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.
