Cyropaedia: The Education of Cyrus Part 10

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 grat.i.tude, 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 grat.i.tude; 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 circ.u.mstances 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 ma.s.s 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 a.s.syria 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 horsemans.h.i.+p. In the first place," he added, "you will set apart for the G.o.ds 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 fas.h.i.+on, 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, a.s.syrians, or Arabians who was a Mede, a Persian, a Bactrian, a Carian, a Cilician, or a h.e.l.lene, 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 s.h.i.+elds 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 a.s.syrian 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 a.s.syrian 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 a.s.syria; 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 s.n.a.t.c.hed 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 a.s.sa.s.sin 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 pa.s.s 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, G.o.d 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 a.s.syria 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 pa.s.s 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 G.o.ds 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 G.o.ds 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 appet.i.te and lower motives. This is doubtless Xenophontine and h.e.l.lenic.

C2.38. Important as ill.u.s.trating the stern Spartan self-denial of the man and his followers. There is a hedonistic test, but the higher hedonism prevails against the lower: ign.o.ble 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 pa.s.sages, to show how naturally it came to them (i.e. the h.e.l.lenes 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 _n.o.blesse oblige_ (cf. the archangelic dignity in Milton, _Paradise Lost_, I think).

C2.47. The aristocratic theory (cf. modern English "n.i.g.g.e.r" 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 ac.u.men not to foreseen this need. It would have been premature then, now it organically grows; and there's no great crisis to pa.s.s 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 ant.i.thetic 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 n.o.bles 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 h.e.l.lenic slavery theory. Some moderns, e.g. Carlyle (Ruskin perhaps) inherit it, and in lieu of h.e.l.lenic 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"