sufferings as I wish that the gods may inflict on our adversaries.'
4. After him Cleanor the Orchomenian arose and spoke thus: 'You see, soldiers, the perjury and impiety of the king; and you see also the faithlessness of Tissaphernes, who, after telling us that he was a neighbour of the Greeks, and would esteem it the highest privilege to save us, and after having given us his right hand as a pledge, has himself deceived and made prisoners our generals, and has not respected even Jupiter, the protector of the rights of hospitality, but, entertaining Clearchus at his own table, has, by this very means, inveigled and destroyed our officers. 5. Ariæus, too, whom we offered to make king, to whom we gave and from whom we received pledges, that we would not betray one another, even he, neither fearing the gods, nor respecting the memory of Cyrus, though honoured by him in the highest degree while he was alive, has now gone over to his bitterest enemies, and endeavours to distress us who were his friends. 6. But on these men may the gods take vengeance; for ourselves, it is incumbent upon us, having this conduct before our eyes, not to be deceived again by them, but, after fighting as bravely as we can, to bear with patience such fortune as the gods may appoint us.'
7. Next stood up Xenophon, who had accoutred himself for war as splendidly as he could, thinking that if the gods should grant them victory, the finest equipment would be suitable to success, or that, if it were appointed for him to die, it would be well for him to adorn himself with his best armour,[127] and in that dress to meet his end. He proceeded to speak thus: 8. 'Of the perjury and perfidy of the Barbarians Cleanor has just spoken, and you, I am sure, are well aware of it. If, then, we think of coming again to terms of friendship with them, we must of necessity feel much distrust on that head, when we see what our generals have suffered, who, in reliance on their faith, put themselves into their hands; but if we propose to inflict on them vengeance with our swords for what they have done, and, for the future, to be at war with them at all points, we have, with the help of the gods, many fair hopes of safety.' 9. As he was uttering these words, somebody sneezed, and the soldiers, hearing it, with one impulse paid their adoration to the god;[128] and Xenophon continued, 'Since, soldiers, while we were speaking of safety, an omen from Jupiter the Preserver has appeared, it seems to me that we should vow to that god to offer sacrifices for our preservation on the spot where we first reach a friendly country; and that we should vow, at the same time, to sacrifice to the other gods according to our ability. And to whomsoever this seems reasonable, let him hold up his hand.' All held up their hands; and they then made their vows, and sang the pæan. When the ceremonies to the gods were duly performed, he recommenced thus: 10. 'I was saying that we had many fair hopes of safety. In the first place, we have observed our oaths made to the gods; but the enemy have perjured themselves, and broken the truce and their oaths. Such being the case, it is natural that the gods should be unfavourable to our enemies, and should fight on our side; the gods, who are able, whenever they will, to make the mighty soon weak, and to save the weak with ease, although they be in grievous perils. 11. In the next place, I will remind you of the dangers in which our ancestors were, that you may feel conscious how much it becomes you to be brave, and how the brave are preserved, even from the greatest troubles, by the aid of the gods. For when the Persians, and those united with them, came with a numerous host, as if to sweep Athens from the face of the earth,[129] the Athenians, by daring to oppose them, gave them a defeat; 12. and having made a vow to Diana, that whatever number they should kill of the enemy, they would sacrifice to her divinity the same number of goats, and not being able to find enough, they resolved to sacrifice five hundred every year; and to this day they still continue to sacrifice them. 13. Again, when Xerxes, having collected that innumerable army of his, came down upon Greece a second time, our ancestors on that occasion, too, defeated the ancestors of these Barbarians, both by land and sea; of which exploits the trophies are still to be seen as memorials; the greatest of all memorials, however, is the liberty of the states in which you were born and bred, for you worship no man as master, but the gods alone. Of such ancestors are you sprung.
14. 'Nor am I going to say that you dishonour them. It is not yet many days since you arrayed yourselves in the field against the descendants of those Barbarians, and defeated, with the help of the gods, a force many times more numerous than yourselves. 15. On that occasion you showed yourselves brave men to procure a throne for Cyrus; and now, when the struggle is for your own lives, it becomes you to be more valiant and resolute. 16. At present, too, you may justly feel greater confidence against your adversaries; for even then, when you had made no trial of them, and saw them in countless numbers before you, you yet dared, with the spirit of your fathers, to advance upon them, and now, when you have learned from experience of them, that, though many times your number, they shrink from receiving your charge, what reason have you any longer to fear them? 17. And do not consider it any disadvantage, that the troops of Cyrus, who were formerly arrayed on our side, have now left us; for they are far more cowardly than those who were defeated by you; at least[130] they deserted us to flee to them, and those who are so ready to commence flight it is better to see posted on the side of the enemy than in our own ranks.
18. 'If, again, any of you are disheartened because we have no cavalry, and the enemy have a great number, consider that ten thousand cavalry are nothing more than ten thousand men; for no one ever perished in battle of being bitten or kicked by a horse; it is the men that do whatever is done in the encounter. 19. Doubtless we, too, rest upon a surer support than cavalry have, for they are raised upon horses, and are afraid, not only of us, but also of falling, while we, taking our steps upon the ground, shall strike such as approach us with far greater force, and hit much more surely the mark at which we may aim. In one point alone, indeed, have the cavalry the advantage, that it is safer for them to flee than for us.
20. 'But if, though you have courage for battle, you are disquieted at the thought that Tissaphernes will no longer guide you, and that the king will no longer supply you with provisions, consider whether it is better to have Tissaphernes for our guide, who is manifestly plotting our destruction, or such persons as we ourselves may seize and compel to be our guides, who will be conscious that if they go wrong with regard to us, they go wrong with regard to their own lives and persons. 21. And as to provisions, whether is it better for us to purchase, in the markets which they provide, small measures of food for large sums of money, (no longer, indeed, having the money,) or, if we are successful in the field, to take supplies for ourselves, adopting whatever measure each of us may wish to use?
22. 'Again, if you think, that this state of things will be better, but imagine that the rivers will be impassable, and that you were greatly misled when you came across them, reflect whether the Barbarians have not acted most unwisely also in this respect.[131] For all rivers, though they may be impassable at a distance from their sources, are easy to be forded by those who go to their springs, wetting them not even to the knees. 23. But even if the rivers shall not afford us a passage,[132] and no guide shall appear to conduct us, we still need not be in despair; for we know that the Mysians, whom we should not call more valiant than ourselves, have settled themselves, against the king's will, in many rich and large cities in the king's territory; we know that the Pisidians have acted similarly; and we have ourselves seen[133] that the Lycaonians, having seized on the strongholds in the plains, enjoy the produce of the land of these Barbarians; 24. and I should recommend that we, for the present, should not let it be seen that we are eager to start homewards, but should apparently make arrangements as if we thought of settling somewhere in these parts; for I am sure that the king would grant the Mysians many guides, and give them many hostages to send them out of the country safely, and even make roads for them, though they should desire to depart in four-horse chariots; and for ourselves, too, I am convinced that he would with thrice as much pleasure do the same, if he saw us making dispositions to remain here. 25. But I am afraid that if we should once learn to live in idleness, to revel in abundance, and to associate with the fair and stately wives and daughters of the Medes and Persians, we should, like the lotus-eaters,[134] think no more of the road homewards. 26. It seems to me, therefore, both reasonable and just, that we should first of all make an attempt to return to Greece, and to the members of our families, and let our countrymen see that they live in voluntary poverty, since they might see those, who are now living at home without due means of subsistence, enriched on betaking themselves hither. But I need say no more on this head, for it is plain, my fellow-soldiers, that all these advantages fall to the conquerors.
27. 'I must also suggest to you, however, in what manner we may proceed on our way with the greatest safety, and how we may fight, if it should be necessary to fight, to the greatest possible advantage. First of all, then,' he continued, 'it seems to me that we ought to burn whatever carriages we have, that our cattle may not influence our movements, but that we may march whithersoever it may be convenient for the army; and then that we should burn our tents with them, for tents are troublesome to carry, and of no service either for fighting or in getting provisions. 28. I think also that we ought to rid ourselves of whatever is superfluous in the rest of our baggage, reserving only what we have for war, or for meat and drink, that as many of us as possible may be under arms, and as few as possible baggage-bearers; for you are aware that whatever belongs to the conquered becomes the property of others; and, if we are victorious, we ought to look upon the enemy as our baggage-carriers.
29. 'It only remains for me to mention a particular which I consider to be of the greatest importance. You see
