Complete Works of Xenophon (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics)

by Xenophon

  The rest, of course, laughed over the military escort of the letter, and Cyrus said: “O Zeus and all the gods! What sort of men we have then as our comrades; they are so easily won by kindness that we can make many of them our firm friends with even a little piece of meat; and they are so obedient that they obey even before the orders are given. I, for my part, do not know what sort of soldiers one could ask to have in preference to these!” [11]

  Thus Cyrus praised his soldiers, laughing at the same time. But one of his captains, Aglai+tadas by name, one of the most austere of men, happened to be in Cyrus’s tent at the same time and he spoke somewhat as follows: “You don’t mean to say, Cyrus, that you think what these fellows have been telling is true?”

  “Well,” said Cyrus, “what object could they have, pray, in telling a lie?”

  “What object, indeed,” said the other, “except that they wanted to raise a laugh; and so they tell these stories and try to humbug us.” [12]

  “Hush!” said Cyrus. “Don’t call these men humbugs. For to me, the name ‘humbug’ seems to apply to those who pretend that they are richer than they are or braver than they are, and to those who promise to do what they cannot do, and that, too, when it is evident that they do this only for the sake of getting something or making some gain. But those who invent stories to amuse their companions and not for their own gain nor at the expense of their hearers nor to the injury of any one, why should these men not be called ‘witty’ and ‘entertaining’ rather than ‘humbugs’?” [13]

  Thus Cyrus defended those who had furnished the fun, and the captain himself who had told the anecdote about his platoon said: “Verily, Aglai+tadas, you might find serious fault with us, if we tried to make you weep, like some authors who invent touching incidents in their poems and stories and try to move us to tears; but now, although you yourself know that we wish to entertain you and not to do you any harm at all, still you heap such reproaches upon us.” [14]

  “Aye, by Zeus,” said Aglai+tadas, “and justly, too, since he that makes his friends laugh seems to me to do them much less service than he who makes them weep; and if you will look at it rightly, you, too, will find that I speak the truth. At any rate, fathers develop self-control in their sons by making them weep, and teachers impress good lessons upon their pupils in the same way, and the laws, too, turn the citizens to justice by making them weep. But could you say that those who make us laugh either do good to our bodies or make our minds any more fitted for the management of our private business or of the affairs of state?” [15]

  Hereupon Hystaspas answered somewhat as follows: “If you will heed me, Aglai+tadas, you will freely expend this very valuable commodity upon your enemies and will try to set them to weeping; but upon us and your friends here you will please to lavish this cheap article, laughter. And you can, for I know you must have a great quantity of it stored up; for you have never spent it upon yourself nor do you ever afford any laughter for your friends or for your enemies if you can help it. So you have no excuse for begrudging us a laugh.”

  “What!” said Aglai+tadas; “do you really think, Hystaspas, to get a laugh out of me?”

  “Well, by Zeus,” said the other captain, “he is a very foolish fellow, let me tell you, if he does; for I believe one might rub fire out of you more easily than provoke a laugh from you.” [16]

  At this, of course, the rest laughed; for they knew his character, and Aglai+tadas himself smiled at the sally. And Cyrus seeing him brighten up said: “It is not right, captain, for you to corrupt our most serious man by persuading him to laugh, and that, too,” said he, “when he is such a foe to laughter.” [17]

  With that, the subject was dropt. But at this point Chrysantas spoke as follows. [18] “Cyrus,” said he, “and all you here present, I observe, for my part, that some have come out with us who are of superior merit, others who are less deserving than we. Now, if we meet with success, these will all expect to have share and share alike. And yet I do not believe that anything in the world is more unfair than for the bad and good to be awarded equal shares.”

  “Well, then, in the name of the gods, my men,” Cyrus replied to this, “will it not be a very good thing for us to suggest to the army a debate on this question: shall we, in case God gives us any success to reward our toils, give to all an equal share or shall we take into consideration each man’s services and bestow increased rewards upon him commensurate with them?” [19]

  “And what is the use,” said Chrysantas, “of starting a discussion concerning this matter? Why not rather announce that you propose to do thus and so? Pray, did you not announce the games and offer the prizes that way?”

  “Yes, by Zeus,” said Cyrus; “but this is not a parallel case. For what the men obtain by fighting, that, I suppose, they will consider their own common property; but the command of the army they still consider fairly to be mine, so that when I appoint the judges, I am sure they think I am within my rights.” [20]

  “And do you really believe,” said Chrysantas, “that the mass meeting would adopt a resolution that each one should not have an equal share, but that the best should have the preference both in honours and gifts?”

  “Yes,” said Cyrus, “I do, partly because we recommend it, and partly because it is mean to oppose a proposition that the one who suffers the most and does the most for the state should also receive the highest rewards. And I think,” said he, “that even to the worst it will seem proper that the good should have the larger share.” [21]

  Now Cyrus wished for the sake of the peers themselves that this measure should pass; for he thought that even they themselves would be better, if they knew that they also should be judged by their works and should receive according to their deserts. And so it seemed to him to be the proper time to bring this matter to a vote now, while the peers also were questioning the commoners’ claims to equality. Accordingly, those in the tenth agreed to submit the question to a discussion and they said that whoever thought himself to be a man ought to advocate it. [22]

  But one of the captains said with a laugh: “Well, I know a man of the commoners, too, who will support the proposition not to have share and share alike in that indiscriminate fashion.”

  Another asked him whom he meant; and he answered: “By Zeus, he is a messmate of ours, who in everything does his best to get the largest share.”

  “What! the largest share of hard work, too?” asked another.

  “No, by Zeus,” said he; “not by any means; but here I have been caught in a falsehood. For my observation is that he very good-naturedly consents to have a smaller share of hard work and other things of that sort than anybody else. [23]

  Well, men,” said Cyrus, “I am convinced that such fellows as this one of whom our friend has just been telling us must be weeded out of the ranks, if we are to keep our army industrious and obedient. For it seems to me that the majority of the soldiers are the sort to follow wherever any one leads; and the good and noble, I think, try to lead only to what is good and noble, and the vicious to what is vicious. [24] And therefore the base oftentimes find a larger following of congenial spirits than the noble. For since vice makes her appeal through the pleasures of the moment, she has their assistance to persuade many to accept her views; but virtue, leading up hill, is not at all clever at attracting men at first sight and without reflection; and especially is this true, when there are others who call in the opposite direction, to what is downhill and easy. [25]

  And so, when people are bad only because of laziness and indolence, I believe that they, like drones, damage their associates only by the cost of their keeping. But those who are poor companions in toil, and also extravagant and shameless in their desire for any advantage, these are likely also to lead others to what is vicious; for they are often able to demonstrate that vice does gain some advantage. And so we must weed out such men at any cost. [26]

  “Do not, however, endeavour to fill up their places in the ranks with your own countrymen only; but, just as in
selecting a team you seek out not horses that are home-bred but those which are best, so also in the case of men, take them from all sources — whoever you think will be most likely to contribute to your strength and to your honour. And I have the following illustrations to prove the worth of my suggestion: a chariot would never go fast, I am sure, if slow horses were attached to it, nor would it be serviceable if horses unfit for service were harnessed to it; nor yet could a house be well managed if it employed vicious servants, but it would suffer less from having no servants at all than from being kept in confusion by incapable servants. [27]

  “Let me assure you of this, too, my friends,” he added, “that the weeding out of the vicious will bring not only this advantage, that the vicious will be out of the way, but also among those who remain the ones that have already been infected with vice will be purged of it, while the virtuous seeing the vicious disgraced will cleave more eagerly to virtue.” [28]

  With that he concluded; and all his friends agreed that what he said was true, and they began to act upon that principle.

  After that Cyrus began again to jest with them; for he had observed that one of the lieutenants had brought along as a guest and companion at table an exceedingly hairy and exceedingly ill-favoured man; and addressing the lieutenant by name he spoke as follows: “Well, Sambaulas,” said he, “so you also have adopted the Greek fashion, have you, and take about with you everywhere this youngster who is now beside you, because he is so handsome?”

  “Yes, by Zeus,” said Sambaulas; “at all events I enjoy both his company and his looks.” [29]

  When his messmates heard this, they looked at the man; and when they saw that his countenance was exceedingly ugly, they all laughed. And one of them said: “In the name of the gods, Sambaulas, what has this fellow done to make such a hit with you?” [30]

  “By Zeus, fellows,” he answered, “I will tell you. Every time that I have called him, whether by day or by night, he has never made any excuse saying that ‘he had not time,’ nor has he answered my call slowly, but always on a run. And as often as I have bidden him do anything, I have never seen him perform it without sweat; and besides, by showing them not by precept but by example what sort of men they ought to be, he has made his whole squad of ten just like himself.” [31]

  “And yet,” said one of the men, “although he is such an excellent fellow, you don’t kiss him as you do your relatives?”

  And the homely man answered this and said: “No, by Zeus, for he is not fond of hard work; for if he wished to kiss me, that would be an ample substitute for all his drill-work.”

  3. Things of this sort, both grave and gay, were said and done at the dinner party. And finally when they had made the third libation and prayed to the gods for their blessings, the party broke up, and they all went to bed. Then on the morrow, Cyrus called all his soldiers together and spoke as follows: [2]

  “Friends, the conflict is at hand; for the enemy are approaching. As for the prizes of victory, if we are victorious — and we must assume that we shall be and work to that end — it is evident that the enemy and all that is theirs will belong to us. But, on the other hand, if we are defeated — in this case, too, all the possessions of the vanquished are invariably the prizes set for the victors. [3] Accordingly,” said he, “you must realize that when men who are united as comrades in war are fully persuaded that nothing will come out as it should unless each individual man exerts himself, then many splendid achievements are speedily accomplished; for nothing that needs to be done is neglected. But when each one assumes that there will be some one else to do and to fight, even if he proves a weakling, let me assure you,” said he, “that to such men, all alike, all that is grievous comes in a flood. [4] And God has ordained it in some such way as this: in the case of those who will not compel themselves to work out their own good, he assigns others to be their commanders. Now, therefore, let any one stand up and speak to this question before us, whether he thinks that valour would be more cultivated among us, if the one who will do and dare most is also to receive the greatest rewards, or if we know that it makes no difference whether a man be a coward or not, as we shall all share and share alike.” [5]

  Hereupon Chrysantas, one of the peers, a man neither large nor powerful to look upon, but preminent in understanding, stood up and spoke: “Well, Cyrus,” said he, “I think that you are introducing this discussion not because you think that the bad ought to have an equal share with the good, but because you wish to prove whether a single man will really be found who will care to let it be known that he thinks that, even if he himself does nothing good and noble, he should have an equal share of that which others win by their valour. [6] Now I,” he went on, “am neither fleet of foot nor strong of arm, and I know that in view of what I shall accomplish by my bodily strength I should not be judged either the first or the second, or even, I suppose, the thousandth, and perhaps not even the ten thousandth. But on this point I am perfectly clear, that if those who are powerful men take matters vigorously in hand, I shall have as large a share of any good fortune that may come as I deserve. But if the bad do nothing and the good and strong lose heart, I am afraid,” said he, “that I shall have a larger share than I wish of something other than good.” [7]

  Thus spoke Chrysantas. And after him Pheraulas stood up, one of the Persian common ers, but a man who for some reason or other had from the beginning won Cyrus’s confidence and affection; besides he was well-favoured in body and a gentleman at heart. His speech was as follows: [8]

  “I think, Cyrus,” said he, “and all you Persians here assembled, that we are all now starting on an equal footing in a contest of merit; for I observe that we are all taking the same bodily exercise, that we all have the same rations, that we are all considered worthy to move in the same society, and that the prizes are offered alike to all. For obedience to the officers has been enjoined equally upon us all, and whoever shows himself prompt to comply, I observe that he receives honour from Cyrus. Again, to be brave in the face of the enemy is not a thing to be expected of one and not of another, but it is considered far the noblest thing for all alike. [9]

  “And now,” he continued, “we have been initiated into a method of fighting, which, I observe, all men naturally understand, just as in the case of other creatures each understands some method of fighting which it has not learned from any other source than from instinct: for instance, the bull knows how to fight with his horns, the horse with his hoofs, the dog with his teeth, the boar with his tusks. And all know how to protect themselves, too, against that from which they most need protection, and that, too, though they have never gone to school to any teacher. [10]

  As for myself, I have understood from my very childhood how to protect the spot where I thought I was likely to receive a blow; and if I had nothing else I put out my hands to hinder as well as I could the one who was trying to hit me. And this I did not from having been taught to do so, but even though I was beaten for that very act of putting out my hands. Furthermore, even when I was a little fellow I used to seize a sword wherever I saw one, although, I declare, I had never learned, except from instinct, even how to take hold of a sword. At any rate, I used to do this, even though they tried to keep me from it — and certainly they did not teach me so to do — just as I was impelled by nature to do certain other things which my father and mother tried to keep me away from. And, by Zeus, I used to hack with a sword everything that I could without being caught at it. For this was not only instinctive, like walking and running, but I thought it was fun in addition to its being natural. [11]

  “Be that as it may,” he went on, “since this method of fighting awaits us, which demands courage more than skill, why should we not gladly compete with the peers here? For the prizes proposed for excellence are equal, but we shall go into the trial not having at stake interests equal with theirs; for they have at stake a life of honour, which is the most happy of all, while we risk only a life of toil unhonoured, which I think is most burdensome.
[12]

  “And this, comrades, gives me the most courage for the competition with these gentlemen, that Cyrus is to be the judge; for he decides not with partiality, but (I swear it by the gods) I verily think that Cyrus loves no less than himself those whom he recognizes as valiant. At any rate, I observe that, whatever he has, he is much more pleased to give it to them than to keep it for himself. [13] And yet I know that these men pride themselves upon having been trained, as they say, to endure hunger and thirst and cold, but they do not know that in this we also have been trained by a better teacher than they have had; for in these branches there is no better teacher than necessity, which has given us exceedingly thorough instruction in them. [14] And they have been in training for hard labour by carrying weapons, which all men have so devised that they may be as easy as possible to bear; while we, on our part, have been obliged to walk and to run with heavy burdens, so that the carrying of arms now seems to me more like having wings than bearing a burden. [15]

  “Let me inform you, therefore, Cyrus,” said he, “that I, for one, shall not only enter this contest, but I shall also expect you to reward me according to my deserts, whatever I am, for better or worse. And you, my fellow-commoners,” he concluded, “I recommend you to enter with alacrity into the competition with these gentlemen in this sort of warfare; for now they have been trapped in a contest with commoners.” [16]

  Thus Pheraulas spoke. And many others from both orders rose to speak in favour of the measure. They decided that each one should receive rewards according to his deserts, and that Cyrus should be the judge. Thus, then, the matter was satisfactorily settled. [17]

  And once Cyrus invited a captain and his whole company to dinner, because he had noticed him drawing up one half of the men of his company against the other half for a sham battle. Both sides had breastplates and on their left arms their shields; in the hands of the one side he placed stout cudgels, while he told the other side that they would have to pick up clods to throw. [18]