If you like, stay in command of the army, and I will go; or, ifyou prefer, do you go to the mountain, and I will stay here." Butthe enemy in position on the crest no sooner perceived their advanceupon the summit of the pass than they themselves set off full tilt ina rival race for the summit too. He sprung up in terror,and pondering the matter, decided that in part the dream was good: inthat he had seen a great light from Zeus, whilst in the midst of toiland danger. Next day Clearchus returned to the camp, and made no secretof his persuasion that he at any rate stood high in the affections ofTissaphernes, and he reported what he had said, insisting that thoseinvited ought to go to Tissaphernes, and that any Hellene convicted ofcalumnious language ought to be punished, not only as traitorsthemselves, but as disaffected to their fellow-countrymen. In this pursuitthe Asiatics lost several of their infantry killed, and of theircavalry as many as eighteen were taken prisoners in the ravine. He said: "If there is anything else tobe done, beyond what Xenophon has mentioned, we shall be able to carryit out presently; but with regard to what he has already proposed, itseems to me the best course to vote upon the matters at once. ", When they had got back to the villages, while the rest were busy aboutprovisions, the generals and officers met: and here there was deepdespondency. Why then, with all theseavenues of attack, this machinery of war, open to us, not one of whichcan be turned against ourselves, why should we select from among themall that method, which alone in the sight of God is impious and of manabominable? Anc. [2] We learn from Diodorus Siculus, xiv. Xenophon, with the rearguard, followed the path which theparty with the guide had taken, since it was easiest for the beasts ofburthen; one half of his men he had posted in rear of the baggageanimals; the other half he had with himself. Theirchief fear was that the high pass over the mountains must be occupiedin advance: and a general order was issued, that after supper everyone should get his kit together for starting, and repose, in readinessto follow as soon as the word of command was given. Thesetroops were Armenian and Mardian and Chaldaean mercenaries belongingto Orontas and Artuchas. 114; the allusion is to the invasion of Greeze by Datis and Artaphernes, and to their defeat at Marathon, B.C. But we, with these things before our eyes, will not any morebe cheated and cajoled by them; we will make the best fight we can,and having made it, whatever the gods think fit to send, we willaccept.". v. p. 475. After this conversation Tissaphernes, with kindliest expression,invited Clearchus to remain with him at the time, and entertained himat dinner. Will he not go all lengths so that, by inflicting on us theextreme of ignominy and torture, he may rouse in the rest of mankind aterror of ever marching against him any more? These, I take it, were the characteristic acts of a man whoseaffections are set on warfare. And now in this season of perplexity, he too, with the rest, was insore distress, and could not sleep; but anon, getting a snatch ofsleep, he had a dream. During this day they bivouacked in the villages which lie above the 1plain of the river Centrites[1], which is about two hundred feetbroad. As a rule, when the word was so passedup, Cheirisophus slackened; but sometimes instead of slackening,Cheirisophus quickened, sending down a counter-order to the rear tofollow on quickly. It can be easilyunderstood, then, that of those who were brought in contact with him,the good and noble indeed were his well-wishers; but he laid himselfopen to the machinations of the base, who looked upon him as a personto be dealt with as they liked. It was about four furlongs'march to the crossing, and as they moved along the bank, the squadronsof cavalry kept pace with them on the opposite side. "Why, when we had it in our power to destroy you, did we not proceedto do it? But, perhaps, it is just as well that we did not stop; forI fear, if once we learn to live in idleness and to batten in luxuryand dalliance with these tall and handsome Median and Persian womenand maidens, we shall be like the Lotus-eaters[5], and forget the roadhome altogether. The first of these, Clearchus, was a thorough soldier,and a true lover of fighting. Instantly theHellenes ran to their arms, one and all, in utter consternation, andfully expecting that the enemy would instantly be down upon the camp.However, they did not all come; only Ariaeus came, and Artaozus andMithridates, who were Cyrus's most faithful friends; but theinterpreter of the Hellenes said he saw and recognised the brother ofTissaphernes also with them. Arrian, iv. Let us take thepick of these, supplying their places by ordinary baggage animals, andequipping the horses for cavalry. Righteously and honourably he would obtainthem, if he might, or else forego them. But Xenophon cut him short. It had beenthe dream of his boyhood to become a man capable of greatachievements. The shortestroad to the achievement of his desires lay, he thought, through falseswearing, lying, and cheating; for in his vocabulary simplicity andtruth were synonyms of folly. In this mood he 17threw himself into the projects of Cyrus, and in return expected toderive from this essay the reward of a great name, large power, andwide wealth. He told them all that had happened. On the 10other hand, the Asiatic cavalry, even while fleeing, poured volleys ofarrows behind their backs, and wounded the pursuers; while theHellenes must fall back fighting every step of the way they hadmeasured in the pursuit; so that by the end of that day they had notgone much more than three miles; but in the late afternoon theyreached the villages. Show yourselves to be the bravestof officers, and among generals, the worthiest to command. Or if any one stood aloof from him, he set it down as ameritorious act of kindness on his part that during their intercoursehe had not robbed him of existence. Please informme, then, as to what you propose, regarding me as your friend andwell-wisher, anxious only to pursue his march in your company." Indeed, many herds of cattle had beencaught whilst being conveyed across to the other side of the river.And now Tissaphernes and his troops made an attempt to burn thevillages, and some of the Hellenes were disposed to take the matterdeeply to heart, being apprehensive that they might not know where toget provisions if the enemy burnt the villages. Eumenes of Cardia, Nearchus of Crete, and Megasthenes; and his sound Here were they at theking's gates, and on every side environing them were many hostilecities and tribes of men. when you have appointed all the commanders necessary, it wouldonly be opportune, I take it, if you were to summon the rest of thesoldiers and speak some words of encouragement. Todefend ourselves--to ward off that fate--not a hand stirs: no one ispreparing, none cares; but here we lie, as though it were time to restand take our ease. He was anagent in disguise; in fact, a relation of Tissaphernes was inattendance to keep a check on his loyalty. If any of you has set his heart on seeinghis friends again, let him remember to prove himself a man; there isno other way to achieve his heart's wish. After this, two Hellene generals went out with all precaution.These were Cleanor the Orchomenian[3], and Sophaenetus theStymphalion, attended by Xenophon the Athenian, who went to learn newsof Proxenus. [1] So it is said of the Russian General Skobelef, that he had a strange custom of going into battle in his cleanest uniform, perfurmed, and wearing a diamond-hilted sword, "in order that," as he said, "he might die in his best attire. Thereupon the Carduchians abandoned their dwelling places, and withtheir wives and children fled to the mountains; so there was plenty ofprovisions to be got for the mere trouble of taking, and thehomesteads too were well supplied with a copious store of bronzevessels and utensils which the Hellenes kept their hands off,abstaining at the same time from all pursuit of the folk themselves,gently handling them, in hopes that the Carduchians might be willingto give them friendly passage through their country, since they toowere enemies of the king: only they helped themselves to suchprovisions as fell in their way, which indeed was a sheer necessity.But the Carduchians neither gave ear, when they called to them, norshowed any other friendly sign; and now, as the last of the Hellenesdescended into the villages from the pass, they were already in thedark, since, owing to the narrowness of the road, the whole day hadbeen spent in the ascent and descent. This being so, it wouldbe madness not to wish to be your friend. judgment as to who deserved credit, justly led him to reject such Hide browse bar Your current position in the text is marked in blue. It is clear that wemust march where we can get provisions. Send them back to us. Search HathiTrust. When hisfellow-generals were put to death on the plea that they had marchedwith Cyrus against the king, he alone, although he had shared theirconduct, was exempted from their fate. Description. This applies to the Pisidians also; and Iam told there are many other such tribes besides. The words were scarcely spokenwhen someone sneezed[2], and with one impulse the soldiers bowed inworship; and Xenophon proceeded: "I propose, sirs, since, even as wespoke of safety, an omen from Zeus the Saviour has appeared, we vow avow to sacrifice to the Saviour thank-offerings for safe deliverance,wheresoever first we reach a friendly country; and let us couple withthat vow another of individual assent, that we will offer to the restof the gods 'according to our ability.' Then I shall carry them across, and when Ihave fastened the links at both ends, I shall place layers of wood onthem and a coating of earth on the top of that. The next day was a day of inaction: they halted and took in supplies,as there was much corn in the villages; but on the day following, themarch was continued through the plain (of the Tigris), andTissaphernes still hung on their skirts with his skirmishers. x. But when we, instead of giving up our arms, put them onand went and pitched our camp near him, his manner changed. You were present 27with the rest of us now here when, after the death of Cyrus, the king,vaunting himself on that occurrence, sent dictatorially to bid us laydown our arms. The first and weightiest reason is that the oaths, which we tookin the sight of heaven, are a barrier to mutual hostility. The prisoners informed them that the regions south, through which theyhad come, belonged to the district towards Babylon and Media; the roadeast led to Susa and Ecbatana, where the king is said to spend summerand spring; crossing the river, the road west led to Lydia and Ionia;and the part through the mountains facing towards the Great Bear, led,they said, to the Carduchians[1].