him, he gave them to understand they were to treat as subjects the
+captives they received.
+
+[37] After this Cyrus felt that the time was come to assume the style
+and manner that became a king: and he wished this to be done with the
+goodwill and concurrence of his friends and in such a way that, without
+seeming ungracious, he might appear but seldom in public and always with
+a certain majesty. Therefore he devised the following scheme. At break
+of day he took his station at some convenient place, and received all
+who desired speech with him, and then dismissed them. [38] The people,
+when they heard that he gave audience, thronged to him in multitudes,
+and in the struggle to gain access there was much jostling and scheming
+and no little fighting. [39] His attendants did their best to divide
+the suitors, and introduce them in some order, and whenever any of his
+personal friends appeared, thrusting their way through the crowd, Cyrus
+would stretch out his hand and draw them to his side and say, "Wait, my
+friends, until we have finished with this crowd, and then we can talk at
+our ease." So his friends would wait, but the multitude would pour on,
+growing greater and greater, until the evening would fall before there
+had been a moment's leisure for his friends. [40] All that Cyrus could
+do then was to say, "Perhaps, gentlemen, it is a little late this
+evening and time that we broke up. Be sure to come early to-morrow. I am
+very anxious myself to speak with you." With that his friends were only
+too glad to be dismissed, and made off without more ado. They had done
+penance enough, fasting and waiting and standing all day long. [41] So
+they would get to rest at last, but the next morning Cyrus was at the
+same spot and a much greater concourse of suitors round him than before,
+already assembled long before his friends arrived. Accordingly Cyrus had
+a cordon of Persian lancers stationed round him, and gave out that no
+one except his personal friends and the generals were to be allowed
+access, and as soon as they were admitted he said:
+
+[42] "My friends, we cannot exclaim against the gods as though they had
+failed to fulfil our prayers. They have granted all we asked. But if
+success means that a man must forfeit his own leisure and the good
+company of all his friends, why, to that kind of happiness I would
+rather bid farewell. [43] Yesterday," he added, "I make no doubt you
+observed yourselves that from early dawn till late evening I never
+ceased listening to petitioners, and to-day you see this crowd before
+us, larger still than yesterday's, ready with business for me. [44] If
+this must be submitted to, I calculate that what you will get of me
+and I of you will be little enough, and what I shall get of myself will
+simply be nothing at all. Further," he added, "I foresee another absurd
+consequence. [45] I, personally, have a feeling towards you which I need
+not state, but, of that audience yonder, scarcely one of them do I know
+at all, and yet they are all prepared to thrust themselves in front of
+you, transact their business, and get what they want out of me before
+any of you have a chance. I should have thought it more suitable myself
+that men of that class, if they wanted anything from me, should pay some
+court to you, my friends, in the hopes of an introduction. [46] Perhaps
+you will ask why I did not so arrange matters from the first, instead of
+always appearing in public. Because in war it is the first business of
+a commander not to be behindhand in knowing what ought to be done and
+seeing that it is done, and the general who is seldom seen is apt to let
+things slip. [47] But to-day, when war with its insatiable demands is
+over, I feel as if I had some claim myself to rest and refreshment. I am
+in some perplexity, however, as to how I can arrange matters so that
+all goes well, not only with you and me, but also with those whom we are
+bound to care for. Therefore I seek your advice and counsel, and I would
+be glad to learn from any of you the happiest solution."
+
+[48] Cyrus paused, and up rose Artabazus the Mede, who had claimed to be
+his kinsman, and said:
+
+"You did well, Cyrus, to open this matter. Years ago, when you were
+still a boy, from the very first I longed to be your friend, but I saw
+you did not need me, and so I shrank from approaching you. [49] Then
+came a lucky moment when you did have need of me to be your good
+messenger among the Medes with the order from Cyaxares, and I said to
+myself that if I did the work well, if I really helped you, I might
+become your comrade and have the right to talk with you as often as I
+wished. [50] Well, the work was done, and done so as to win your praise.
+After that the Hyrcanians joined us, the first friends we made, when we
+were hungry and thirsty for allies, and we loved them so much we almost
+carried them about with us in our arms wherever we went. Then the
+enemy's camp was taken, and I scarcely think you had the leisure to
+trouble your head with me--oh, I quite forgave you. [51] The next thing
+was that Gobryas became your friend, and I had to take my leave, and
+after him Gadatas, and by that time it was a real task to get hold of
+you. Then came the alliances with the Sakians, and the Cadousians, and
+no doubt you had to pay them court; if they danced attendance on you,
+you must dance attendance on them. [52] So that there I was, back again
+at my starting-point, and yet all the while, as I saw you busy with
+horses and chariots and artillery, I consoled myself by thinking, 'when
+he is done with this he will have a little leisure for me.' And then
+came the terrible news that the whole world was gathering in arms
+against us; I could not deny that these were important matters, but
+still I felt certain, if all went well, a time would come at last when
+you need not grudge me your company, and we should be together to
+my heart's content, you and I. [53] Now, the day has come; we have
+conquered in the great battle; we have taken Sardis and Babylon; the
+world is at our feet, and yesterday, by Mithras! unless I had used my
+fists a hundred times, I swear I could never have got near you at all.
+Well, you grasped my hand and gave me greeting, and bade me wait beside
+you, and there I waited, the cynosure of every eye, the envy of every
+man, standing there all day long, without a scrap to eat or a drop to
+drink. [54] So now, if any way can be found by which we who have served
+you longest can get the most of you, well and good: but, if not, pray
+send me as your messenger once more, and this time I will tell them they
+can all leave you, except those who were your friends of old."
+
+[55] This appeal set them all laughing, Cyrus with the rest. Then
+Chrysantas the Persian stood up and spoke as follows:
+
+"Formerly, Cyrus, it was natural and right that you should appear in
+public, for the reasons you have given us yourself, and also because
+we were not the folk you had to pay your court to. We did not need
+inviting: we were with you for our own sakes. It was necessary to win
+over the masses by every means, if they were to share our toils and our
+dangers willingly. [56] But now you have won them, and not them alone;
+you have it in your power to gain others, and the moment has come when
+you ought to have a house to yourself. What would your empire profit
+you if you alone were left without hearth or home? Man has nothing more
+sacred than his home, nothing sweeter, nothing more truly his. And do
+you not think," he added, "that we ourselves would be ashamed if we saw
+you bearing the hardships of the camp while we sat at home by our own
+firesides? Should we not feel we had done you wrong, and taken advantage
+of you?"
+
+[57] When Chrysantas had spoken thus, many others followed him, and all
+to the same effect. And so it came about that Cyrus entered the palace,
+and those in charge brought the treasures from Sardis thither, and
+handed them over. And Cyrus when he entered sacrificed to Hestia, the
+goddess of the Hearth, and to Zeus the Lord, and to any other gods named
+by the Persian priests.
+
+[58] This done, he set himself to regulate the matters that remained.
+Thinking over his position, and the attempt he was making to govern an
+enormous multitude, preparing at the same time to take up his abode in
+the greatest of all famous cities, but yet a city that was as hostile to
+him as a city could be, pondering all this, he concluded that he could
+not dispense with a bodyguard for himself. [59] He knew well enough that
+a man can most easily be assassinated at his meals, or in his bath, or
+in bed, or when he is asleep, and he asked himself who were most to
+be trusted of those he had about him. A man, he believed, can never be
+loyal or trustworthy who is likely to love another more than the one
+who requires his guardianship. [60] He knew that men with children, or
+wives, or favourites in whom they delight, must needs love them most:
+while eunuchs, who are deprived of all such dear ones, would surely make
+most account of him who could enrich them, or help them if they were
+injured, or crown them with honour. And in the conferring of such
+benefits he was disposed to think he could outbid the world. [61]
+Moreover the eunuch, being degraded in the eyes of other men, is driven
+to seek the assistance of some lord and master. Without some such
+protection there is not a man in the world who would not think he
+had the right to over-reach a eunuch: while there was every reason to
+suppose that the eunuch would be the most faithful of all servants. [62]
+As for the customary notion that the eunuch must be weak and cowardly,
+Cyrus was not disposed to accept it. He studied the indications to be
+observed in animals: a vicious horse, if gelded, will cease to bite and
+be restive, but he will charge as gallantly as ever; a bull that has
+been cut will become less fierce and less intractable, but he will not
+lose his strength, he will be as good as ever for work; castration
+may cure a dog of deserting his master, but it will not ruin him as a
+watch-dog or spoil him for the chase. [63] So, too, with men; when cut
+off from this passion, they become gentler, no doubt, but not less quick
+to obey, not less daring as horsemen, not less skilful with the javelin,
+not less eager for honour. [64] In war and in the chase they show
+plainly enough that the fire of ambition is still burning in their
+hearts. And they have stood the last test of loyalty in the downfall
+of their masters. No men have shown more faithfulness than eunuchs when
+ruin has fallen on their lords. [65] In bodily strength, perhaps, the
+eunuchs seem to be lacking, but steel is a great leveller, and makes
+the weak man equal to the strong in war. Holding this in mind, Cyrus
+resolved that his personal attendants, from his doorkeepers onwards,
+should be eunuchs one and all.
+
+[66] This guard, however, he felt was hardly sufficient against the
+multitude of enemies, and he asked himself whom he could choose among
+the rest. [67] He remembered how his Persians led the sorriest of lives
+at home owing to their poverty, working long and hard on the niggard
+soil, and he felt sure they were the men who would most value the life
+at his court. [68] Accordingly he selected ten thousand lancers from
+among them, to keep guard round the palace, night and day, whenever
+he was at home, and to march beside him whenever he went abroad. [69]
+Moreover, he felt that Babylon must always have an adequate garrison,
+whether he was in the country or not, and therefore he stationed a
+considerable body of troops in the city; and he bade the Babylonians
+provide their pay, his object being to make the citizens helpless,
+and therefore humble and submissive. [70] This royal guard that he
+established there, and the city guard for Babylon, survive to this day
+unaltered.
+
+Lastly, as he pondered how the whole empire was to be kept together, and
+possibly another added to it, he felt convinced that his mercenaries did
+not make up for the smallness of their numbers by their superiority
+to the subject peoples. Therefore he must keep together those brave
+warriors, to whom with heaven's help the victory was due, and he must
+take all care that they did not lose their valour, hardihood, and skill.
+[71] To avoid the appearance of dictating to them and to bring it about
+that they should see for themselves it was best to stay with him and
+remember their valour and their training, he called a council of the
+Peers and of the leading men who seemed to him most worthy of sharing
+their dangers and their rewards. [72] And when they were met he began:
+
+"Gentlemen, my friends and allies, we owe the utmost thanks to the gods
+because they have given us what we believed that we deserved. We are
+masters to-day of a great country and a good; and those who till it will
+support us; we have houses of our own, and all the furniture that is in
+them is ours. [73] For you need not think that what you hold belongs to
+others. It is an eternal law the wide world over, that when a city is
+taken in war, the citizens, their persons, and all their property fall
+into the hands of the conquerors. It is not by injustice, therefore,
+that you hold what you have taken, rather it is through your own human
+kindness that the citizens are allowed to keep whatever they do retain.
+
+[74] "Yet I foresee that if we betake ourselves to the life of indolence
+and luxury, the life of the degenerate who think that labour is the
+worst of evils and freedom from toil the height of happiness, the day
+will come, and speedily, when we shall be unworthy of ourselves, and
+with the loss of honour will come the loss of wealth. [75] Once to have
+been valiant is not enough; no man can keep his valour unless he watch
+over it to the end. As the arts decay through neglect, as the body, once
+healthy and alert, will grow weak through sloth and indolence, even so
+the powers of the spirit, temperance, self-control, and courage, if we
+grow slack in training, fall back once more to rottenness and death.
+[76] We must watch ourselves; we must not surrender to the sweetness
+of the day. It is a great work, methinks, to found an empire, but a
+far greater to keep it safe. To seize it may be the fruit of daring and
+daring only, but to hold it is impossible without self-restraint and
+self-command and endless care. [77] We must not forget this; we must
+train ourselves in virtue from now henceforward with even greater
+diligence than before we won this glory, remembering that the more a man
+possesses, the more there are to envy him, to plot against him, and
+be his enemies, above all when the wealth he wins and the services
+he receives are yielded by reluctant hands. But the gods, we need not
+doubt, will be upon our side; we have not triumphed through injustice;
+we were not the aggressors, it was we who were attacked and we avenged
+ourselves. [78] The gods are with us, I say; but next to that supreme
+support there is a defence we must provide out of our own powers alone;
+and that is the righteous claim to rule our subjects because we are
+better men than they. Needs must that we share with our slaves in heat
+and cold and food and drink and toil and slumber, and we must strive to
+prove our superiority even in such things as these, and first in these.
+[79] But in the science of war and the art of it we can admit no share;
+those whom we mean to make our labourers and our tributaries can have no
+part in that; we will set ourselves to defraud them there; we know that
+such exercises are the very tools of freedom and happiness, given by the
+gods to mortal men. We have taken their arms away from our slaves,
+and we must never lay our own aside, knowing well that the nearer the
+sword-hilt the closer the heart's desire. So. Does any man ask himself
+what profit he has gained from the fulfilment of his dreams, if he must
+still endure, still undergo hunger and thirst and toil and trouble and
+care? Let him learn the lesson that a man's enjoyment of all good things
+is in exact proportion to the pains he has undergone to gain them.
+Toil is the seasoning of delight; without desire and longing, no dish,
+however costly, could be sweet. [81] Yes, if some spirit were to set
+before us what men desire most, and we were left to add for ourselves
+that final touch of sweetness, I say that we could only gain above the
+poorest of the poor in so far as we could bring hunger for the most
+delicious foods, and thirst for the richest wines, and weariness to make
+us woo the deepest slumber. [82] Therefore, we must strain every nerve
+to win and to keep manhood and nobleness; so that we may gain that
+satisfaction which is the sweetest and the best, and be saved from the
+bitterest of sorrows; since to fail of good altogether is not so hard as
+to lose the good that has once been ours. [83] And let us ask ourselves
+what excuse we could offer for being unworthy of our past. Shall we say
+it is because we have won an empire? Surely it is hardly fitting that
+the ruler should be baser than the ruled. Or is it that we seem to
+be happier to-day than heretofore? Is cowardice, then, an adjunct of
+happiness? Or is it simply because we have slaves and must punish them
+if they do wrong? But by what right can a man, who is bad himself,
+punish others for badness or stupidity? [84] Remember, too, that we have
+arranged for the maintenance of a whole multitude, to guard our persons
+and our houses, and it would be shameful for us to depend for safety on
+the weapons of others and refuse to carry weapons for ourselves. Surely
+we ought to know that there can be no defence so strong as a man's own
+gallantry. Courage should be our companion all our days. For if virtue
+leave us, nothing else whatever can go well with us. [85] What, then,
+would I have you do? How are we to remember our valour and train our
+skill? Gentlemen, I have nothing novel to suggest; at home in Persia the
+Peers spend their days at the public buildings and here we should do the
+same. Here we are the men of rank and honour, as we are there, and we
+should hold to the same customs. You must keep your eyes on me and watch
+whether I am diligent in my duty, and I shall give heed to you, and
+honour him who trains himself in what is beautiful and brave. [86] And
+here too let us educate our sons, if sons are born to us. We cannot but
+become better ourselves if we strive to set the best example we can to
+our children, and our children could hardly grow up to be unworthy, even
+if they wished, when they see nothing base before them, and hear nothing
+shameful, but live in the practice of all that is beautiful and good."
+
+
+                                NOTES
+
+C1. Notice the epic tone now adopted, or rather swum into, or rather
+which floats the writer up of its own motion.
+
+C1.2 ff. On the whole this description of the battle is, for Xenophon,
+obscure.
+
+C1.5-6. Xenophon, Artist. This military criticism and technical
+discussion juxtaposed to the epic prelude and the epic sequel is a
+clever device enough. We are pleased.
+
+C1.8-9. Final injunctions somewhat obscure, I think.
+
+C1.24 ff. The epic and Homeric vein.
+
+C1.33. The Egyptians have the advantage. This is noticeable in reference
+to Cyrus' criticisms of their arms before battle. That is not a slip,
+but a dramatic touch on the part of the author, I think. And Cyrus is
+speaking of cavalry there, and anticipates the result.
+
+C1.34 fin. A singular feature this in ancient battles. Is it simply
+and solely Oriental, or general, and Hellenic also? Has it any analogue
+nowadays anywhere? Probably with Egyptian troops in the Soudan it has
+(hgd. 1884).
+
+C2.6-7. The archic man through an act of bad discipline makes good
+discipline more acceptable.
+
+C2.13. The civilised method of dealing with a conquered city. Instead of
+pillage and rapine, an indemnity, which will bring in to the conquerors
+wealth, and yet not destroy the arts of the population, which are the
+fountain-heads of beauty. || Modern. So the archic man asserts his
+superiority once more.
+
+C2.24. Is this also Xenophon's view? If so, it throws light on his
+theory of rank and caste.
+
+C3.2. Curious Cyrus should be so little suspicious of Abradatas' death,
+is it not? Because the victory was not bloodless. Notice, too,
+how little is said of the bloodshed; that is Hellenic as well as
+Xenophontine, I fancy.
+
+C3.7. Something epic in all this. Cf. Archilles sacrificing at the tomb
+of Patroklos.
+
+C3.8 ff. The pathos of the situation and the _Eironeia_ at its maximum.
+"Euripidean" touches throughout.
+
+C3.16. [This is bracketed in most editions, no doubt rightly, as an
+interpolation. It was not translated in Mr. Dakyns' manuscript, but his
+marginal note is characteristic, and evidently he would have translated
+the section in a footnote. It may be rendered thus: "It is said that a
+monument was raised above the eunuchs and is in existence to this day.
+On the upper slab the names of the husband and the wife are written
+in Syrian letters, and below are three other slabs, inscribed 'To the
+chamberlains.'"]
+
+C3.16. Interesting, especially if of later insertion, and perhaps given
+the historical basis of the story in some monument on the Pactolus,
+known to Xenophon. I wish a new Schliemann would find it. hgd.
+
+C4. Semi-historical? The version is to be found, I think, in C4.2, which
+is the _pièce justicative_. The episode itself is full of humour, as
+good as a play: Xenophon has seen these duplicities often. Brer Fox
+outwitted by Brer Rabbit.
+
+C4.4. Can these rival fastnesses of the Carians be identified? All this
+country is well known to Xenophon (_vide Hellenica_, III. c. 4, etc.).
+
+C4.6. Beautiful renewal of the peaceful arts, festivals, and
+merry-makings after the internecine party strife.
+
+C4.9. This again is a district Xenophon is well acquainted with. Has he
+one eye on the old insurrection against Persia, _tempore_ Histiaeus, and
+another on the new arrangements, _tempore_ Antalcidas?
+
+C4.12-13. Croesus and his bills of lading. Some humour. It also brings
+out the archic man in opposition to the shop-keeper man of the mere
+business type. But still the bills of lading are needed. Croesus only
+doesn't "twig" the right persons to check. It's the opposition between
+Despot and true Ruler.
+
+C5.9. Cyrus has an idea, the nature of which we shall discover later.
+
+C5.15. Belshazzar's feast, _vide_ Daniel, cf. Hdt. Why plural, "the
+trenches"? Is Xenophon obscure? His obscurity is mostly this: he expects
+his reader intelligently to follow him.
+
+C5.32. Jars somewhat on our feelings, perhaps, in its thirst for
+revenge: but cf. the feeling against the assassins of Lord Frederick
+Cavendish and Mr. Burke. [Written at the time of the Phoenix Park
+murders.]
+
+C5.37. Is a turning-point in the rise of the archic man (and yet hardly
+yet, but at C5.58 we shall come to bodyguards and eunuchs). At this
+highest pinnacle of {arkhe} Cyrus desires to furnish himself as befits
+a king. It is an historical difficulty which Xenophon has to get over
+or round, or is Xenophon himself in the same condemnation, so to speak?
+Does he also desire his archic man to be got up in a manner befitting
+royalty at a certain date? Consider.
+
+C5.42-47. These sections pose the difficulty well, and it is a
+difficulty, and no mistake.
+
+C5.42 ff. Xenophon-Hellenic theory of life. The leisure to invite
+one's own soul and see one's friends which is needed to make life worth
+living, versus _negotia_, _negotia_, _negotia_. How far are we to be
+consciously self-regarding? Cyrus versus Buddha. The Hellenic hero is
+not equal to absolute non-self-regarding devotion to mere work. The
+Buddha might be.
+
+C5.48. Perhaps nothing is cleverer in the neat and skilful mosaic work
+of this composition than the fitting-in here of Artabazus' personal view
+with the--at last necessary--impersonal or public theory of leadership.
+It is pretty also that Artabazus should at length get his reward, and
+humorous that he doesn't, after all, get it in the old form.
+
+C5.49 ff. He keenly remembers each tantalizing moment of approach and
+separation. A splendid speech of the humorous type. Xenophon himself
+must be credited with so much fun, and real fun it is.
+
+C5.56 ff. Curious on this page (a) Xenophon's domestic hearth theory
+without which {arkhe} is a tinkling cymbal and empire no burthen to
+be borne. His feeling for the sweetness of home || modern. In this the
+secret of his happiness, || hgd. (b) His _justification_ or _raison
+d'être_ explanation of the eunuch system. Why doesn't he point out its
+hollowness also? Not from any lack of sympathy with this barren mankind.
+Cf. Gadatas. I think this all logically follows if the {arkhon} is
+to rule political enemies as well as friends: to do so {epistamenos}
+["asian expert"] some strange devices must be resorted to--what think
+you, Dakyns?
+
+C5.58. The need of a bodyguard. The dragon-fly must wing his flight in
+armour cased: that is the law of his development. So Cyrus must be in
+the end an ideal "tyrannus," the one spoken of by Simonides the poet to
+Hiero [_vide_ the dialogue _Hiero_, and the notes thereto in Mr. Dakyns'
+translation, Vol. III.].
+
+C5.64. The faithfulness of the eunuch has its parallel in that of the
+old negro slave.
+
+C5.67. These are the sort of fellows Xenophon would have chosen himself,
+I take it. Again the historical basis has to be taken account of.
+Xenophon has to explain to himself the existence of their body and how
+the archic man came to invent it. Throughout we must compare the
+_Hiero_ for Xenophon's own political theory apart from his romantic and
+philosophical interest in Cyrus.
+
+C5.69. Not a pleasant picture of subject and ruling race. Cf. the
+Austrians in Italy.
+
+C5.73. The Hellenic || the modern theory, but more rudely expressed. The
+conquerors right to the land he has taken, and what Cyrus proceeds to
+say is quite up to the modern mark.
+
+C5.74. Of course this is precisely what the Persians as they degenerated
+did come to, nor did the good example of the archic man nor his precepts
+nor his institutions save them.
+
+C5.77-79. "Military" theory of virtue: almost barbaric (_ex mea
+sententia_ hgd.). But Xenophon is not absolutely = Cyrus.
+
+C5.80 ff. This is the Socratico-Xenophontine hedonism-and-stoicism
+combined.
+
+C5.82 ff. A noble sermon on the need of straining every nerve to
+virtuous training. Splendidly rhetorical and forceful.
+
+C5.84. Cyrus (i.e. Xenophon) is aware of the crisis he and his are going
+through. If externalism has to be adopted to hedge royalty, still
+a further inner change is demanded: there must be a corresponding
+spiritual growth.
+
+C5.86. One of the noblest sayings in all Xenophon. The one somehow which
+touches me most. The best way to improve ourselves is to see that we set
+our boys the best examples.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK VIII
+
+[C.1] Such were the words of Cyrus; and Chrysantas rose up after him,
+saying, "Gentlemen, this is not the first time I have had occasion to
+observe that a good ruler differs in no respect from a good father. Even
+as a father takes thought that blessings may never fail his children,
+so Cyrus would commend to us the ways by which we can preserve our
+happiness. And yet, on one point, it seemed to me he had spoken less
+fully than he might; and I will try to explain it for the benefit of
+those who have not learnt it. [2] I would have you ask yourselves, was
+ever a hostile city captured by an undisciplined force? Did ever an
+undisciplined garrison save a friendly town? When discipline was gone,
+did ever an army conquer? Is ever disaster nearer than when each solider
+thinks about his private safety only? Nay, in peace as in war, can any
+good be gained if men will not obey their betters? What city could be at
+rest, lawful, and orderly? What household could be safe? What ship sail
+home to her haven? [3] And we, to what do we owe our triumph, if not to
+our obedience? We obeyed; we were ready to follow the call by night and
+day; we marched behind our leader, ranks that nothing could resist; we
+left nothing half-done of all we were told to do. If obedience is the
+one path to win the highest good, remember it is also the one way to
+preserve it. [4] Now in the old days, doubtless, many of us ruled no one
+else, we were simply ruled. But to-day you find yourselves rulers, one
+and all of you, some over many and some over few. And just as you would
+wish your subjects to obey you, so we must obey those who are set over
+us. Yet there should be this difference between ourselves and slaves; a
+slave renders unwilling service to his lord, but we, if we claim to be
+freemen, must do of our own free will that which we see to be the best.
+And you will find," he added, "that even when no single man is ruler,
+that city which is most careful to obey authority is the last to bow to
+the will of her enemies. [5] Let us listen to the words of Cyrus. Let
+us gather round the public buildings and train ourselves, so that we may
+keep our hold on all we care for, and offer ourselves to Cyrus for his
+noble ends. Of one thing we may be sure: Cyrus will never put us to any
+service which can make for his own good and not for ours. Our needs are
+the same as his, and our foes the same."
+
+[6] When Chrysantas had said his say, many others followed to support
+him, Persians and allies alike, and it was agreed that the men of rank
+and honour should be in attendance continually at the palace gates,
+ready for Cyrus to employ, until he gave them their dismissal. That
+custom is still in force, and to this day the Asiatics under the Great
+King wait at the door of their rulers. [7] And the measures that Cyrus
+instituted to preserve his empire, as set forth in this account, are
+still the law of the land, maintained by all the kings who followed him.
+[8] Only as in other matters, so here; with a good ruler, the government
+is pure; with a bad one, corrupt. Thus it came about that the nobles of
+Cyrus and all his honourable men waited at his gates, with their weapons
+and their horses, according to the common consent of the gallant men who
+had helped to lay the empire at his feet.
+
+[9] Then Cyrus turned to other matters, and appointed various overseers:
+he had receivers of revenue, controllers of finance, ministers of works,
+guardians of property, superintendents of the household. Moreover, he
+chose managers for his horses and his dogs, men who could be trusted
+to keep the creatures in the best condition and ready for use at
+any moment. [10] But when it came to those who were to be his
+fellow-guardians for the commonwealth, he would not leave the care and
+the training of these to others; he regarded that as his own personal
+task. He knew, if he were ever to fight a battle, he would have to
+choose his comrades and supporters, the men on his right hand and
+left, from these and these alone; it was from them he must appoint his
+officers for horse and foot. [11] If he had to send out a general alone
+it would be from them that one must be sent: he must depend on them for
+satraps and governors over cities and nations; he would require them for
+ambassadors, and an embassy was, he knew, the best means for obtaining
+what he wanted without war. [12] He foresaw that nothing could go well
+if the agents in his weightiest affairs were not what they ought to be,
+while, if they were, everything would prosper. This charge, therefore,
+he took upon his own shoulders, and he was persuaded that the training
+he demanded of others should also be undergone by himself. No man could
+rouse others to noble deeds if he fell short of what he ought to be
+himself. [13] The more he pondered the matter, the more he felt the need
+of leisure, if he were to deal worthily with the highest matters.
+It was, he felt, impossible to neglect the revenues, in view of the
+enormous funds necessary for so vast an empire, yet he foresaw that if
+he was always to be occupied with the multitude of his possessions he
+would never have time to watch over the safety of the whole. [14] As
+he pondered how he could compass both objects, the prosperity of the
+finances and the leisure he required, the old military organisation
+came into his mind. He remembered how the captains of ten supervised the
+squads of ten, and were supervised themselves by the company-captains,
+and they by the captains of the thousands, and these by the captains
+of ten thousand, and thus even with hundreds of thousands not a man
+was left without supervision, and when the general wished to employ his
+troops one order to the captains of ten thousand was enough. [15] On
+this principle Cyrus arranged his finances and held his departments
+together; in this way, by conferring with a few officers he could keep
+the whole system under his control, and actually have more leisure for
+himself than the manager of a single household or the master of a single
+ship. Finally, having thus ordered his own affairs, he taught those
+about him to adopt the same system.
+
+[16] Accordingly, having gained the leisure he needed for himself
+and his friends, he could devote himself to his work of training his
+partners and colleagues. In the first place he dealt with those who,
+enabled as they were to live on the labour of others, yet failed to
+present themselves at the palace; he would send for them and seek them
+out, convinced that attendance would be wholesome for them; they would
+be unwilling to do anything base or evil in the presence of their king
+and under the eye of their noblest men; those who were absent were so
+through self-indulgence or wrong-doing or carelessness. [17] And I will
+now set forth how he brought them to attend. He would go to one of
+his most intimate friends and bid him lay hands on the property of the
+offender, asserting that it was his own. Then of course the truants
+would appear at once crying out that they had been robbed. [18] But
+somehow for many days Cyrus could never find leisure to hear their
+complaints, and when he did listen he took care to defer judgment for
+many more. [19] This was one way he had of teaching them to attend;
+another was to assign the lightest and most profitable tasks to
+those who were punctual, and a third to give nothing whatever to the
+offenders. [20] But the most effective of all, for those who paid no
+heed to gentler measures, was to deprive the truant of what he possessed
+and bestow it on him who would come when he was needed. By this process
+Cyrus gave up a useless friend and gained a serviceable one. To this
+day the king sends for and seeks out those who do not present themselves
+when they should.
+
+[21] Such was his method with the truants; with those who came forward
+he felt, since he was their rightful leader, that he could best incite
+them to noble deeds by trying to show that he himself had all the
+virtues that became a man. [22] He believed that men do grow better
+through written laws, and he held that the good ruler is a living law
+with eyes that see, inasmuch as he is competent to guide and also to
+detect the sinner and chastise him. [23] Thus he took pains to show
+that he was the more assiduous in his service to the gods the higher
+his fortunes rose. It was at this time that the Persian priests, the
+Magians, were first established as an order, and always at break of day
+Cyrus chanted a hymn and sacrificed to such of the gods as they might
+name. [24] And the ordinances he established service to this day at the
+court of the reigning king. These were the first matters in which the
+Persians set themselves to copy their prince; feeling their own fortune
+would be the higher if they did reverence to the gods, following the man
+who was fortune's favourite and their own monarch. At the same time, no
+doubt, they thought they would please Cyrus by this. [25] On his side
+Cyrus looked on the piety of his subjects as a blessing to himself,
+reckoning as they do who prefer to sail in the company of pious men
+rather than with those who are suspected of wicked deeds, and he
+reckoned further that if all his partners were god-fearing, they would
+be the less prone to crime against each other or against himself, for he
+knew he was the benefactor of his fellows. [26] And by showing plainly
+his own deep desire never to be unfair to friend or fellow-combatant or
+ally, but always to fix his eyes on justice and rectitude, he believed
+he could induce others to keep from base actions and walk in the paths
+of righteousness. [27] And he would bring more modesty, he hoped, into
+the hearts of all men if it were plain that he himself reverenced all
+the world and would never say a shameful word to any man or woman or do
+a shameful deed. [28] He looked for this because he saw that, apart
+from kings and governors who may be supposed to inspire fear, men will
+reverence the modest and not the shameless, and modesty in women will
+inspire modesty in the men who behold them. [29] And his people, he
+thought, would learn to obey if it were plain that he honoured frank and
+prompt obedience even above virtues that made a grander show and were
+harder to attain. [30] Such was his belief, and his practice went with
+it to the end. His own temperance and the knowledge of it made others
+more temperate. When they saw moderation and self-control in the man who
+above all others had licence to be insolent, lesser men were the more
+ready to abjure all insolence of their own. [31] But there was this
+difference, Cyrus held, between modesty and self-control: the modest
+man will do nothing shameful in the light of day, but the man of
+self-control nothing base, not even in secret. [32] Self-restrain, he
+believed, would best be cultivated if he made men see in himself one who
+could not be dragged from the pursuit of virtue by the pleasure of the
+moment, one who chose to toil first for the happy-hearted joys that go
+hand-in-hand with beauty and nobleness. [33] Thus, being the man he
+was, he established at his gates a stately company, where the lower gave
+place to the higher, and they in their turn showed reverence to each
+other, and courtesy, and perfect harmony. Among them all there was never
+a cry of anger to be heard, nor a burst of insolent laughter; to look at
+them was to know that they lived for honour and loveliness.
+
+[34] Such was the life at the palace-gates, and to practise his nobles
+in martial exercises he would lead them out to the hunt whenever he
+thought it well, holding the chase to be the best training for war and
+the surest way to excellence in horsemanship. [35] A man learns to keep
+his seat, no matter what the ground may be, as he follows the flying
+quarry, learns to hurl and strike on horseback in his eagerness to bring
+down the game and win applause. [36] And here, above all, was the field
+in which to inure his colleagues to toil and hardship and cold and heat
+and hunger and thirst. Thus to this day the Persian monarch and his
+court spend their leisure in the chase. [37] From all that has been
+said, it is clear Cyrus was convinced that no one has a right to rule
+who is not superior to his subjects, and he held that by imposing
+such exercises as these on those about him, he would lead them to
+self-control and bring to perfection the art and discipline of war. [38]
+Accordingly he would put himself at the head of the hunting-parties and
+take them out himself unless he was bound to stay at home, and, if he
+was, he would hunt in his parks among the wild creatures he had reared.
+He would never touch the evening meal himself until he had sweated for
+it, nor give his horses their corn until they had been exercised, and
+he would invite his own mace-bearers to join him in the chase. [39]
+Therefore he excelled in all knightly accomplishments, he and those
+about him, because of their constant practice. Such was the example he
+set before his friends. But he also kept his eye on others, and would
+single out those who worshipped noble deeds, and reward them with gifts,
+and high commands, and seats at festivals, and every kind of honour.
+And thus their hearts were filled with ambition, and every man longed to
+outdo his fellows in the eyes of Cyrus.
+
+[40] But we seem to learn also that Cyrus thought it necessary for the
+ruler not only to surpass his subjects by his own native worth, but also
+to charm them through deception and artifice. At any rate he adopted the
+Median dress, and persuaded his comrades to do likewise; he thought it
+concealed any bodily defect, enhancing the beauty and stature of the
+wearer. [41] The shoe, for instance, was so devised that a sole could be
+added without notice, and the man would seem taller than he really was.
+So also Cyrus encouraged the use of ointments to make the eyes more
+brilliant and pigments to make the skin look fairer. [42] And he trained
+his courtiers never to spit or blow the nose in public or turn aside
+to stare at anything; they were to keep the stately air of persons
+whom nothing can surprise. These were all means to one end; to make it
+impossible for the subjects to despise their rulers.
+
+[43] Thus he moulded the men he considered worthy of command by his own
+example, by the training he gave them, and by the dignity of his own
+leadership. But the treatment of those he prepared for slavery was
+widely different. Not one of them would he incite to any noble toil, he
+would not even let them carry arms, and he was careful that they should
+never lack food or drink in any manly sort. [44] When the beaters drove
+the wild creatures into the plain he would allow food to be brought for
+the servants, but not for the free men; on a march he would lead the
+slaves to the water-springs as he led the beasts of burden. Or when it
+was the hour of breakfast he would wait himself till they had taken a
+snatch of food and stayed their wolfish hunger; and the end of it was
+they called him their father even as the nobles did, because he cared
+for them, but the object of his care was to keep them slaves for ever.
+
+[45] Thus he secured the safety of the Persian empire. He himself, he
+felt sure, ran no danger from the massages of the conquered people; he
+saw they had no courage, no unity, and no discipline, and, moreover, not
+one of them could ever come near him, day or night. [46] But there were
+others whom he knew to be true warriors, who carried arms, and who
+held by one another, commanders of horse and foot, many of them men of
+spirit, confident, as he could plainly see, of their own power to rule,
+men who were in close touch with his own guards, and many of them in
+constant intercourse with himself; as indeed was essential if he was
+to make any use of them at all. It was from them that danger was to be
+feared; and that in a thousand ways. [47] How was he to guard against
+it? He rejected the idea of disarming them; he thought this unjust,
+and that it would lead to the dissolution of the empire. To refuse them
+admission into his presence, to show them his distrust, would be, he
+considered, a declaration of war. [48] But there was one method, he
+felt, worth all the rest, an honourable method and one that would secure
+his safety absolutely; to win their friendship if he could, and make
+them more devoted to himself than to each other. I will now endeavour
+to set forth the methods, so far as I conceive them, by which he gained
+their love.
+
+[C.2] In the first place he never lost an opportunity of showing
+kindliness wherever he could, convinced that just as it is not easy to
+love those who hate us, so it is scarcely possible to feel enmity for
+those who love us and wish us well. [2] So long as he had lacked the
+power to confer benefits by wealth, all he could do then was to show
+his personal care for his comrades and his soldiers, to labour in their
+behalf, manifest his joy in their good fortune and his sympathy in their
+sorrows, and try to win them in that way. But when the time came for the
+gifts of wealth, he realised that of all the kindnesses between man
+and man none come with a more natural grace than the gifts of meat and
+drink. [3] Accordingly he arranged that his table should be spread every
+day for many guests in exactly the same way as for himself; and all that
+was set before him, after he and his guests had dined, he would send out
+to his absent friends, in token of affection and remembrance. He would
+include those who had won his approval by their work on guard, or in
+attendance on himself, or in any other service, letting them see that no
+desire to please him could ever escape his eyes. [4] He would show the
+same honour to any servant he wished to praise; and he had all the
+food for them placed at his own board, believing this would win their
+fidelity, as it would a dog's. Or, if he wished some friend of his to be
+courted by the people, he would single him out for such gifts; even to
+this day the world will pay court to those who have dishes sent them
+from the Great King's table, thinking they must be in high favour at
+the palace and can get things done for others. But no doubt there was
+another reason for the pleasure in such gifts, and that was the sheer
+delicious taste of the royal meats. [5] Nor should that surprise us;
+for if we remember to what a pitch of perfection the other crafts are
+brought in great communities, we ought to expect the royal dishes to be
+wonders of finished art. In a small city the same man must make beds
+and chairs and ploughs and tables, and often build houses as well; and
+indeed he will be only too glad if he can find enough employers in all
+trades to keep him. Now it is impossible that a single man working at a
+dozen crafts can do them all well; but in the great cities, owing to the
+wide demand for each particular thing, a single craft will suffice for a
+means of livelihood, and often enough even a single department of that;
+there are shoe-makers who will only make sandals for men and others only
+for women. Or one artisan will get his living merely by stitching shoes,
+another by cutting them out, a third by shaping the upper leathers, and
+a fourth will do nothing but fit the parts together. Necessarily the man
+who spends all his time and trouble on the smallest task will do that
+task the best. [6] The arts of the household must follow the same law.
+If one and the same servant makes the bed, spreads the table, kneads the
+dough, and cooks the various dishes, the master must take things as they
+come, there is no help for it. But when there is work enough for one man
+to boil the pot, and another to roast the meat, and a third to stew the
+fish, and a fourth to fry it, while some one else must bake the bread,
+and not all of it either, for the loaves must be of different kinds,
+and it will be quite enough if the baker can serve up one kind to
+perfection--it is obvious, I think, that in this way a far higher
+standard of excellence will be attained in every branch of the work.
+
+[7] Thus it is easy to see how Cyrus could outdo all competitors in the
+grace of hospitality, and I will now explain how he came to triumph
+in all other services. Far as he excelled mankind in the scale of his
+revenues, he excelled them even more in the grandeur of his gifts. It
+was Cyrus who set the fashion; and we are familiar to this day with the
+open-handedness of Oriental kings. [8] There is no one, indeed, in all
+the world whose friends are seen to be as wealthy as the friends of the
+Persian monarch: no one adorns his followers in such splendour of
+rich attire, no gifts are so well known as his, the bracelets, and the
+necklaces, and the chargers with the golden bridles. For in that country
+no one can have such treasures unless the king has given them. [9] And
+of whom but the Great King could it be said that through the splendour
+of his presents he could steal the hearts of men and turn them to
+himself, away from brothers, fathers, sons? Who but he could stretch out
+an arm and take vengeance on his enemies when yet they were months and
+months away? Who but Cyrus ever won an empire in war, and when he died
+was called father by the people he overcame?--a title that proclaims the
+benefactor and not the robber. [10] Indeed, we are led to think that the
+offices called "the king's eyes" and "the king's ears" came into being
+through this system of gifts and honours. Cyrus' munificence toward
+all who told him what it was well for him to know set countless people
+listening with all their ears and watching with all their eyes for news
+that might be of service to him. [11] Thus there sprang up a host of
+"king's eyes" and "king's ears," as they were called, known and reputed
+to be such. But it is a mistake to suppose that the king has one chosen
+"eye." It is little that one man can see or one man hear, and to hand
+over the office to one single person would be to bid all others go to
+sleep. Moreover, his subjects would feel they must be on their guard
+before the man they knew was "the king's eye." The contrary is the case;
+the king will listen to any man who asserts that he has heard or seen
+anything that needs attention. [12] Hence the saying that the king has
+a thousand eyes and a thousand ears; and hence the fear of uttering
+anything against his interest since "he is sure to hear," or doing
+anything that might injure him "since he may be there to see." So far,
+therefore, from venturing to breathe a syllable against Cyrus, every man
+felt that he was under the eye and within the hearing of a king who was
+always present. For this universal feeling towards him I can give no
+other reason than his resolve to be a benefactor on a most mighty scale.
+
+[13] It is not surprising, no doubt, that being the wealthiest of men,
+he could outdo the world in the splendour of his gifts. The remarkable
+thing was to find a king outstrip his courtiers in courtesy and
+kindness. There was nothing, so the story runs, that could ever shame
+him more than to be outdone in courtesy. [14] Indeed, a saying of his is
+handed down comparing a good king to a good shepherd--the shepherd must
+manage his flock by giving them all they need, and the king must satisfy
+the needs of his cities and his subjects if he is to manage them. We
+need not wonder, then, that with such opinions his ambition was to excel
+mankind in courtesy and care. [15] There was a noble illustration of his
+philosophy in the answer we are told he gave to Croesus, who had
+taken him to task, saying his lavish gifts would bring him to beggary,
+although he could lay by more treasures for himself than any man had
+ever had before. Cyrus, it is said, asked him in return, "How much
+wealth do you suppose I could have amassed already, had I collected
+gold, as you bid me, ever since I came into my empire?"
+
+[16] And Croesus named an enormous sum. Then Cyrus said, "Listen,
+Croesus, here is my friend, Hystaspas, and you must send with him a man
+that you can trust." Then, turning to Hystaspas, "Do you," he said,
+"go round to my friends and tell them that I need money for a certain
+enterprise--and that is true, I do need it. Bid each of them write down
+the amount he can give me, seal the letter, and hand it to the messenger
+of Croesus, who will bring it here." [17] Thereupon Cyrus wrote his
+wishes and put his seal on the letter, and gave it to Hystaspas to carry
+round, only he added a request that they should all welcome Hystaspas
+as a friend of his. And when the messengers came back, the officer of
+Croesus carrying the answers, Hystaspas cried, "Cyrus, my lord, you must
+know I am a rich man now! I have made my fortune, thanks to your letter!
+They have loaded me with gifts." [18] And Cyrus said, "There, Croesus,
+that is treasure number one; and now run through the rest, and count
+what sums I have in hand, in case I need them." And Croesus counted,
+and found, so the story tells us, that the sum was far larger than the
+amount he had said would have been lying in the treasury if only Cyrus
+had made a hoard. [19] At this discovery Cyrus said, so we are told,
+"You see, Croesus, I have my treasures too. Only you advise me to
+collect them and hide them, and be envied and hated because of them, and
+set mercenaries to guard them, putting my trust in hirelings. But I
+hold to it that if I make my friends rich they will be my treasures
+themselves, and far better guards too, for me and all we have, than if I
+set hired watchmen over my wealth. [20] And I have somewhat else to say;
+I tell you, Croesus, there is something the gods have implanted in our
+souls, and there they have made us all beggars alike, something I can
+never overcome. [21] I too, like all the rest, am insatiate of riches,
+only in one respect I fancy I am different. Most men when they have more
+wealth than they require bury some of it underground, and let some of it
+rot, and some they count and measure, and they guard it and they air
+it, and give themselves a world of trouble, and yet for all their
+wealth they cannot eat more than they have stomach for--they would burst
+asunder if they did--nor wear more clothes than they can carry--they
+would die of suffocation--and so their extra wealth means nothing but
+extra work. [22] For my part, I serve the gods, and I stretch out my
+hands for more and more; only when I have got what is beyond my own
+requirements I piece out the wants of my friends, and so, helping my
+fellows, I purchase their love and their goodwill, and out of these I
+garner security and renown, fruits that can never rot, rich meats that
+can work no mischief; for glory, the more it grows, the grander it
+becomes, and the fairer, and the lighter to be borne; it even gives a
+lighter step to those who bear it. [23] One thing more, Croesus, I would
+have you know; the happiest men, in my judgment, are not the holders
+of vast riches and the masters who have the most to guard; else the
+sentinels of our citadels would be the happiest of mortals, seeing they
+guard the whole wealth of the state. He, I hold, has won the crown
+of happiness who has had the skill to gain wealth by the paths of
+righteousness and use it for all that is honourable and fair."
+
+[24] That was the doctrine Cyrus preached, and all men could see that
+his practice matched his words.
+
+Moreover, he observed that the majority of mankind, if they live in good
+health for long, will only lay by such stores and requisites as may be
+used by a healthy man, and hardly care at all to have appliances at hand
+in case of sickness. But Cyrus was at the pains to provide these; he
+encouraged the ablest physicians of the day by his liberal payments, and
+if ever they recommended an instrument or a drug or a special kind of
+food or drink, he never failed to procure it and have it stored in the
+palace.
+
+[25] And whenever any one fell sick among those who had peculiar claims
+on his attentions, he would visit them and bring them all they needed,
+and he showed especial gratitude to the doctors if they cured their
+patients by the help of his own stores. [26] These measures, and others
+like them, he adopted to win the first place in the hearts of those
+whose friendship he desired. Moreover, the contests he proclaimed and
+the prizes he offered to awaken ambition and desire for gallant deeds
+all redounded to his own glory as a man who had the pursuit of nobleness
+at heart, while they bred strife and bitter rivalry among the champions
+themselves. [27] Further, he laid it down that in every matter needing
+arbitration, whether it were a suit-at-law or a trial of skill, the
+parties should concur in their choice of a judge. Each would try to
+secure the most powerful man he knew and the one most friendly to
+himself, and if he lost he envied his successful rival and hated the
+judge who had declared against him, while the man who won claimed to win
+because his case was just and felt he owed no gratitude to anybody.
+[28] Thus all who wished to be first in the affections of Cyrus, just as
+others in democratic states, were full of rancour against each other, in
+fact most of them would sooner have seen their rivals exterminated than
+join with them for any common good. Such are some of the devices by
+which he made the ablest of his subjects more attached to himself than
+to one another.
+
+[C.3] I will now describe the first public progress that Cyrus made. For
+the very solemnity of the ceremony was one of the artifices by which
+he won reverence for his government. The day before it he summoned the
+officers of state, the Persians and the others, and gave them all the
+splendid Median dress. This was the first time the Persians wore it,
+and as they received the robes he said that he wished to drive in his
+chariot to the sacred precincts and offer sacrifice with them. [2] "You
+will present yourselves at my gates," he added, "before the sun rises,
+attired in these robes, and you will take your places where Pheraulas
+the Persian bids you on my behalf. As soon as I lead the way you will
+follow in your appointed order. And if any of you should think of some
+change to heighten the beauty and stateliness of our procession, you
+will acquaint me with it, I pray, on our return; it is for us to see
+that all is done in the manner you feel to be most beautiful and best."
+
+[3] With that Cyrus gave the most splendid robes to his chief notables,
+and then he brought out others, for he had stores of Median garments,
+purple and scarlet and crimson and glowing red, and gave a share to each
+of his generals and said to them, "Adorn your friends, as I have adorned
+you." [4] Then one of them asked him, "And you, O Cyrus, when will you
+adorn yourself?" But he answered, "Is it not adornment enough for me
+to have adorned you? If I can but do good to my friends, I shall look
+glorious enough, whatever robe I wear."
+
+[5] So his nobles took their leave, and sent for their friends and
+put the splendid raiment on them. Meanwhile Cyrus summoned Pheraulas,
+knowing that, while he was a man of the people, he was also
+quick-witted, a lover of the beautiful, prompt to understand and to
+obey, and one who had ever an eye to please his master. It was he who
+had supported Cyrus long ago when he proposed that honour should be
+given in proportion to desert. And now Cyrus asked him how he thought
+the procession might be made most beautiful in the eyes of friends and
+most formidable in the sight of foes. [6] So they took counsel and were
+of the same mind, and Cyrus bade Pheraulas see that all was done on the
+morrow as they had agreed.
+
+"I have issued orders," he added, "for all to obey you in the matter,
+but to make them the more willing, take these tunics yourself and give
+them to the captains of the guard, and these military cloaks for the
+cavalry officers, and these tunics for those who command the chariots."
+
+[7] So Pheraulas took the raiment and departed, and when the generals
+saw him, they met him with shouts and cries, "A monstrous fine fellow
+you are, Pheraulas!" said one: "you are to give us our orders, it
+seems!"
+
+"Oh, yes," said Pheraulas, "and carry your baggage too. Here I come with
+two cloaks as it is, one for you and another for somebody else: you must
+choose whichever you like the best."
+
+[8] At that the officer put out his hand to take the cloak; he had clean
+forgotten his jealousy, and fell to asking Pheraulas which he had
+better choose. And Pheraulas gave his advice, adding, "But if you inform
+against me, and let out that I gave you the choice, the next time I have
+to wait upon you you will find me a very different sort of serving-man."
+
+Thus he distributed the gifts he brought, and then he saw to the
+arrangements for the procession so that everything should be as far as
+possible.
+
+[9] On the morrow all things were ready before day-break, ranks lining
+the road on either hand, as they do to this day when the king is
+expected to ride abroad--no one may pass within the lines unless he is
+a man of mark--and constables were posted with whips, to use at any sign
+of disturbance.
+
+In front of the palace stood the imperial guard of lancers, four
+thousand strong, drawn up four deep on either side of the gates. [10]
+And all the cavalry were there, the men standing beside their horses,
+with their hands wrapped in their cloaks, as is the custom to this day
+for every subject when the king's eye is on him. The Persians stood on
+the right, and the allies on the left, and the chariots were posted in
+the same way, half on one side and half on the other. [11] Presently the
+palace-gates were flung open, and at the head of the procession were
+led out the bulls for sacrifice, beautiful creatures, four and four
+together. They were to be offered to Zeus and to any other gods that the
+Persian priests might name. For the Persians think it of more importance
+to follow the guidance of the learned in matters pertaining to the gods
+than in anything else whatever.
+
+[12] After the oxen came horses, an offering to the Sun, then a white
+chariot with a golden yoke, hung with garlands and dedicated to Zeus,
+and after that the white car of the Sun, wreathed like the one before
+it, and then a third chariot, the horses of which were caparisoned with
+scarlet trappings, and behind walked men carrying fire upon a mighty
+hearth. [13] And then at last Cyrus himself was seen, coming forth from
+the gates in his chariot, wearing his tiara on his head, and a purple
+tunic shot with white, such as none but the king may wear, and trews of
+scarlet, and a cloak of purple. Round his tiara he wore a diadem, and
+his kinsmen wore the same, even as the custom is to this day. [14]
+And the king's hands hung free outside his cloak. Beside him stood a
+charioteer--he was a tall man, but he seemed to be dwarfed by Cyrus;
+whether it was really so, or whether there was some artifice at work,
+Cyrus towered above him. At the sight of the king, the whole company
+fell on their faces. Perhaps some had been ordered to do this and so
+set the fashion, or perhaps the multitude were really overcome by the
+splendour of the pageant and the sight of Cyrus himself, stately and
+tall and fair. [15] For hitherto none of the Persians had done obeisance
+to Cyrus.
+
+And now, as the chariot moved onwards, the four thousand lancers went
+before it, two thousand on either side, and close behind came the
+mace-bearers, mounted on horseback, with javelins in their hands, three
+hundred strong. [16] Then the royal steeds were led past, with golden
+bridles and striped housings, two hundred and more, and then followed
+two thousand spearmen and after them the squadron of cavalry first
+formed, ten thousand men, a hundred deep and a hundred riding abreast,
+with Chrysantas at their head. [17] And behind them the second body
+of the Persian horse, ten thousand more, in the same order, under
+Hystaspas, and then again ten thousand under Datamas, and others behind
+them under Gadatas. [18] And after them the Median cavalry, and then
+the Armenians, the Hyrcanians, the Cadousians, and the Sakians in their
+order; and after the cavalry a squadron of war-chariots, drawn up four
+deep, with Artabatas the Persian in command.
+
+[19] All along the route thousands of men followed, outside the
+barriers, with petitions to Cyrus. Accordingly he sent his mace-bearers,
+who rode beside him for the purpose, three on either side of his
+chariot, bidding them tell the crowd of suitors, if they had need of
+anything, to acquaint one of the cavalry officers and he would speak for
+them. So the petitioners withdrew, and fell to marching along the
+lines of the cavalry, considering whom they should address. [20] Cyrus
+meanwhile would send messengers to the friends he wished to be courted,
+saying to them, "If any man appeals to you and you think nothing of what
+he says, pay no heed to him, but if his request seems just, report it to
+me, and we will discuss it together and arrange matters for him." [21]
+As a rule the officers so summoned did not loiter, but dashed up at
+full speed, glad to enhance the authority of Cyrus and to show their
+own allegiance. But there was a certain Daïpharnes, a person of somewhat
+boorish manners, who fancied that he would make a show of greater
+independence if he did not hurry himself. [22] Cyrus noted this, and
+quietly, before the man could reach him, sent another messenger to say
+he had no further need of him; and that was the last time Daïpharnes
+was ever summoned. [23] And when the next officer rode up, in front of
+Daïpharnes though sent for after him, Cyrus presented him with a horse
+from his train and bade one of the mace-bearers lead it wherever he
+wished. The people saw in this a high mark of honour; and a greater
+crowd than ever paid their court to the favoured man.
+
+[24] When the procession reached the sacred precincts, sacrifice
+was offered to Zeus, a whole burnt-offering of bulls, and a whole
+burnt-offering of horses to the Sun; and then they sacrificed to the
+Earth, slaying the victims as the Persian priests prescribed, and then
+to the heroes who hold the Syrian land. [25] And when the rites were
+done, Cyrus, seeing that the ground was suitable for racing, marked out
+a goal, and a course half-a-mile in length, and bade the cavalry and
+the chariots match their horses against each other, tribe by tribe. He
+himself raced among his Persians, and won with ease, for he was far the
+best horseman there. The winner among the Medes was Artabazus, the
+horse he rode being a gift from Cyrus. The Syrian race was won by their
+chieftain, the Armenian by Tigranes, the Hyrcanian by the general's son,
+and the Sakian by a private soldier who left all his rivals half the
+course behind him.
+
+[26] Cyrus, so the story says, asked the young man if he would take a
+kingdom for his horse.
+
+"No kingdom for me," answered the soldier, "but I would take the thanks
+of a gallant fellow."
+
+[27] "Well," said Cyrus, "I would like to show you where you could
+hardly fail to hit one, even if you shut your eyes."
+
+"Be so good as to show me now," said the Sakian, "and I will take aim
+with this clod," picking up one from the ground.
+
+[28] Then Cyrus pointed to a group of his best friends, and the other
+shut his eyes and flung the clod, and it struck Pheraulas as he galloped
+by, bearing some message from Cyrus. But he never so much as turned,
+flashing past on his errand. [29] Then the Sakian opened his eyes and
+asked whom he had hit?
+
+"Nobody, I assure you," said Cyrus, "who is here."
+
+"And nobody who is not, of course," said the young man.
+
+"Oh yes, you did," answered Cyrus, "you hit that officer over there who
+is riding so swiftly paste the chariot-lines."
+
+[30] "And how is it," asked the other, "that he does not even turn his
+head?"
+
+"Half-witted, probably," said Cyrus.
+
+Whereat the young man rode off to see who it was, and found Pheraulas,
+with his chin and beard all begrimed and bloody, gore trickling from his
+nostrils were the clod had struck him. [31] The Sakian cried out to know
+if he was hit.
+
+"As you see," answered Pheraulas.
+
+"Then," said the other, "let me give you my horse."
+
+"But why?" asked Pheraulas.
+
+And so the Sakian had to tell him all about the matter, adding, "And
+after all, you see, I did not miss a gallant fellow."
+
+[32] "Ah," said Pheraulas, "if you had been wise, you would have chosen
+a richer one; but I take your gift with all my thanks. And I pray the
+gods," he added, "who let me be your target, to help me now and see that
+you may never regret your gift. For the present, mount my horse yourself
+and ride back; I will be with you shortly."
+
+So they exchanged steeds and parted.
+
+The winner of the Cadousian race was Rathines.
+
+[33] Then followed chariot-races, tribe by tribe as before: and to all
+the winners Cyrus gave goblets of price, and oxen, that they might have
+the wherewithal for sacrifice and feasting. He himself took an ox for
+his own meed, but he gave all the goblets to Pheraulas to show his
+approval of the arrangements for the march. [34] And the manner of that
+procession, then first established by Cyrus, continues to this day, the
+same in all things, save that the victims are absent when there is no
+sacrifice. And when it was over, the soldiers went back to the city, and
+took up their quarters for the night, some in houses and some with their
+regiments.
+
+[35] Now Pheraulas had invited the Sakian who had given him the horse,
+and he entertained him with the best he had, and set before him a full
+board, and after they had dined he filled the goblets Cyrus had given
+him, and drank to his guest, and offered them all to him. [36] And
+the Sakian looked round on the rich and costly rugs, and the beautiful
+furniture, and the train of servants, and cried:
+
+"Tell me, Pheraulas, do you belong to wealthy folk at home?"
+
+[37] "Wealthy folk indeed!" cried Pheraulas, "men who live by their
+hands, you mean. My father, I can tell you, had work enough to rear me
+and get me a boy's schooling; he had to toil hard and live sparely, and
+when I grew to be a lad he could not afford to keep me idle, he took me
+to a farm in the country and set me there to work it. [38] Then it was
+my turn, and I supported him while he lived, digging with my own hands
+and sowing the seed in a ridiculous little plot of ground, and yet it
+was not a bad bit of soil either, but as good and as honest earth as
+ever you saw: whatever seed it got from me, it paid me back again, and
+so prettily and carefully and duly, principal and interest both; not
+that the interest was very much, I won't say it was, though once or
+twice, out of pure generosity, that land gave me twice was much as I put
+into it. That's how I used to live at home, in the old days: to-day it's
+different, and all that you see here I owe to Cyrus."
+
+[39] Then the Sakian cried:
+
+"O lucky fellow! Lucky in everything, and most of all in coming to
+wealth from beggary! I know your riches must taste the sweeter, because
+you hungered for them first and now are full."
+
+[40] But Pheraulas answered:
+
+"Do you really think, my friend, that my joy in life has grown with the
+growth of my wealth? Do you not know," he went on, "that I neither eat
+nor drink nor sleep with any more zest than I did when I was poor? What
+I get by all these goods is simply this: I have more to watch over, more
+to distribute, and more trouble in looking after more. [41] I have a
+host of servants now, one set asking me for food, another for drink,
+another for clothing, and some must have the doctor, and then a herdsman
+comes, carrying the carcase of some poor sheep mangled by the wolves, or
+perhaps with an ox that has fallen down a precipice, or maybe he has to
+tell me that a murrain has broken out among my flocks. It seems to me,"
+Pheraulas ended, "that I suffer more to-day through having much than
+ever I did before through having nothing."
+
+[42] "But--Heaven help us!" cried the Sakian, "surely, when it is all
+safe, to see so much of your own must make you much happier than me?"
+
+"I assure you, my friend," said Pheraulas, "the possession of riches
+is nothing like so sweet as the loss of them is painful. And here is a
+proof for you: no rich man lies awake from pure joy at his wealth, but
+did you ever know a man who could close his eyes when he was losing?"
+
+[43] "No," said the Sakian, "nor yet one who could drop asleep when he
+was winning."
+
+[44] "True enough," answered the other, "and if having were as sweet as
+getting, the rich would be a thousand times more happy than the poor.
+And remember, stranger," he added, "a man who has much must spend much
+on the gods and his friends and his guests, and if he takes intense
+delight in his riches, spending will cause him intense annoyance."
+
+[45] "Upon my word," said the Sakian, "for myself, I am not that sort
+of man at all: to have much and to spend much is just my idea of perfect
+happiness."
+
+[46] "Heavens!" cried Pheraulas, "what a chance for us both! You can win
+perfect happiness now, this instant, and make me happy too! Here, take
+all these things for your own, make what use of them you please; and
+as for me, you can keep me as your guest, only much more cheaply if
+you like: it will be quite enough for me to share whatever you have
+yourself."
+
+"You are jesting," said the Sakian.
+
+[47] But Pheraulas swore with all solemnity that he spoke in earnest.
+
+"Yes, my friend," he added, "and there are other matters that I can
+arrange for you with Cyrus: freedom from military service or attendance
+at the gates. All you will have to do will be to stay at home and grow
+rich: I will do the rest on your behalf and mine. And if I win any
+treasure through my service at court or on the field, I will bring it
+home to you, and you will be lord of more; only," he added, "you must
+free me from the responsibility of looking after it, for if you give me
+leisure from these cares I believe you will be of great use to Cyrus and
+myself."
+
+[48] So the talk ended and they struck a bargain on these terms, and
+kept it. And the Sakian thought he had found happiness because he was
+the master of much wealth, and the other felt he was in bliss because he
+had got a steward who would leave him leisure to do what he liked
+best. [49] For the character of Pheraulas was amiable: he was a loving
+comrade, and no service seemed so sweet to him or so helpful as the
+service of man. Man, he believed, was the noblest of the animals and the
+most grateful: praise, Pheraulas saw, will reap counter-praise, kindness
+will stir kindness in return, and goodwill goodwill; those whom men know
+to love them they cannot hate, and, in a way no other animals will, they
+cherish their parents in life and in death and requite their care. All
+other creatures, in short, compared with man, are lacking in gratitude
+and heart.
+
+[50] Thus Pheraulas was overjoyed to feel that he could now be quit of
+anxiety for his wealth, and devote himself to his friends, while the
+Sakian was delighted with all that he had and all that he could use. The
+Sakian loved Pheraulas because he was for ever adding something to the
+store, and Pheraulas loved the Sakian because he was willing to assume
+the entire burden, and however much the cares increased he never broke
+into the other's leisure. Thus those two lived their lives.
+
+[C.4] Now Cyrus offered sacrifice and held high festival for his
+victories, and he summoned to the feast those of his friends who bore
+him most affection and had shown most desire to exalt him. With them
+were bidden Artabazus the Mede, and Tigranes the Armenian, and the
+commander of the Hyrcanian cavalry, and Gobryas. [2] Gadatas was the
+chief of the mace-bearers, and the whole household was arranged as he
+advised. When there were guests at dinner, Gadatas would not sit down,
+but saw to everything, and when they were alone he sat at meat with
+Cyrus, who took delight in his company, and in return for all his
+services he was greatly honoured by Cyrus and that led to more honours
+for others. [3] As the guests entered, Gadatas would show each man to
+his seat, and the places were chosen with care: the friend whom Cyrus
+honoured most was placed on his left hand (for that was the side
+most open to attack), the second on his right, the third next to the
+left-hand guest, and the fourth next to the right, and so on, whatever
+the number of guests might be. [4] Cyrus thought it well it should be
+known how much each man was honoured, for he saw that where the world
+believes merit will win no crown and receive no proclamation, there the
+spirit of emulation dies, but if all see that the best man gains most,
+then the rivalry grows keen. [5] Thus it was that Cyrus marked out the
+men he favoured by the seat of honour and the order of precedence. Nor
+did he assign the honourable place to one friend for all time; he made
+it a law that by good deeds a man might rise into a higher seat or
+through sloth descend into a lower; and he would have felt ashamed if it
+were not known that the guest most honoured at his table received most
+favours at his hands. These customs that arose in the reign of Cyrus
+continue to our time, as we can testify.
+
+[6] While they were at the feast that day it struck Gobryas that though
+there was nothing surprising in the abundance and variety at the table
+of one who was lord over so vast an empire, yet it was strange that
+Cyrus, who had done such mighty deeds, should never keep any dainty for
+himself, but must always be at pains to share it with the company. More
+than once also he saw Cyrus send off to an absent friend some dish that
+had chanced to please him. [7] So that by the time they had finished
+their meal all the viands had been given away by Cyrus, and the board
+was bare.
+
+Then Gobryas said, "Truly, Cyrus, until to-day I used to think it was in
+generalship that you outshone other men the most, but, by heaven! I say
+now it is not in generalship at all, it is generosity."
+
+[8] "Maybe," said Cyrus, "at least I take far more pride in this work
+than in the other."
+
+"How can that be?" asked Gobryas.
+
+"Because," said he, "the one does good to man and the other injury."
+
+[9] Presently as the wine went round and round, Hystaspas turned to
+Cyrus and said:
+
+"Would you be angry, Cyrus, if I asked something I long to know?"
+
+"On the contrary," answered Cyrus, "I should be vexed if I saw you
+silent when you longed to ask."
+
+"Tell me then," said the other, "have you ever called me and found I
+refused to come?"
+
+"What a question!" said Cyrus, "of course not."
+
+"Well, have I ever been slow in coming?"
+
+"No, never."
+
+"Or failed to do anything you ordered?"
+
+"No," said Cyrus, "I have no fault to find at all."
+
+"Whatever I had to do, I always did it eagerly and with all my heart,
+did I not?"
+
+"Most assuredly," answered Cyrus.
+
+[10] "Then why, Cyrus, why, in heaven's name, have you singled out
+Chrysantas for a more honourable seat than me?"
+
+"Shall I really tell you?" asked Cyrus in his turn.
+
+"By all means," said the other.
+
+"And you will not be annoyed if I tell you the plain truth?"
+
+[11] "On the contrary, it will comfort me to know I have not been
+wronged."
+
+"Well, then, Chrysantas never waited to be called; he came of his own
+accord on our behalf, and he made it his business to do, not merely what
+he was ordered, but whatever he thought would help us. When something
+had to be said to the allies, he would not only suggest what was fitting
+for me to say myself, he would guess what I wanted the allies to know
+but could not bring myself to utter, since it was about myself, and
+he would say it for me as though it were his own opinion; in fact, for
+everything of the kind he was nothing less to me than a second and a
+better self. And now he is always insisting that what he has already
+got is quite enough for himself, and always trying to discover something
+more for me: he takes a greater pride and joy in all my triumphs than I
+do myself."
+
+[12] "By Hera," said Hystaspas, "I am right glad I asked you. Only one
+thing puzzles me: how am I to show my joy at your success? Shall I clap
+my hands and laugh, or what shall I do?"
+
+"Dance the Persian dance, of course," said Artabazus. And all the
+company laughed.
+
+[13] And as the drinking deepened Cyrus put a question to Gobryas.
+
+"Tell me, Gobryas, would you be better pleased to give your daughter to
+one of our company to-day than the day when you met us first?"
+
+"Well," said Gobryas, "am I also to tell the truth?"
+
+"Certainly," said Cyrus, "no question looks for a lie."
+
+"Then," said Gobryas, "I assure you, I would far rather give her in
+marriage to-day."
+
+"Can you tell us why?" said Cyrus.
+
+"That I can," said he.
+
+[14] "Say on, then."
+
+"At that time, I saw, it is true, the gallant manner in which your men
+endured toil and danger, but to-day I see the modesty with which they
+bear success. And I believe, Cyrus, that the man who takes good-fortune
+well is further to seek than he who can endure adversity; for success
+engenders insolence in many hearts, while suffering teaches sobriety and
+fortitude."
+
+[15] And Cyrus said, "Hystaspas, did you hear the saying of Gobryas?"
+
+"I did indeed," he answered, "and if he has many more as good, he will
+find me a suitor for his daughter, a far more eager one than if he had
+shown me all his goblets."
+
+[16] "Well," said Gobryas, "I have many such written down at home,
+and you may have them all if you take my daughter to wife. And as for
+goblets," he added, "since it seems you cannot away with them, perhaps
+I might give them to Chrysantas to punish him for having filled your
+seat."
+
+[17] "Listen to me," said Cyrus, "Hystaspas, and all of you. If you
+will but tell me, any of you, when you propose to marry, you would soon
+discover what a clever advocate you had in me."
+
+[18] But Gobryas interposed, "And if one of us wants to give his
+daughter in marriage, to whom should he apply?"
+
+"To me also," answered Cyrus; "I assure you, I am adept in the art."
+
+"What art is that?" Chrysantas inquired.
+
+[19] "The art of discerning the wife to suit each man."
+
+"Then by all the gods," said Chrysantas, "tell me what sort of wife
+would do for me?"
+
+[20] "In the first place," he answered, "she must be short, for you are
+not tall yourself, and if you married a tall maiden and wanted to give
+her a kiss when she stood up straight, you would have to jump to reach
+her like a little dog."
+
+"Your advice is straight enough," said Chrysantas; "and I am but a sorry
+jumper at the best."
+
+[21] "In the next place," Cyrus went on, "a flat nose would suit you
+very well."
+
+"A flat nose?" said the other, "why?"
+
+"Because your own is high enough, and flatness, you may be sure, will go
+best with height."
+
+"You might as well say," retorted Chrysantas, "that one who has dined
+well, like myself, is best matched with the dinnerless."
+
+"Quite so," answered Cyrus, "a full stomach is high and an empty paunch
+is flat."
+
+[22] "And now," said Chrysantas, "in heaven's name, tell us the bride
+for a flat king?"
+
+But at this Cyrus laughed outright, and all the others with him. [23]
+And the laughter still rang loud when Hystaspas said:
+
+"There is one thing, Cyrus, that I envy in your royal state more than
+all the rest."
+
+"And what is that?" said Cyrus.
+
+"That though you are flat, you can raise a laugh."
+
+"Ah," said Cyrus, "what would you give to have as much said of you? To
+have it reported on all sides and wherever you wished to stand well that
+you were a man of wit?"
+
+Thus they bantered each other and gave jest for jest.
+
+[24] Then Cyrus brought out a woman's attire and ornaments of price
+and gave them to Tigranes as a present for his wife, because she had
+followed her husband so manfully to the war, and he gave a golden goblet
+to Artabazus, and a horse to the Hyrcanian leader, and many another
+splendid gift among the company.
+
+"And to you, Gobryas," said he, "I will give a husband for your
+daughter."
+
+[25] "Let me be the gift," said Hystaspas, "and then I shall get those
+writings."
+
+"But have you a fortune on your side," asked Cyrus, "to match the
+bride's?"
+
+"Certainly, I have," he answered, "I may say twenty times as great."
+
+"And where," asked Cyrus, "may those treasures be?"
+
+"At the foot of your throne," he answered, "my gracious lord."
+
+"I ask no more," said Gobryas, and held out his right hand. "Give him to
+me, Cyrus," he said; "I accept him."
+
+[26] At that Cyrus took the right hand of Hystaspas and laid it in the
+hand of Gobryas, and the pledge was given and received. Then Cyrus gave
+beautiful gifts to Hystaspas for his bride, but he drew Chrysantas to
+his breast and kissed him. [27] Thereupon Artabazus cried:
+
+"Heaven help us, Cyrus! The goblet you gave me is not of the fine gold
+you have given Chrysantas now!"
+
+"Well," said Cyrus, "you shall have the same one day."
+
+"When?" asked the other.
+
+"Thirty years hence," said Cyrus.
+
+"I will wait," said Artabazus: "I will not die: be ready for me."
+
+And then the banquet came to an end: the guests rose, and Cyrus stood up
+with them and conducted them to the door.
+
+[28] But on the morrow he arranged that all the allies and all who had
+volunteered should be sent back to their homes, all except those who
+wished to take up their abode with him. To these he gave grants of land
+and houses, still held by their descendants, Medes for the greater part,
+and Hyrcanians. And to those who went home he gave many gifts and
+sent them away well content, both officers and men. [29] After this
+he distributed among his own soldiers all the wealth he had taken at
+Sardis, choice gifts for the captains of ten thousand and for his own
+staff in proportion to their deserts, and the rest in equal shares,
+delivering to every captain one share with orders to divide it among
+their subordinates as he had divided the whole among them. [30]
+Thereupon each officer gave to the officers directly under him, judging
+the worth of each, until it came to the captains of six, who considered
+the cases of the privates in their own squads, and gave each man what
+he deserved: and thus every soldier in the army received an equitable
+share. [31] But after the distribution of it all there were some who
+said:
+
+"How rich Cyrus must be, to have given us all so much!"
+
+"Rich?" cried others, "what do you mean? Cyrus is no money-maker: he is
+more glad to give than to get."
+
+[32] When Cyrus heard of this talk and the opinions held about him, he
+gathered together his friends and the chief men of the state and spoke
+as follows:
+
+"Gentlemen and friends of mine, I have known men who were anxious to
+have it thought they possessed more than they really had, thinking this
+would give them an air of freedom and nobility. But in my opinion the
+result was the very opposite of what they wished. If it is thought that
+a man has great riches and does not help his friends in proportion to
+his wealth, he cannot but appear ignoble and niggardly. [33] There are
+others," he went on, "who would have their wealth forgotten, and these I
+look upon as traitors to their friends: for it must often happen that
+a comrade is in need and yet hesitates to tell them because he does
+not know how much they have, and so he is kept in the dark and left to
+starve. [34] The straightforward course, it seems to me, is always to
+make no secret of our own resources, but to use them all, whatever they
+are, in our efforts to win the crown of honour. Accordingly I am anxious
+to show you all my possessions so far as they can be seen, and to give
+you a list of the rest."
+
+[35] With these words he proceeded to point out his visible treasures,
+and he gave an exact account of those that could not be shown. He ended
+by saying:
+
+[36] "All these things, gentlemen, you must consider yours as much as
+mine. I have collected them, not that I might spend them on myself or
+waste them in my own use: I could not do that if I tried. I keep them to
+reward him who does a noble deed, and to help any of you who may be in
+want of anything, so that you may come to me and take what ou require."
+
+Such were the words of Cyrus.
+
+[C.5] But now that all was well in Babylon and Cyrus felt he might leave
+the land, he began to prepare for a march to Persia, and sent out orders
+to his men. And when he had all he needed, the steeds were yoked, and
+he set off. [2] And here we will explain how it was that so vast a host
+could unpack and pack again without a break of order, and take up a
+position with such speed wherever it was desired. When the king is on
+the march his attendants, of course, are provided with tents and encamp
+with him, winter and summer alike. [3] From the first the Cyrus made it
+a custom to have his tent pitched facing east, and later on he fixed the
+space to be left between himself and his lancers, and then he stationed
+his bakers on the right and his cooks on the left, the cavalry on the
+right again, and the baggage-train on the left. Everything else was so
+arranged that each man knew his own quarters, their position and their
+size. [4] When the army was packing up after a halt, each man put
+together the baggage he used himself, and others placed it on the
+animals: so that at one and the same moment all his bearers came to the
+baggage-train and each man laid his load on his own beasts. Thus all the
+tents could be struck in the same time as one. [5] And it was the
+same when the baggage had to be unpacked. Again, in order that the
+necessaries should be prepared in time, each man was told beforehand
+what he had to do: and thus all the divisions could be provided for as
+speedily as one. [6] And, just as the serving-men had their appointed
+places, so the different regiments had their own stations, adapted to
+their special style of fighting, and each detachment knew their quarters
+and went to them without hesitation. [7] Even in a private house,
+orderliness, Cyrus knew, was a most excellent thing: every one, if he
+needed anything, would then know where to get it; but he held it still
+more desirable for the arrangement of an army, seeing that the moment
+for action passes far more quickly in war and the evil from being too
+late is far more grave. Therefore he gave more thought and care to order
+and arrangement than to anything else.
+
+[8] His own position, to begin with, must be at the centre of the
+camp, as this was the safest place, and next to him must come his most
+faithful followers, as their habit was. Beyond these, in a ring, lay the
+cavalry and the charioteers. [9] For Cyrus held to it that these troops
+also needed a safe position: their equipment could not be kept at
+hand for them, and if they were to be of any use at all they needed
+considerable time for arming. [10] The targeteers were placed to
+left and right of the cavalry, and the bowmen in front and rear. [11]
+Finally, the heavy-armed troops and those who carried the huge shields
+surrounded the whole encampment like a wall; so that in case of need, if
+the cavalry had to mount, the steadiest troops would stand firm in front
+and let them arm in safety. [12] He insisted that the targeteers and
+archers should, like the soldiers of the line, sleep at their posts, in
+case of alarm at night, and be ready at any moment, while the infantry
+dealt with the assailant at close quarters, to hurl darts and javelins
+at them over the others' heads. [13] Moreover, all the generals had
+standards on their tents; and just as an intelligent serving-man in a
+city will know most of the houses, at any rate of the most important
+people, so the squires of Cyrus knew the ways of the camp and the
+quarters of the generals and the standards of each. Thus, if Cyrus
+needed any one they had not to search and seek, but could run by
+the shortest road and summon him at once. [14] Owing to this clear
+arrangement, it was easy to see where good discipline was kept and where
+duty was neglected. With these dispositions Cyrus felt that if an attack
+should be made, by night or day, the enemy would find not so much a
+camp as an ambuscade. [15] Nor was it enough, he considered, for a real
+master of tactics to know how to extend his front without confusion, or
+deepen his ranks, or get from column into line, or wheel round quickly
+when the enemy appeared on the right or the left or in the rear: the
+true tactician must also be able to break up his troops into small
+bodies, whenever necessary, and place each division exactly where it
+would be of the greatest use; he must know how to quicken speed when
+it was essential to forestall the enemy; these and a hundred other
+operations are part of his science, and Cyrus studied them all with
+equal care. [16] On the march he varied the order constantly to suit the
+needs of the moment, but for the camp, as a rule, he adopted the plan we
+have described.
+
+[17] And now when the march had brought them into Media, Cyrus turned
+aside to visit Cyaxares. After they had met and embraced, Cyrus began by
+telling Cyaxares that a palace in Babylon, and an estate, had been set
+aside for him so that he might have a residence of his own whenever he
+came there, and he offered him other gifts, most rich and beautiful.
+[18] And Cyaxares was glad to take them from his nephew, and then
+he sent for his daughter, and she came, carrying a golden crown, and
+bracelets, and a necklace of wrought gold, and a most beautiful Median
+robe, as splendid as could be. [19] The maiden placed the crown upon the
+head of Cyrus, and as she did so Cyaxares said:
+
+"I will give her to you, Cyrus, my own daughter, to be your wife. Your
+father wedded the daughter of my father, and you are their son; and this
+is the little maid whom you carried in your arms when you were with us
+as a lad, and whenever she was asked whom she meant to marry, she would
+always answer 'Cyrus.' And for her dowry I will give her the whole of
+Media: since I have no lawful son."
+
+[20] So he spoke, and Cyrus answered:
+
+"Cyaxares, I can but thank you myself for all you offer me, the kinship
+and the maiden and the gifts, but I must lay the matter before my father
+and my mother before I accept, and then we will thank you together."
+
+That was what Cyrus said, but none the less he gave the maiden the gifts
+he thought would please her father. And when he had done so, he marched
+on home to Persia.
+
+[21] And when he reached the borders of his fatherland, he left the mass
+of his troops on the frontier, and went forward alone with his friends
+to the city, leading victims enough for all the Persians to sacrifice
+and hold high festival. And he brought special gifts for his father and
+his mother and his friends of old, and for the high officers of state,
+the elders, and all the Persian Peers; and he gave every Persian man and
+every Persian woman such bounties as the king confers to-day whenever he
+visits Persia. [22] After this Cambyses gathered together the elders
+of the land and the chief officers, who have authority in the highest
+matters, and spoke as follows:
+
+"Men of Persia, and Cyrus, my son, both of you are dear to me and must
+needs be dear; I am the king of my people and the father of my son;
+therefore I am bound to lay before you openly all that I believe to be
+for the good of both. [23] In the past the nation has done great things
+for Cyrus by giving him an army and appointing him the leader, and
+Cyrus, God helping him, has made my Persians famous in all the world by
+his leadership, and crowned you with glory in Asia. Of those who served
+with him he has made the bravest wealthy for life, and given sustenance
+and full pay to numbers. By founding the cavalry he has won the plains
+for Persia. [24] If your hearts are still the same in future, all of you
+will bless each other: but if you, my son, would be puffed up by your
+present fortune and attempt to rule the Persians for your own advantage
+as you rule the rest of the world, or if you, my people, should envy
+this man's power and try to drive him from his throne, I tell you, you
+will cut each other off from many precious things. [25] Therefore, that
+this should never be, and only good be yours, I counsel you to offer
+sacrifice together, and call the gods to witness and make a covenant.
+You, Cyrus, shall vow to resist with all your strength any man who
+attacks our land of Persia or tries to overthrow our laws; and you, my
+people, must promise that if rebels attempt to depose Cyrus or if
+his subjects revolt, you will render aid to him and to yourselves in
+whatever way he wishes. [26] Now, so long as I live, the kingdom of
+Persia is and continues mine, but when I die it passes to Cyrus if he
+is still alive, and whenever he visits Persia it should be a holy custom
+for him to offer sacrifice on your behalf, even as I do now; and when he
+is abroad, it will be well for you, I think, if the member of our family
+whom you count the noblest fulfils the sacred rites."
+
+[27] Cambyses ended, and Cyrus and the officers of Persia agreed to all
+he said. They made the covenant and called the gods to witness, and to
+this day they keep it still, the Persians and the Great King. And when
+it was done, Cyrus took his leave and came back to Media. [28] There,
+with the full consent of his father and his mother, he wedded the
+daughter of Cyaxares, the fame of whose beauty has lasted to this
+day. And after the marriage his steeds were yoked and they set out for
+Babylon.
+
+[C.6] When he was in Babylon once more, he thought it would be well to
+appoint satraps and set them over the conquered tribes. Yet he did not
+wish the commandants in the citadels and the captains in charge of the
+garrisons throughout the country to be under any authority but his own.
+Herein he showed his foresight, realising that if any satrap became
+insolent and rebellious, relying on his own wealth and the numbers at
+his back, he would at once find a power to oppose him within his own
+district. [2] In order to carry out this plan, Cyrus resolved to summon
+a council of the leading men and explain the terms on which the
+satraps who went would go. In this way, he thought, they would not feel
+aggrieved, whereas, if a man found himself appointed and then learnt the
+restrictions for the first time, he might well take it ill, fancying it
+a sign of personal mistrust. [3] So it was that Cyrus called a council
+and spoke as follows:
+
+"Gentlemen and friends of mine, you are aware that we have garrisons and
+commandants in the cities we conquered, stationed there at the time. I
+left them with orders simply to guard the fortifications and not
+meddle with anything else. Now I do not wish to remove them from their
+commands, for they have done their duty nobly, but I propose to send
+others, satraps, who will govern the inhabitants, receive the tribute,
+give the garrisons their pay, and discharge all necessary dues. [4]
+Further, I think it right that certain of you who live here and yet on
+whom I may lay the task of travelling to these nations and working for
+me among them, should possess houses there and estates, where tribute
+may be brought them, and where they may find a place of their own to
+lodge in."
+
+[5] With these words he assigned houses and districts to many of
+his friends among the lands he had subdued: and to this day their
+descendants possess the estates, although they reside at court
+themselves. [6] "Now," he added, "we must choose for the satraps who are
+to go abroad persons who will not forget to send us anything of value in
+their districts, so that we who are at home may share in all the wealth
+of the world. For if any danger comes, it is we who must ward it off."
+
+[7] With that he ended for the time, but later on when he came to
+know what friends of his were ready and willing to go on the terms
+prescribed, he selected those he thought best qualified for the work,
+and sent Magabazus to Arabia, Artabatas to Cappadocia, Artacamas to
+Greater Phrygia, Chrysantas to Lydia and Susia, Adousius, whom the
+Carians had asked for themselves, to Caria, and Pharnouchus to Aeolia
+and Phrygia by the Hellespont.
+
+[8] But to Cilicia, Cyprus, and Paphlagonia, Cyrus sent no satraps,
+because they had shown their willingness to march against Babylon;
+tribute, however, was imposed on them as on the others. [9] In
+accordance with the rules then laid down by Cyrus, the citadel garrisons
+and the captains-of-the-guard are to this day appointed directly by
+the king, and have their names on the royal list. [10] All satraps whom
+Cyprus sent out were ordered to do as they saw him doing: each was to
+raise a body of cavalry and a chariot-force from the Persians and the
+allies who went out with him; and all who received grants of land and
+official residences were to present themselves at the palace-gates,
+study temperance and self-control, and hold themselves in readiness
+for the service of their satrap. Their boys were to be educated at the
+gates, as with Cyrus, and the satrap was to lead his nobles out to hunt,
+and train himself and his followers in the art of war. [11] "Whichever
+of you," Cyrus added, "can show the greatest number of chariots in
+proportion to his power, and the largest and finest body of cavalry, I
+will honour him as my best ally and most faithful fellow-guardian of
+the Persian empire. Let the best men always have the preference at your
+courts as they have at mine, give them seats of honour as I do, and let
+your table be spread, as mine is, not only for your own household, but
+for your friends also, and for the honour of him who may accomplish any
+noble deed. [12] You must lay out parks and breed game, and never touch
+food until you have toiled for it, nor give your horses fodder until
+they have been exercised. I am but a single man, with only human
+strength and human virtue, and I could not by myself preserve the good
+things that are yours: I must have good comrades to help me in goodness,
+and only thus can I be your defender; and you likewise, if you are to
+help me, must be good yourselves and have good men at your side. [13]
+Remember that I have not spoken unto you as unto slaves: what I say you
+ought to do I strive to do myself. And even as I bid you follow me, so I
+would have you teach those in authority under you to follow you."
+
+[14] Such were the principles then laid down by Cyrus, and to this day
+all the royal garrisons are appointed in the same manner, the gates of
+all the governors are thronged in the same way, the houses, great
+and small, are managed in the same fashion, everywhere the most
+distinguished guests are given seats of honour, every province is
+visited on the same system, and everywhere the threads of numberless
+affairs are gathered into the hands of a few superiors. [15] Having
+given these instructions, Cyrus assigned a body of troops to each of his
+satraps, and sent them out to their provinces, bidding them to be ready
+for a campaign in the new year and for a review of their soldiers, their
+weapons, their horses, and their chariots. [16] And here I may notice
+another custom, also instituted by Cyrus, it is said, and still in force
+to-day: every year a progress of inspection is made by an officer at the
+head of an army, to help any satrap who may require aid, or bring the
+insolent to their senses; and, if there has been negligence in the
+delivery of tribute, or the protection of the inhabitants, or the
+cultivation of the soil, or indeed any omission of duty whatsoever, the
+officer is there to put the matter right, or if he cannot do so himself,
+to report it to the king, who decides what is to be done about the
+offender. The announcements so often made, such as "the king's son is
+coming down," or "the king's brother," or "the king's eye," refer to
+these inspectors, but sometimes no one appears, for at any moment
+the officer may be turned back at the king's command. [17] We hear of
+another arrangement, devised to meet the huge size of the empire and
+enable the king to learn with great celerity the state of affairs at any
+distance. Cyrus first ascertained how far a horse could travel in
+one day without being over-ridden, and then he had a series of
+posting-stations built, one day's ride apart, with relays of horses, and
+grooms to take care of them, and a proper man in charge of each station
+to receive the despatches and hand them on, take over the jaded horses
+and men, and furnish fresh ones. [18] Sometimes, we are told, this
+post does not even halt at night: the night-messenger relieves the
+day-messenger and rides on. Some say that, when this is done, the post
+travels more quickly than the crane can fly, and, whether that is true
+or not, there is no doubt it is the quickest way in which a human being
+can travel on land. To learn of events so rapidly and be able to deal
+with them at once is of course a great advantage.
+
+[19] After a year had passed, Cyrus collected all his troops at Babylon,
+amounting, it is said, to one hundred and twenty thousand horse, two
+thousand scythe-bearing chariots, and six hundred thousand foot. [20]
+Then, seeing that all was got together, he set out for that campaign of
+his, on which, the story says, he subdued the nations from the borders
+of Syria as far as the Red Sea. After that there followed, we are told,
+the expedition against Egypt and its conquest. [21] From that time
+forward his empire was bounded on the east by the Red Sea, on the north
+by the Euxine, on the west by Cyprus and Egypt, and towards the south
+by Ethiopia. Of these outlying districts, some were scarcely habitable,
+owing to heat or cold, drought or excessive rain. [22] But Cyrus himself
+always lived at the centre of his dominions, seven months in Babylon
+during the winter season, where the land is warm and sunny, three months
+at Susa in the spring, and during the height of summer in Ecbatana,
+so that for him it was springtime all the year. [23] Towards him the
+disposition of all men was such that every nation felt they had failed
+unless they could send Cyrus the treasures of their land, plants,
+or animals, or works of art. And every city felt the same, and every
+private person counted himself on the road to riches if he could do
+Cyrus some special service, for Cyrus took only such things as they had
+in abundance, and gave them in return what he saw they lacked.
+
+[C.7] Thus the years passed on, and Cyrus was now in a ripe old age, and
+he journeyed to Persia for the seventh time in his reign. His father and
+mother were long since dead in the course of nature, and Cyrus offered
+sacrifice according to the law, and led the sacred dance of his Persians
+after the manner of his forefathers, and gave gifts to every man
+according to his wont.
+
+[2] But one night, as he lay asleep in the royal palace, he dreamt a
+dream. It seemed to him that some one met him, greater than a man, and
+said to him, "Set your house in order, Cyrus: the time has come, and you
+are going to the gods."
+
+With that Cyrus awoke out of sleep, and he all but seemed to know that
+the end of his life was at hand. [3] Straightway he took victims and
+offered sacrifice to Zeus, the god of his fathers, and to the Sun, and
+all the other gods, on the high places where the Persians sacrifice, and
+then he made this prayer:
+
+"Zeus, god of my fathers, and thou, O Sun, and all ye gods, accept this
+sacrifice, my offering for many a noble enterprise, and suffer me to
+thank you for the grace ye have shown me, telling me all my life, by
+victims and by signs from heaven, by birds and by the voices of men,
+what things I ought to do and what I ought to refrain from doing. Deep
+is my thankfulness that I was able to recognise your care, and never
+lifted up my heart too high even in my prosperity. I beseech you now to
+bless my children also, and my wife, and my friends, and my fatherland;
+and for myself, may my death be as my life has been."
+
+[4] Then Cyrus went home again and lay down on his bed, for he longed
+to rest. And when the hour was come, his attendants came to him and bade
+him take his bath. But he said he would rather rest. And others came
+afterwards, at the usual time, to set the meal before him; but he could
+not bring himself to take food: he seemed only to thirst, and drank
+readily. [5] It was the same the second day, and the third, and then
+he called his sons to his side--it chanced they had followed him to
+Persia--and he summoned his friends also and the chief magistrates of
+the land, and when they were all met, he began:
+
+[6] "My sons, and friends of mine, the end of my life is at hand: I know
+it by many signs. And when I am dead, you must show by word and deed
+that you think of me as happy. When I was a child, I had all the joys
+and triumphs of a child, and I reaped the treasures of youth as I grew
+up, and all the glories of a man when I came to man'e estate. And as the
+years passed, I seemed to find my powers grow with them, so that I never
+felt my old age weaker than my youth, nor can I think of anything I
+attempted or desired wherein I failed. [7] Moreover, I have seen my
+friends made happy by my means, and my enemies crushed beneath my hand.
+This my fatherland, which was once of no account in Asia, I leave at
+the height of power, and of all that I won I think I have lost nothing.
+Throughout my whole life I have fared as I prayed to fare, and the dread
+that was ever with me lest in days to come I might see or hear or suffer
+evil, this dread would never let me think too highly of myself, or
+rejoice as a fool rejoices. [8] And if I die now, I leave my sons
+behind me, the sons the gods have given me; and I leave my fatherland
+in happiness, and my friends. Surely I may hope that men will count me
+blessed and cherish my memory. [9] And now I must leave instructions
+about my kingdom, that there may be no dispute among you after my death.
+Sons of mine, I love you both alike, but I choose the elder-born, the
+one whose experience of life is the greater, to be the leader in
+council and the guide in action. [10] Thus was I trained myself, in the
+fatherland that is yours and mine, to yield to my elders, my brothers or
+my fellow-citizens, in the street, or in the place of meeting, or in the
+assembly for debate. And thus have I trained both of you, to honour your
+elders and be honoured by those who are younger than yourselves. These
+are the principles that I leave with you, sanctioned by time, ingrained
+in our customs, embodied in our laws. [11] The sovereignty is yours,
+Cambyses; the gods have given it to you, and I also, as far as in me
+lies; and to you, Tanaoxares, I give the satrapy over the Medes and the
+Armenians and the Cadousians, these three; and though I leave your elder
+brother a larger empire and the name of king, your inheritance will
+bring you, I believe, more perfect happiness than his. [12] I ask myself
+what human joy will be lacking to you: all things which gladden the
+hearts of men will be yours--but the craving for what is out of reach,
+the load of cares, the restless passion to rival my achievements, the
+plots and counterplots, they will follow him who wears the crown,
+and they are things, be well assured, that leave little leisure for
+happiness. [13] And you, Cambyses, you know of yourself, without words
+from me, that your kingdom is not guarded by this golden sceptre, but
+by faithful friends; their loyalty is your true staff, a sceptre which
+shall not fail. But never think that loyal hearts grow up by nature as
+the grass grows in the field: if that were so, the same men would be
+loyal to all alike, even as all natural objects are the same to all
+mankind. No, every leader must win his own followers for himself, and
+the way to win them is not by violence but by loving-kindness. [14] And
+if you would seek for friends to stand by you and guard your throne, who
+so fit to be the first of them as he who is sprung from the self-same
+loins? Our fellow-citizens are nearer to us than foreigners, and our
+mess-mates dearer than strangers, and what of those who are sprung from
+the same seed, suckled at the same breast, reared in the same home,
+loved by the same parents, the same mother, the same father? [15] What
+the gods have given to be the seal of brotherhood do not make of none
+effect yourselves. But build upon it: make it the foundation for other
+loving deeds, and thus the love between you shall never be overcome. The
+man who takes thought for his brother cares for his own self. For who
+but a brother can win glory from a brother's greatness? Who can be
+honoured as a brother can through a brother's power? Or who so safe from
+injury as the brother of the great? [16] Let no one, Tanaoxares, be more
+eager than yourself to obey your brother and support him: to no one can
+his triumph or his danger come so near. Ask yourself from whom you could
+win a richer reward for any kindness. Who could give you stouter help
+in return for your own support? And where is coldness so ugly as between
+brothers? Or where is reverence so beautiful? And remember, Cambyses,
+only the brother who holds pre-eminence in a brother's heart can be safe
+from the jealousy of the world. [17] I implore you both, my sons, by the
+gods of our fathers, hold each other in honour, if you care at all to do
+me pleasure: and none of you can say you know that I shall cease to be
+when I cease to live this life of ours. With your bodily eyes you have
+never seen my soul, and yet you have discerned its presence through its
+working. [18] And have you never marked the terrors which the spirits
+of those who have suffered wrong can send into the hearts of their
+murderers, and the avenging furies they let loose upon the wicked?
+Think you the honours of the dead would still abide, if the souls of the
+departed were altogether powerless? [19] Never yet, my sons, could I
+be persuaded that the soul only lives so long as she dwells within this
+mortal body, and falls dead so soon as she is quit of that. Nay, I
+see for myself that it is the soul which lends life to it, while she
+inhabits there. [20] I cannot believe that she must lose all sense on
+her separation from the senseless body, but rather that she will reach
+her highest wisdom when she is set free, pure and untrammelled at last.
+And when this body crumbles in dissolution, we see the several parts
+thereof return to their kindred elements, but we do not see the soul,
+whether she stays or whether she departs. [21] Consider," he went on,
+"how these two resemble one another, Death and his twin-brother Sleep,
+and it is in sleep that the soul of a man shows her nature most divine,
+and is able to catch a glimpse of what is about to be, for it is then,
+perhaps, that she is nearest to her freedom. [22] Therefore, if these
+things are as I believe, and the spirit leaves the body behind and is
+set free, reverence my soul, O sons of mine, and do as I desire. And
+even if it be not so, if the spirit must stay with the body and perish,
+yet the everlasting gods abide, who behold all things, with whom is
+all power, who uphold the order of this universe, unmarred, unaging,
+unerring, unfathomable in beauty and in splendour. Fear them, my sons,
+and never yield to sin or wickedness, in thought or word or deed. [23]
+And after the gods, I would have you reverence the whole race of man,
+as it renews itself for ever; for the gods have not hidden you in the
+darkness, but your deeds will be manifest in the eyes of all mankind,
+and if they be righteous deeds and pure from iniquity, they will blazon
+forth your power: but if you meditate evil against each other, you will
+forfeit the confidence of every man. For no man can trust you, even
+though he should desire it, if he sees you wrong him whom above all
+you are bound to love. [24] Therefore, if my words are strong enough to
+teach you your duty to one another, it is well. But, if not, let history
+teach you, and there is no better teacher. For the most part, parents
+have shown kindness to their children and brothers to their brothers,
+but it has been otherwise with some. Look, then, and see which conduct
+has brought success, choose to follow that, and your choice will be
+wise. [25] And now maybe I have said enough of this. As for my body,
+when I am dead, I would not have you lay it up in gold or silver or any
+coffin whatsoever, but give it back to the earth with all speed. What
+could be more blessed than to lie in the lap of Earth, the mother of all
+things beautiful, the nurse of all things good? I have been a lover of
+men all my life, and methinks I would fain become a part of that which
+does good to man. [26] And now," he added, "now it seems to me that my
+life begins to ebb; I feel my spirit slipping away from those parts she
+leaves the first. If you would take my hand once more, or look into my
+eyes while life is there, draw near me now; but when I have covered my
+face, let no man look on me again, not even you, my sons. [27] But you
+shall bid the Persians come, and all our allies, to my sepulchre; and
+you shall rejoice with me and congratulate me that I am safe at last,
+free from suffering or sorrow, whether I am with God or whether I have
+ceased to be. Give all who come the entertainment that is fitting in
+honour of a man whose life on earth was happy, and so send them away.
+[28] Remember my last saying: show kindness to your friends, and then
+shall you have it in your power to chastise your enemies. Good-bye, my
+dear sons, bid your mother good-bye for me. And all my friends, who are
+here or far away, good-bye."
+
+And with these words he gave his hand to them, and then he covered his
+face and died.
+
+
+                               EPILOGUE
+
+[C.8] Of all the powers in Asia, the kingdom of Cyrus showed itself to
+be the greatest and most glorious. On the east it was bounded by the Red
+Sea, on the north by the Euxine, on the west by Cyprus and Egypt, and
+on the south by Ethiopia. And yet the whole of this enormous empire was
+governed by the mind and will of a single man, Cyrus: his subjects he
+cared for and cherished as a father might care for his children, and
+they who came beneath his rule reverenced him like a father.
+
+[2] But no sooner was he dead than his sons were at strife, cities and
+nations revolted, and all things began to decay. I can show that what I
+say is true, and first I will speak of their impiety. In the early days,
+I am aware, the king and those beneath him never failed to keep the
+oaths they had sworn and fulfil the promises they had given, even to the
+worst of criminals. [3] In fact, if such had not been their character
+and such their reputation, none of the Hellenic generals who marched
+up with the younger Cyrus could have felt the confidence they did: they
+would not have trusted a Persian any more than one trusts them to-day,
+now that their perfidy is known. As it was, they relied on their old
+reputation and put themselves in their power, and many were taken up to
+the king and there beheaded. And many of the Asiatics who served in the
+same war perished as they did, deluded by one promise or another.
+
+[4] In other ways also the Persians have degenerated. Noble achievement
+in the old days was the avenue to fame: the man was honoured who risked
+his life for the king, or brought a city or nation beneath his sway. But
+now, if some Mithridates has betrayed his father Ariobarzanes, or some
+Reomithres has left his wife and children and the sons of his friend as
+hostages at the court of Egypt, and then has broken the most solemn of
+all pledges--it is they and their like who are loaded with the highest
+honours, if only they are thought to have gained some advantage for the
+king. [5] With such examples before them, all the Asiatics have turned
+to injustice and impiety. For what the leaders are, that, as a rule,
+will the men below them be. Thus has lawlessness increased and grown
+among them. [6] And injustice has grown, and thieving. Not only
+criminals, but men who are absolutely innocent are arrested and forced
+to pay fines for no reason whatsoever: to be known to have wealth is
+more dangerous than guilt, so that the rich do not care to have any
+dealings with the powerful, and dare not even risk appearing at the
+muster of the royal troops. [7] Therefore, when any man makes war on
+Persia, whoever he may be, he can roam up and down the country to his
+heart's content without striking a blow, because they have forgotten the
+gods and are unjust to their fellow-men. In every way their hearts and
+minds are lower than in days gone by.
+
+[8] Nor do they care for their bodies as they did of old. It was always
+their custom neither to spit nor blow the nose, only it is clear this
+was instituted not from concern for the humours of the body, but in
+order to strengthen themselves by toil and sweat. But nowadays, though
+this habit is still in vogue, to harden the body by exercise has quite
+gone out of fashion. [9] Again, from the first it was their rule only to
+take a single meal in the day, which left them free to give their time
+to business and exercise. The single meal is still the rule, but it
+commences at the earliest hour ever chosen for breakfast, and the eating
+and drinking goes on till the last moment which the latest reveller
+would choose for bed. [10] It was always forbidden to bring chamber-pots
+into the banquet-hall, but the reason lay in their belief that the
+right way to keep body and brain from weakness was to avoid drinking
+in excess. But to-day, though as in the old time no such vessels may be
+carried in, they drink so deep that they themselves are carried out, too
+weak to stand on their own legs. [11] It was a national custom from the
+first not to eat and drink on the march nor be seen satisfying the wants
+of nature, but nowadays, though they still abstain, they make each march
+so short that no man need wonder at their abstinence.
+
+[12] In the old time they went out to hunt so often that the chase gave
+enough exercise and training for man and horse alike. But when the day
+came that Artaxerxes and all his court were the worse for wine, the old
+custom of the king leading the hunt in person began to pass away. And if
+any eager spirits hunted with their own followers it was easy to see the
+jealousy, and even the hatred, aroused by such superiority.
+
+[13] It is still the habit to bring up the boys at the palace-gates, but
+fine horsemanship has disappeared, for there is no place where the lads
+can win applause by their skill. The old belief that the children of
+Persia would learn justice by hearing the judges decide the cases has
+been turned upside down: the children have only to use their eyes and
+they see that the verdict goes to the man with the longest purse. [14]
+Children in former times were taught the properties of plants in order
+to use the wholesome and avoid the harmful; but now they seem to learn
+it for the mere sake of doing harm: at any rate, there is no country
+where deaths from poison are so common. [15] And the Persian to-day is
+far more luxurious than he was in the time of Cyrus. Then they still
+clung to the Persian style of education and the Persian self-restraint,
+merely adopting the Median dress and a certain grace of life. But now
+the old Persian hardihood may perish for all they care, if only they
+preserve the softness of the Mede. [16] I might give instances of their
+luxury. They are not content with soft sheets and rugs for their beds,
+they must have carpets laid under the bed-posts to prevent any jarring
+from the floor. They have given up none of the cooked dishes invented
+in former days; on the contrary, they are always devising new ones, and
+condiments to boot: in fact, they keep men for the very purpose. [17] In
+the winter it is not enough to have the body covered, and the head and
+the feet, they must have warm sleeves as well and gloves for the hands:
+and in the summer they are not content with the shade from the trees or
+the rocks, they must have servants standing beside them with artificial
+screens. [18] To have an endless array of cups and goblets is their
+special pride: and if these are come by unjustly, and all the world
+knows it, why, there is nothing to blush for in that: injustice has
+grown too common among them, and ill-gotten gain. [19] Formerly no
+Persian was ever to be seen on foot, but the sole object of the custom
+was to make them perfect horsemen. Now they lay more rugs on their
+horses' backs than on their own beds; it is not a firm seat they care
+for, but a soft saddle.
+
+[20] As soldiers we may imagine how they have sunk below the ancient
+standard; in past times it was a national institution that the
+land-owner should furnish troopers from his own estate, and men were
+bound to go on active service, while the garrison troops in the country
+received regular pay; but now the Persian grandees have manufactured
+a new type of cavalry, who earn their pay as butlers and cooks and
+confectioners and cupbearers and bathmen and flunkeys to serve at table
+or remove the dishes, and serving-men to put their lords to bed and help
+them to rise, and perfumers to anoint them and rub them and make them
+beautiful. [21] In numbers they make a very splendid show, but they are
+no use for fighting; as may be seen by what actually takes place: an
+enemy can move about their country more freely than the inhabitants
+themselves. [22] It will be remembered that Cyrus put a stop to the
+old style of fighting at long range, and by arming men and horses with
+breastplates and giving each trooper a short spear he taught them to
+fight at close quarters. But nowadays they will fight in neither one
+style nor the other. [23] The infantry still carry the large shields,
+the battle-axes, and the swords, as if they meant to do battle as they
+did in Cyrus' day. [24] But they will never close with the enemy. Nor do
+they use the scythe-bearing chariots as Cyrus intended. By the
+honours he gave he raised the dignity and improved the quality of his
+charioteers till he had a body of men who would charge right into the
+enemy's ranks; but the generals of to-day, though they do not even know
+the charioteers by sight, flatter themselves that untrained men will
+serve their purpose quite as well as trained. [25] So the charioteers
+will dash off, but before they reach the enemy half the men have fallen
+from their boxes, and the others will jump out of their own accord,
+and the teams, left without their drivers, will do more harm to their
+friends than to their foes. [26] And since in their hearts the Persians
+of to-day are well aware what their fighting condition really is, they
+always give up the struggle, and now none of them will take the field
+at all without Hellenes to help them, whether they are fighting among
+themselves or whether Hellenes are in arms against them: even then it
+is a settled thing that they must have the aid of other Hellenes to face
+them.
+
+[27] I venture to think I have shown the truth of the statement that I
+made. I asserted that the Persians of to-day and their allies are less
+religious than they were of old, less dutiful to their kindred, less
+just and righteous towards other men, and less valiant in war. And if
+any man doubts me, let him examine their actions for himself, and he
+will find full confirmation of all I say.
+
+
+                                NOTES
+
+C1. Xenophon puts into the mouth of Chrysantas his favourite theory of
+monarchism, the relationship strongly cemented by obedience and trust
+between subjects and king.
+
+C1.4, med. On _willing_ service. This again is one of the best
+utterances in all Xenophon. It has a deep spiritual import.
+
+C1.4, fin. He is thinking of Athens, perhaps. It is a choice: obey the
+ruler or knock under to foreign foes.
+
+C1.8. Surely a remark of the author. It is an old inveterate thought of
+his: "the Master's eye." I feel the _old_ man at times.
+
+C1.9-10. This side of the Persian state-machine strongly impressed the
+mind and imagination of Xenophon. Hence he works it into the treatise
+on economy as well as here. In fact his expansion of the Socratic
+reflections into the _Economist_ has to do, I believe, with these
+reflections on state economy.
+
+C1.13. Hellenic aristocratic theory of existence. Leisure for the grand
+duties which devolve on the lords of mankind. It doesn't seem to
+strike Xenophon that this rigid system of self-absorption in the higher
+selfhood of the social system might be destructive of individual life.
+Of course he would say, "No, it enlarges the individual life."
+
+C1.17-20. Seems to me to show Xenophon struggling with the hard parts
+of the later Persian system. The theory of Persian feudalism is too
+high-strung for these grand satraps, rulers of provinces as big as
+ordinary kingdoms. It tends to snap, and from the beginning did. The
+archic man has no charm to compel his followers to archic virtue. It is
+a negative {episteme} after all. Does Xenophon realise this, or is hgd.
+wrong?
+
+C1.21. Cf. headmasters with preposters in a public school, based on the
+same system of high aims and duties corresponding to rights.
+
+C1.23, init. Cf. Louis Napoleon in Browning's poem [_Prince
+Hohensteil-Schwangau_].
+
+C1.23, med. The Magians, the Persian order of priests. Yet we have heard
+of them throughout.
+
+C1.27. A very true saying and very nice the feeling it gives us towards
+Xenophon. We think of him with his wife and his little sons and his
+friends and their friends.
+
+C1.28. How true of women!
+
+C1.33. A reduplication of the description in Bk. I., and also a
+summing-up of Xenophon's own earthly paradise--quite Tennysonian.
+
+C1.37. An important point or principle in Xenophon's political
+theory--indeed the key and tone of it: no one has a right to command
+except by virtue of personal superiority.
+
+C1.40 foll. "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the
+morning!" The section, if, as I think it is, by Xenophon, throws
+light on the nature and composition of the book. The author isn't so
+disengaged from "history" that he can set aside obviously integral
+parts of the Persian system traceable to Cyrus, or at any rate probably
+original, and their false-seeming and bamboozling mode of keeping up
+dignity has to be taken account of. It has its analogy in the admission
+of thaumaturgy on the part of religious teachers, and no doubt a good
+deal can be said for it. The archic man in low spirits, if he ever is
+so, has some need of bamboozling himself. Titles do give some moral
+support even nowadays to certain kinds of minds.
+
+C1.46-48. The archic man's dealings by those of his subjects who are apt
+to rule, the men of high thoughts and ambitions, with whom he must come
+into constant personal contact. With them the spiritual dominance alone
+will do. They shall be made to love him rather than themselves.
+(The only thing just here that jars is a sort of Machiavellian
+self-consciousness, resented in the archic man).
+
+C1.46. A cumbrous disjointed sentence, but the thought of it is clear
+enough. Even Xenophon's style breaks down when he tries to say in
+a breath more than he naturally can. Is it a sign of senility, or
+half-thought-out ideas, or what?
+
+C2.2, fin. Does Xenophon feel the bathos of this, or is hdg. wrong and
+there is no bathos? It may be said that the sacramental and spiritual
+side is not in abeyance. Xenophon has to account for the "common board"
+and he has the Spartan Lycurgan "common board" to encourage him, so that
+imaginatively he provides this royal being with a sumptuous table at
+which thousands will share alike.
+
+C2.3. How far was this a custom among Hellenes? It reveals a curious
+state of society, real or imaginary; but I suppose that at Rome in
+imperial days (cf. _panem et circenses_) the theory of meat and drink
+largesses being the best would hold.
+
+C2.4, fin. The last remark is so silly (?) I am almost disposed to
+follow Lincke and admit interpolation. Yet on the whole I think it is
+the voice of the old man explaining in his Vicar-of-Wakefield style,
+to his admiring auditors, wife, children, and grandsons, I fancy, and
+slaves, the _raison d'être_ of Persian dinner-largesse customs.
+
+C2.6. Qy.: What was Xenophon's manner of composing? The style here
+is loose, like that of a man talking. Perhaps he lectured and the
+amanuensis took down what he said.
+
+C2.8. Ineptitudes. One does somewhat sniff an editor here, I think, but
+I am not sure. There's a similar touch of ineptitude (senility, perhaps)
+in the _Memorabilia_, _ad fin_. On the other hand I can imagine Xenophon
+purring over this side of Orientalism quite naturally.
+
+C2.12. This slipshod style, how accounted for? The most puzzling thing
+of all is the sort of mental confusion between Cyrus and the king in
+general.
+
+C2.15-16. Thoroughly Xenophontine and Ruskinian and eternal.
+
+C2.24. Here is the germ of benefit societies and clubs and insurances
+and hospitals. Xenophon probably learns it all from Ctesias, and others
+of the sort. Cyrus provides doctors and instruments and medicines and
+diet, in fact, all the requisites of a hospital, in his palace. Nor does
+he forget to be grateful to the doctors who cured the sick. [Ctesias,
+the Greek physician to the Persian king. See _Anabasis_, I. viii. Works,
+Vol. I. p. 108.]
+
+C2.26 ff. Xenophon's Machiavellianism. Does it work?
+
+C2.17-28. It seems to me that all this is too elaborate for an
+interpolator: it smacks of Xenophon in his arm-chair, theorising and
+half-dreaming over his political philosophy.
+
+C3.2. Prototype, a procession to Eleusis or elsewhere: the Panathenaic,
+possibly. Xenophon's sumptuous taste and love of bright colours.
+
+C3.3, fin., C3.4. What a curious prototypic sound! Truly this is the
+very _modus_ of the evangelist's type of sentence. His narrative must
+run in this mould.
+
+C3.4, fin. This is the old Cyrus. It comes in touchingly here, this
+refrain of the old song, now an echo of the old life.
+
+C3.14. Xenophon delights somewhat in this sort of scene. It is a
+turning-point, a veritable moral peripety, though the decisive step was
+taken long ago. What is Xenophon's intention with regard to it? Has he
+any _parti pris_, for or against? Does he wish us to draw conclusions?
+Or does it correspond to a moral meeting of the waters in his own mind?
+Here love of Spartan simplicity, and there of splendour and regality
+and monarchism? He does not give a hint that the sapping of the system
+begins here, when the archic man ceases to depend on his own spiritual
+archic qualities and begins to eke out his dignity by artificial means
+and external shows of reverence.
+
+C3.20. Is this worthy of the archic man? It is a method, no doubt,
+of {arkhe}, but has it any spiritual "last" in it? The incident of
+Daïpharnes somewhat diverts our attention from the justice of the system
+in reference to the suitors. On the whole, I think Xenophon can't get
+further. He is blinded and befogged by two things: (1) his (i.e. their)
+aristocratism, and again (2) his satisfaction in splendour and get-up,
+provided it is attached to moral greatness. We are in the same maze, I
+fancy. Jesus was not, nor is Walt Whitman.
+
+C3.23. Cyrus is made to behave rather like the autocratic father of a
+goody story-book.
+
+C3.25. Realistic and vivid detailing: our curiosity is satisfied. "Who
+has won?" we ask. "Oh, so-and-so, Smith." Well, it's something to know
+that Smith has won. Xenophon, the artist, 'cutely introduces the Sakian
+to us. One scene takes up another, just as in real life. Quite soon
+we know a great deal more about this young man, a mere Sakian private
+soldier, who wins the race so easily on his splendid horse. Cyrus
+and good fortune introduce him to the very man he is suited to: viz.
+Pheraulas.
+
+C3.37. Pheraulas' boyhood has already been sketched by himself (II.
+C3.7), the active sturdy little youngster, snatching at a knife, and
+hacking away _con amore_. We know him well: Xenophon's modernism comes
+out in these things. Here we have the old father, a heart of oak, like
+the old Acharnian in Aristophanes. One of the prettiest morsels in all
+Xenophon. Xenophon's own father, is he there?
+
+C3.47. The desire for "leisure" is as strong in Xenophon as in hgd. or
+S. T. I., I think. [S. T. Irwin, also a master at Clifton.]
+
+C4.1. Why is the Hyrcanian never named? Is it conceivable that Xenophon
+shrinks from using a proper name except when he has some feeling for the
+sound of the language? (Sic. Sakians, Cadousians, Indians, etc.)
+
+C4.4 The "mark" system again which Xenophon believes in, but hgd. not.
+Shows how he tried to foster competitiveness. It's after all a belief
+in the central sun, a species of monarch-worship, logical and consistent
+enough.
+
+C4.8. Xenophon reveals himself and the Hellenic feeling with regard to
+war and its use. The _pax Romana_ is anticipated in their minds.
+
+C4.9. Hystaspas is rather like the sons of Zebedee or the elder brother
+of the Prodigal.
+
+C4.12, fin. Looks rather like a Greek joke. But what is the joke?
+
+C4.13-23. Broad type of joke, but not unhealthy or prurient. Prototype
+probably Agesilaus and the younger Cyrus at the supper-table, with just
+this touch of coarseness.
+
+C4.32-36. This is = to the Comtist theory of the duties of capitalists,
+and is one of the noblest disquisitions in all Xenophon, {os g' emoi
+dokei}. Cyrus' theory is based on fraternal feeling among the _elite_ of
+the world, and that is the sole difference, a large one doubtless,
+and measures the gap between Xenophon and A. C. and our advance in
+Democracy.
+
+C5.17. How far is this historical, i.e. semi-historical? I can't help
+supposing that the commoner notion of a conquest of Media by Persia was
+current and familiar to Xenophon apart from any other account, which for
+his present purpose he chose to go upon and possibly believed in.
+
+C5.18-20. Will Cyrus take her to wife, his old playmate? All this shows
+once more Xenophon's love of children.
+
+C5.23-25. The Persian Magna Charta, parallel to that between the Spartan
+king and the ephorate.
+
+C6.1-3. (a) Satraps; to be counterpoised by (b) military governors in
+the citadels, and (c) visitors living at court, but possessed of lands
+in the provinces. The object is, no doubt, to create a common
+interest between the nobles and the king which will keep the satrap in
+counterpoise.
+
+C6.11. The Oriental feeling again.
+
+C6.12, fin. One of the nicest (monarchical) remarks ever uttered.
+
+C6.13. Marked Greek Testament parallel S. Joan. 13, 13. Surely the
+evangelist had read this at school: I mean, the Greek scribe who
+Hellenised the evangel.
+
+C6.23. Free trade or favoured-nation principle and commercial treaty.
+
+C7.10. Prototype: Socrates and his sons. Perhaps also Xenophon and his.
+One seems to hear his own voice addressing Gryllus.
+
+C7.14. A very noble passage.
+
+C7.27. That's also nice: "Summon the Persians to rejoice with me at my
+joyous release;" a refined form of funeral festival--"nothing is here
+for tears"--nor have we, perhaps, arrived beyond it.
+
+C7.28. His last remark is Xenophon-Hellenic, but less edifying;
+fortunately it is only the penultimate, for there is the final
+{khairete} [good-bye] and message to his wife. Why was she not present?
+I suppose she was at home in Babylon.
+
+[C8. It has been doubted whether C8 is by Xenophon at all. C8.3, with
+its reference to the _Anabasis_, certainly looks as though it might have
+been written after his death. Some scholars have also thought the style
+unlike Xenophon's, but it is clear from his marginal notes that Mr.
+Dakyns did not lean towards this view. To stress the degeneracy of the
+Persians is, no doubt, to make a curious comment on the institutions of
+"the born ruler," but on the other hand the preceding chapter (C7) is
+full of grave warnings, and, throughout, Xenophon has been at pains to
+insist that everything depends on the continuous and united effort of
+the ruling classes towards virtue and self-control. Again, as Mr. Dakyns
+pointed out (in his _Sketch of Xenophon's Life_, Works, Vol. I. p.
+cxxxvii.), the epilogue bears a marked analogy to the account of Spartan
+degeneracy in c. xiv. of the _Laconian Polity_ (see Vol. II. p. 322), a
+chapter he took to be genuine. On the whole, therefore, we may conclude
+that he would have considered this epilogue to be genuine also.--F.M.S.]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Cyropaedia, by Xenophon
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