[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.'
