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VALENTINE B. WIND T
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1883

ARTES
1817
SCIENTIA
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Valentine B. Windt

UNIL
MICH
OF
H.
XENOPHON
THE ANABASIS,
OR
EXPEDITION OF CYRUS
AND THE
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
LITERALLY TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK
OF
XENOPHON.
BY THE
REV. J. S. WATSON, M. A. M. R. S. L.
WITH
A GEOGRAPHICAL COMMENTARY,
BY W. F. AINSWORTH, ESQ.,
F.8.A. F.R.G.S. F.G.S.
LONDON: GEORGE BELL AND SONS, YORK STREET
COVENT GARDEN.
1883.
Duplicate Sold by the
Princeton University Library
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PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
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PREFACE.
Or the two works of Xenophon, contained in the pre-
sent volume, English translations have already appeared.
The only version of the Anabasis, on which the public
could look with any favour, was Spelman's, which
certainly has spirit, and is in general not unfaithful, but
is not sufficiently close for the scholar or student. Spel-
man had some knowledge of Greek, but was deficient,
as is proved by his notes, in that intimate acquaintance
with the language which is necessary to the production
of an exact version.
The best previous translation of the Memorabilia
was that by Sarah Fielding, the sister of the novelist; a
performance, however, extremely verbose and licentious
Its authoress had not sufficient knowledge of Greek to
justify her in undertaking it. Harris of Salisbury gave
her some help, as she says in a note near the commence-
ment, but assuredly not much. She had been preceded
by Bysshe, the author of the Art of Poetry, a free trans-
lator, many of whose phrases she adopted.
The present translator has endeavoured to preserve
the sense and spirit of the original, in language which
may satisfy both the English reader and the scholar.
In the Anabasis the text of Dindorf has been followed;
in the Memorabilia, that of Kühner.
The Geographical Commentary, by Mr. Ainsworth,
author of "Travels in the Track of the Ten Thousand
Greeks," has been added at the wish of the publisher,
and will, without doubt, be regarded as an acceptable
illustration of the Anabasis.
J. S. W.
REMARKS
ON
THE AUTHORSHIP OF THE ANABASIS.
A BIOGRAPHICAL Notice of Xenophon will be prefixed to
another volume. Some remarks are here offered on the
authorship of the "Anabasis."
A passage of the "Hellenica," in which it is said that a
narrative of the Expedition of Cyrus was written by Themis-
togenes of Syracuse, has given rise to the question¹ whether
the account of that expedition which we now have is that of
Xenophon or that of Themistogenes.
When Xenophon, in the course of his narrative of events
relating to Greece, comes to the time at which the expedition
of Cyrus took place, he says,2 "How Cyrus collected an army,
how he marched up the country with it against his brother,
how the battle was fought, how Cyrus was killed, and how
the Greeks afterwards effected a safe retreat to the sea, has
been written by Themistogenes the Syracusan."
Suidas also says that "Themistogenes, a Syracusan his-
torian, wrote the Anabasis of Cyrus, ἥτις ἐν τοῖς Ξενοφῶντος
῾Ελληνικοῖς φέρεται, and some other things concerning his own
country.' What sense is to be given to the word péperɑɩ in
this passage, has been a subject of much doubt.
""
If the
phrase containing it be translated, with Morus, quæ nomina-
tur aut laudatur in Historiâ Græcâ, a sense is given to the
verb for which there is no authority; and if it be rendered,
with most interpreters, quæ inserta legitur historiis Græcis,
that is said which is not true. Kuster and Dindorf,5 there-
fore, suggest that the word 'EXλŋvukots, which is not found in
¹ Morus in Dissert. Hellenicis præmiss. c. 6. Kühner Prolegom.
in Anab. p. xviii.
2 Hellen. iii. 1, 2.
4 Ad Suidam, v. Θεμιστογένης.
4
ν. Θεμιστογένης.
5 Præf. in Anab. p. vii. ed. 1825.
ON THE AUTHORSHIP OF THE ANABASIS.
the Paris manuscripts, should be struck out. The sense will
then be, "which is inserted among the writings of Xenophon."
Suidas being thus interpreted, the two passages will concur
in showing that a narrative of the "Anabasis" was written by
Themistogenes. The next point to be considered is, whether
that narrative which we now have is, or is not, the work of
Themistogenes.
Plutarch, in his Considerations whether the Athenians were
more renowned in Arms or in Letters,¹ observes, in alluding
to the historians, that "Xenophon was a subject of history for
himself, for he wrote an account of the military matters which
he successfully conducted, but represents that the account was
written by Themistogenes the Syracusan, in order that he might
have more credit if he spoke of himself as another person,
giving to another the reputation of the work." The passage
is somewhat obscure, for there is a word, such as Aéyɛ, want-
ing; I translate it in the sense in which it is taken by Leun-
clavius and Wyttenbach.
In agreement with this passage of Plutarch, Tzetzes, in his
Chiliads,2 after observing that Phidias made two statues for a
young man of whom he was fond, and for whose workman-
ship, it appears, they were to pass, says that "Xenophon did
the same with regard to the Anabasis of Cyrus; for he set a
certain name to the work to please one whom he loved; * * *
it is the book of Themistogenes the Syracusan, and afterwards
came to be commonly called the work of Xenophon; so Plato
the philosopher wrote his Dialogues under the names of his
friends; and other writers have composed innumerable things
in a similar way." When he says that "it is the book of
Themistogenes,” τὸ βιβλίον Θεμιστογένους ἐστι, he can have no
other meaning but that it was given to the world by Xeno-
phon under the name of Themistogenes. A Scholium, which
is appended to the passage by an unknown author, states the
matter more briefly and clearly: "Xenophon inscribed the
Anabasis of Cyrus with the name of Themistogenes, yet it
came to be commonly called afterwards the work of Xeno-
phon."
From these writers, then, Plutarch, Tzetzes, and his Scholi-
ast, it would appear that the "Anabasis,” or account of the
expedition of Cyrus, was written by Xenophon, and published
¹ c. i.
2 vii. 930.
vi
ON THE AUTHORSHIP OF THE ANA BASIS.
as the work of Themistogenes. But from the passage of Xen-
ophon, to which we ought to attribute more authority than to
any other, as also from that of Suidas, we may rather conceive,
as Dindorf suggests, that there were two Anabases, the one writ-
ten by Themistogenes, before Xenophon wrote the third book of
the Hellenica, and to which Xenophon was then content to re-
fer, and the other written by Xenophon himself subsequently
to that time. Under this supposition, indeed, we must believe
that Xenophon published the Anabasis at a very advanced
period of life, while the composition seems to be that of a man
in the full vigour of his faculties; but Sophocles, as Kühner ¹
observes, wrote with great spirit after he was eighty years of
age; and the Anabasis might have been written some years
before Xenophon sent it out of his hands. If there were two,
that of Themistogenes, from what Xenophon says of it, may
have brought the Greeks only to the sea, or to Trebisond;
that of Xenophon is continued to their junction with Thibron.
If there were but one, Xenophon may have published the first
four books, at an earlier period, under the name of Themisto-
genes, and have afterwards added the three other books, and
signified that the whole was his own.
One object of the author of the work which we have,
observes Mitford,2 was to apologize for the conduct of Xeno-
phon; in the latter part the narrative is constantly accom-
panied with a studied defence of his proceedings; the cir-
cumstances that produced his banishment from Athens, and
whatever might excite jealousy against him at Lacedæmon,
have been carefully considered; if, therefore, Themistogenes
wrote it, he may have written under the direction of Xeno-
phion; if Xenophon wrote it, there may have been good rea-
sons why, at the time of its publication, he should have wished
it to pass under another person's name.
If there were two Anabases, we may suppose that Xenophon's
superseded that of Themistogenes, and caused it to be lost.
The name of Themistogenes, as an author, is mentioned by no
writer besides those whom we have noticed; while that of
Xenophon, as the author of the Anabasis, is specified, as
Mitford and Krüger 3 observe, by Dionysius of Halicarnassus,
Strabo, Cicero, Diogenes Laertius, Lucian, Ælian, and Athe-
Prolegom. in Anab. p. xix.
1
3 De Authent. Anab. p. 18.
2 Hist. of Greece, vol. v. p. 333
ON THE AUTHORSHIP OF THE ANABASIS.
vii
næus, besides the grammarians and lexicographers, Hesychius,
Pollux, Harpocration, and Ammonius.
But no decisive opinion can be pronounced. The statement
of Plutarch, which he gives, not as a conjecture of his own,
but as a matter of general belief in his day, and which is sup-
ported by Tzetzes and his Scholiast, may induce many readers,
if not the majority, to suppose, with Weiske¹ and Kühner, that
there was probably but one Anabasis, that which we now
have, and which, though the work of Xenophon, was, for
whatever reasons on the part of the author, sent into the world
as the composition of Themistogenes. The attractions of the
subject, as Dr. Smith2 observes, might have induced more
than one or two persons to write upon it.
Of the other work translated in this volume, no doubt has
been expressed that Xenophon was the author. It shows what
were the habits and conversation of him who taught that
To know
That which before us lies in daily life.
Is the prime wisdom;
who brought philosophy down from heaven to dwell with
men; and who was pronounced the wisest of men by the
Delphic oracle, "because he judiciously made choice of human
nature for the object of his thoughts, an inquiry into which as
much exceeds all other learning, as it is of more consequence
to adjust the true nature and measures of right and wrong,
than to settle the distances of the planets, and compute the
time of their circumvolutions."3 His doctrine was,
Ταῦτ᾽ εἴδως, σοφὸς ἴσθι· μάτην δ' Επίκουροι ἔασον
Ποῦ τὸ κενὸν ζητεῖν, καὶ τίνες αἱ μονάδες.
On life, on morals, be thy thoughts employed;
Leave to the schools their Atoms and their Void.
He gave indeed, it may be thought, too little encourage-
ment to investigations in physical science. How far he
recommended that mathematical studies should be pursued,
may be seen in B. iv. c. 7. The best specimen of Socratic
reasoning in the Memorabilia is the philosopher's conversa-
tion with Euthydemus in B. iv. c. 2.
Tractat. de æstimandâ Cyri Exped. p. xvii. seqq.
2 Note on Xen. Hellen. iii. 1. 3 Spectator, No. 408.
• Automedon. Anthol. Gr. Rambler, No. 180.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
REMARKS
iv
ANABASIS, Bоок I.
1
II.
45
III. .
175
IV.
106
V..
143
VI.
79
VII.
208
TABULAR VIEW OF THE MARCHES, &C., IN THE ANABASIS
259
GEOGRAPHICAL COMMENTARY, BY MR. AINSWORTH
263
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX
339
MEMORABILIA, BOOK I.
340
•
II.
385
III.
423
IV.
468
50S
INDEX
519
NOTANDA
XENOPHON'S
ANABASIS,
OR
EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
BOOK I.-CHAPTER I.
Parentage of Cyrus the Younger. After the death of his father he is ac-
cused of plotting against his brother Artaxerxes, who imprisons him, but
relcases him on the intercession of his mother, and sends him back to his
province, where he secretly collects forces, of which a large proportion
are from Greece, to make war on his brother.
3
1. OF Darius' and Parysatis were born two sons,² the elder
Artaxerxes, and the younger Cyrus. After Darius had
fallen sick, and suspected that the end of his life was approach-
ing, he was desirous that both of his sons should attend him.
2. The elder then happened to be present; Cyrus he sent for
from the province of which he had made him satrap. He had
also appointed him commander of all the forces that muster
in the plain of Castolus.*
'Darius II., surnamed Nothus, who reigned from B. c. 423 to
B. c. 404, the year in which Cyrus went up to Babylon.
2 Several children of his are mentioned by Plutarch, Life of Artax.
c. i. 27.
3 Afterwards Artaxerxes II., surnamed Mnemon; he began his
reign B. c. 405.
• Εἰς Καστωλοῦ πεδίον.] In each of the provinces of the Persian
empire, certain open places, plains or commons, were appointed for
the assembly and review of troops. See i. 2. 11; 9.7; Hellen.
43. Heeren, Ideen, vol. ii. p. 486. Castolus is mentioned as a city
of Lydia by Stephanus of Byzantium. Kühner.
VOL. I.
B
2
[B. L
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
Cyrus accordingly went up, taking with him Tissaphernes as
a friend, and having also with him three hundred heavy-arm-
ed Greeks, and Xenias of Parrhasia,2 their captain.
1
3. But when Darius was dead, and Artaxerxes was placed
upon the throne, Tissaphernes brought an accusation against
Cyrus before his brother, saying that he was plotting against
him. Artaxerxes was induced to give credit to it, and had
Cyrus arrested, with the intention of putting him to death;
but his mother, having begged his life, sent him back to his
province.
4. When Cyrus had departed, after being thus in danger
and disgrace, he began to consider by what means he might
cease to be subject to his brother, and make himself king, if
he could, in his stead. Parysatis, their mother, was well dis-
posed towards Cyrus,3 as she loved him better than Arta-
xerxes, who was on the throne. 5. Whatever messengers from
the king 4 came to visit him, he let none of them go till he
had inclined them to be friends to himself, rather than the
monarch. He also paid such attention to the Barbarians
that were with him, that they were in a condition to take the
field, and well inclined towards himself. 6. His Greek force
he collected as secretly as he could, that he might surprise the
king as little prepared as possible.
Whatever
He collected troops in the following manner.
garrisons he had in his towns, he sent orders to the com-
manders of them to procure respectively as many Peloponne-
sians as they could, of the best class of soldiers, on pretence
that Tissaphernes was forming designs upon those towns.
1 Τῶν Ἑλλήνων-ὁπλίτας-τριακοσίους.]
Three hundred of the
Greeks that were in his pay, or of such as he could then procure.
2 A city and district in the south-western part of Arcadia.
3 'Yπñρуε Tη Kúpy.] "Partibus et consiliis ejus [Cyri] favebat."
Ὑπῆρχε
Schneider. Cyro addicta et adjumento erat. Kühner. Compare
v. 6. 23; Hellen. vii. 5. 5.
((
4 "Οστις—τῶν παρὰ βασιλέως.] We must understand those whe
are called podot, Cyrop. viii. 6. 16: compare con. iv. 6. Zeune.
They were officers appointed to visit the satrapies annually,
and
make a report respecting the state of them to the king.
5 Οὕτω διατιθεὶς ἀπεπέμπετο, κ. τ. .λ.] "He sent them all away
(after) so disposing them, that they were friends rather to himself
than the king.'
By this term are meant chiefly the Asiatics that were about
Cyrus. The Greeks called all people Barbarians that were not of
their own nation.
CH. 1.1
CYRUS COLLECTS FORCES.
3
For the cities of Ionia had formerly been under the govern-
ment of Tissaphernes, having been assigned to him by the
king, but had at this time all revolted to Cyrus except Mile-
tus. 7. Tissaphernes, discovering that the people of Miletus
were forming a similar design, [to go over to Cyrus,¹] put
some of them to death, and sent others into banishment. Cy-
rus, receiving the exiles under his protection, and assembling
an army, laid siege to Miletus by land and sea, and used
every exertion to restore these exiles; and he had thus another
pretext for augmenting the number of his forces. 8. He then
sent to the king, and requested that, as he was his brother,
these cities should be given to him rather than that Tissa-
phernes should govern them; and in this application his
mother supported him. Thus the king had no suspicion of
the plot against him, but supposed that Cyrus, from being at
war with Tissaphernes, was spending the money upon troops;
so that he was not at all concerned at the strife between them,
especially as Cyrus remitted to him the tribute arising from
the cities which Tissaphernes had had.
9. Another army was collected for him in the Chersonesus
opposite Abydos, in the following method. Clearchus, a La-
cedæmonian, happened to be in exile. Cyrus, having met
with him, was struck with admiration for him, and made him
a present of ten thousand darics.2 Clearchus, on receiving the
gold, raised, by means of it, a body of troops, and making ex-
cursions out of the Chersonesus, made war upon the Thracians
that are situated above the Hellespont, and was of assist-
ance to the Greeks; so that the towns on the Hellespont
willingly contributed money for the support of his men. This
too was a force thus secretly maintained for Cyrus.
10. Aristippus, also, a Thessalian, happened to be a guest-
friend3 of Cyrus, and, being pressed by an adverse faction at
1 ᾿Αποστῆναι πρὸς Κῦρον.] These words are regarded as spurious
by Schneider, on the suggestion of Wolf and Wyttenbach. Krüger
and Kühner retain them, as added explicationis causá.
2 The daric was a Persian gold coin, generally supposed to have
derived its name from Darius I.; but others think this doubtfu..
From c. vii. 18, it appears that three hundred darics were equal to
a talent. If the talent be estimated therefore, as in Mr. Hussey's
Essay on Anc. Weights and Money, ch. iii. sect. 12, at £243 15s., the
value of the daric will be 16s. 3d. The sum given to Clearchus
will then be £8125.
3 Eivos.] I have translated this word by guest-friend, a conveni-
B 2
4
[B. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
home, came to him, and asked him for two thousand mercen-
ary troops, and three months' pay for them, representing that
he would thus be enabled to overpower his enemies. Cyrus
granted him four thousand, and six months' pay, desiring him
not to terminate the strife until he should consult him. Thus
another body of troops was clandestinely supported for him in
Thessaly.
11. He then requested Proxenus a Boeotian, who was also
his guest-friend, to join him with as many men as he could
procure, stating that he intended to make war on the Pisi-
dians, as they molested his territories. He also desired
Sophænetus of Stymphalus,' and Socrates, an Achæan, both
of them his guest-friends, to come to him, and bring as many
men as possible, pretending that he was going to war with
Tissaphernes on behalf of the Milesian exiles; and they acted
as he wished.
CHAPTER II.
Cyrus begins his march, proceeding from Sardis through Lydia into Phry-
gia, where he is joined by new forces. The city of Celæne; the plain of
Čaystrus, where the soldiers demand their arrears of pay, which Cyrus
discharges with money received from the queen of Cilicia. The town of
Thymbrium; the fountain of Midas. Cyrus enters Cilicia, and is met at
Tarsus by Syennesis, the king of the country.
1. WHEN it seemed to him time to march up into the coun-
try, he made it his pretext for doing so that he wished to
expel the Pisidians entirely from the territory, and mustered,
as if for the purpose of attacking them, the whole of the troops,
as well Barbarian as Greek, that were on the spot.2 He also
ent term, which made its appearance in our language some time
ago. The rot were bound by a league of friendship and hospital-
ity, by which each engaged to entertain the other, when he visited
him.
¹ A town of Arcadia, on the borders of Achaia.
(C
2 Τό τε βαρβαρικὸν καὶ τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν τὸ ἐνταῦθα στράτευμα.] There
has been much dispute about the exact signification of vrauda in
this place. Zeune would have it mean illuc, in illum locum ubi
sunt Pisidæ;" and Krüger thinks that "towards Sardis "is intend-
ed. But this is to do violence to the word; I have followed Weiske
and Kühner, who give it its ordinary signification. "Barbarorum
CH. 2.]
THE TROOPS MEET AT SARDIS.
5
sent word to Clearchus to join him, bringing whatever force
was at his command; and to Aristippus, as soon as he had
come to terms with the party at home, to send him back the
troops that he had. He also desired Xenias the Arcadian,
who commanded for him the mercenaries in the several towns,
to bring him all his men except such as would be required to
garrison the citadels. 2. He summoned, too, the army that
was besieging Miletus, and invited the exiles to accompany
him on his expedition; promising them, that if he success-
fully accomplished the objects for which he undertook it, he
would never rest till he had re-established them in their
country. They cheerfully consented, as they had confidence
in him, and, taking their arms, joined him at Sardis.
3. To Sardis also came Xenias, bringing with him the
troops from the several towns, to the number of four thousand
heavy-armed men. Thither came also Proxenus, with heavy-
armed men to the number of fifteen hundred, and five hun-
dred light-armed; Sophænetus the Stymphalian with a thou-
sand heavy-armed; Socrates the Achæan with five hundred;
and Pasion of Megara with three hundred heavy-armed, and
the same number of peltasts. Both Pasion and Socrates
were among those serving in the army at Miletus.
4. These joined him at Sardis. Tissaphernes, observing
these proceedings, and considering the force to be greater than
was necessary to attack the Pisidians, set out, with all possi-
ble speed, to give notice of the matter to the king, taking with
him about five hundred cavalry; 5. and the king, as soon as
he heard from Tissaphernes of the preparations of Cyrus,
made arrangements to oppose him.
Cyrus, at the head of the force which I have stated, com-
menced his journey from Sardis, and proceeded through
2
et Græcorum [exercitum]," says Kühner, quem Cyrus ibi, ubi
versabatur, collectum habebat." The rò before vrauda is an addi-
tion of Dindorf's, which Kühner pronounces unnecessary.
1 The TEλraorai were troops armed with a light shield, called
πέλτη, holding a middle place between the ὁπλῖται and ψιλοί. They
were first made an efficient part of the Greek forces by Iphicrates:
see his Life in Corn. Nep.; and Xen. Hellen. iv. 4. 16; 3. 12.
2 Xenophon begins his account of the expedition from Sardis,
because he there joined the army, but afterwards constantly com-
putes from Ephesus, the sea-port from whence he began his jour
ney. Stanford.
6
[B. L.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
2
Lydia, three days' march,' a distance of twenty-two para-
sangs, as far as the river Mæander. The breadth of this
river is two plethra,³ and a bridge was thrown over it, con-
structed of seren boats. 6. Having crossed the stream, he
went forward through Phrygia, one day's march, eight para-
sangs, till he reached Colossæ, a populous city, wealthy and
of considerable magnitude. Here he halted seven days;
when Menon the Thessalian joined him with a thousand heavy-
armed troops and five hundred peltasts, consisting of Dolo-
pians, Enianes, and Olynthians.
7. Hence he proceeded in three days' march, a distance of
twenty parasangs, to Celænæ, a populous. large, and rich city
of Phrygia. Here Cyrus had a palace, and an extensive park
full of wild beasts, which he was accustomed to hunt on
horseback whenever he wished to give himself and his horses
exercise. Through the middle of this park flows the river
Mæander; its springs issue from the palace itself; and it
runs also through the city of Celænæ. s. There is also at
Celænæ a palace of the Great King, situated near the source
of the river Marsyas, under the citadel.
runs through the city, and falls into the
breadth of the Marsyas is twenty-five feet.
said to have flayed Marsyas, after conquering him in a trial
of musical skill, and to have hung up his skin in the cave,
where the source of the stream rises: and on this account
the river is called the Marsyas. 9. Xerxes is said to have
This river too
Meander. The
Here Apollo is
1 Σταθμούς.] The word σταθμός means properly a station or halt=
ing-place at the end of a day's march, of which the length varied,
but was generally about five parasangs.
2 The parasang in Xenophon is equal to thirty stadia; see ii. 2.
6. So Herodotus, ii. 6; v. 53. Mr. Ainsworth, following Mr.
Hamilton and Colonel Leake, makes the parasang equal to 3 Eng-
lish miles, 180 yards, or 3 geographical miles of 1822 yards each.
Travels in the Track, pref. p. xii. Thus five parasangs would be a
long day's march; these marches were more than seven; and
the next day's was eight. But Reunell thinks the parasang not
more than 2.78 English miles. Mr. Hussey, Anc. Weights, &c.,
Append. sect. 12, makes it 3 miles, 787 yards.
3 The plethrum was 100 Greek or 101.125 English feet.
Hussey, Append. sect. 10, p. 232.
See
The king of Persia was called the Great King by the Greek
writers, on account of the great extent of his dominions, or of the
number of kings subject to him; a title similar to that of the suc-
cessors of Mahomet, Grand Signior.
CE. 2.]
CYRUS 18 JOINED BY CLEARCHUS.
7
built both this palace and the citadel of Celænæ, when he was
returning from Greece after his discomfiture in battle.
Cyrus remained here thirty days; during which time Cle-
archus, the Lacedæmonian exile, joined him with a thousand
heavy-armed men, eight hundred Thracian peltasts, and two
hundred Cretan archers. At the same time Sosis¹ of Syra-
cuse arrived with three hundred heavy-armed men, and So-
phænetus, an Arcadian, with a thousand. Here Cyrus held
& review of the Greeks in the park, and took their number;
and they were in all eleven thousand heavy-armed troops, and
about two thousand peltasts.2 10. Hence he proceeded two
days' march, a distance of ten parasangs, to Peltæ, a well-
peopled city, where he halted three days, during which Xenias
the Arcadian celebrated the sacred rites of Lycæan Jove,3 and
held public games on the occasion; in which the prizes were
golden strigiles. Cyrus was present at the games as a spectator.
Thence he proceeded, two days' march, twelve parasangs, to
Ceramon Agora, a populous city, the last on the side of Mysia.
4
11. Hence he proceeded, in three days' march, the distance
of thirty parasangs, to the Plain of Caystrus, a populous
city. Here he halted five days; and at this time more than
three months' pay was due to the troops, which they frequently
went to his tent to demand. Cyrus put them off, giving them
This is the reading of the name adopted by Dindorf and Küh-
ner; most other editors have Socrates, which occurs in four manu-
scripts; two have Sosias, and one Sostes.
The word is here used, as Spelman observes, in a more genera.
sense than ordinary, to signify all that were not heavy-armed.
Tà Aikaia.] The festival of Lycæan Jore is mentioned by Pausa-
nias, viii. 2. 1, and the gymnastic contests held in it by Pindar, Ol.
ix. 145; xiii. 153; Nem. x. 89. Schneider.-Mount Lyceum was sa-
cred to both Jupiter and Pan. Kühner.
4
* Στλεγγίδες.] Generally supposed to be the same as the Latin
strigilis, a flesh-scraper; an instrument used in the bath for cleansing
the skin. To this interpretation the preference seems to be given
by Kühner and Bornemann, to whom I adhere. Schneider, whom
Krüger follows, would have it a head-band or fillet, such as was
worn by women, and by persons that went to consult oracles.
Poppo observes that the latter sort of prizes would be less accept-
able to soldiers than the former. There were, however, women in
the Grecian camp, as will afterwards be seen, to whom the soldiers
that gained the prizes might have presented them. The sense of
the word must therefore be left doubtful. The sense of strigilis ic
supported by Suidas; see Sturz's Lex. s. v.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
B. I.
hopes, but was evidently distressed; for it was no part of
his character not to pay when he had the means. 12.
But while he was there, Epyaxa, the wife of Syennesis king
of the Cilicians, paid him a visit, and was said to have pre-
sented him with a large sum of money. He in consequence
gave the troops pay for four months.
The Cilician queen
had with her a body-guard of Cilicians and Aspendians; and
it was reported that Cyrus had connexion with her.
13. Hence he proceeded two days' march, ten parasangs, to
Thymbrium, a populous city. Here, by the road-side, was a
fountain, called the fountain of Midas, king of Phrygia; at
which Midas is said to have captured the Satyr, by mixing
wine with the water.
1
14. Hence he proceeded, two days' march, ten parasangs,
to Tyriæum, a well-peopled city, where he stayed three days.
The Cilician queen is said to have requested Cyrus to show her
his army. With the desire therefore of exhibiting it to her,
he reviewed his troops, as well Greek as Barbarian, in the plain.
15. He ordered the Greeks to be marshalled, and to take their
places, as they were accustomed to do for battle, each captain
arranging his own men. They were accordingly drawn up four
deep; Menon and his troops took the right wing; Clearchus and
his men the left; and the other captains occupied the centre.
16. First of all, then, Cyrus reviewed the Barbarians, who
marched past him, drawn up in troops and companies;2 and
afterwards the Greeks, riding by them in his chariot, with the
Cilician queen in her car.3 They had all brazen helmets, scarlet
tunics, greaves, and polished shields. 17. When he had ridden
past them all, he stopped his chariot in front of their phalanx,
and sent Pigres the interpreter to the Greek officers, with
orders for them to present arms, and to advance with their
whole phalanx. The officers communicated these orders to
4
¹ Tòv Zárvρov.] Silenus. See Servius ad Virg. Ecl. vi. 13.
2 Κατὰ ἴλας καὶ κατὰ τάξεις.] Ίλη signifes properly a troop of
horse, consisting of 64 men; and rásis, a company of foot, which
Xenophon, in the Cyropædia, makes to consist of 100 men.
³ 'Ep' àpµaµá§ns.] The harmamaxa was a Persian carriage, pro-
bably covered, for women and children. See Q. Curt. iii. 3, 23;
Wesseling ad Herod. vii. 41.
ПIρоbáλεσ0αι тà öπλа.] "To hold out the shield and the spear,
the one to defend the person, and the other to repel or attack an
adversary." Kühner.
CH. 2.]
CYRUS ADVANCES INTO CILICIA.
9
their soldiers; and, when the trumpeter gave the signal, they
presented arms and advanced. Then, as they proceeded with
a quicker pace and loud shouts, the soldiers of their own ac-
cord took to running, bearing down upon the tents of the Per-
sians. 18. Upon this, there arose great terror among the rest
of the Barbarians; the Cilician queen fled from her car; and
he people in the market deserted their goods and took to their
heels; while the Greeks marched up to the tents with laugh-
ter. The Cilician queen, on beholding the splendour and dis-
cipline of the army, was struck with admiration; and Cyrus
was delighted when he saw the terror with which the Greeks
inspired the Barbarians.
19. Hence he advanced, three days' march, a distance of
wenty parasangs, to Iconium, the last town of Phrygia ; where
he halted three days. He then went forward through Lycao-
nia, five days' march, a distance of thirty parasangs; and this
country, as being that of an enemy, he permitted the Greeks to
ravage.
20. From hence Cyrus despatched the Cilician queen, by the
shortest road, into Cilicia; and sent with her the troops which
Menon had, and Menon himself. Cyrus, with the rest of the
army, proceeded through Cappadocia, four days' march, a dis-
tance of twenty-five parasangs, to Dana, a populous, large, and
wealthy city. Here he stayed three days; in the course of which
he put to death a Persian, named Megaphernes, a wearer of the
royal purple,' and a certain other person in power, one of the
provincial governors having accused them of conspiring against
him.
21. They then made an attempt to enter Cilicia; but the
sole entrance was a road broad enough only for a single car-
riage, very steep, and impracticable for an army to pass, if
any one opposed them. Syennesis, besides, was said to be
stationed on the heights, guarding the defile; on which ac-
count Cyrus halted for a day in the plain. The next day, a
1
an
COLVIKLOTY Baoiλetov.] Emilius Portus, on the authority of Zo-
naras, Lex. p. 1818, interprets this "dyer of the king's purple ;
interpretation repugnant to what follows. Morus makes it purpu-
ratus; Larcher, vexillarius, because in Diod. Sic. xiv. 26 a standard
is called poviç: Brodæus gives 'unus è regiis familiaribus, pu-
niceâ veste indutus, non purpured.' Without doubt he was one of
the highest Persian nobles, as he is joined with the unapуo duváorai.'
Kühner.
10
[B. L.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
messenger came to inform him that Syennesis had quitted the
heights, on receiving information that Menon's army was
already in Cilicia within the mountains, and hearing that
Tamos had a number of galleys, belonging to the Lacedæ-
monians and Cyrus himself, sailing round from Ionia to Cilicia.
22. Cyrus accordingly ascended the mountains without any
opposition, and saw the tents in which the Cilicians kept
guard. Hence he descended into a large and beautiful plain,
well watered, and abounding with all kinds of trees, as well
as vines. It also produced great quantities of sesamum,
panic, millet,2 wheat, and barley. A chain of hills, strong
and high, encompasses it on all sides from sea to sea.
23. De-
scending through this plain, he proceeded, in four days' march,
a distance of twenty-five parasangs, to Tarsus, a large and
opulent city of Cilicia. Here was the palace of Syennesis,
the king of the Cilicians; and through the midst of the city
runs a river, called the Cydnus, the breadth of which is two
plethra. 24. This city the inhabitants, with Syennesis, had
deserted for a strong-hold upon the mountains, except those
who kept shops.3 Those also remained behind, who lived
near the sea at Soli and at Issi.
25. Epyaxa, the wife of Syennesis, had arrived at Tarsus five
days before Cyrus. But in passing over the mountains which
skirt the plain, two companies of Menon's troops had perished;
some said that they had been cut to pieces by the Cilicians,
But.
Eide.] This seems to be the reading of all the manuscripts, and
is retained by Poppo, Bornemann, Dindorf, and Kühner.
Schneider and Weiske read eiλe, "took possession of," on the sug-
gestion of Muretus, Var. Lect. xv. 10, who thought it superfluous
for Xenophon to say that Cyrus merely saw the tents. Lion, how-
ever, not unreasonably supposes this verb to be intended to mark
the distance at which Cyrus passed from the tents, that is, that he
passed within sight of them, the Cilicians having retired only a
short space to the rear.
2 Σήσαμον καὶ μελίνην καὶ κέγχρον.] Sesamum is a leguminous
plant, well known in the East; the seeds of it resemble hemp-seed,
and are boiled and eaten like rice. Meλívn, panicum, is a plant re-
sembling millet. Kéyxpos, milium, millet, is far the best known of
the three to Europeans. Panic bears its grain in ears; millet, in
bunches.
3 Καπηλεία.] Καπηλεῖον is often used in the sense of a tavern;
sometimes in a more general sense, as any kind of shop. We may
suppose that all those remained behind who had anything to sell,
with the hope of getting profit.
CH. 3.J THE GREEKS REFUSE TO PROCEED.
11
while committing some depredations; others, that being left
behind, and unable to find the rest of the army or their road,
they had been destroyed while wandering about.
They
amounted to a hundred heavy-armed men. 26. When the rest
of Menon's troops came up, full of resentment at the fate of their
comrades, they plundered both the city of Tarsus and the pa-
lace in it. Cyrus, on entering the city, sent for Syennesis to
come to him; but Syennesis answered, that he had never yet
put himself in the power of one stronger than himself;
nor would he then consent to go to Cyrus, until his wife pre-
vailed upon him, and he received solemn assurances of safety.
27. Afterwards, when they had met, Syennesis gave Cyrus a
large sum of money for the support of his army, and Cyrus in
return presented him with such gifts as are held in estimation
by a king, a horse with a golden bit, a golden chain and brace-
lets, and a golden scimitar and Persian robe. He also engaged
that his country should no more be plundered, and that he
should receive back the captured slaves, if they anywhere
met with them.
CHAPTER III.
Cyrus is forced to stay twenty days at Tarsus by a mutiny of the Greek scl-
diers, who, suspecting that they were led against the king, refuse to go
farther, and offer violence to Clearchus, who endeavours to force them to
proceed. But being told by Cyrus that the expedition is directed against
Abrocomas, and promised an increase of pay, they agree to continue thei
march.
1. HERE Cyrus and the army remained twenty days; for
the soldiers refused to proceed farther, as they now began to
suspect that they were marching against the king, and said
that they had not been hired for this purpose. Clearchus,
first of all, endeavoured to compel his soldiers to proceed; but,
as soon as he began to advance, they pelted him and his
baggage-cattle with stones. 2. Clearchus, indeed, on this
occasion, had a narrow escape of being stoned to death.
length, when he saw that he should not be able to proceed by
force, he called a meeting of his soldiers; and at first, stand-
ing before them, he continued for some time to shed tears,
while they, looking on, were struck with wonder, and re-
mained silent. He then addressed them to this effect:
At
12
[B. 1.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
3.
"Wonder not, soldiers, that I feel distressed at the
present occurrences; for Cyrus engaged himself to me by ties.
of hospitality, and honoured me, when I was an exile from my
country, both with other marks of esteem, and by presenting
me with ten thousand darics. On receiving this money, I
did not treasure it up for my own use, or squander it in
luxury, but spent it upon you. 4. First of all, I made war
upon the Thracians, and, in the cause of Greece, and with
your assistance, took vengeance upon them by expelling them
from the Chersonesus, when they would have taken the coun-
try from its Grecian colonists. When Cyrus summoned me,
I set out to join him, taking you with me, that if he had need
of my aid, I might do him service in return for the benefits
that I had received from him. 5. But since you are unwill-
ing to accompany him on this expedition, I am under the ob-
ligation, either, by deserting you, to preserve the friendship of
Cyrus, or, by proving false to him, to adhere to you. Whether
I shall do right, I do not know; but I shall give you the pre-
ference, and will undergo with you whatever may be neces-
sary. Nor shall any one ever say, that, after leading Greeks
into a country of Barbarians, I deserted the Greeks, and
adopted, in preference, the friendship of the Barbarians.
6. "Since, however, you decline to obey me, or to follow
me, I will go with you, and submit to whatever may be des-
tined for us. For I look upon you to be at once my country,
my friends, and my fellow-soldiers, and consider that with you
I shall be respected, wherever I may be: but that, if separated
from you, I shall be unable either to afford assistance to a
friend, or to avenge myself upon an enemy.
Feel assured,
therefore, that I am resolved to accompany you wherever
you go."
7. Thus he spoke; and the soldiers, as well those under
his own command as the others, on hearing these assur-
ances, applauded him for saying that he would not march
against the king; and more than two thousand of the troops of
Xenias and Pasion, taking with them their arms and baggage,
went and encamped under Clearchus.
8. Cyrus, perplexed and grieved at these occurrences, sent
for Clearchus; who, however, would not go, but sending a
messenger to Cyrus without the knowledge of the soldiers,
bade him be of good courage, as these matters would be ar-
CH. 3.]
SPEECH OF CLEARCHUS.
13
ranged to his satisfaction. He also desired Cyrus to send for
him again, but, when Cyrus had done so, he again declined to
go.¹ 9. Afterwards, having assembled his own soldiers, and
those who had recently gone over to him, and any of the rest
that wished to be present, he spoke to the following effect:
"It is evident, soldiers, that the situation of Cyrus with
regard to us is the same as ours with regard to him; for we
are no longer his soldiers, since we refuse to follow him, nor is
he any longer our paymaster. 10. That he considers himself
wronged by us, however, I am well aware; so that, even
when he sends for me, I am unwilling to go to him, princi-
pally from feeling shame, because I am conscious of having
been in all respects false to him; and in addition, from being
afraid, that, when he has me in his power, he may take venge-
ance on me for the matters in which he conceives that he
has been injured. 11. This, therefore, seems to me to be no
time for us to sleep, or to neglect our own safety; but, on the
contrary, to consider what we must do under these circum-
stances.2 As long as we remain here, it seems necessary to
consider how we may best remain with safety; or, if we de-
termine upon going at once, how we may depart with the
greatest security, and how we may obtain provisions; for
without these, the general and the private soldier are alike
inefficient.3 12. Cyrus is indeed a most valuable friend to
those to whom he is a friend, but a most violent enemy to
those to whom he is an enemy. He has forces, too, both in-
fantry and cavalry, as well as a naval power, as we all alike
see and know; for we seem to me to be encamped at no great
distance from him. It is therefore full time to say whatever
any one thinks to be best." Having spoken thus, he made a
pause.
13. Upon this, several rose to speak; some, of their own
accord, to express what they thought; others, previously in-
structed by Clearchus, to point out what difficulty there.
would be, either in remaining or departing, without the con-
'He himself, the very person who had desired Cyrus to send for
nim, refused to go; this refusal being given for the sake of keep-
ing up appearances.
'EK TOUTWV.] "Ex his, secundum hæc, h. e. in hac rerum con-
ditione." Kühner. Bornemann interprets simply post hæc.
3
* Οὔτε στρατηγοῦ οὔτε ἰδιώτου ὄφελος οὐδέν.] " No proft (or use)
either of a general or private soldier."
14
[B. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
sent of Cyrus. 14. One of these, pretending to be eager to
proceed with all possible haste to Greece, proposed that they
should choose other commanders without delay, if Clearchus
were unwilling to conduct them back; that they should pur-
chase provisions, as there was a market in the Barbarian
camp, and pack up their baggage; that they should go to
Cyrus, and ask him to furnish them with ships, in which they
might sail home; and, if he should not grant them, that they
should beg of him a guide, to conduct them back through
such parts of the country as were friendly towards them.
But if he would not even allow them a guide, that they
should, without delay, form themselves in warlike order, and
send a detachment to take possession of the heights, in order
that neither Cyrus nor the Cilicians, (“ of whom,” said he, “we
have many prisoners, and much money that we have taken,")
may be the first to occupy them. Such were the suggestions
that he offered; but after him Clearchus spoke as follows:
15. "Let no one of you mention me, as likely to undertake
this command; for I see many reasons why I ought not to do
so; but be assured, that whatever person you may elect, I
shall pay the greatest possible deference to him, that you may
see that I know how to obey as well as any other man.
16. After him another arose, who pointed out the folly of
him who advised them to ask for ships, just as if Cyrus were
not about to sail back,2 and who showed, too, how foolish it
would be to request a guide of the very person "whose plans,"
said he, " we are frustrating. And," he added, "if we
should trust the guide that Cyrus might assign us, what will
hinder Cyrus from giving orders to occupy the heights before
we reach them? 17. For my own part, I should be reluctant
1 Διὰ φιλίας τῆς χώρας.] The earlier editions have ὡς before διά,
of which, as being useless, Schneider first suggested the omission;
and which has accordingly been rejected by subsequent editors.
The guide was to conduct them only through regions that were
friendly to Cyrus, or where he could procure them a friendly re-
ception.
Ὥσπερ πάλιν τὸν στόλον Κύρου μὴ ποιουμένου.] About the mean-
ing of these words there has been much dispute. The translation
which I have given is that of Bornemann, "quasi retro Cyrus navi
gaturus non esset," which is adopted by Kühner. "The speaker
assumes," says Bornemann, "that Cyrus is directing his march
against the Pisidians or some other rebellious people, and that,
when he has reduced them, he will return to his province."
CH. 3.J
CYRUS STILL DISSEMBLES
15
to embark in any vessel that he might grant us, lest he
should send us and the galleys to the bottom together; I
should also be afraid to follow any guide that he may ap-
point, lest he should conduct us into places, from whence
there would be no means of escape; and I had rather, if I
depart without the consent of Cyrus, depart without his
knowledge; but this is impossible. 18. I say then that such
proposals are absurdities; and my advice is, that certain per-
sons, such as are fit for the task, should accompany Clearchus
to Cyrus. and ask him in what service he wishes to employ
us; and if the undertaking be similar to that in which he be-
fore employed foreign troops,¹ that we too should follow him,
and not appear more cowardly than those who previously
went up with him. 19. But if the present design seem greater
and more difficult and more perilous than the former, that
they should ask him, in that case, either to induce us to accom-
pany him by persuasion, or, yielding himself to our persuasions,
to give us a passage to a friendly country; for thus, if we
accompany him, we shall accompany him as friends and zeal-
ous supporters, and if we leave him, we shall depart in
safety; that they then report to us what answer he makes to
this application; and that we, having heard his reply, take
measures in accordance with it."
20. These suggestions were approved; and, having chosen
certain persons, they sent them with Clearchus to ask Cyrus
the questions agreed upon by the army. Cyrus answered,
that he had heard that Abrocomas, an enemy of his, was on
the banks of the Euphrates, twelve days' march distant; and
it was against him, he said, that he wished to march; and if
Abrocomas should be there, he said that he longed to take due
vengeance on him; but if he should retreat, " we will con-
sider there," he added, "how to proceed."
21. The delegates, having heard this answer, reported it to
the soldiers, who had still a suspicion that he was leading
them against the king, but nevertheless resolved to accompany
him. They then asked for an increase of pay, and Cyrus
promised to give them all half as much again as they received
before, that is to say, instead of a daric, three half-darics a
1 The reference is to the three hundred Greeks that went up with
Cyrus to Babylon under the command of Xenias the Parrhasian,
i. 1. 2.
16
[B. L
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
month for every soldier.
But no one heard there, at least
publicly, that he was leading them against the king.
CHAPTER IV.
The army reaches Issi, the last city in Cilicia, at which the fleet then ar-
rives. Cyrus proceeds into Syria, where two of the Greek captains,
Xenias and Pasion, desert the expedition; the good feeling of Cyrus, in
forbearing to pursue them, renders the other Greeks more willing to ac-
company him. He arrives at Thapsacus on the Euphrates, where he dis-
closes the real object of his expedition to the Greek troops, who express
discontent, but are induced by fresh promises, and the example of Menon,
to cross the river.
1. HENCE he proceeded, two days' march, a distance of ten
parasangs, to the river Psarus, the breadth of which was three
plethra. He then went forward, one day's march, five para-
sangs, to the river Pyramus, the breadth of which is a sta-
dium. Hence he advanced in two days' march, a distance of
fifteen parasangs, to Issi, the last city in Cilicia, situate upon
the sea-coast, a populous, large, and rich place.
2. Here Cyrus remained three days, in which time the ships
from Peloponnesus, thirty-five in number, arrived, Pythagoras
the Lacedæmonian being their commander. But Tamos, an
Egyptian, had conducted the fleet from Ephesus, who had
also with him five-and-twenty other ships, belonging to Cyrus,
with which he had blockaded Miletus when it was in the in-
terest of Tissaphernes, and had fought against him on behalf
of Cyrus. 3. In these vessels came also Cheirisophus the
Lacedæmonian, who had been sent for by Cyrus, and who
had with him seven hundred heavy-armed troops, which he
commanded as part of the army of Cyrus. The ships were
moored opposite Cyrus's tent. Here, too, the Greek mercen-
aries, who were in the pay of Abrocomas, four hundred
heavy-armed men, deserted him and came over to Cyrus, and
joined in the expedition against the king.
4. Hence he proceeded, one day's march, five parasangs, to
the Gates of Cilicia and Syria. These were two fortresses
1 Ησαν δὲ ταῦτα δύο τείχη.] As the fem. πύλαι precedes, and as
the gates were not properly the rɛixn, but the space between them,
Weiske conjectures ἦσαν δὲ ἐνταῦθα, κ. τ. λ., which Kühner and
CI. 4.]
CYRUS ENTERS SYRIA.
17
of the part within them, towards Cilicia, Syennesis and a
guard of Cilicians had the charge; the part without, towards
Syria, a garrison of the king's soldiers was reported to oc-
cupy. Between the two runs a river, called Carsus, a pleth-
rum in breadth. The whole space between the fortresses was
three stadia; and it was impossible to pass it by force; for the
passage was very narrow, the walls reached down to the sea,
and above were inaccessible rocks. At each of the fortresses
were gates. 5. It was on account of this passage that Cyrus
had sent for the fleet, that he might disembark heavy-arnred
troops within and without the Gates,¹ who might force a pass-
age through the enemy, if they still kept guard at the Syrian
gates; a post which he expected Abrocomas would hold, as
he had under his command a numerous army. Abrocomas
however did not attempt this; but, when he heard that Cyrus
was in Cilicia, retreated out of Phoenicia, and proceeded to
join the king, having with him, as was said, three hundred
thousand men.
6. Hence he proceeded through Syria, one day's march,
five parasangs, to Myriandrus, a city near the sea, inhabited
by Phoenicians; this place was a public mart, and many
merchant-vessels lay at anchor there. 7. Here they remained
seven days; and here Xenias the Arcadian captain, and
Pasion the Megarean, embarking in a vessel, and putting on
board their most valuable effects, sailed away; being actu-
ated, as most thought, by motives of jealousy, because Cyrus
had allowed Clearchus to retain under his command their sol-
diers, who had seceded to Clearchus in the expectation of re-
turning to Greece, and not of marching against the king.
Upon their disappearance, a rumour pervaded the army that
Kühner in-
When Xeno-
others approve, but have not admitted into the text.
terprets Teixn "castella," and I have followed him.
phon speaks, a little below, of τείχη εἰς τὴν θάλατταν καθήκοντα, he
seems to mean ecalls attached to the fortress nearest to the sea. So
when he says that at each of the fortresses, ἐπὶ τοῖς τείχεσιν ἀμφοτέροις,
were gates, he appears to signify that there were gates in the walls
attached to each of the fortresses. At a distance of about six
hundred yards, corresponding with the three stadia of Xenophon,
are the ruins of a wall, which can be traced amid a dense shrub-
bery, from the mountains down to the sea-shore, where it termin-
ates in a round tower." Ainsworth, p. 59.
1
"That is, within the two fortresses and beyond them, viz. in
Syria." Kühner.
VOL. I.
C
f8
[B. 1
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
Cyrus would pursue them with ships of war; and some
wished that they might be taken, as having acted per-
fidiously; while others pitied their fate, if they should be
caught.
8. But Cyrus, calling together the captains, said to them,
"Xenias and Pasion have left us: but let them be well as-
sured, that they have not fled clandestinely; for I know
which way they are gone; nor have they escaped beyond my
reach; for I have triremes that would overtake their vessel.
But, by the gods, I shall certainly not pursue them; nor shall
any one say, that as long as a man remains with me, I make
use of his services, but that, when he desires to leave me, I
seize and ill-treat his person, and despoil him of his property.
But let them go, with the consciousness that they have acted
a worse part towards us than we towards them. I have, in-
deed, their children and wives under guard at Tralles; but
not even of them shall they be deprived, but shall receive
them back in consideration of their former service to me."
9. Thus Cyrus spoke; and the Greeks, even such as had
been previously disinclined to the expedition, when they
heard of the noble conduct of Cyrus, accompanied him with
greater pleasure and alacrity.
After these occurrences, Cyrus proceeded four days' march,
a distance of twenty parasangs, to the river Chalus, which is
a plethrum in breadth, and full of large tame fish, which the
Syrians looked upon as gods, and allowed no one to hurt
either them or the pigeons. The villages, in which they
fixed their quarters, belonged to Parysatis, having been given
her for her girdle.¹´
10. Thence he advanced, five days' march, a distance of
thirty parasangs, to the source of the river Dardes, which is a
plethrum in breadth. Here was the palace of Belesys, the
governor of Syria, and a very large and beautiful garden, con-
taining all that the seasons produce. But Cyrus laid it waste,
and burned the palace.
¹ Eis Sóvny.] Nominally to furnish her with girdles, or to supply
ornaments for her girdle, it being the custom with the Persian
kings to bestow places on their queens and other favourites osten-
sibly for the purpose of furnishing them with articles of dress, food,
or other conveniences. See Herod. ii. 98; Plato, Alcib. I. c. 40;
Cic. in Verr. iii. 23; Corn. Nepos, Life of Themistocles, c. 10.
CH. 4.]
CYRUS DECLARES HIS OBJECT.
19
11. Hence he proceeded, three days' march, a distance of
fifteen parasangs, to the river Euphrates, which is there four
stadia in breadth, and on which is situated a large and rich
city, named Thapsacus. The army remained there five days;
and Cyrus sent for the Greek captains, and told them, that
his march was directed to Babylon, against the Great King:
and he desired them to make this announcement to the sol
diers, and to persuade them to accompany him.
13.
12. The leaders, assembling their troops, communicated
this information to them; and the soldiers expressed them-
selves much displeased with their officers, and said that they
had long known this, but concealed it; and they refused to
go, unless such a donative was granted them, as had been
given to those who had before gone up with Cyrus to his
father, and that, too, when they did not go to fight, but
merely attended Cyrus when his father summoned him.
This state of things the generals reported to Cyrus; who in
consequence promised to give every man five mine of silver,¹
when they should arrive at Babylon, and their full pay be-
sides, until he should bring back the Greeks to Ionia again.
The greatest part of the Grecian force was thus prevailed
upon to accompany him. But before it was certain what the
other soldiers would do, whether they would accompany Cyrus
or not, Menon assembled his own troops apart from the rest,
and spoke as follows:
14. "If you will follow my advice, soldiers, you will, with-
out incurring either danger or toil, make yourselves honoured
by Cyrus beyond the rest of the army. What, then, would
I have you do? Cyrus is at this moment urgent with the
Greeks to accompany him against the king; I therefore sug-
gest that, before it is known how the other Greeks will an-
swer Cyrus, you should cross over the river Euphrates. 15.
For if they should determine upon accompanying him, you will
appear to have been the cause of it, by being the first to pass
the river; and to you, as being most forward with your
services, Cyrus will feel and repay the obligation, as no one
knows how to do better than himself. But if the others should
determine not to go with him, we shall all of us return back
again; but you, as having alone complied with his wishes,
Reckoning the talent at £243 15s., the mina (60
will be £1 1s. 3d., and five minæ £20 6s. 3d.
= a talent
c 2
20
LB. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
and as being most worthy of his confidence, he will employ in
garrison duty and posts of authority; and whatever else you
may ask of him, I feel assured that, as the friends of Cyrus,
you will obtain it.”
16. On hearing these proposals, they at once complied with
them, and crossed the river before the others had given their
answer. And when Cyrus perceived that they had crossed,
he was much pleased, and despatched Glus to Menon's troops
with this message: "I applaud your conduct, my friends;
and it shall be my care that you may applaud me; or think
me no longer Cyrus." 17. The soldiers, in consequence, being
filled with great expectations, prayed that he might succeed;
and to Menon Cyrus was said to have sent most magnifi-
cent presents. After these transactions, he passed the river,
and all the rest of the army followed him; and, in crossing
the stream, no one was wetted by its waters above the breast.
18. The people of Thapsacus said, that this river had never, ex-
cept on that occasion, been passable on foot, but only by means
of boats; which Abrocomas, going before, had burnt, that
Cyrus might not be able to cross. It seemed, therefore, that
this had happened by divine interposition, and that the river
had plainly made way for Cyrus as the future king.
19. Hence he advanced through Syria, nine days' march, a
distance of fifty parasangs, and arrived at the river Araxes,
where were a number of villages, stored with corn and wine.
Here the army remained three days, and collected provisions.
CHAPTER V.
The army proceeds through Arabia, having the Euphrates on the right.
They suffer from want of provisions, and many of the beasts of burden
perish; but supplies are procured from the opposite bank of the Eu-
phrates. A dispute occurs between Clearchus and Menon, which is
quelled by Cyrus.
1. CYRUS now advanced through Arabia, having the Eu-
phrates on his right, five days' march through the desert, a
distance of thirty-five parasangs. In this region the ground
was entirely a plain, level as the sea. It was covered with
CH. 5.]
MARCH THROUGH ARABIA.
21
wormwood, and whatever other kinds of shrub or reed grew
on it, were all odoriferous as perfumes. But there were no
trees. 2. There were wild animals, however, of various kinds;
the most numerous were wild asses; there were also many
ostriches, as well as bustards and antelopes; and these ani-
mals the horsemen of the army sometimes hunted. The wild
asses, when any one pursued them, would start forward a con-
siderable distance, and then stand still; (for they ran much
more swiftly than the horse ;) and again, when the horse ap-
proached, they did the same; and it was impossible to catch
them, unless the horsemen, stationing themselves at intervals,
kept up the pursuit with a succession of horses. The flesh of
those that were taken resembled venison, but was more ten-
der. 3. An ostrich no one succeeded in catching; and those
horsemen who hunted that bird, soon desisted from the pur-
suit; for it far outstripped' them in its flight, using its
feet for running, and its wings, raising them like a sail.2 The
bustards might be taken, if a person started them suddenly;
for they fly but a short distance, like partridges, and soon
tire. Their flesh was very delicious.
4. Marching through this region, they came to the river
Mascas, the breadth of which is a plethrum. Here was a
large deserted city, of which the name was Corsote, and
which was entirely surrounded by the Mascas.
Here they
stayed three days, and furnished themselves with provisions.
5. Thence he proceeded, thirteen days' march through
the desert, a distance of ninety parasangs, still keeping the
Euphrates on the right, and arrived at a place called the
Gates.3 In this march many of the beasts of burden perished
of hunger; for there was neither grass, nor any sort of tree,
Απεσπᾶτο.] Drew itself away from" its pursuers. There are
various readings of this word. Kühner adopts àεσπа, in the sense
of "drew off its pursuers from the rest of the huntsmen." Bornemann
reads ἀπέπτατο.
2 It would be needless to repeat all that has been said as to the
construction of this passage; I have adopted the explication of
Kühner.
Eni Пúλas.] A strait or defile through which the road lay from
Mesopotamia into Babylonia; hence called the Pyle Babyloniæ. It
is mentioned by Stephanus Byzantinus sub voce Xapμávon. Ains-
worth, p. 80, places it fourteen miles north of Felújah, and a hun-
dred and eight miles north of Babylon.
22
[B. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
but the whole country was completely bare. The inhabitants,
who quarried and fashioned millstones near the river, took
them to Babylon, and sold them, and lived upon corn which
they bought with the money. 6. Corn, too, failed the army,
and it was not possible to buy any, except in the Lydian
market among Cyrus's Barbarian troops, where they pur-
chased a capithe¹ of wheat-flour or barley-meal for four sigli.
The siglus is equivalent to seven Attic oboli and a half,² and
the capithe contains two Attic chonices. The soldiers
therefore lived entirely upon flesh.
7. There were some of these marches which he made ex-
tremely long, whenever he wished to get to water or forage.
On one occasion, when a narrow and muddy road presented
itself, almost impassable for the waggons, Cyrus halted on
the spot with the most distinguished and wealthy of his train,
and ordered Glus and Pigres, with a detachment of the Bar-
barian forces, to assist in extricating the waggons.
8. But
as they appeared to him to do this too tardily, he ordered, as
if in anger, the noblest Persians of his suite to assist in ex-
pediting the carriages. Then might be seen a specimen of
their ready obedience; for, throwing off their purple cloaks,
in the place where cach happened to be standing, they rushed
forward, as one would run in a race for victory, down an ex-
tremely steep declivity, having on those rich vests which
they wear, and embroidered trowsers, some too with chains
about their necks and bracelets on their wrists, and, leaping
with these equipments straight into the mud, brought the
waggons up quicker than any one would have imagined.
9. On the whole, Cyrus evidently used the greatest speed
throughout the march, and made no delay, except where
he halted in order to obtain a supply of provisions, or for
some other necessary purpose; thinking that the quicker
he went, the more unprepared he should find the king when
he engaged him, and that the more slowly he proceeded,
1 Karin.] A measure, as is said below, equal to two Attic cha-
nices. The Attic choenix is valued by Mr. Hussey, Essay on An-
cient Weights, &c., ch. 13, sect. 4, at 1.8467 pint.
2 The siglus is regarded by some as the same with the Hebrew
shekel, but erroneously, as the siglus was of less value than the
shekel. The obolus is valued by Mr. Hussey at something more
than three half-pence; seven oboli and a half would therefore be
about a shilling.
CH. 5.] DISPUTE BETWEEN CLEARCHUS AND MENON.
23
the more numerous would be the force collected by the king.
And an attentive observer might see that the empire of the
king was strong indeed in extent of territory and number of
inhabitants, but weak through the length of the roads, and
the dispersion of its forces, if an enemy invaded it with rapid
movements.
10. On the other side of the Euphrates, over against their
course through the desert, was an opulent and extensive city,
called Charmande; from this place the soldiers purchased
provisions, crossing the river on rafts in the following manner.
They filled the skins, which they had for the coverings of
their tents,¹ with dry hay, and then closed and stitched them
together, so that the water could not touch the hay. Upon
these they went across, and procured necessaries, such as wine
made of the fruit of the palm-tree, and panic² corn; for this
was most plentiful in those parts. 11. Here the soldiers of
Menon and those of Clearchus falling into a dispute about
something, Clearchus, judging a soldier of Menon's to be in
the wrong, inflicted stripes upon him, and the man, coming to
the quarters of his own troops, told his comrades what had
occurred, who, when they heard it, showed great displeasure
and resentment towards Clearchus. 12. On the same day,
Clearchus, after going to the place where the river was crossed,
and inspecting the market there, was returning on horseback
to his tent through Menon's camp, with a few attendants.
Cyrus had not yet arrived, but was still on his way thither.
One of Menon's soldiers, who was employed in cleaving wood,
when he saw Clearchus riding through the camp, threw his
axe at him, but missed his aim; another then threw a st
at him, and another, and afterwards several, a grea
ensuing. 13. Clearchus sought refuge in his own o
immediately called his men to arms, ordering his he
troops to remain on the spot, resting their shields a
knees, while he himself, with the Thracians, and

¹ Ereñáoµara is the reading of Dindorf, but it ough
oreyάouara, if the distinction of Krüger and Kühne
στεγάσματα,
the latter, be right; viz. that okéraσua signifies a co
round the body, and oriyaoua a shelter against su
Arrian, iii. 29. This mode of crossing rivers, we
Layard, is still practised in Armenia both by men a
See note on i. 2. 22.
24
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
[B. I.
men that were in his camp, to the number of more than forty,
(and most of these were Thracians,) bore down towards the
troops of Menon, so that they and Menon himself were struck
with terror, and made a general rush to their arms; while
some stood still, not knowing how to act under the circum-
stances. 14. Proxenus happened then to be coming up be-
hind the rest, with a body of heavy-armed men following
him, and immediately led his troops into the middle space be-
tween them both, and drew them up under arms, begging
Clearchus to desist from what he was doing. But Clearchus
was indignant, because, when he had narrowly escaped stoning,
Proxenus spoke mildly of the treatment that he had received ;
he accordingly desired him to stand out from between them.
16.
15. At this juncture Cyrus came up, and inquired into the
affair. He then instantly took his javelins in his hand, and
rode, with such of his confidential officers as were with him, into
the midst of the Greeks, and addressed them thus:
"Clearchus and Proxenus, and you other Greeks who are
here present, you know not what you are doing. For if you
engage in any contention with one another, be assured, that
this very day I shall be cut off, and you also not long after me;
since, if our affairs go ill, all these Barbarians, whom you see
before you, will prove more dangerous enemies to us than
even those who are with the king." 17. Clearchus, on hear-
ing these remonstrances, recovered his self-possession; and
both parties, desisting from the strife, deposited their arms in
their respective encampments.

CHAPTER VI.
ing's troops are perceived. Orontes, a Persian nolleman, a re-
rus, offers to go forward with a body of cavalry, and lay an
he king's army. Before he sets out, however, he is found to
ondence with the king, and is put to death.
advanced from this place, the footsteps and dung
observed, and the track was conjectured to be
wo thousand cavalry. These, as they went be-
all the fodder, and whatever else might have
Cyrus. And here Orontes, a Persian, by birth
CH. 6.]
TREACHERY OF ORONTES.
25
connected with the king, and reckoned one of the ablest of the
Persians in the field, turned traitor to Cyrus; with whom, indeed,
he had previously been at strife, but had been reconciled to
him. 2. He now told Cyrus, that if he would give him a
thousand horse, he would either cut off, by lying in ambush, the
body of cavalry that were burning all before them, or would take
the greater number of them prisoners, and hinder them from
consuming everything in their way, and prevent them from
ever informing the king that they had seen the army of Cyrus.
Cyrus, when he heard his proposal, thought it advantageous;
and desired him to take a certain number of men from each
of the different commanders.
3. Orontes, thinking that he had secured the cavalry,
wrote a letter to the king, saying that he would come to
him with as many horse as he could obtain; and he de-
sired him to give directions to his own cavalry to receive
him as a friend. There were also in the letter expressions
reminding the king of his former friendship and fidelity
to him. This letter he gave to a man, upon whom, as he
believed, he could depend, but who, when he receivea
it, carried it to Cyrus. 4. Cyrus, after reading the letter,
caused Orontes to be arrested, and summoned to his own tent
seven of the most distinguished Persians of his staff, and de-
sired the Greek generals to bring up a body of heavy-armed
men, who should arrange themselves under arms around his
tent. They did as he desired, and brought with them about
three thousand heavy-armed soldiers. 5. Clearchus he called
in to assist at the council, as that officer appeared, both to him-
self and to the rest, to be held most in honour among the
Greeks. Afterwards, when Clearchus left the council, he re-
lated to his friends how the trial of Orontes was conducted;
for there was no injunction of secrecy. He said, that
Cyrus thus opened the proceedings:
6. "I have solicited your attendance, my friends, in order
that, on consulting with you, I may do, with regard to Orontes
here before you, whatever may be thought just before gods
and men.
In the first place, then, my father appointed him to
be subject to me. And when afterwards, by the command,
as he himself states, of my brother, he engaged in war against
me, having possession of the citadel of Sardis, I, too, took up
arms against him, and made him resolve to desist from
26
[B. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
war with me; and then I received from him, and gave him
in return, the right-hand of friendship. 7. And since that
occurrence,” he continued, "is there anything in which I have
wronged you?” Orontes replied that there was not. Cyrus
again asked him, "And did you not then subsequently, when,
as you own yourself, you had received no injury from me, go
over to the Mysians, and do all the mischief in your power to
my territories?" Orontes answered in the affirmative." And
did you not then," continued Cyrus, "when you had thus
again proved your strength, come to the altar of Diana, and
say that you repented, and, prevailing upon me by entreaties,
give me, and receive from me in return, pledges of mutual
faith?" This, too, Orontes acknowledged. 8. "What in-
jury, then," continued Cyrus, "have you received from me,
that you are now, for the third time, discovered in traitorous
designs against me?" Orontes saying that he had received
no injury from him, Cyrus asked him, "You confess, then,
that you have acted unjustly towards me ?" "I am necessi-
tated to confess it," replied Orontes. Cyrus then again in-
quired, " And would you yet become an enemy to my brother,
and a faithful friend to me?" Orontes answered, “ "Though
I should become so, O Cyrus, I should no longer appear so to
you.” 9. On this, Cyrus said to those present, "Such are this
man's deeds, and such his confessions. And now, do you first,
O Clearchus, declare your opinion, whatever seems right to
you." Clearchus spoke thus: "I advise, that this man be put
out of the way with all despatch; that so it may be no longer
necessary to be on our guard against him, but that we may
have leisure, as far as he is concerned, to benefit those who are
willing to be our friends.” 10. In this opinion, Clearchus
said, the rest concurred. Afterwards, by the direction of
Cyrus, all of them, even those related to the prisoner, rising
from their seats, took Orontes by the girdle,¹ in token that he
was to suffer death; when those to whom directions had been
given, led him away. And when those saw him pass, who
had previously been used to bow before him, they bowed be-
fore him as usual, though they knew that he was being led to
execution.
¹ This was a custom among the Persians on such occasions, as is
expressly signified by Diodorus Siculus, xvii. 30 in his account of
the condemnation of Charidemus, at the command of Darius.
CH. 7.1
REVIEW IN BABYLONIA.
27
11. After he had been conducted into the tent of Artapatas,
the most confidential of Cyrus's sceptre-bearers,' no one from
that time ever beheld Orontes either living or dead, nor could
any one say, from certain knowledge, in what manner he
died. Various conjectures were made; but no burial-place
of him was ever seen.
CHAPTER VII.
Cyrus enters Babylonia, and reviews his troops; he addresses the Greeks,
and promises them great rewards in case of victory. He advances in order
of battle, but afterwards, supposing that his brother had no immediate
intention to engage, proceeds with less caution.
1. HENCE Cyrus proceeded through Babylonia, three days'
march, a distance of twelve parasangs; and at the end of
the third day's march, he reviewed his army, both Greeks
and Barbarians, in the plain, about midnight; for he expected
that with the ensuing dawn the king would come up with his
army to offer him battle. He desired Clearchus to take
the command of the right wing, and Menon the Thessalian
that of the left, while he himself drew up his own troops.
2. After the review, at the dawn of day, some deserters from
the Great King came and gave Cyrus information respecting
the royal army. Cyrus, assembling the generals and captains
of the Greeks, consulted with them how he should conduct
the engagement, and then encouraged them with the following
exhortations: 3. "It is not, O Greeks, from any want of Bar-
barian forces, that I take you with me as auxiliaries; but it is
because I think you more efficient and valuable than a multi-
tude of Barbarians, that I have engaged you in my service.
See, then, that you prove yourselves worthy of the liberty of
which you are possessed, and for which I esteem you fortunate;
for be well assured, that I should prefer that freedom to all
that I possess, and to other possessions many times as great.
4. But, that you may know to what sort of encounter you are
advancing, I, from my own experience, will inform you. The
1 Σκηπτούχων.]
EKηTTоÚxwv.]" Eunuchs, who, by the_institution of Cyrus the
elder, formed the king's body-guard. See Cyrop. vii. 5. 58.”
Zeune.
28
LB.
B. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
enemy's numbers are immense, and they make their onset with
a loud shout; but if you are firm against this, I feel ashamed
to think what sort of men, in other respects, you will find
those in the country to be. But if you are true men, and
prove yourselves stout-hearted, I will enable those of you, who
may wish to go home, to return thither the envy of their fellow-
countrymen; but I think that I shall induce most of you to
prefer the advantages of remaining with me to those in your
own country."
1
5. Upon this, Gaulites, an exile from Samos, a man in the
confidence of Cyrus, being present, said, "Yet some say, O
Cyrus, that you make many promises now, because you are
in such a situation of approaching danger; but that if things
should turn out well, you will not remember them; and some,
too, say, that even if you have both the memory and the will, you
will not have the power of bestowing all that you promise."
6. Hearing this, Cyrus said, "We have before us, my friends,
the empire that was my father's, extending, on the south, to
the parts where men cannot live for heat; and on the north,
to the parts where they cannot live for cold; and over all that
lies between these extremes, the friends of my brother are now
satraps. 7. But if we conquer, it will be proper for us to
make our own friends masters of these regions. So that it is
not this that I fear, that I shall not have enough to give to each
of my friends, if things turn out successfully, but that I shall
not have friends enough to whom I may give it. And to each
of you Greeks, I will also give a golden crown.
8. The Greeks who were present, when they heard these as
surances, were much encouraged, and reported what he had said
to the rest. The captains, too, and some others of the Greeks,
went into his tent, desiring to know for certain what would
be their reward if they should be victorious; and he did not
let them go without satisfying the minds of all.
9. But all, who conversed with him, urged him not to en-
gage in the battle personally, but take his station behind their
line. About this time, also, Clearchus put a question to Cyrus
to this effect: "And do you think, Cyrus, that your brother
¹ Où μεμvñolaι.] This is the reading in all books and manuscripts.
But a future seems to be wanted rather than a perfect. Hutchinson
and others render it "te non fore memorem." Should we read
μεμνήσεσθαι?
CH. 7.]
NUMBER OF TROOPS ON EACH SIDE.
29
will come to battle with you?" "By Jupiter," replied Cyrus,
"if he be indeed the son of Darius and Parysatis, and my
brother, I shall not gain possession of these dominions without
a struggle."
10. In mustering the Greeks under arms, their numbers
were found to be ten thousand four hundred heavy-armed
men, and two thousand four hundred peltasts; of Barbarian
troops under Cyrus, there were one hundred thousand, with
about twenty chariots armed with scythes.
I
11. Of the enemy the number was said to be one million
two hundred thousand, with two hundred scythed chariots.
There were, besides, six thousand cavalry, of whom Artagerses
had the command; these were drawn up in front of the king
himself. 12. Of the royal army there were four command-
crs, or generals, or leaders, each over three hundred thou-
sand men; that is to say, Abrocomas, Tissaphernes, Gobryas,
and Arbaces. But of this number only nine hundred thousand
were present at the battle, and one hundred and fifty scythed
chariots; for Abrocomas, who was marching from Phoenicia,
did not arrive till five days after the battle.
13. This information was brought to Cyrus by some of the
enemy who deserted from the Great King before the battle:
and such of the enemy as were taken prisoners after the bat-
tle gave the same account.
14. Hence Cyrus proceeded one day's march, a distance of
three parasangs, with all his forces, as well Greek as Barba-
rian, drawn up in order of battle; for he expected that on
this day the king would give him battle; as about the middle
of the day's march, there was a deep trench dug; the breadth
of it was five fathoms, and the depth three. 15. This ditch
extended up through the plain, to the distance of twelve para-
sangs, as far as the wall of Media.³ Here are the canals which
2
1 Ησαν ἄρχοντες καὶ στράτηγοι καὶ ἡγεμόνες τέτταρες.] Weiske
considers the words καὶ στράτηγοι καὶ ἡγεμόνες spurious; and
Schneider and some others are of his opinion. Kühner thinks
that they are genuine, and explicative of the more general term
ἄρχοντες.
Οργυιαί.
2 'Opyviai.] The gyvά was equal to 6.0675 English feet. See
Hussey on Ancient Weights, &c., Append. sect. 10.
3 Τοῦ Μηδίας τείχους.] As many of the best manuscripts have
Mndeias, in this passage as well as in ii. 4. 12, ii. 4. 27, and vii. 8. 25,
Kühner adopts that reading, under the notion that the wall was
30
[B. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
are supplied from the river Tigris;¹ there are four of them, each
a plethrum in breadth, and very deep; boats employed in con-
veying corn sail along them. They discharge themselves into
the Euphrates, are distant from each other one parasang, and
there are bridges over them. Near the Euphrates was a nar-
row passage between the river and the trench, about twenty
feet in breadth. 16. This trench the Great King had made
to serve as a defence, when he heard that Cyrus was march-
ing against him. By this passage Cyrus and his army made
their way, and got within the trench.
17. On this day the king did not come to an engagement,
but there were to be seen many traces of men and horses in
retreat.
18. Cyrus sent for Silanus, the Ambracian soothsayer, and
gave him three thousand darics,2 because, on the eleventh
day previous, while sacrificing, he had told Cyrus that the
king would not fight for ten days; when Cyrus exclaimed,
"He will not then fight at all, if he does not fight within that
time; but if you shall prove to have spoken truly, I promise
to give you ten talents." This money, therefore, he now paid
him, the ten days having elapsed.
19. As the king made no attempt, at the trench, to prevent
the passage of Cyrus's army, it was thought both by Cyrus
and the rest that he had given up the intention of fighting;
so that on the day following Cyrus proceeded on his march
with less caution. 20. On the day succeeding that, he
named from Medea, the wife of the last king of the Medes, whom the
Persians conquered and despoiled of his dominions. Those who
defend the reading Mŋdías," continues Kühner, "suppose the name
to be derived from the country of Media, and believe, with Man-
nert, (Geog. i. p. 330,) that it is the same wall which Semiramis built
to defend her kingdom on the side of Media; but this opinion rests
on very weak arguments." Ainsworth, p. 180, thinks that it ex-
tended from the Tigris to the Euphrates, and that the site of it is
indicated by the ruins now called Sidd Nimrud, or "the Wall of
Nimrod."
I
"These canals however flowed, not from the Tigris into the
Euphrates, but from the Euphrates into the Tigris, as is shown not
only by Herodotus, Diodorus, Arrian, Pliny, Ammianus, but by
later writers.” Kühner. But the difference in the level of the
rivers is so slight that—it is probable that by merely altering the
diagonal direction of a canal, the waters could be made to flow
either way; certainly so at certain seasons." Ainsworth, p. 89.
2 See note on i. 1. 9.
CH. 8.]
THE KING ADVANCES TO BATTLE.
31
pursued his journey seated in his chariot, and having but a
small body of troops in line before him; while the far greater
part of the army observed no order on their march, and many
of the soldiers' arms were carried on the waggons and beasts
of burden.
CHAPTER VIII.
The enemy are seen advancing in order of battle, and the army of Cyrus
hastily prepare for action. The Greeks, in the right wing, put to flight
the troops opposed to them, and pursue them some distance. Cyrus, in
the centre, directs his attack against the king, and is killed.
1. Ir was now about the time of full market,' and the
station, where he intended to halt, was not far off, when
Pategyas, a Persian, one of Cyrus's confidential adherents,
made his appearance, riding at his utmost speed, with his
horse in a sweat, and straightway called out to all whom he
met, both in Persian and Greek, "that the king was approach-
ing with a vast army, prepared as for battle." 2. Immediately
great confusion ensued; for the Greeks and all the rest ima-
gined that he would fall upon them suddenly, before they could
form their ranks; 3. and Cyrus, leaping from his chariot, put
on his breastplate, and, mounting his horse, took his javelin
in his hand, and gave orders for all the rest to arm themselves,
and to take their stations each in his own place. 4. They
accordingly formed with all expedition; Clearchus occupying
the extremity of the right wing close to the Euphrates, Prox-
enus being next to him, and after him the other captains in
succession. Menon and his troops occupied the left wing of
the Greeks.
5. Of the Barbarian forces, about one thousand Paphlago-
nian cavalry were stationed near Clearchus, and the Grecian
peltasts on the right; and on the left was Ariæus, Cyrus's
lieutenant, with the rest of the Barbarian troops. 6. In the
centre² was Cyrus, and with him about six hundred cavalry,
1 Αμφὶ ἀγορὰν πλήθουσαν.] The time from the tenth hour till
noon. The whole day was divided by the Greeks into four parts,
πρωί, ἀμφὶ ἀγορὰν πλήθουσαν, μεσημβρία, δείλη. Kühner.
2 The words sarà Tò μέGOV, which were introduced into the text by
Leunclavius, as if absolutely necessary, and from a comparison of
32
[B. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
the men all armed with breastplates, defences for the thighs,
and helmets, except Cyrus alone; for Cyrus presented him-
self for battle with his head unprotected. [It is said, too, that
the other Persians expose themselves in battle with their
heads uncovered.]¹
7. All the horses of the cavalry, that were with Cyrus, had
defensive armour on the forehead and breast; and the horse-
men had also Grecian swords.
8. It was now mid-day, and the enemy was not yet in sight.
But when it was afternoon, there appeared a dust, like a
white cloud, and not long after, a sort of blackness, extending
to a great distance over the plain. Presently, as they ap-
proached nearer, brazen armour began to flash, and the spears
and ranks became visible. 9. There was a body of cavalry,
in white armour, on the left of the enemy's line; (Tissa-
phernes was said to have the command of them ;) close by
these were troops with wicker shields; and next to them,
heavy-armed soldiers with long wooden shields reaching to
their feet; (these were said to be Egyptians ;) then other
cavalry and bowmen. These all marched according to their
nations, each nation separately in a solid oblong.3 10. In front
of their line, at considerable intervals from each other, were
stationed the chariots called scythed chariots; they had
scythes projecting obliquely from the axletree, and others un-
Diod. Siculus, xiv. 2, Bornemann and others have omitted. I have
thought it well to express them in the translation. Compare sect
22, 23.
í The words in brackets, as being at variance with what is said
immediately before, that the Persians had helmets on their heads,
Wyttenbach, Weiske, and most other critics have condemned as an
interpolation of some copyist. Kühner defends them on the ground
that they do not interfere with what precedes, but merely express a
general custom of the Persians. Jacobs for aλλovs conjectures
παλαιούς, which Lion has received into his text; but παλαιούς does
not suit well with the present diakivdvvevεiv. For my own part, I
would rather see the words out of the text than in it, if for no other
reason than that they break the current of the narrative. Dindorf
very judiciously leaves them in brackets.
2
Aein.] See note on sect. 1. of this chap. "This division of the
day was also distinguished into two parts, δείλη πρωΐα, and δείλη
opia, the early part of the afternoon, (which is here meant,) and
the evening." Kühner.
3 Ἐν πλαισίῳ πλήρει ἀνθρώπων.] " In an oblong full of men,” i. e
the men being close together.
CH. 8.]
PREPARATIONS FOR ENGAGING.
33
der the driver's seat, pointing to the earth, for the purpose
of cutting through whatever came in their way; and the
design of them was to penetrate and divide the ranks of the
Greeks.
66
12.
11. As to what Cyrus had said, however, when, on calling
together the Greeks, he exhorted them to sustain unmoved
the shout of the Barbarians, he was in this respect deceived;
for they now approached, not with a shout, but with all pos-
sible silence, and quietly, with an even and slow step.
Cyrus in the mean time, riding by with Pigres the interpreter,
and three or four others, called out to Clearchus to lead his
troops against the enemy's centre, for that there was the king;
"and if," said he, we are victorious in that quarter, our ob-
ject is fully accomplished." 13. But though Clearchus saw
that close collection of troops in the centre of the enemy's
line, and heard from Cyrus that the king was beyond the left
of the Greeks, (for so much the superior was the king in
numbers, that, while occupying the middle of his own line,
he was still beyond Cyrus's left,) nevertheless he was unwill-
ing to draw off his right wing from the river, fearing lest he
should be hemmed in on both sides; and in answer to Cyrus
he said, "that he would take care that all should go well."
1
14. During this time the Barbarian army advanced with a
uniform pace; and the Grecian line, still remaining in the
same place, was gradually forming from those who came up
from time to time. Cyrus, riding by at a moderate distance
from his army, surveyed from thence both the lines, looking
as well towards the enemy as to his own men. 15. Xenophon,
an Athenian, perceiving him from the Grecian line, rode up
to meet him, and inquired whether he had any commands;
when Cyrus stopped his horse, and told him, and desired him
to tell everybody, that the sacrifices and the appearances of
the victims were favourable.2 16. As he was saying this, he
heard a murmur passing through the ranks, and asked what
· Οὐ πάνυ πρὸς αὐτῷ τῷ στρατεύματι.] " Satis longinquo a suis in-
tervallo."-Weiske.
* Τὰ ἱερὰ καὶ τὰ σφάγια καλά.] The ἱερά are omens from the en-
trails of the victims; the opάyia were omens taken from the appear-
ances and motions of the animals when led to sacrifice. This is the
explanation given by Sturz in the Lexicon Xenophonteum, and
adopted by Kühner. Compare ii. 1. 9.
VOL. I.
D
34
[B. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
noise that was.
18.
He answered, "that it was the watchword,
passing now for the second time.”2 At which Cyrus won-
dered who had given it, and asked what the word was. He
replied that it was, "JUPITER THE PRESERVER and VICTORY."
17. When Cyrus heard it, "I accept it as a good omen," said
he, "and let it be so." Saying this, he rode away to his own
station; and the two armies were now not more than three or
four stadia distant from each other, when the Greeks sang the
pæan, and began to march forward to meet the enemy.
And as, while they proceeded, some part of their body fluctu-
ated out of line,3 those who were thus left behind began to run:
and at the same time, they all raised just such a shout as they
usually raise to Mars, and the whole of them took to a run-
ning pace.
Some say, that they made a noise with their
spears against their shields, to strike terror into the horses.
19. But the Barbarians, before an arrow could reach them, gave
way, and took to flight. The Greeks then pursued them
with all their force, calling out to each other, not to run, but
to follow in order. 20. The chariots, abandoned by their
drivers, were hurried, some through the midst of the enemies
themselves, and others through the midst of the Greeks.
1
¹ Dindorf has ó de Kλéapуos Tev, which is the reading of some
manuscripts; others have Ξενοφῶν instead of Κλέαρχος. Din-
dorf prefers the former, assuming that Clearchus had probably rid-
den up to Cyrus on that occasion; but this is an assumption which
he had no right to make, as nothing can be gathered from the text
in favour of it. Bornemann and Kühner think it better to consider
both names as equally interpolations, and to read simply ô dè eîñev,
Xenophon of course being understood.
2
AEUTEρov.] The watchword seems to have been passed from the
extremity of one wing (the right I should suppose) to the extremity
of the other, and then back again, that the soldiers, by repeating it
twice, might be less likely to forget it. But as it would thus be
passed only twice, not oftener, it would appear that we should read
Tò dεúrepov. Krüger de Authen. Anab. p. 33. Kühner observes that the
article is not absolutely necessary. I have translated "the second
time, as the sense seems to require. Some have imagined that
the word deÚTεpov implies that a second watchword, another given
out for the occasion, was passing round; but for this supposition
there seems no ground. As there is no answer to the inquiry,
τις παραγγέλλει, Krüger thinks that some words have dropped out
of the text.
"
3 'ELEKÚμaive.] This metaphor, from the swelling and heaving of
a wave, is imitated by Arrian, Anab. ii. 10. 4, and praised in the
treatise de Eloc. 84, attributed to Demetrius Phalereus.
CH. 8.]
CYRUS ATTACKS THE KING.
35
The Greeks, when they saw them coming, opened their ranks
to let them pass; some few, however, were startled and
caught by them, as might happen in a race-course; but
these, they said, suffered no material injury; nor did any
other of the Greeks receive any hurt in this battle, except
that, on the left of their army, a man was said to have been
shot with an arrow.
21. Cyrus, though he saw the Greeks victorious, and pur-
suing those of the enemies who were opposed to them, and
though he felt great pleasure at the sight, and was already
saluted as king by those about him, was not, however, led
away to join in the pursuit; but keeping the band of six hun-
dred cavalry, that were with him, drawn up in close order around
him, he attentively watched how the king would proceed; for
he well knew that he occupied the centre of the Persian army.
22. All the commanders of the Barbarians, indeed, lead¹ their
troops to battle occupying the centre of their own men ;
thinking that they will thus be most secure, if they have the
strength of their force on either side of them, and that if they
have occasion to issue orders, their army will receive them in
half the time. 23. On the present occasion, the king, though
he occupied the centre of his own army, was nevertheless be-
yond Cyrus's left wing. But as no enemy attacked him in
front, or the troops that were drawn up before him, he began
to wheel round, as if to enclose his adversaries. 24. Cyrus, in
consequence, fearing that he might take the Greeks in the
rear, and cut them in pieces, moved directly upon him, and
charging with his six hundred horse, routed the troops that
were stationed in front of the king, and put the guard of six
thousand to flight, and is said to have killed with his own
hand Artagerses, their commander.
25. When this flight of the enemy took place, Cyrus's six
hundred became dispersed in the eagerness of pursuit; only a
very few remaining with him, chiefly those who were called
"partakers of his table."
26. While accompanied by these, he perceived the king and
the close guard around him; when he immediately lost his
self-command, and exclaiming, "I see the man," rushed upon
Ἡγοῦνται.
1 'Hyouvraι.] Schneider, Kühner, and some other editors have
Youvтo, but Poppo and Dindorf seem to be right in adopting the
present, notwithstanding the following optative.
D 2
36
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
him, struck him on the breast, and wounded him through the
breastplate, as Ctesias, the physician, relates, stating that he
himself dressed the wound. 27. As Cyrus was in the act of
striking, some one hit him violently with a javelin under
the eye; and how many of those about the king were killed,
(while they thus fought, the king, and Cyrus, and their re-
spective followers in defence of each,) Ctesias relates; for he
was with him; on the other side, Cyrus himself was killed,
and eight of his principal officers lay dead upon his body. 28.
Artapates, the most faithful servant to him of all his sceptre-
bearers,¹ when he saw Cyrus fall, is said to have leaped from
his horse, and thrown himself upon the body of his master;
29. and some say, that the king ordered some one to kill him
on the body of Cyrus; but others relate, that he drew his
scimitar, and killed himself upon the body; for he had a
golden scimitar by his side, and also wore a chain and brace-
lets, and other ornaments, like the noblest of the Persians;
since he was honoured by Cyrus for his attachment and fidel-
ity to him.
CHAPTER IX.
The character of Cyrus. All his personal friends are killed, except Ariæus,
who takes to flight.
1. THUS then died Cyrus; a man who, of all the Persians
since Cyrus the elder, was the most princely and most worthy
of empire, as is agreed by all who appear to have had personal
knowledge of him. 2. In the first place, while he was yet a
boy, and when he was receiving his education with his brother
and the other youths, he was thought to surpass them all in
everything. 3. For all the sons of the Persian nobles are
educated at the gates of the king;2 where they may learn
See c. 6, sect. 11.
"The
2 'Eni Taïs Baoiλéws Júpais.] For "at the king's palace."
Επὶ ταῖς βασιλέως θύραις.]
king's palace was styled among the ancient Persians, as in the mo-
dern Constantinople, the Porte. Agreeably to the customs of other
despots of the East, the kings of Persia resided in the interior of their
palaces; seldom appearing in public, and guarding all means of
access to their persons. The number of courtiers, masters of cere-
mories, guards, and others was endless. It was through them alone
cn. 9.]
CHARACTER OF CYRUS.
37
many a lesson of virtuous conduct, but can see or hear nothing
disgraceful. 4. Here the boys see some honoured by the king,
and others disgraced, and hear of them; so that in their very
childhood they learn to govern and to obey.
5. Here Cyrus, first of all, showed himself most remark-
able for modesty among those of his own age, and for paying
more ready obedience to his elders than even those who were
inferior to him in station; and next, he was noted for his
fondness for horses, and for managing them in a superior
manner. They found him, too, very desirous of learning,
and most assiduous in practising, the warlike exercises of
archery, and hurling the javelin.
6. When it suited his age,
he grew extremely fond of the chase, and of braving dangers
in encounters with wild beasts. On one occasion, he did not
shrink from a she-bear that attacked him, but, in grappling
with her, was dragged from off his horse, and received some
wounds, the scars of which were visible on his body, but at last
killed her. The person who first came to his assistance he
made a happy man in the eyes of many.
7. When he was sent down by his father, as satrap of
Lydia and Great Phrygia and Cappadocia, and was also ap-
pointed commander of all the troops whose duty it is to
muster in the plain of Castolus, he soon showed that if he
made a league or compact with any one, or gave a promise,
he deemed it of the utmost importance not to break his word.
s. Accordingly the states that were committed to his charge,
as well as individuals, had the greatest confidence in him;
and if any one had been his enemy, he felt secure that if
Cyrus entered into a treaty with him, he should suffer no in-
fraction of the stipulations. 9. When, therefore, he waged
war against Tissaphernes, all the cities, of their own accord,
chose to adhere to Cyrus in preference to Tissaphernes, ex-
cept the Milesians; but they feared him, because he would
not abandon the cause of the exiles; 10. for he both showed
by his deeds, and declared in words, that he would never de-
sert them, since he had once become a friend to them, not
even though they should grow still fewer in number, and be
in a worse condition than they were.
that access could be obtained to the monarch.
c. vol. i. p 403. See Cyrop. i. 3. 2; 2. 3, seqq.
of Conon, c. 3.
Heeren, Researches,
Corn. Nep. Life
38
[B. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
11. Whenever any one did him a kindness or an injury, he
showed himself anxious to go beyond him in those respects;
and some used to mention a wish of his, that "he desired to
live long enough to outdo both those who had done him
good, and those who had done him ill, in the requital that
he should make." 12. Accordingly to him alone of the men
of our days were so great a number of people desirous of
committing the disposal of their property, their cities, and
their own persons.
13. Yet no one could with truth say this of him, that he
suffered the criminal or unjust to deride his authority; for
he of all men inflicted punishment most unsparingly; and
there were often to be seen, along the most frequented roads,
men deprived of their feet, or hands, or eyes; so that in
Cyrus's dominions, it was possible for any one, Greek or Bar-
barian, who did no wrong, to travel without fear whither-
soever he pleased, and having with him whatever might suit
his convenience.
14. To those who showed ability for war, it is acknow-
ledged that he paid distinguished honour. His first war was
with the Pisidians and Mysians; and, marching in person
into these countries, he made those, whom he saw voluntarily
hazarding their lives in his service, governors over the terri-
tory that he subdued, and distinguished them with rewards
in other ways.
15. So that the brave appeared to be the
most fortunate of men, while the cowardly were deemed fit
only to be their slaves. There were, therefore, great numbers
of persons who voluntarily exposed themselves to danger,
wherever they thought that Cyrus would become aware of
their exertions.
16. With regard to justice, if any appeared to him inclined
to display that virtue, he made a point of making such men
richer than those who sought to profit by injustice. 17. Ac-
cordingly, while in many other respects his affairs were ad-
ministered judiciously, he likewise possessed an army worthy
of the name. For it was not for money that generals and
captains came from foreign lands to enter into his service,
but because they were persuaded that to serve Cyrus well,
would be more profitable than any amount of monthly pay.
¹'Ažiovσdai.] Lion, Poppo, Kühner, and some other editors, read
ἀξιοῦν, but the passive suits better with the preceding φαίνεσθαι.
CH. 9. J
CHARACTER OF CYRUS.
39
18. Besides, if any one executed his orders in a superior man-
ner, he never suffered his diligence to go unrewarded; con-
sequently, in every undertaking, the best qualified officers
were said to be ready to assist him.
19. If he noticed any one that was a skilful manager, with
strict regard to justice, stocking the land of which he had the
direction, and securing income from it, he would never take
anything from such a person, but was ever ready to give him
something in addition; so that men laboured with cheerful-
ness, acquired property with confidence, and made no conceal-
ment from Cyrus of what each possessed; for he did not
appear to envy those who amassed riches openly, but to en-
deavour to bring into use the wealth of those who con-
cealed it.
20. Whatever friends he made, and felt to be well-disposed
to him, and considered to be capable of assisting him in any-
thing that he might wish to accomplish, he is acknowledged
by all to have been most successful in attaching them to him.
21. For, on the very same account on which he thought that
he himself had need of friends, namely, that he might have co-
operators in his undertakings, did he endeavour to prove an
efficient assistant to his friends in whatever he perceived
any of them desirous of effecting.
22. He received, for many reasons, more presents than
perhaps any other single individual; and these he outdid
every one else in distributing amongst his friends, having a
view to the character of each, and to what he perceived each
most needed. 23. Whatever presents any one sent him of
articles of personal ornament, whether for warlike accoutre-
ment, or merely for dress, concerning these, they said, he used
to remark, that he could not decorate his own person with
them all, but that he thought friends well equipped were the
greatest ornament a man could have. 24. That he should
outdo his friends, indeed, in conferring great benefits, is not
at all wonderful, since he was so much more able; but, that
he should surpass his friends in kind attentions, and an anxious
desire to oblige, appears to me far more worthy of admiration.
25. Frequently, when he had wine served him of a peculiarly
fine flavour, he would send half-emptied flagons of it to some
of his friends, with a message to this effect: "Cyrus has
not for some time met with pleasanter wine than this; and he
40
[B. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
has therefore sent some of it to you, and begs you will drink
it to-day, with those whom you love best." 26. He would
often, too, send geese partly eaten, and the halves of loaves,
and other such things, desiring the bearer to say, in present-
ing them, "Cyrus has been delighted with these, and there-
fore wishes you also to taste of them."
27. Wherever provender was scarce, but he himself, from
having many attendants, and from the care which he took,
was able to procure some, he would send it about, and de-
sire his friends to give that provender to the horses that
carried them, so that hungry steeds might not carry his
friends. 28. Whenever he rode out, and many were likely to
see him, he would call to him his friends, and hold earnest
conversation with them, that he might show whom he held in
honour; so that, from what I have heard, I should think that
no one was ever beloved by a greater number of persons,
either Greeks or Barbarians. 29. Of this fact the following
is a proof; that no one deserted to the king from Cyrus,
though only a subject, (except that Orontes attempted to do
so; but he soon found the person whom he believed faithful
to him, more a friend to Cyrus than to himself,) while many
came over to Cyrus from the king, after they became enemies
to each other; and these, too, men who were greatly beloved
by the king; for they felt persuaded, that if they proved
themselves brave soldiers under Cyrus, they would obtain
from him more adequate rewards for their services than from
the king.
30. What occurred also at the time of his death, is a great
proof, as well that he himself was a man of merit, as that he
could accurately distinguish such as were trust-worthy, well
disposed, and constant in their attachment. 31. For when he
was killed, all his friends, and the partakers of his table, who
were with him, fell fighting in his defence, except Ariæus,
who had been posted, in command of the cavalry, on the
left; and, when he learned that Cyrus had fallen in the battle,
he took to flight, with all the troops which he had under his
command.
сп. 10.] PLUNDER OF THE CAMP OF CYRUS.
41
CHAPTER X.
The head and right-hand of Cyrus cut off. Artaxerxes pursues Ariæus,
plunders the camp of Cyrus, and then returns to attack the victorious
Greeks, who put him to flight, recover what he had seized, and return to
their camp.
1. THE head and right-hand of Cyrus were then cut off.
The king, and the troops that were with him, engaging in
pursuit, fell upon the camp of Cyrus; when the soldiers of
Ariæus no longer stood their ground, but fled through their
camp to the station whence they had last started; which was
said to be four parasangs distant. 2. The king and his fol-
lowers seized upon many other things, and also captured the
Phocæan woman, the mistress of Cyrus, who was said to be
both accomplished and beautiful. 3. His younger mistress, a
native of Miletus, being taken by some of the king's soldiers,
fled for refuge, without her outer garment, to the party of
Greeks,¹ who were stationed under arms to guard the baggage,
and who, drawing themselves up for defence, killed several of
the pillagers; and some of their own number also fell; yet
they did not flee, but saved not only the woman, but all the
rest of the property and people that were in their quarters.
4. The king and the main body of Greeks were now
distant from each other about thirty stadia, the Greeks pur-
suing those that had been opposed to them, as if they had
conquered all; the Persians engaged in plundering, as if they
were wholly victorious. 5. But when the Greeks found that
the king with his troops was amongst their baggage; and the
king, on the other hand, heard from Tissaphernes, that the
Greeks had routed that part of his line which had been op-
posed to them, and were gone forward in pursuit, the king,
Πρὸς τῶν Ἑλλήνων.]
¹ Пρòç τŵv 'EXλvwv.] "These words," says Kühner, "have won-
derfully exercised the abilities of commentators. The simplest
mode of interpretation, he then observes, is to take πрòç in the sense.
of versus, "towards," comparing iv. 3. 26; ii. 2. 4; but he inclines,
on the whole, to make the genitive Evor depend on ToÚTOUS un-
derstood: ἐκφεύγει τῶν Ἑλλήνων πρὸς τούτους) οἱ ἔτυχον, κ. τ. λ.,
though he acknowledges that this construction is extremely forced,
and that he can nowhere find anything similar to it. Brodæus sug-
gested πρὸς τὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων, scil. στρατόπεδον, and Weiske and
Schneider would read πρὸς τὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων στρατόπεδον. Other
conjectures it is unnecessary to notice.
42
B. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
I
on his part, collected his forces, and formed them in line
again; while Clearchus, on the other side, calling to him
Proxenus, who happened to be nearest to him, consulted with
him whether they should send a detachment to the camp, or
proceed, all of them together, to relieve it. 6. In the mean
time, the king was observed again approaching them, as it
seemed, in their rear. The Greeks, wheeling round, prepared
to receive him, in the belief that he would attack them on
that quarter; the king, however, did not lead his troops that
way, but led them off by the same route by which he had be-
fore passed on the outside of their left wing; taking with him
both those who had deserted to the Greeks during the en-
gagement, and Tissaphernes with the troops under his com-
mand.
7. Tissaphernes had not fled at the commencement of the
engagement, but had charged through the Greek peltasts,
close to the banks of the river. In breaking through, how-
ever, he killed not a single man, for the Greeks, opening their
ranks, struck his men with their swords, and hurled their
javelins at them. Episthenes of Amphipolis had the com-
mand of the peltasts, and was said to have proved himself an
able captain. 8. Tissaphernes, therefore, when he thus came
off with disadvantage, did not turn back again, but, proceed-
ing onwards to the Grecian camp, met the king there; and
thence they now returned together, with their forces united in
battle-array. 9. When they were opposite the left wing of
the Greeks, the Greeks feared lest they should attack them on
that wing, and, enclosing them on both sides, should cut them
off; they therefore thought it advisable to draw back this
wing,' and to put the river in their rear. 10. While they
were planning this manœuvre, the king, having passed be-
yond them, presented his force opposite to them, in the same
form in which he had at first come to battle; and when
66
(C
''AvaTrúσcev.] Literally "to fold back." Whether we are to
understand that one part of the wing was drawn behind the other,
is not very clear. The commentators are not all agreed as to the
exact sense that the word ought to bear. Some would interpret it
by explicare, to open out," or extend," and this indeed seems
more applicable to TEрITTUžavтes which precedes; for the Greeks
might lengthen out their line that the king's troops might not sur-
round them. But on the whole, the other interpretation seems to
have most voices in favour of it.
ch. 10.7
THE GREEKS REPULSE THE BARBARIANS.
43
the Greeks saw their enemies close at hand, and drawn up for
fight, they again sang the præan, and advanced upon them
with much greater spirit than before. 11. The Barbarians,
1
on the other hand, did not await their onset, but fled sooner
than at first; and the Greeks pursued them as far as a certain
village,2 where they halted; 12. for above the village was a
hill, upon which the king's troops had checked their flight,
and though there were no longer any infantry³ there, the
height was filled with cavalry; so that the Greeks could not
tell what was doing. They said, that they saw the royal
standard, a golden eagle upon a spear, with expanded
wings.5
4
13. But as the Greeks were on the point of proceeding
thither, the cavalry too left the hill; not indeed in a body,
but some in one direction and some in another; and thus the
hill was gradually thinned of cavalry, till at last they were all
gone. 14. Clearchus, however, did not march up the hill, but,
· Ἐκ πλέονος.] Sc. διαστήματος : they began to flee when the
Greeks were at a still greater distance than before.
Μέχρι κώμης τινός.] This is generally supposed to have been
Cunaxa, where, according to Plutarch, the battle was fought.
Ainsworth, p. 244, identifies Cunaxa with Imséy'ab, a place 36 miles
north of Babylon.
3 The infantry seem to have fled; the cavalry only were left.
4 'Eπì πÉλTηg Éπì čúλov.] So stands the passage in Dindorf's text;
but most editors, from Schneider downwards, consider im žúλov to
be a mere interpretation of έì TEλTηs, that has crept by some acci-
dent into the text, and either enclose it in brackets or wholly omit it.
Πέλτη is said by Hesychius and Suidas to be the same as δόρυ or
λóyxn: and Krüger refers to Philostratus, Icon. ii. 32, Ì TÕS TÉλTNS
άεTóc. In Cyrop. vii. 1, 4, the insigne of Cyrus the elder is said to
have been a golden eagle, ἐπὶ δόρατος μακροῦ ἀνατεταμένος. Πέλτη
accordingly being taken in this sense, all is clear, and iπì žúλov is
superfluous. Kühner gives great praise to the conjecture of Hutch-
inson, ἐπὶ πέλτης ἐπὶ ξυστοῦ, who, taking πέλτη in the sense of
a shield, supposed that the eagle was mounted on a shield, and the
shield on a spear.
But the shield would surely have been a mere
encumbrance, and we had better be rid of it. Yet to take éλīŋ in
the sense of a spear, unusual in Xenophon, is not altogether satisfac-
tory; and it would be well if we could fairly admit into the text
Leunclavius's conjecture, ini aλrov.
5 'AvaTεTαμέvov.] This word is generally understood to signify
that the eagle's wings were expanded. See Liddell and Scott's
Lexicon; and Dr. Smith's Dict. of G. and R. Ant. sub Signa
Militaria.
44
[B. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
stationing his force at its foot, sent Lycius the Syracusan and
another up the hill, and ordered them, after taking a view
from the summit, to report to him what was passing on the
other side. 15. Lycius accordingly rode thither, and having
made his observations, brought word that the enemy were
fleeing with precipitation. Just as these things took place,
the sun set.
16. Here the Greeks halted, and piling their arms, took
some rest; and at the same time they wondered that Cyrus
himself nowhere made his appearance, and that no one else
came to them from him; for they did not know that he was
killed, but conjectured that he was either gone in pursuit of
the enemy, or had pushed forward to secure some post.
They then deliberated whether they should remain in that
spot and fetch their baggage thither, or return to the camp;
and it was resolved to return, and they arrived at the tents
about supper-time. 18. Such was the conclusion of this day.
17.
They found almost all their baggage, and whatever food
and drink was with it, plundered and wasted; the waggons,
too, full of barley-meal and wine, which Cyrus had provided,
in order that, if ever a great scarcity of provisions should fall
upon the army, he might distribute them amongst the Grecian
troops, (and the waggons, as was said, were four hundred in
number,) these also the king's soldiers had plundered.
Most of the Greeks consequently remained supperless; and
they had also been without dinner; for before the army had
halted for dinner, the king made his appearance. In this
state they passed the ensuing night.
19.
BOOK II.
CHAPTER I.
The Greeks are surprised to hear of the death of Cyrus. Ariæus resolves to
return to Ionia, contrary to the advice of Clearchus, who incites him to
make an attempt on the throne of Persia. Artaxerxes sends a message to
the Greeks; their reply.
1. How the Grecian force was collected for Cyrus, when
he undertook his expedition against his brother Artaxerxes,
what occurred in his march up the country, how the battle
took place, how Cyrus was killed, and how the Greeks re-
turned to their camp and went to rest, in the belief that they
were completely victorious, and that Cyrus was still alive, has
been related in the preceding book.
2. When it was day, the generals met together, and ex-
pressed their surprise that Cyrus had neither sent any person
to give directions how they should act, nor had made his ap-
pearance himself.
It seemed best to them, therefore, to pack
up what baggage they had, and, arming themselves, to march
forward till they could effect a junction with Cyrus. 3. But
when they were on the point of starting, just as the sun was
rising, there came to them Procles, the governor of Teuthrania,
(who was descended from Damaratus, the Lacedæmonian,)
and with him Glus, the son of Tamos, who told them that
Cyrus was dead, and that Ariæus, having fled, was, with the
rest of the Barbarians, at the station whence they started the
day before; and that he said he would wait for the Greeks
that day, if they would come to him; but on the morrow, he
said, he should set off for Ionia, from whence he had come.
1
4. The generals, on hearing this intelligence, and the other
Greeks, on learning it from them, were grievously afflicted;
and Clearchus spoke thus: "Would that Cyrus were still
alive; but since he is no more, carry back word to Ariæus,
¹ ПIvvdavóμεvoi.] Schneider and others would omit this word, as
an apparent interpolation. I have followed Kühner's interpret-
ation.
46
[B. II.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
that we at least are victorious over the king, and that, as you
see, no enemy any longer offers us battle; and, if you had not
come, we should have marched against the king; and we pro-
mise Ariæus, that, if he will come hither, we will seat him on
the royal throne; for to those who conquer, it belongs also to
rule." 5. Saying this, he dismissed the messengers, and sent
with them Cheirisophus the Lacedæmonian, and Menon the
Thessalian; for Menon himself desired to go, as he was con-
nected with Ariaus by ties of friendship and hospitality.
6. While they departed on their mission Clearchus waited
where he was; and the troops supplied themselves with food,
as well as they could, from the carcases of their baggage-cattle,
slaughtering their oxen and asses; and, going a little way in
front of the line, to the place where the battle was fought,
they collected and used as fuel, not only the arrows, which lay
in great quantities, and which the Greeks had compelled the
deserters from the king to throw down, but also the wicker
shields of the Persians, and the wooden ones of the Egyptians;
and there were also many other light shields, and waggons
emptied of their contents,¹ to be taken away; using all which
materials to cook the meat, they appeased their hunger for
that day.
7. It was now about the middle of the forenoon,2 when
some heralds arrived from the king and Tissaphernes, all of
them Barbarians, except one, a Greek named Phalinus, who
chanced to be with Tissaphernes, and was highly esteemed by
him, for he had pretensions to skill in the arrangement of
troops, and in the exercise of heavy arms.
8. These persons
having approached, and asked to speak with the commanders
of the Greeks, told them, "that the king, since he had gained
the victory and slain Cyrus, required the Greeks to deliver
up their arms, and go to the gates of the king,³ and try to
obtain, if they could, some favour from him.” 9. Thus spoke
the king's heralds; and the Greeks heard them with no small
Φέρεσθαι ἔρημοι.] Before Φέρεσθαι is to be understood ὥστε, as
Zeune and Weiske observe. Kühner remarks that pot should pro-
perly be referred to both έλrai and äpağaı: the shields were with-
out owners, and the waggons without their contents, as having been
plundered by the enemy,
2 Περὶ πλήθουσαν ἀγοράν.] See i. 8. 1.
3 See i. 9. 3.
CH. 1.] THE KING'S MESSAGE TO THE GREEKS.
47
concern; but Clearchus only said, "that it was not the part
of conquerors to deliver up their arms: but," he continued,
"do you, fellow-captains, give these men such an answer as
you think most honourable and proper; and I will return im-
mediately;" for one of the attendants just then called him
away to inspect the entrails which had been taken out of the
victim, as he happened to be engaged in sacrifice. 10. Cleanor
the Arcadian, the oldest of them, then answered, that "they
would die before they would deliver up their arms.
"For my
part," said Proxenus the Theban, "I wonder, Phalinus,
whether it is as conqueror that the king asks for our arms, or
as gifts in friendship; for if as conqueror, why should he ask
for them at all, and not rather come and take them? But if
he wishes to get them from us by means of persuasion, let
him say what will be left to the soldiers, if they gratify him
in this particular." 11. To this Phalinus replied,
"The king
considers himself the conqueror, since he has slain Cyrus.
For who is there now that disputes the sovereignty with him?
And he also looks upon yourselves as his captives, having you
here in the middle of his dominions, and enclosed within im-
passable rivers; and being able to lead such multitudes against
you, as, though he gave them into your power, it would be
impossible for you to destroy."
12. After him, Theopompus,' an Athenian, spoke thus: “O
Phalinus, we have now, as you see, nothing to avail us, ex-
cept our arms and our valour. While we retain our arms,
1
¹ Оεóπоμπог.] This is the reading of six manuscripts; others have
Evopov. The passage has greatly exercised the ingenuity of the
learned, some endeavouring to support one reading, some the other.
If we follow manuscript authority, it cannot be doubted that eɛó-
πоμлоç is genuine. Weiske thinks “Xenophon" inadmissible, be-
cause the officers only of the Greeks were called to a conference,
and Xenophon, as appears from iii. 1. 4, was not then in the ser-
vice as for the other arguments that he has offered, they are of
no weight. Krüger (Quæstt. de Xen. Vit. p. 12) attempts to refute
Weiske, and to defend the name of Xenophon, conjecturing that
some scholiast may have written in the margin Θεόπομπος δὲ Πρό-
ξενον τοῦτο εἰπεῖν φησι, whence the name of Theopompus may have
crept into the text, as Diod. Sic., xiv. 25, attributes those words to
Proxenus. But as this notion rests on conjecture alone, I have
thought if safest, with Weiske, Schneider, Poppo, and Dindorf, to
adhere to the reading of the best manuscripts. *
** Who this
Theopompus was, however, is unknown; for he is nowhere else
mentioned in the Anabasis. Kühner
48
[B. II.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
we may hope to profit by our valour; but if we were to give
them up, we should expect to be deprived also of our lives.
Do not suppose, therefore, that we shall give up to you the only
things of value that we possess; but, with these in our hands,
we will even fight for whatever of value you possess." 13. On
hearing him speak thus, Phalinus smiled, and said, "You
seem like a philosopher, young man, and express yourself not
without grace; but be assured that you are out of your senses
if you imagine that your valour will prove victorious over the
might of the king.' 14. But it was reported that certain
others of the generals, giving way to their fears, said that they
had been faithful to Cyrus, and might likewise prove of great
service to the king, if he were willing to become their friend;
and that whether he might wish to employ them in any other
service, or in an expedition against Egypt, they would assist
him in reducing it."
15. In the mean time Clearchus returned, and asked whether
they had yet given their answer. Phalinus, in reply, said,
"Your companions, O Clearchus, give each a different an-
swer; and now tell us what you have to say." 16. Clearchus
then said, "I was glad to see you, O Phalinus, and so, I dare
say, were all the rest of us; for you are a Greek, as we also
are; and, being so many in number as you see, and placed
in such circumstances. we would advise with you how we
should act with regard to the message that you bring.
Give us then, I entreat you by the gods, such advice as seems
to you most honourable and advantageous, and such as will
bring you honour in time to come, when it is related, that
Phalinus, being once sent from the king to require the Greeks
to deliver up their arms, gave them, when they consulted him,
such and such counsel; for you know that whatever counsel
you do give, will necessarily be reported in Greece."
17.
18. Clearchus craftily threw out this suggestion,' with the
desire that the very person who came as an envoy from the
king, should advise them not to deliver up their arms, in order
that the Greeks might be led to conceive better hopes. But
Phalinus, adroitly evading the appeal, spoke, contrary to his
expectation, as follows: 19. "If, out of ten thousand hopeful
chances, you have any single one, of saving yourselves by con-
¹ Ta≈та πýjуεтO.] Hæc dolosè suadebat. Compare ii. 4. 3 Kühner.
CH. 2.]
CLEARCIUS'S REPLY TO PHALINUS.
""
49
tinuing in arms against the king, I advise you not to deliver
up your arms; but if you have not a single hope of safety in
opposing the king's pleasure, I advise you to save yourselves
in the only way in which it is possible.' 20. Clearchus re-
joined, "Such, then, is your advice; but on our part return this
answer, that we are of opinion, that, if we are to be friends
with the king, we shall be more valuable friends if we retain
our arms, than if we surrender them to another; but that if
we must make war against him, we should make war better if
we retain our arms, than if we give them up to another." 21.
Phalinus said, "This answer, then, we will report: but the
king desired us also to inform you, that while you remain in
this place, a truce is to be considered as existing between him
and you; but, if you advance or retreat, there is to be war.
Give us, therefore, your answer on this point also; whether you
will remain here, and a truce is to exist, or whether I shall
announce from you, that there is war." 22. Clearchus re-
plied, "Report, therefore, on this point also, that our resolution
is the same as that of the king." "And what is that?" said
Phalinus. Clearchus replied, "If we stay here, a truce; but
if we retreat or advance, war. 23. Phalinus again asked him,
"Is it a truce or war that I shall report?" Clearchus again
made the same answer: "A truce, if we stay; and if we re-
treat or advance, war.” But of what he intended to do, he
gave no intimation.
""
CHAPTER II.
The Grecks, joining Ariæus, form an alliance with him, and take counsel
with him in reference to their return. During the night following the
first day's march they are seized with a panic, which Clearchus allays.
1. PHALINUS and his companions departed; and there now
returned, from their interview with Ariæus, Procles and
Cheirisophus; Menon had remained there with Ariæus.
They reported, "that Ariæus said that there were many Per-
sians, of superior rank to himself, who would not endure that
he should be king; but," he adds, "if you wish to return
with him, he desires you to come to him this very night; if
you do not, he says that he will set out by himself early in the
VOL. I.
E
50
[B. II.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
morning." 2. Clearchus rejoined, " And we must certainly
do as you say, if we determine to go to him; but if not, adopt
for yourselves such measures as you may think most for your
advantage;” for not even to them did he disclose what he in-
tended to do.
3. But afterwards, when the sun was setting, having as-
sembled the generals and captains, he spoke as follows: "My
friends, when I offered a sacrifice with reference to marching
against the king, the signs of the victims were not favourable,
and indeed it was with good cause that they were not so; for
as I now learn, there is between us and the king the river
Tigris, a navigable river, which we could not cross without
vessels; and vessels we have none. Yet it is not possible to
;
remain here; for we have no means of procuring provisions.
But for going to the friends of Cyrus, the sacrifices were ex-
tremely favourable. 4. We must accordingly proceed thus:
when we separate, we must sup, each of us on what he has
when the signal is given with the horn as if for going to rest,
proceed to pack up your baggage; when it sounds the second
time, place it on your baggage-cattle; and, at the third signal,
follow him who leads the way, keeping your baggage-cattle
next the river, and the heavy-armed troops on the outside."
5. The generals and captains, after listening to this address,
went away, and did as he directed; and thenceforth he com-
manded, and the others obeyed, not indeed having elected him
commander, but perceiving that he alone possessed such qua-
lifications as a leader ought to have, and that the rest of them
were comparatively inexperienced.
6. The computation of the route which they had come from
Ephesus in Ionia to the field of battle, was ninety-three days'
march, and five hundred and thirty-five parasangs, or sixteen
thousand and fifty stadia; and the distance from the field
of battle to Babylon was said to be three hundred and sixty
stadia.
7. Here, as soon as it was dark, Miltocythes the Thracian
deserted to the king, with about forty horse that he com-
¹ As Xenophon, in the first book, has enumerated only 84 days'
march, 517 parasangs, which make but 15,510 stadia, Zeune thinks
that the 9 days' march, and 18 parasangs, here added, are to be un-
derstood as forming the route from Ephesus to Sardis. Krüger is in-
clined to think the passage an interpolation.
CH. 2.] LEAGUE BETWEEN ARIAUS AND THE GREEKS. 51
1
manded, and nearly three hundred of the Thracian infantry.
8. Clearchus led the way for the rest, in the prescribed
order; and they followed, and arrived at the first halting-
place, to join Ariaus and his troops about midnight; and
the generals and captains of the Greeks, having drawn up
their men under arms, went in a body to Ariæus; when the
Greeks on the one hand, and Ariæus and his principal officers
on the other, took an oath not to betray each other, and to
be true allies; and the Barbarians took another oath, that
they would lead the way without treachery. 9. These oaths
they took after sacrificing a bull, a wolf,2 a boar, and a ram,
ɔver a shield, the Greeks dipping a sword, and the Barbarians
a lance, into the blood.
10. When these pledges of mutual fidelity were given,
Clearchus said: "Since then, Ariæus, our route and yours is
now the same, tell us, what is your opinion with respect to
our course; whether we shall return the way we came, or
whether you consider that you have thought of a better way."
11. Ariæus replied: "If we were to return the way we came,
we should all perish of hunger; for we have now no supply of
provisions; and for the last seventeen days' march, even when
we were coming hither, we could procure nothing from the
country through which we passed; or, if anything was to be
found there, we consumed it ourselves in our passage. But
now we propose to take a longer road, but one in which we
shall not want for provisions. 12. We must make the first
days' marches as long as we can, that we may remove our-
selves to the greatest possible distance from the king's army;
for if we once escape two or three days' journey from him, the
king will no longer be able to overtake us; since he will not
dare to pursue us with a small force; and, with a numerous
army, he will not be able to march fast enough, and will pro-
· Εἰς τὸν πρῶτον σταθμόν.] This is the σταθμός mentioned in i. 10.
1, being that from which the army of Cyrus started on the day when
the battle took place.
2 Bornemann observes that the sacrifice of the wolf seems to have
been the act of the Persians, referring to Plutarch de Is. et Os.,
where it is said that it was a custom with them to sacrifice that ani-
mal. They thought the wolf," he adds, "the son and image of
Ahrimanes, as appears from Kleuker in Append. ad Zendavestam,
T. II. P. iii. pp. 78, 84; see also Brisson, p. 388."
E 2
52
[B. 11.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
bably experience a scarcity of provisions. "Such," he con-
cluded, "is my opinion."
1
13. This scheme for conducting the army was calculated for
nothing else than to effect an escape, clandestinely or openly,
by flight. But fortune proved a better leader; for as soon as
it was day they began their march, with the sun on their
right, expecting to arrive about sunset at some villages in the
Babylonian territory; and in this expectation they were not
disappointed. 14. But, in the afternoon, they thought that they
perceived some of the enemy's cavalry; and those of the
Greeks who happened not to be in their ranks, ran to their
places in the ranks; and Ariæus (for he was riding in a wag-
gon because he had been wounded) came down and put on
his armour, as did those who were with him. 15. But while
they were arming themselves, the scouts that had been sent
forward returned, and reported that they were not cavalry,
but baggage-cattle grazing; and every one immediately con-
cluded that the king was encamped somewhere near. Smoke
16.
also was seen rising from some villages not far distant.
Clearchus however did not lead his troops against the enemy;
(for he was aware that his soldiers were tired and in want
of food; and besides it was now late ;) yet he did not turn
out of his way, taking care not to appear to flee, but continued
his march in a direct line, and took up his quarters with his
vanguard, just at sunset, in the nearest villages, from which
even the wood-work of the houses had been carried off by the
king's troops. 17. These, therefore, who were in advance,
encamped with some degree of regularity; but those who
followed, coming up in the dark, took up with such quarters
as they chanced to find, and made so much noise in calling
to each other, that even the enemy heard them; and those
of the enemy who were stationed the nearest, fled from their
encampments. 18. That this had been the case, became ap-
parent on the following day; for there was no longer a single
beast of burden to be seen, nor any camp, nor smoke any-
where near. The king had been alarmed, as it seemed, by
1 Αποδράναι καὶ ἀποφυγεῖν.] The first means to fee, so that it
cannot be discovered whither the fugitive is gone; the second, so
that he cannot be overtaken. Kühner ad i. 4. 8. "Fugâ vel clandes-
tinâ vel aperta." Weiske.
Ca 3.1 HERALDS ARE SENT FROM THE KING
52
the sudden approach of the Grecian army; and of this he gave
proof by what he did on the following day.
19. However, in the course of this night, a panic fell upon
the Greeks themselves, and there arose such noise and com-
motion in their camp as usually ensues on the occurrence of
sudden terror. 20. Upon this, Clearchus ordered Tolmides,
an Eleian, whom he happened to have with him, the best¹
herald of his time, to command silence; and proclaim, that
the generals give notice, that whoever will give information
of the person who turned the ass among the arms,² shall re-
ceive a reward of a talent of silver." 21. On this proclama-
tion being made, the soldiers were convinced that their alarm
was groundless, and their generals were safe. At break of
day, Clearchus issued orders for the Greeks to form themselves
under arms, in the same order in which they had been when
the battle took place.
CHAPTER III.
The king proposes a truce, and supplies the Greeks with provisions during
the negotiation. Three days after he sends Tissaphernes to them, to ask
why they had engaged in hostilities against him; he is answered by
Clearchus. A treaty is then concluded, the king engaging to send home
the Greeks under the conduct of Tissaphernes, and the Greeks promising
to do no injury to the countries through which they should pass.
1. WHAT I just now stated, that the king was alarmed at
e approach of the Greeks, became evident by what followed;
for though, when he sent to them on the preceding day, he
desired them to deliver up their arms, he now, at sunrise, sent
heralds to negotiate a truce. 2. These heralds, upon arriving
at the outposts, requested to speak with the commanders.
Their request being reported by the guards, Clearchus, who
happened then to be inspecting the several divisions, told the
1 "Apiorov.] Best, apparently, on account of the loudness or
clearness of his voice.
2 The arms, as Kühner observes, were piled in front of the men's
quarters. The affair of the ass was an invention of Clearchus to
draw off the thoughts of the soldiers from the subject of their ap-
prehension. Polyænus, iii. 9. 4, speaks of a similar stratagem
having been adopted by Iphicrates.
54
[B. II.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
guards to desire the heralds to wait till he should be at leisure.
3. When he had arranged the army in such a manner as to
present on every side the fair appearance of a compact pha-
lanx, and so that none of the unarmed were to be seen, he
called for the heralds, and came forward himself, having about
him the best-armed and best-looking of his soldiers, and told
the other leaders to do the same. 4. When he drew near the
messengers, he asked them what they wanted. They replied,
"that they came to negotiate a truce, with full powers to com-
municate with the Greeks on behalf of the king, and with
the king on behalf of the Greeks." 5. Clearchus answered,
"Tell the king, then, that we must come to battle first; for we
have no breakfast; and there is no one who will dare to talk
to the Greeks of a truce, without first supplying them with
breakfast."
f
6. On hearing this answer, the messengers departed, but
soon returned; from whence it was apparent that the king,
or some other person to whom a commission had been given
to conduct the negotiation, was somewhere near. They
brought word, "that the king thought what they said was
reasonable, and that they now came with guides, who, in case
the truce should be settled, would conduct the Greeks to a
place where they might procure provisions." 7. Clearchus then
inquired, whether the king would grant the benefit of the truce
to those only who went to him, on their way thither and back,
or whether the truce would be with the rest as well.2 The mes-
sengers replied, "With all; until what you have to say is
communicated to the king." 8. When they had said this,
Clearchus, directing them to withdraw, deliberated with the
other officers; and they proposed to conclude the truce at
once, and to go after the provisions at their ease, and supply
themselves. 9. And Clearchus said, "I too am of that
1 "ApiσTov.] This word answers to the Latin prandium, a meal
taken in the early part of the day. We cannot here render it
"dinner."
σ
2 I have translated this passage as I think that the drift of the
narrative requires. Krüger refers Tέvdoiro to Clearchus, and thinks
that by aurois Tоis ȧvdpáσi are meant the Persian deputies. Some
critics suppose that by those words the men who were to get pro-
visions are intended. To me nothing seems consistent with the
context but to refer oπivdoiro to the king, and to understand by
αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἀνδράσι the messengers from the Greeks.
CH. 3.] THE GREEKS CONTINUE THEIR RETREAT.
55
opinion. I will not, however, announce our determination
immediately, but will wait till the messengers begin to be un-
easy lest we should determine not to conclude the truce. And
yet," said he, "I suspect that a similar apprehension will arise.
among our own soldiers." When he thought therefore that
the proper time had arrived, he announced to the messengers
that he agreed to the truce, and desired them to conduct him
forthwith to the place where the provisions were.
10. They accordingly led the way; and Clearchus proceeded
to conclude the truce, keeping his army however in battle-
array; the rear he brought up himself. They met with
ditches and canals so full of water that they could not cross
without bridges; but they made crossings of the palm-trees
which had fallen, and others which they cut down. 11. Here
it might be seen how Clearchus performed the duties of a
commander, holding his spear in his left hand, and a staff in
his right; and if any of those ordered to the work seemed to
him to loiter at it, he would select a fit object for punishment,'
and give him a beating, and would lend his assistance him-
self,2 leaping into the midst, so that all were ashamed not to
share his industry. 12. The men of thirty and under only
had been appointed by him to the work; but the older
men, when they saw Clearchus thus busily employed,
gave their assistance likewise. 13. Clearchus made so much
the more haste, as he suspected that the ditches were not
always so full of water; (for it was not the season for irrigat-
ing the ground;) but thought that the king had let out the
water upon the plain, in order that even now there might ap
pear to the Greeks to be many difficulties in the march.
14. Proceeding on their way, they arrived at some villages,
from which the guides signified that they might procure pro-
visions. In these villages there was great plenty of corn, and
wine made from dates, and an acidulous drink obtained from
them by boiling. 15. As to the dates themselves, such as those
we see in Greece were here put aside for the use of the serv-
ants; but those which were laid by for their masters, were
choice fruit, remarkable for beauty and size; their colour was
not unlike that of amber; and some of these they dried and
1 Tov ¿πITýdεiov.] Scil. Taiɛodai, pœnæ idoneum, pœnâ dignum.
Kühner.
2
Проoελᵤavε.] Manum operi admovebat. Kühner.
56
[B. II.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
preserved as sweetmeats. These were a pleasant accompani-
ment to drink, but apt to cause headache. 16. Here too the sol-
diers for the first time tasted the cabbage¹ from the top of the
palm-tree, and most of them were agreeably struck both with
its external appearance and the peculiarity of its sweetness.
But this also was exceedingly apt to give headache. The
palm-tree, out of which the cabbage had been taken, soon
withered throughout.
17. In this place they remained three days, when Tissa-
phernes arrived from the Great King, and with him the
brother of the king's wife, and three other Persians; and a
numerous retinue attended them. The generals of the Greeks
having met them on their arrival, Tissaphernes first spoke by
an interpreter, to the following effect: 18. "I myself dwell, O
Greeks, in the neighbourhood of your country; and when I
perceived you fallen into many troubles and difficulties, I
thought it a piece of good fortune if I could in any way press
a request upon the king to allow me to conduct you in safety
back to Greece. For I think that such a service would be
attended with no want of gratitude either from yourselves or
from Greece in general. 19. With these considerations, I made
my request to the king, representing to him that he might
reasonably grant me this favour, because I had been the first
to give him intelligence that Cyrus was marching against
him, and at the same time that I brought him the intelligence,
66
¹ Tòv ¿yképalov.] Literally "the brain." Dulcis medulla earum
[palmarum] in cacumine, quod cerebrum appellant. Plin. H. N.
xiii. 4. See also Theophr. ii. 8; Galen. de Fac. simpl. Medic. iv. 15.
"It is generally interpreted medulla, marrow or “pith,” but it
is in reality a sort of bud at the top of the palm-tree, containing the
last tender leaves, with flowers, and continuing in that state two
years before it unfolds the flower; as appears from Boryd. St. Vin-
cent Itiner. t. i. p. 223, vers. Germ., who gives his information on
the authority of Du Petit Thouars. The French call it choux; the
Germans, Kohl. Schneider. By modern travellers it is called the
cabbage of the palm; it is composed' (says Sir Joseph Banks) of
the rudiments of the future leaves of the palm-tree, enveloped in
the bases or footstalks of the actual leaves; which enclose them
as a tight box or trunk would do.' It forms a mass of convo-
lutions, exquisitely beautiful and delicate; and wonderful to ap-
pearance, when unfolded. It is also exceedingly delicate to the
taste. Xenophon has justly remarked that the trees from whence
it was taken withered." Rennell's Illustrations of the Exp. of Cyrus,
p. 118.
C
cu. 3.]
CLEARCHUS AND TISSAPHERNES.
57
had come to him with an auxiliary force; because I alone,
of all those opposed to the Greeks, did not flee, but, on the
contrary, charged through the midst of them, and joined the
king in your camp, whither he came after he had slain Cyrus ;
and because, together with these who are now present with
me, and who are his most faithful servants, I engaged in pur-
suit of the Barbarian part of Cyrus's army. 20. The king
promised to consider of my request; and in the mean time de-
sired me to come and ask you, on what account it was that
you took the field against him; and I advise you to answer
with moderation, in order that it may be easier for me to se
cure you whatever advantage I can from the king."
21. The Greeks then withdrew, and, after some deliberation,
gave their answer, Clearchus speaking for them: "We neither
formed ourselves into a body, with the view of making war
upon the king, nor, when we set out, was our march directed
against him; but Cyrus, as you yourself are well aware, de-
vised many pretences for his proceedings, that he might both
take you by surprise, and lead us up hither. 22. But when we
afterwards saw him in danger, we were ashamed, in the face of
gods and men, to desert him, as we had before allowed him tc
bestow favours upon us. 23. As Cyrus, however, is now
dead, we neither dispute the sovereignty with the king, nor is
there any reason why we should desire to do harm to the
king's territory; nor would we wish to kill him, but would
proceed homeward, if no one molest us; but we will endeavour,
with the aid of the gods, to avenge ourselves on any one that
may do us an injury; while, if any one does us good, we
shall not be behind-hand in requiting him to the utmost of
our power." Thus spoke Clearchus. 24. Tissaphernes, hav-
ing heard him, said, “I will report your answer to the king,
and bring back to you his reply; and till I return, let the
truce remain in force; and we will provide a market for
you."
25. On the following day he did not return; so that the
Greeks began to be anxious; but on the third day he came,
and said, that he returned after having obtained the king's
permission to be allowed to save the Greeks; although many
spoke against it, saying that it did not become the king to
suffer men to escape who had engaged in war against him.
26. In conclusion he said, "You may now receive from us
58
B. IL
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
27.
solemn promises that we will render the country, through
which you will pass, friendly to you; and will, without treach-
ery, conduct you back to Greece, affording you opportunities
of purchasing provisions; and wheresoever we do not afford
you an opportunity of purchasing, we will allow you to take
for yourselves necessaries from the adjacent country.
On the other hand, it will be incumbent upon you to swear
to us, that you will march, as through a friendly territory,
without doing harm, only taking a supply of meat and drink,
whenever we do not give you an opportunity of purchasing,
but that if we give you such opportunity, you will procure
28. These conditions were
your supplies by purchase.
assented to; and they took the oaths, and Tissaphernes and
the brother of the king's wife gave their right-hands to the
generals and captains of the Greeks, and received from the
Greeks theirs in return. 29. After this, Tissaphernes said,
"And now I shall go back to the king; and as soon as I have
accomplished what I wish, I will come again, after making the
necessary preparations, for the purpose of conducting you
back to Greece, and returning myself to my province."
CHAPTER IV.
The Greeks conceive distrust both of Tissaphernes and Ariæus, and resolve
to march apart from the Persians. They commence their march under
the guidance of Tissaphernes, pass the wall of Media, and cross the
Tigris.
1
1. AFTER these occurrences, the Greeks and Ariæus, en-
camping near each other, waited for Tissaphernes more than
twenty days; in the course of which there came to visit
Ariaus both his brothers and other relations, and certain other
Persians, to see his companions, and gave them encouraging
hopes; some too were the bearers of assurances2 from the
king, that he would not remember to their disadvantage their
During this time Tissaphernes went to Babylon to the king, and
was rewarded with the hand of his daughter, and the province of
which Cyrus had been Satrap. Diod. Sic. xiv. 26. See sect. 8.
2 Aɛgias.] That is, fidem regis nomine dabant. See the commenta-
tors on Cyrop. iv. 2. 7 : δεξιὰν δὸς, ἵνα φέρωμεν καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ταυτα,
CH. 4.]
SUSPICIONS OF THE GREEKS.
59
expedition against him under Cyrus, or anything else that
was past. 2. On these things taking place, the followers of
Ariæus evidently began to pay the Greeks less attention; so
that, on this account, they rendered most of the Greeks dissa-
tisfied with them; and many of them, going to Clearchus
and the other generals, said, 3. "Why do we remain here?
are we not aware that the king would wish above all
things to destroy us, in order that a dread of going to war
with the Great Monarch may fall upon the rest of the
Greeks? For the present, he craftily protracts our stay, be-
cause his forces are dispersed; but, when his army is re-as-
sembled, it is not possible but that he will attack us. 4.
Perhaps, too, he is digging some trench, or building some wall,
that the way may be rendered impassable; for he will never
consent, at least willingly, that we should go back to Greece,
and relate how so small a number as we are have defeated
the king at his own gates, and returned after setting him at
nought.'
""
5. To those who thus addressed him, Clearchus answered,
"I have been considering all these things as well; but I
think that, if we now go away, we shall be thought to go with
a view to war, and to act contrary to the terms of the truce.
Moreover, in the first place, there will be no one to provide us
a market, or any means of procuring provisions; and, in the
next place, there will be no one to guide us; besides, the mo-
ment that we do this, Ariæus will separate himself from us;
so that not a friend will be left us; and, what is more, our
former friends will then become our enemies. 6. Whether
there is any other river for us to cross, I do not know; but
as for the Euphrates, we know that it is impossible to cross
that, if the enemy try to prevent us. Nor yet, if it should be
necessary to fight, have we any horse to support us; while
the enemy's cavalry is most numerous and efficient; so that,
though we were victorious, how many of our enemies should
we be able to kill? And, if we were defeated, it would not
be possible for a man of us to escape. 7. With regard to the
king, therefore, who is aided by so many advantages, I know
not, if he wishes to effect our destruction, why he should
swear, and give his right-hand, and perjure himself before the
Poppo. So it is said in Latin dextram ferre. See Breitenbach on
Xen. Agesil. iii. 4
80
[B. II.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
gods, and render his pledges faithless both to Greeks and
Barbarians." He said much besides to the same effect.
1
8. In the mean time Tissaphernes arrived, with his army,
as if with the view of returning home; and Orontes came
with his army. Orontes also brought with him the king's
daughter, whom he had received in marriage.2 9. From
hence they now proceeded on their march, Tissaphernes being
their guide, and securing them opportunities of buying pro-
visions; Ariæus also, with the Barbarian troops of Cyrus,
marched in company with Tissaphernes and Orontes, and en-
camped in common with them. 10. But the Greeks, conceiv-
ing a suspicion of these men, began to march by themselves,
taking guides of their own; and they always encamped at the
distance of a parasang, or little less, from each other; and
both parties kept on their guard against one another, as if
they had been enemies, and this consequently increased their
mistrustful feelings. 11. More than once, too, as they were
gathering fuel, or collecting grass and other such things, in the
same quarter, they came to blows with each other;3 and this
was an additional source of animosity between them.
4
12. After marching three days, they arrived at the wall of
Media, as it is called, and passed to the other side of it. This
wall was built of burnt bricks, laid in bitumen; it was twenty
feet in thickness, and a hundred in height, and the length of
it was said to be twenty parasangs; and it was not far distant
from Babylon. 13. Hence they proceeded, in two days' march,
1 'Hye.] From iii. 4. 13, it appears that we must refer this verb
to Orontes. See note on sect. 1. Whether Tissaphernes and Oron-
tes both married daughters of the king, is uncertain. If only one
of them, Xenophon is more likely to be in the right than Diodorus.
Siculus. Orontes was satrap of Armenia, iii. 5. 17. Rhodogune, a
daughter of Artaxerxes, is said by Plutarch (Vit. Art. c. 27) to have
been married to Orætes, who may be the same as Xenophon's
Orontes.
2 'Enì yάµw.] These words signify literally for or upon marriage.
The true interpretation, says Krüger, is, doubtless, "in order that he
might have her, or live with her, in wedlock," the marriage cere-
mony having been, it would seem, previously performed at Babylon.
3 Πληγὰς ἐνέτεινον ἀλλήλοις.] Whether this signifies that they
actually inflicted blows on one another, or only threatened them,
may admit of some doubt. The former notion is adopted by the
Latin translators, by Sturz in his Lexicon, and by the commentators
generally.
See i. 7. 15.
CH. 4.]
SOME ALARM EXCITED.
61
the distance of eight parasangs; crossing two canals, the one
by a permanent bridge, the other by a temporary one formed of
seven boats. These canals were supplied from the river Tigris;
and from one to the other of them were cut ditches across the
country, the first of considerable size, and the next smaller;
and at last diminutive drains, such as are cut in Greece through
the panic fields. They then arrived at the Tigris; nea.
which there was a large and populous city, called Sitace, dis-
tant from the banks of the river only fifteen stadia.
14. In
the neighbourhood of this city the Greeks encamped, close to
an extensive and beautiful park, thickly planted with all kinds
of trees. The Barbarians, though they had but just crossed
the Tigris, were no longer in sight.
15. After supper Proxenus and Xenophon happened to be
walking in front of the place where the arms were piled, when
a man approached, and inquired of the sentinels where he
could see Proxenus or Clearchus. But he did not ask for
Menon, though he came from Ariæus, Menon's intimate friend.
16. Proxenus replying, "I am the person whom you seek,” the
man said, “Ariæus and Artaozus, the faithful friends of Cyrus,
who are interested for your welfare, have sent me to you, and
exhort you to beware lest the Barbarians should fall upon
you in the night; for there is a considerable body of troops in
the adjoining park. 17. They also advise you to send a guard
to the bridge over the Tigris, as Tissaphernes designs to break
it down in the night, if he can, in order that you may not be
able to cross the river, but may be hemmed in between the
river and the canal." 18. On hearing the man's message, they
conducted him to Clearchus, and told him what he had said.
When Clearchus heard it he was greatly agitated and alarmed.
19. But a young man,2 one of those who were present, after
reflecting a little on the matter, observed, "that the imputed
designs of making an attack, and of breaking down the
bridge, were not consistent; for," said he, "if they attack
us, they must certainly either conquer or be conquered; if
then they are to conquer us, why should they break down the
bridge? for even though there were many bridges, we have
no place where we could save ourselves by flight; 20. but if, on
¹i. 2. 22.
2 Zeune thinks that Xenophon may possibly mean himself; bu
this is mere conjecture.
62
[B. II.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
the other hand, we should conquer them, then, if the bridge
is broken down, they will have no place of retreat; nor will
any of their friends on the other side of the river, however
numerous, be able to come to their assistance when the bridge
is destroyed." 21. After listening to these observations, Clear-
chus asked the messenger what was the extent of the country
that lay between the Tigris and the canal. He replied, “that
it was of considerable extent, and that there were several vil-
lages and large towns in it." 22. It was then immediately con-
cluded, that the Barbarians had sent this man with an under-
hand object, being afraid lest the Greeks, having taken to
pieces the bridge, should remain in the island, where they
would have, as defences, the river Tigris on the one side, and
the canal on the other; and might procure a sufficient supply
of provisions from the country which lay between, and which
was extensive and fertile, with people in it to cultivate it;
and which would also serve as a place of refuge to any that
might be inclined to annoy the king.
23. They then prepared for rest, but did not neglect, how-
ever, to send a guard to the bridge; but neither did any one
attempt to attack them on any quarter, nor did any of the
enemies come near the bridge, as those who were stationed
on guard there reported.
24. As soon as it was day they crossed the bridge, which
was constructed of thirty-seven boats, with every precaution
in their power; for some of the Greeks, who came from Tis-
saphernes, stated that the enemy meant to attack them as they
were crossing; but this report was also false. However, as
they were going over, Glus made his appearance, with some
others, watching to see if they were crossing the river; and
when they saw they were, he immediately rode away.
25. From the Tigris they proceeded, in four days' march, a
distance of twenty parasangs, to the river Physcus, which was
a plethrum in breadth, and over which was a bridge. Here
was situate a large town, called Opis; near which an ille-
gitimate brother of Cyrus and Artaxerxes, who was leading
a numerous army from Susa and Ecbatana, with the intention
¹ ALEλÓVTES.] An excellent conjectural emendation of Holtzmann
for the old reading dieλ0óvTES. Kühner.-The stratagem of Tissa-
phernes was similar to that by which Themistocles expedited the
departure of Xerxes from Greece.
CII. 5.]
THE GREEKS REACH THE ZABATUS.
63
16.
of assisting the king, met the Greeks, and, ordering his troops
to halt, took a view of the Greeks as they passed by.
Clearchus marched his men two abreast, and halted occasion
ally on the way; and as long as the van of the army halted,
so long there was necessarily a halt throughout the whole of
the line; so that even to the Greeks themselves their army
seemed very large, and the Persian was amazed at the sight
of it.
17. Hence they proceeded through Media,' six days' march
through a desert country, a distance of thirty parasangs, when
they arrived at the villages of Parysatis, the mother of Cyrus
and the king; which Tissaphernes, in mockery of Cyrus, gave
permission to the Greeks to plunder of everything except the
slaves. There was found in them a great quantity of corn,
and sheep, and other property. 18. Hence they advanced in
a march of five days more through the desert, a distance of
twenty parasangs, having the Tigris on their left. At the
end of the first day's march there was situate on the opposite
bank of the river a large and opulent city, called Cænæ,
whence the Barbarians brought over, on rafts made of hide
a supply of bread, cheese, and wine.
CHAPTER V
After a three days' halt on the river Zabatus, Clearchus endeavours to put
an end to the distrust between the Persians and the Greeks by an inter-
view with Tissaphernes. He is received so plausibly that he is induced
to return on the following day, accompanied by five other generals and
twenty captains, in expectation of being informed of the persons who had
excited, by false reports, ill feelings between the two armies.
The gener-
als are conducted into the tent and put to death; the captains and those
with them are massacred on the outside, one only escaping to tell the tale.
Ariaus calls on the rest of the Greeks to surrender their arms, but is an-
swered with defiance.
1. Soon after, they arrived at the river Zabatus, the breadth
of which was four plethra. Here they remained three days;
during which the same suspicions continued, but no open in-
dication of treachery appeared. 2. Clearchus therefore re-
solved to have a meeting with Tissaphernes, and, if it was at
' i. 7. 15.
64
[B. I.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
all possible, to put a stop to these suspicions, before open hos-
tilities should arise from them. He accordingly sent a person
to say, that he wished to have a meeting with Tissaphernes;
who at once requested him to come. 3. When they met,
Clearchus spoke as follows: "I am aware, O Tissaphernes,
that oaths have been taken, and right-hands pledged between
us, that we will do no injury to each other: nevertheless, I
observe you on your guard against us, as though we were
enemies; and we, perceiving this, stand on our guard against
you. 4. But since, upon attentive observation, I can neither
detect you in any attempt to injure us, and since, as I am
certain, we have no such intentions towards you, it seemed
proper for me to come to a conference with you, that we may
put an end, if we can, to our distrust of one another.
5. For
I have, before now, known instances of men, who, being in
fear of another, some through direct accusations, and others
through mere suspicion, have, in their eagerness to act before
they suffered, inflicted irremediable evils upon those who nei-
ther intended nor wished anything of the kind. 6. Think-
ing, therefore, that such misunderstandings may be best
cleared up by personal communications, I have come here,
and am desirous to convince you that you have no just ground
for mistrusting us. 7. In the first and principal place, the
oaths, which we have sworn by the gods, forbid us to be ene-
mies to each other; and I should never consider him to be
envied who is conscious of having disregarded such obliga-
tions; for from the vengeance of the gods I know not with
what speed any one could flee so as to escape,' or into what
darkness he could steal away, or how he could retreat into any
stronghold, since all things, in all places, are subject to the
gods; and they have power over all everywhere alike. 8. Such
are my sentiments respecting the gods, and the oaths which
we swore by them, in whose keeping we deposited the friend-
ship that we cemented; but among human advantages, I, for
my own part, consider you to be the greatest that we at pre-
1 Οὔτ᾽ ἀπὸ ποίου ἂν τάχους φεύγων τις ἀποφύγοι.] This is Din-
dorf's reading. Bornemann and Kühner have our' àñò ñоiov áv Tá-
ποίου
χους οὔτε ὅποι ἄν τις φεύγων ἀποφύγοι, on the authority, as they say,
of the best copies. Dindorf thought with Schæfer, ad Greg. Cor. p.
492, that the words ourε öπoi av were superfluous, and consequently
omitted them. Bornemann and Kühner see no reason why they
should not be retained.
οι
?
CH. 5.]
CLEARCHUS ADDRESSES TISSAPIIERNES.
1
65
sent possess; 9. for with your assistance, every road is easy,
every river is passable, and there will be no want of provi-
sions; but without you all our way would lie through dark-
ness, (for we know nothing of it,) every river would be diffi-
cult to pass, and every multitude of men would be terrible:
but solitude most terrible of all, as it is full of extreme per-
plexity. 10. And even if we should be so mad as to kill you,
what else would be the consequence, than that, having slain
our benefactor, we should have to contend with the king as
your most powerful avenger? For my own part, of how many
and how great expectations I should deprive myself, if I at-
tempted to do you any injury, I will make you acquainted.
11. I was desirous that Cyrus should be my friend, as I thought
him, of all the men of his time, the most able to benefit those
whom he wished to favour. But I now see that you are in the
possession both of the power and the territory of Cyrus, while
you still retain your own province, and that the power of the
king, which was opposed to Cyrus, is ready to support you.
12. Such being the case, who is so mad as not to wish to be
your friend?
"But I will mention also the circumstances from which I
derive hopes that you will yourself desire to be our friend.
13. I am aware that the Mysians give you much annoyance,
and these, I have no doubt, I should be able, with my present
force, to render subservient to you; I am aware also that the
Pisidians molest you; and I hear that there are many such
nations besides, which I think I could prevent from ever dis-
turbing your tranquillity. As for the Egyptians, against
whom I perceive you are most of all incensed, I do not see
what auxiliary force you could use to chastise them better
than that which I now have with me. 14. If, again, among
the states that lie around you, you were desirous to become a
friend to any one, you might prove the most powerful of
friends; and if any of them gave you any annoyance, you
might, by our instrumentality, deal with them2 as a master, as
1 Τὸν μέγιστον ἔφεδρον.] Εφεδρος properly meant a gladiator or
wrestler, who, when two combatants were engaged, stood ready to
attack the one that should prove victorious. See Sturz, Lex. Xen. ;
Schol. in Soph. Aj. 610; Hesychius; D'Orvill. ad Charit. p. 338.
Αναστρέφοιο.] "Ut dominus versere, vivas, domini partes sus-
Ar must be repeated from the preceding clause; unless
tineas:
VOL. I.
F
66
[B. II.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
we should serve you not for the sake of pay merely, but from
gratitude, which we should justly feel towards you if we are
saved by your means.
15. When I consider all these things,
it appears to me so surprising that you should distrust us, that
I would most gladly hear the name¹ of him who is so persua-
sive a speaker as to make you believe that we are forming
designs against you."
Thus spoke Clearchus. Tissaphernes replied as follows:
16. "I am delighted, O Clearchus, to hear your judicious ob-
servations; for, with these sentiments, if you were to meditate
anything to my injury, you would appear to be at the same
time your own enemy. But that you may be convinced that
you have no just cause for distrusting either the king or me,
listen to me in your turn.
17. If we wished to destroy you,
do we appear to you to be deficient in numbers either of
cavalry or infantry, or in warlike equipments, with the aid of
which we might be able to do you injury, without danger of
suffering any in return? 18. Or do we seem to you likely to
be in want of suitable places to make an attack upon you?
Are there not so many plains, which, as the inhabitants of
them are friendly to us,2 you traverse with exceeding toil?
See you not so many mountains before you to be crossed,
which we might, by pre-occupying them, render impassable
to you? Or are there not so many rivers, at which we might
parcel you out,3 as many at a time as we might be willing to
engage? Some of these rivers, indeed, you could not cross at
all, unless we secured you a passage.
19. But even suppos-
ing that we were baffled in all these points, yet fire at least
would prove its power over the produce of the soil; by burn-
ing which, we could set famine in array against you, which,
though you were the bravest of the brave, you would find it
difficult to withstand. 20. How then, having so many means
that particle, as Dindorf thinks, has dropped out from before ȧva-
στρέφοιο. Kühner.
i There is in the text, as Krüger observes, a confusion of the two
constructions, ἀκούσαιμι τὸ ὄνομα τούτου, ὅστις, and ἀκούσαιμι, τις.
2 “A ýµïv píλa övra.] I have here departed from Dindorf's text,
which has a vμeïs píλia övтa, к. T. λ.; a reading much less satisfac-
ὑμεῖς φίλια
tory than the other, to which Schneider, Bornemann, and Kühner
adhere.
3 Taμievεo@ai.]__This word is used in the same sense, Cyrop. iii
3. 47; iv. 1. 18; Thucyd. vi. 18; Plutarch, Timol. c. 27.
¤¤. 5.]
REPLY OF TISSAPHERNES.
67
of waging war with you, and none of them attended with
danger to ourselves, should we select from amongst them all
this mode, the only one that is impious in the sight of the
gods, the only one that is disgraceful in the sight of men?
21. It belongs, altogether, to men who are destitute of means,
deprived of every resource, and under the coercion of neces-
sity, and at the same time devoid of principle, to seek to effect
their purposes by perjury towards the gods, and breach of
faith towards men. We, O Clearchus, are not so foolish or so
inconsiderate; 22. or why, when we have the opportunity of
effecting your destruction, have we made no such attempt?
Be well assured, that the cause of this was my desire to prove
myself faithful to the Greeks, and, in consequence of doing
them service, to return supported by that very body of foreign
troops, to whom Cyrus, when he went up, trusted only on ac-
count of the pay that he gave them. 23. As to the particulars
in which you will be of service to me, some of them you have
enumerated, but of the greatest of all I am myself fully
conscious; for though it is permitted to the king alone to
wear the turban upright on the head, yet perhaps another
than he may, with your assistance, wear that upright which is
on the heart.” 1
24. Tissaphernes, in speaking thus, seemed to Clearchus to
speak with sincerity, and he replied, "Do not those, then,
who endeavour by calumny to make us enemies, when there
are such strong inducements to friendship between us, deserve
the severest of punishment?" 25. "Well, then," said Tissa-
phernes, "if you will come to me, as well generals as captains,
in a public manner, I will inform you who they are that tell
1 Τὴν δ᾽ ἐπὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ-ἔχοι] Sc. ὄρθην. The sense is, “ but to
wear a tiara erect on the heart, that is, to have a kingly spirit and
to aspire to dominion, is what another, by your aid, might be able
to do." Tissaphernes, by this expression, wished to make it under-
stood that he might possibly, with the support of the Greeks, aspire
to the throne of Persia himself. A similar metaphor is noticed by
Schæfer, (ad Greg. Corinth. p. 491,) in Philostratus v. a. iii. p. 131:
δοκεῖ μοι καὶ τὸν προγνωσόμενον ἄνδρα ὑγιῶς ἑαυτοῦ ἔχειν· καθαρῶς δὲ
αὐτὸν προφητεύειν, ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τοῦ περὶ τῷ στέρνῳ τρίποδος συνιέντος.
Kühner. See Cyrop. viii. 3. 13. Hutchison refers to Dion Chrysost.
xiv. extr. Lucian Piscat. p. 213. See also Strabo, xv. p. 231, where
the Persian tiara is said to be яíλŋµɑ πνρуwróv, in the shape of a
tower; and Joseph. Ant. xx. 3. The tiaras of the king's subjects
were soft and flexible: Schol. ad Plat. de Repub." Krüger.
F 2
68
[B. II,
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
me that you are forming plots against me and my army." 26.
'I will bring them all," said Clearchus, "and, on my part,
will let you know the quarter whence I hear reports respect-
ing you." 27. After this conversation, Tissaphernes, behav-
ing to Clearchus with much courtesy, desired him to stay with
him, and made him his guest at supper.
On the following day, when Clearchus returned to the
camp, he plainly showed that he considered himself to be on
the most friendly footing with Tissaphernes, and stated what
he had proposed; and he said that those must go to Tissa-
phernes, whose presence he required, and that whoever of the
Greeks should be proved guilty of uttering the alleged calum-
nies, must be punished as traitors, and persons ill-affected to
the Greeks. 28. It was Menon that he suspected of making
the charges, as he knew that he had had an interview with
Tissaphernes in company with Ariæus, and was forming a
party and intriguing against himself, in order that, having
gained the whole army over to his own interests, he might
secure the friendship of Tissaphernes. 29. Clearchus likewise
wished the whole army to have their affections fixed on him-
self, and troublesome rivals to be removed out of his way.
Some of the soldiers urged, in opposition to his advice, that
all the captains and generals should not go, and that they
ought to place no confidence in Tissaphernes. 30. But Clear-
chus pressed his proposal with great vehemence, till he at
length succeeded in getting five generals and twenty captains.
to go; and some of the other soldiers followed them, to the
number of about two hundred, as if for the purpose of
marketing.¹
31. When they had arrived at the entrance of Tissaphernes'
tent, the generals, who were Proxenus the Boeotian, Menon
the Thessalian, Agias the Arcadian, Clearchus the Lacedæ-
monian, and Socrates the Achæan, were invited to enter; but
the captains waited at the door. 32. Not long after, at one
and the same signal, those within were seized, and those with-
out massacred; and immediately afterwards a body of Bar-
barian cavalry, riding through the plain, killed every Greek,
slave or freeman, that they met.
33. The Greeks, observing the motions of these cavalry
¹ 'as siç ȧyopȧv.] "Consequently unarmed." Krüger.
1 εἰς ἀγορὰν.]
CH. 5.]
SEIZURE OF THE GENERALS.
69
from the camp, were filled with astonishment, and wondered
what they could be doing, till Nicarchus an Arcadian came
fleeing thither, wounded in the belly and holding his intestines
in his hands, and related all that had occurred. 34. The
Greeks, in consequence, ran to their arms in a state of general
consternation, expecting that the enemy would immediately
march upon the camp. 35. They however did not all come,
but only Ariæus and Artaozus and Mithridates, who had been
Cyrus's most confidential friends; and the interpreter of the
Greeks said, that he saw with them, and recognised, the
brother of Tissaphernes. Other Persians, equipped with
corslets, to the number of three hundred, were in attendance
on them. 36. As they approached the camp, they called for
whatever general or captain of the Greeks might be there, to
come out to them, that they might deliver a message from the
king. 37. There accordingly went forth to them, with much
caution, Cleanor the Orchomenian, and Sophanetus the Stym-
phalian, generals of the Greeks, and with them Xenophon
the Athenian, that he might learn news of Proxenus. As for
Cheirisophus, he happened to be absent at some village look-
ing for provisions.
38. When they had stopped just within hearing, Ariæus
said to them: (C
Clearchus, O Greeks, having been found
guilty of perjury, and of violating the truce, has received his
just punishment, and is dead; Proxenus and Menon, as hav-
ing denounced his treachery, are in great honour; but the
king demands of you your arms; for he says that they are
his, as they belonged to Cyrus his subject." 39. To this the
Greeks answered, (Cleanor the Orchomenian spoke for them,)
"O Ariæus, most wicked of men, and the rest of you, as many
as were the friends of Cyrus, have you no regard either for
gods or men, that, after having sworn that you would consider
our friends and enemies to be likewise yours, you have thus,'
1 Ὡς ἀπολωλέκατε.] Jacobs interprets ὡς by quam, as equivalent
to quàm turpiter! quàm impiè! But such exclamations belong rather
to modern writers than to the ancients. *** Others have conjec-
tured αθέως, ανοσίως, ὠμῶς, ἴσως, ὅλως, οὕτως. In one manuscript
g is omitted; an omission approved by Larcher, Porson, and some
others. Some, too, think that the sentence is avakóλovdog, and that
the author, forgetful how he commenced it, goes on with ws for őt..
Dindorf supposes that Cleanor must be regarded as too much pro-
voked and agitated to mind the exact arrangement of his words.
70
[B. II.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
after treacherously deserting us in concert with Tissa-
phernes, the most godless and most unprincipled of human
beings, murdered the very men to whom you swore alli-
ance, and, abandoning us who are left, have come against us
in conjunction with our enemies?" 40. Ariæus replied,
"Clearchus had been previously detected in treacherous designs
against Tissaphernes and Orontes, and all of us who accom-
pany them."
41. To this Xenophon rejoined, "Clearchus,
then, if he infringed the truce in violation of his oath, is de-
servedly punished; for it is just that those who violate
their oaths should suffer death; but as for Proxenus and
Menon, as they are your benefactors and our generals, send
them hither; for it is clear that, being friends to both parties,
they will endeavour to advise what is best both for you and
for us." 42. The Barbarians, after conversing among them-
selves for some time, departed without making any answer to
this proposal.
CHAPTER VI.
The characters of the five generals that were put to death.
1. THE generals, who were thus made prisoners, were taken
up to the king, and put to death by being beheaded.
One of them, Clearchus, by the general consent of all who
were acquainted with him, appears to have been a man well
qualified for war, and extremely fond of military enterprise.
2. For as long as the Lacedæmonians were at war with the
Athenians, he remained in the service of his country; but
when the peace took place, having induced his government to
believe that the Thracians were committing ravages on the
Greeks, and having gained his point, as well as he could,
with the Ephori, he sailed from home to make war upon
the Thracians that lie above the Chersonesus and Perin-
thus. 3. But when the phori, after he was gone, hav-
$
For my own part, I consider that those have the most reason on
their side who think that we should read ourws, interpreting it, with
Bornemann, so rashly, so unjustifiably. From ourwg, written com-
pendiously, s might easily have sprung. Kühner.
CH. 6.]
CHARACTER OF CLEARCHUS.
71
ing for some reason changed their mind, took measures to
oblige him to turn back from the Isthmus, he then no longer
paid obedience to their commands, but sailed away to the
Hellespont, 4. and was in consequence condemned to death,
for disobedience, by the chief magistrates at Sparta. Being
then an exile, he went to Cyrus; and by what methods he
conciliated the favour of Cyrus, has been told in another place.
Cyrus presented him with ten thousand darics; 5. and he,
on receiving that sum, did not give himself up to idleness,
but having collected an army with the money, made war
upon the Thracians, and conquered them in battle, and from
that time plundered and laid waste their country, and con-
tinued this warfare till Cyrus had need of his army; when
he went to him, for the purpose of again making war in con-
cert with him.
6. These seem to me to have been the proceedings of one
fond of war, who, when he might have lived in peace without
disgrace or loss, chose war in preference; when he might
have spent his time in idleness, voluntarily underwent toil for
the sake of military adventure; and when he might have en-
joyed riches in security, chose rather, by engaging in warfare,
to diminish their amount. He was indeed led by inclination to
spend his money in war, as he might have spent it in pursuits
of gallantry, or any other pleasure; to such a degree was he
fond of war. 7. He appears also to have been qualified for
military undertakings, as he liked perilous adventure, was
ready to march day and night against the enemy, and was pos-
sessed of great presence of mind in circumstances of difficulty,
as those who were with him on all such occasions were uni-
versally ready to acknowledge.
8. For commanding troops he was said to be qualified in as
great a degree as was consistent with his temper; for he
was excelled by no one in ability to contrive how an army
might have provisions, and to procure them; and he was
equally fitted to impress on all around him the necessity of
obeying Clearchus. 9. This he effected by severity; for he
was of a stern countenance and harsh voice; and he always
punished violently, and sometimes in anger, so that he occa-
sionally repented of what he had done. He punished too on
principle, for he thought that there could be no efficiency in
an army undisciplined by chastisement. 10. He is also re-
72
[B. II.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
ported to have said, that a soldier ought to fear his commander
more than the enemy, if he would either keep guard well, or
abstain from doing injury to friends, or march without hesita-
tion against foes. 11. In circumstances of danger, accord-
ingly, the soldiers were willing to obey him implicitly, and
wished for no other leader; for they said, that the sternness
in his countenance then assumed an appearance of cheerful-
ness, and that what was severe in it seemed undauntedness
against the enemy; so that it appeared indicative of safety, and
not of austerity. 12. But when they were out of danger, and
were at liberty to betake themselves to other chiefs, they de-
serted him in great numbers; for he had nothing attractive
in him, but was always forbidding and repulsive, so that the
soldiers felt towards him as boys towards their master.
Hence it was, that he never had any one who followed him
out of friendship and attachment to his person; though such
as followed him from being appointed to the service by their
country, or from being compelled by want or other necessity,
he found extremely submissive to him. 14. And when they
began under his command to gain victories over the enemy,
there were many important circumstances that concurred to
render his troops excellent soldiers; for their perfect confi-
dence against the enemy had its effect, and their dread of
punishment from him rendered them strictly observant of dis-
cipline. 15. Such was his character as a commander. But
he was said to have been by no means willing to be com-
manded by others. When he was put to death, he was about
fifty years of age.
13.
16. Proxenus the Boeotian, from his earliest youth, felt a
desire to become a man capable of great undertakings; and
through this desire paid Gorgias of Leontium for instruction.
17. When he had passed some time with him, and thought
himself capable of command, and, if honoured with the
friendship of the great, of making no inadequate return for
their favours, he proceeded to take a part in this enterprise.
with Cyrus; and expected to acquire in it a great name, ex-
tensive influence, and abundant wealth. 18. But though he
carnestly wished for these things, he at the same time plainly
showed, that he was unwilling to acquire any of them by in-
justice, but that he thought he ought to obtain them by just
and honourable means, or otherwise not at all.
CH. 6.]
CHARACTER OF MENON.
73
19. He was indeed able to command orderly and well-dis-
posed men, but incapable of inspiring ordinary soldiers with
either respect or fear for him; he stood even more in awe of
those under his command, than they of him; and evidently
showed that he was more afraid of being disliked by his sol-
diers, than his soldiers of being disobedient to him.
20. He
thought it sufficient both for being, and appearing, capable
of command, to praise him who did well, and withhold his
praise from the offender. Such, therefore, of his followers, as
were of honourable and virtuous character, were much attach-
ed to him, but the unprincipled formed designs upon him, as
a man easy to manage. He was about thirty years old when
he was put to death.
21. As for Menon the Thessalian, he ever manifested an
excessive desire for riches, being desirous of command that
he might receive greater pay, and desirous of honours that
he might obtain greater perquisites; and he wished to be well
with those in power, in order that when he did wrong he
might not suffer punishment. 22. To accomplish what he
desired, he thought that the shortest road lay through perjury,
falsehood, and deceit; while sincerity and truth he regarded
as no better than folly. 23. He evidently had no affection for
any man; and as for those to whom he professed to be a
friend, he was unmistakeably plotting mischief against them.
He never ridiculed an enemy, but always used to talk with
his associates as if ridiculing all of them.¹ 24. He formed no
designs on the property of his enemies, (for he thought it
difficult to take what belonged to such as were on their guard
against him,) but looked upon himself as the only person sens-
ible how very easy it was to invade the unguarded property
of friends.
25. Those whom he saw given to perjury and injustice, he
feared as men well armed; but sought to practise on those
who were pious and observant of truth, as imbeciles.
26. As
another might take a pride in religion, and truth, and justice,
so Menon took a pride in being able to deceive, in devising
falsehoods, in sneering at friends; and thought the man who
was guileless was to be regarded as deficient in knowledge of the
world. He believed that he must conciliate those, in whose
· Τῶν δὲ συνόντων, κ. τ. λ.] By a species of attraction for τοῖς
δὲ συνοῦσι πᾶσιν, ὡς καταγελῶν αὐτῶν, ἀεὶ διελέγετο. Kühner.
74
[B. II.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
friendship he wished to stand first, by calumniating such as
already held the chief place in their favour. 27. The soldiers
he tried to render obedient to him by being an accomplice in
their dishonesty. He expected to be honoured and courted,
by showing that he had the power and the will to inflict the
greatest injuries. When any one deserted him, he spoke of it
as a favour on his own part that, while he made use of his
services, he did not work his destruction.
28. As to such parts of his history as are little known, I
might, if I were to speak of them, say something untrue of
him; but those which every one knows, are these. While yet
in the prime of youth he obtained, at the hands of Aristippus,
the command of his corps of mercenaries. He was also, in
his prime, most intimate with Ariæus, though a Barbarian, as
Ariæus delighted in beautiful youths. He himself, too, while
yet a beardless youth, made a favourite of Tharypas, who had
arrived at manhood.
29. When his fellow-officers were put to death, because
they had served with Cyrus against the king, he, though he
had done the same, was not put to death with them; but after
the death of the other generals, he died under a punishment
inflicted by the king, not like Clearchus and the other com-
manders, who were beheaded (which appears to be the
speediest kind of death); but after living a year in torture,
like a malefactor, he is said at length to have met his end.
30. Agias the Arcadian and Socrates the Achæan were also
put to death. These no one ever derided as wanting courage
in battle, or blamed for their conduct towards their friends
They were both about five and thirty years of age.

BOOK III.
CHAPTER I.
Dejection of the Greeks. How Xenophon was led to join in Cyrus's expe-
dition. His dream, and reflections. He rouses the captains of the divi-
sion that Proxenus had commanded, and exhorts them to take measures
for their safety. Apollonides deprived of his captaincy. A general meet-
ing of the surviving generals and captains, at which Xenophon persuades
them to choose new commanders in the room of those that they had lost.
Xenophon is one of those elected.
1. WHAT the Greeks did in their march up the country
with Cyrus, until the time of the battle, and what occurred
after Cyrus was dead, when the Greeks set out to return
with Tissaphernes in reliance on a truce, has been related in
the preceding part of the work.
1
2. After the generals were made prisoners, and such of the
captains and soldiers as had accompanied them were put to
death, the Greeks were in great perplexity, reflecting that
they were not far from the king's residence; that there were
around them, on all sides, many hostile nations and cities;
that no one would any longer secure them opportunities of
purchasing provisions; that they were distant from Greece
not less than ten thousand stadia; that there was no one to
guide them on the way; that impassable rivers would inter-
cept them in the midst of their course; that the Barbarians
who had gone up with Cyrus had deserted them; and that
they were left utterly alone, having no cavalry to support
them, so that it was certain, even if they defeated their ene-
mies, that they would kill not a man of them, and that, if
they were defeated, none of themselves would be left alive ;-
3. reflecting, I say, on these circumstances, and being dis-
heartened at them, few of them tasted food for that evening,
few kindled fires, and many did not come to the place of
1 Ἐπὶ ταῖς βασιλέως θύραις.] See ii. 4. 4.
2 Eis Tην έσπέpav.] Vespertino tempore. Kühner.
76
[B. II
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
シ
​1
arms during the night, but lay down to rest where they
severally happened to be, unable to sleep for sorrow and long-
ing for their country, their parents, their wives and children,
whom they never expected to see again. In this state of
mind they all went to their resting-places.
5.
4. There was in the army a certain Xenophon, an Athe-
nian, who accompanied it neither in the character of general,
nor captain, nor common soldier, but it had happened that Prox-
enus, an old guest-friend of his, had sent for him from home,
giving him a promise that, if he came, he would recommend
him to the friendship of Cyrus, whom he considered, he said,
as a greater object of regard than his own country.
Xenophon, on reading the letter, consulted Socrates the
Athenian, as to the propriety of making the journey; and
Socrates, fearing that if he attached himself to Cyrus it might
prove a ground for accusation against him with his country,
because Cyrus was thought to have zealously assisted the
Lacedæmonians in their war with Athens, advised Xenophon
to go to Delphi, and consult the god respecting the expedi-
tion. 6. Xenophon, having gone thither accordingly, inquired
of Apollo to which of the gods he should sacrifice and pray,
in order most honourably and successfully to perform the
journey which he contemplated, and, after prosperously ac-
complishing it, to return in safety. Apollo answered him that
"he should sacrifice to the gods to whom it was proper for
him to sacrifice.'
"2
7. When he returned, he repeated the
oracle to Socrates, who, on hearing it, blamed him for not
asking Apollo in the first place, whether it were better for
him to go or stay at home; whereas, having settled with him-
self that he would go, he only asked how he might best go;
"but since you have," said he, "put the question thus, you
must do what the god has directed." 8. Xenophon, there-
fore, having sacrificed to the gods that Apollo commanded,
1 Επὶ δὲ τὰ ὅπλα.] See note on ii. 2. 20.
2 θεοις, οἷς ἔδει, θύειν.] Ut diis eis, quibus oporteret, sacra faceret.
Those gods are to be understood, to whom it was established, by
law or by custom, that whoever was entering on an expedition,
such as that which Xenophon meditated, should offer sacrifice.
They were therefore certain or appointed gods: comp. sect. 8; and
vi. i. 22. Yet the absence of the article ought not to surprise us,
even when special gods are meant. Kühner.-What gods they were,
does not appear.
!
CH. 1.]
XENOPHONS DREAM.
77
set sail, and found Proxenus and Cyrus at Sardis, just setting
out on their march up the country, and was presented to
Cyrus. 9. Proxenus desiring that he should remain with
them, Cyrus joined in the same desire, and said that as soon
as the expedition was ended, he would send him home again.
The expedition was said to be intended against the Pisidians.
10. Xenophon accordingly joined in the enterprise, being thus
deceived, but not by Proxenus; for he did not know that the
movement was against the king, nor did any other of the
Greeks, except Clearchus. When they arrived in Cilicia,
however, it appeared manifest to every one that it was against
the king that their force was directed; but, though they were
afraid of the length of the journey, und unwilling to proceed,
yet the greater part of them, out of respect¹ both for one
another and for Cyrus, continued to follow him; of which
number was Xenophon.
11. When this perplexity occurred, Xenophon was distressed.
as well as the other Greeks, and unable to rest, but having
at length got a little sleep, he had a dream, in which, in the
midst of a thunder-storm, a bolt seemed to him to fall upon
his father's house, and the house in consequence became
all in a blaze. 12. Being greatly frightened, he immediately
awoke, and considered his dream as in one respect favourable,
(inasmuch as, being in troubles and dangers, he seemed to be-
hold a great light from Jupiter,) but in another respect he was
alarmed, (because the dream appeared to him to be from Ju-
piter who was a king, and the fire to blaze all around him,) lest.
he should be unable to escape from the king's territories, but
should be hemmed in on all sides by inextricable difficulties.
13. What it betokens, however, to see such a dream, we may
conjecture from the occurrences that happened after the dream.
1 Ai aioxúvnv.] They had regard for their character in the eyes
of one another, fearing that they might seem faint-hearted; and
regard for it in those of Cyrus, fearing that they might seem ungrate-
ful. Kühner.-Aioxúvn is self-respect, apprehension of what others
may think of us; and may be illustrated by Hom. Il. v.
᾿Αλλήλους δ' αἰδεῖσθε κατὰ κρατερὰς ὑσμίνας
Αἰδομένων ἀνδρῶν πλέονες σόοι ἠὲ πέφανται
Hut-
"Have self-respect before one another in the violence of battle; of
men who respect themselves, more are saved than killed.”
chinson cites A. Gellius, xix. 7: αἰσχύνη ἐστὶ φόβος δικαίου ψύχου,
i. e. a fear of just blame.
78
[B. III.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
As soon as he awoke,
him was, "Why do I lie
With daylight it is pro-
What immediately followed was this.
the thought that first occurred to
here? The night is passing away.
bable that the enemy will come upon us; and if we once fall
into the hands of the king, what is there to prevent us from
being put to death with ignominy, after witnessing the most
grievous sufferings among our comrades, and enduring every
severity of torture ourselves? 14. Yet no one concerts mea-
sures, or takes thought, for our defence, but we lie still, as
if we were at liberty to enjoy repose. From what city, then,
do I expect a leader to undertake our defence?
What age
am I waiting for to come to myself? Assuredly I shall never
be older, if I give myself up to the enemy to-day." 15. After
these reflections he arose, and called together, in the first
place, the captains that were under Proxenus.
When they were assembled, he said, "For my part, captains,
I cannot sleep, nor, I should think, can you, nor can I lie
still any longer, when I consider in what circumstances we
are placed; 16. for it is plain that the enemy did not openly
manifest hostility towards us, until they thought that they
had judiciously arranged their plans; but on our side no one
takes any thought how we may best maintain a contest with
them. 17. Yet if we prove remiss, and fall into the power
of the king, what may we not expect to suffer from a man
who cut off the head and hand of his own brother by the
same mother and father, even after he was dead, and fixed
them upon a stake? What may not we, I say, expect to
suffer, who have no relative to take our part, and who have
marched against him to make him a subject instead of a mon-
arch, and to put him to death if it should lie in our power ?
18. Will he not proceed to every extremity, that by reducing
us to the last degree of ignominious suffering, he may inspire
all men with a dread of ever taking the field against him?
We must however try every expedient not to fall into his
hands. 19. For myself, I never ceased, while the truce lasted,
to consider ourselves as objects of pity, and to regard the
king and his people as objects of envy, as I contemplated how
extensive and valuable a country they possessed, how great
an abundance of provisions, how many slaves and cattle, and
Kndeμúv.] Cyrus, says Weiske, had his mother to take his part
the Greeks had no one to take theirs.
1
CH. 1.]
XENOPHON'S SPEECH TO THE OFFICERS.
79
how vast a quantity of gold and raiment; 20. while, on the
other hand, when I reflected on the condition of our own
soldiers, that we had no share in any of all these blessings,
unless we bought it, and knew that few of us had any longer
money to buy, and that our oaths restrained us from getting
provisions otherwise than by buying, I sometimes, on taking
all these circumstances into consideration, feared the continu-
ance of peace more than I now fear war. 21. But since they
have put an end to peace, their own haughtiness, and our
mistrust, seem likewise to be brought to an end; for the
advantages which I have mentioned lie now as prizes between
us, for whichsoever of us shall prove the better men; and
the gods are the judges of the contest, who, as is just, will
be on our side; 22. since the enemy have offended them by
perjury, while we, though seeing many good things to tempt
us, have resolutely abstained from all of them through regard
to our oaths; so that, as it seems to me, we may advance to the
combat with much greater confidence than they can feel. 23. We
have bodies, moreover, better able than theirs to endure cold
and heat and toil; and we have, with the help of the gods,
more resolute minds; while the enemy, if the gods, as before,
grant us success, will be found more obnoxious to wounds
and death' than we are. 24. But possibly others of you en-
tertain the same thoughts; let us not, then, in the name of
heaven, wait for others to come and exhort us to noble deeds,
but let us be ourselves the first to excite others to exert their
valour. Prove yourselves the bravest of the captains, and
more worthy to lead than those who are now leaders. 25. As
for me, if you wish to take the start in the course,
I am
willing to follow you, or, if you appoint me to be a leader,
I shall not make my youth an excuse, but shall think myself
sufficiently mature to defend myself against harm."
26. Thus spoke Xenophon; and the captains, on hearing
his observations, all desired him to be their leader, except a
certain Apollonides, who resembled a Baotian in his manner
of speaking; this man said that "whoever asserted they could
gain safety by any other means than by obtaining, if he could,
the king's consent to it, talked absurdly;" and at the same
1 Καὶ τρωτοὶ καὶ θνητοὶ μᾶλλον.] " More vulnerable and mortal.
Kai
Alluding to the superiority of the Grecian armour over that of the
Persians.
80
[B. IIL
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
time began to enumerate the difficulties surrounding them.
27. But Xenophon, interrupting him, said, "O most wonder-
ful of men! you neither understand what you see, nor remem-
ber what you hear. Yet you were on the same spot with
those here present, when the king, after Cyrus was dead, being
in high spirits at the circumstance, sent to demand that we
should deliver up our arms; 28. and when we, refusing to de-
liver them up, and appearing in full armour, went and en-
camped over against him, what means did he not try, sending
deputies, asking for a truce, and supplying us with provisions
until he obtained a truce? 29. But when, on the other hand,
our generals and captains went to confer with the Barbarians,
as you now advise us to do, without their arms, and relying
on the truce, were they not beaten, goaded, insulted, and are
they not unable, wretched men, to die, though, I should think,
greatly longing for death? And do you, knowing all these
occurrences, say that those who exhort us to defend ourselves
talk absurdly, and advise us to go again to try persuasion?
30. To me, O captains, it seems that we should no longer ad-
mit this man into the same service with ourselves, but take
from him his captaincy, and laying baggage on his back, make
use of him in that capacity; for he disgraces both his own
country and all Greece, inasmuch as, being a Greek, he is of
such a character." 31. Here Agasias of Stymphalus, pro-
ceeding to speak, said, "But this man, assuredly, has nothing
to do either with Boeotia or with Greece at all, for I have ob-
served that he has both his ears bored, like a Lydian.”
indeed was the case; and they accordingly expelled him.
Such
32. The rest, proceeding to the different divisions of the
troops, called up the general wherever there was a general
surviving, and the lieutenant-general' where the general was
dead, and the captain wherever there was a captain surviving.
33. When they were all come together, they sat down before the
place where the arms were piled;2 and the generals and cap-
tains assembled were about a hundred in all. The time when
the meeting took place was about midnight
1 Tòv Vπоσтρárnyov.] Krüger, from v. 9. 36, and vi. 2. 11, con-
cludes that the Tоoтрáтnyos was he who was appointed to discharge
the duties of the orpárnyos in his absence, or to take his place if he
should be killed.
2 See ii. 2. 20.
сн. 1.] NEW COMMANDERS TO BE CHOSEN.
81
34. Hieronymus, a native of Elis, the oldest of all the cap-
tains that had served under Proxenus, was the first to speak,
as follows: "It has seemed proper to us, O generals and cap-
tains, on contemplating the present state of our affairs, to meet
together ourselves, and to call upon you to join us, that we
may determine, if we can, on some plan for our benefit. But
do you, Xenophon, first represent to the assembly what you
have already observed to us." 35. Xenophon accordingly said,
"We are all aware that the king and Tissaphernes have made
prisoners of as many of us as they could; and it is evident that
they are forming designs against the rest of us, that they may
put us to death if they can. But on our parts I think that
every means should be adopted in order that we may not fall
into the Barbarians' hands, but rather that they, if we can
accomplish it, may fall into ours. 36. Be well assured then,
that you, who have now met together in such numbers, have
upon you a most important responsibility; for all the soldiers.
look to you, and, if they see you dispirited, they will them-
selves lose courage, but if both you yourselves appear well
prepared to meet the enemy, and exhort others to be equally
prepared, be certain that they will follow you, and strive to
imitate you.
37. Perhaps, too, it is right that you should
show some superiority over them; for you are their generals,
their officers, and their captains, and, when there was peace,
you enjoyed advantages over them in fortune and honour;
and now, in consequence, when war arises, you ought to prove
yourselves pre-eminent over the multitude, and to take the
lead in forming plans for them, and, should it ever be neces-
sary, in toiling for them. 38. And, in the first place, I think
that you will greatly benefit the army, if you take care that
generals and captains be chosen as soon as possible in the
room of those whom we have lost; for without commanders
nothing honourable or advantageous can be achieved, I may
say in one word, anywhere, but least of all in the field of battle.
Good order conduces to safety, but want of order has al-
ready proved fatal to many. 39. Again, when you have ap-
pointed as many commanders as are requisite, I consider that
Kapóv.] Leunclavius makes this equivalent to "in vobis pluri-
mum est situm. Sturz, in his Lexicon Xenoph., says, rerum
status is est, ut vos in primis debeatis rebus consulere. Toup, in
his Emend. ad Suid., gives maximum momentum habetis,
VOL. 1.
82
[B. III.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
1
if you were to assemble and encourage the rest of the soldiers,
you would act very suitably to the occasion; 40. for you
perhaps observe, as well as myself, how dejectedly they have
now come to the place of arms, and how dejectedly they go
upon guard, so that, while they are in such a condition, I
know not for what service any one could employ them, whether
required by night or by day. 41. But if any one could change
the direction of their thoughts, so that they may not merely
contemplate what they are likely to suffer, but what they may
be able to do, they will become much more eager for action;
42. for you are certain that it is neither numbers nor strength
which gives the victory in war, but that whichsoever side
advances on the enemy with the more resolute courage, their
opponents, in general, cannot withstand their onset.
have also remarked, fellow-soldiers, that such as are eager in
the field to preserve their lives at any rate, for the most part
perish wretchedly and ignominiously, while I see that such
as reflect that death is to all men common and inevitable, and
seek in battle only to fall with honour, more frequently, from
whatever cause, arrive at old age, and live, while they live,
with greater happiness. 44. Being aware, then, of these facts,
it behoves us, such are the circumstances in which we are
placed, both to prove ourselves to be brave soldiers, and to
exhort others to be so likewise." 45. Having spoken thus, he
stopped.
43. I
After him Cheirisophus said, "Till the present moment, O
Xenophon, I knew nothing of you, except having heard that
you were an Athenian, but now I have to praise you both
for what you say and what you do, and could wish that there
were very many like you; for it would be a general good.
46. And now," he added, "let us not delay, my fellow-soldiers,
but proceed at once, you who want them, to choose commanders,
and when you have elected them, come to the centre of the
camp, and bring those that are chosen; and we will then call
the rest of the soldiers together there. And let Tolmides
the herald," said he, "come with us." 47. As he said this, he
rose up, that the necessary measures might not be delayed,
but carried at once into execution. There were accordingly
chosen commanders, Timasion a Dardanian in the room of
Clearchus, Xanthicles an Achæan in that of Socrates, Cleanor
1 See ii. 2. 20.
en. 2.]
SPEECHES OF THE NEW GENERALS.
82
an Arcadian in that of Agias, Philesius an Achæan in that
of Menon, and Xenophon of Athens in that of Proxenus.
CHAPTER II.
The new generals hold a council of war. The speeches of Cheirisophus,
Cleanor, and Xenophon. The order of march is settled, and the duties
of each commander appointed.
1. WHEN the officers were chosen, and day was just dawning,
they met in the centre of the camp, and it was resolved to sta-
tion sentinels at the out-posts, and to call together the soldiers.
When the rest of the troops came up, Cheirisophus the
Lacedæmonian rose first, and spoke as follows: 2. "Our pre-
sent circumstances, fellow-soldiers, are fraught with difficulty,
since we are deprived of such able generals, and captains, and
soldiers, and since, also, the party of Ariæus, who were for-
merly our supporters, have deserted us; 3. yet it behoves us
to extricate ourselves from these difficulties as brave men,
and not to lose courage, but to endeavour to save ourselves,
if we can, by an honourable victory; but if we cannot do so,
let us at least die with honour, and never, while we live, put
ourselves into the power of the enemy; for I think that, in
that case, we should endure such 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 de-
ceived 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
G 2
84
[B. III.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
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,¹ and in that dress to meet his end.
He pro-
ceeded 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 dis-
trust on that head, when we see what our generals have suf-
fered, 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;² 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 sacri-
fice to the other gods according to our ability. And to whom-
soever this seems reasonable, let him hold up his hand." All
held up their hands; and they then made their vows, and sang
the pœan.
When the ceremonies to the gods were duly per-
formed, 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.
1 Τών καλλίστων ἑαυτὸν ἀξιώσαντα.] “ Thinking himself worthy
of the most beautiful (equipments).
2 Tòv Oεóv.] Jupiter the Preserver. Kühner.
CH. 2.]
SPEECH OF XENOPHON.
85
Such being the case, it is natural that the gods should be un-
favourable 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, 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 se-
cond 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 count-
¹ Adviç ȧpariovvTwv.] Weiske, Schneider, and others omit the
a0s. Bornemann, Dindorf, and Kühner preserve it, as it is found
in six manuscripts, giving it, with Spohn, Lect. Theocr. i. p. 33,
the sense of back again, as if the Persians had intended to make
Athens disappear again as if it had never been. I think the word
better left out. An American editor has conjectured αὐτὰς.
86
B. III
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
less 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 least¹ 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, con-
sider 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 ap-
proach 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 re-
gard 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
oùv.
1 Γοῦν.] Some copies have οὖν. “The sense of γοῦν is this: cete-
ris rebus prætermissis, hoc quidem certissimum est, eos fugisse." Kühner.
cm. 2.]
SPEECH OF XENOPHON.
1
3
87
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. 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,² 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 Pisi-
dians have acted similarly; and we have ourselves seen ³ 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-caters, think no more of the road homewards.
4
26. It
1 El apa, K. T. λ.] Krüger admonishes the reader that these words.
must be taken negatively: whether—not.
2 Διήσουσιν.] Eight manuscripts have διοίσουσιν, which Bornemann
has preferred. Dindorf also gave the preference to it in his first
edition, but has subsequently adopted the other reading. Mire
dioicovou is interpreted by Bornemann, "if the rivers shall present
no difference in any part of their course; if they be as broad at
their sources as at their mouths.
3 AUTOì εïdoμev.] The Greeks had passed through a part of Lyca-
onia in their march up the country, i. 2. 19; when, however, it is not
indicated that they saw much.
The allusion is to Odyss. ix. 83, where the lotus-eaters are men-
tioned:
88
[B. III.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
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 that
the enemy did not venture openly to commence war against
us, until they had seized our generals, thinking that as long
as we had commanders, and were obedient to them, we should
be in a condition to gain the advantage over them in the field,
but, on making prisoners of our generals, they expected that
we should perish from want of direction and order. 30. It is
incumbent, therefore, on our present commanders to be far
more vigilant than our former ones, and on those under com-
The trees around them all their food produce,
Lotus the name, divine nectareous juice,
(Thence called Lotophagi,) which whoso tastes,
Insatiate riots in the sweet repasts,
Nor other home, nor other care intends,
But quits his house, his country, and his friends. Popo.
CII. 2.]
ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE MARCH.
89
mand to be far more orderly, and more obedient to their
officers, at present than they were before.
31. And if you
were also to pass a resolution, that, should any one be dis-
obedient, whoever of you chances to light upon him is to join
with his officer in punishing him, the enemy would by that
means be most effectually disappointed in their expectations,
for, on the very day that such resolution is passed, they will
see before them ten thousand Clearchuses instead of one, who
will not allow a single soldier to play the coward. 32. But it
is now time for me to conclude my speech; for in an instant
perhaps the enemy will be upon us. Whosoever, therefore,
thinks these suggestions reasonable, let him give his sanction
to them at once, that they may be carried into execution.
But if any other course, in any one's opinion, be better than
this,² let him, even though he be a private soldier, boldly give
us his sentiments; for the safety, which we all seek, is a ge-
neral concern."
1
33. Cheirisophus then said, "Should there be need of any
other measure in addition to what Xenophon proposes, it will
be in our power to bring it forward by and by; what he has
now suggested we ought, I think, to vote at once to be the
best course that we can adopt; and to whomsoever this seems
proper, let him hold up his hand;" and they all held them up.
34. Xenophon then, rising again, said, "Hear, soldiers, what
appears to me to be necessary in addition to what I have laid
before you.
It is plain that we must march to some place
from which we may get provisions; and I hear that there are
some good-looking villages not more than twenty stadia dis-
tant; 35. but I should not wonder if the enemy, (like cowardly
dogs that run after such as pass by them, and bite them if
they can, but flee from those who pursue them,) I should not
wonder, I say, if the enemy were to follow close upon us when
we begin to march. 36. It will, perhaps, be the safer way for
us to march, therefore, forming a hollow square of the heavy-
armed troops, in order that the baggage and the large number
of camp-followers may be in greater security within it;
1 Περαίνειν.] Sc. τὸν λόγον. This is the sense in which this word
has been taken, I believe, by most readers; as in Esch. Pers. 699,
and elsewhere. Sturz, in his Lexicon, seems to take it in the sense
of to execute, to proceed to action.
(6
2 Εἰ δὲ τι ἄλλο βέλτιον ἢ ταύτῃ.] Understand δοκεῖ ἔχειν. Kühner.
But if anything else (seems) better (to any one) than in this way."
90
B. III.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
and if it be now settled who is to lead the square, and regu-
late the movements in front, who are to be on each flank, and
who to have charge of the rear, we shall not have to consider
of these things when the enemy approach, but may at once
act according to what has been arranged. 37. If, then, any one
else sees anything better to recommend, let it be settled other-
wise; if not, let Cheirisophus lead, since he is also a Lacedæ-
monian;¹ let two of the oldest generals take the command on
each of the flanks; and let Timasion and myself, the youngest
of the officers, take charge, at least for the present, of the rear.
38. After a time, when we have tried this arrangement, we will
consider, as occasion may require, what may seem best to be
done. If any one thinks of any better plan than this, let him
speak." As nobody made any objection, he said, "Whosoever
likes these proposals, let him hold up his hand." The pro-
posals were approved. 39. "And now," he added, "it be-
longs to you to go and carry into execution what has been
decided upon; and whosoever of you wishes to see his friends
and relations, let him prove himself a man of valour, for by
no other means can he succeed in attaining that object; who-
ever of you desires to preserve his life, let him strive to con-
quer, for it is the part of conquerors to kill, but of the con-
quered to die; and if any one of you covets spoil, let him
endeavour to secure victory for us, for it is the privilege of
victors at once to save their own property and to seize on
that of the vanquished."
CHAPTER III.
The Greeks are visited oy Mithridates as a friend, but he soon shows that he
is an enemy, and they resolve to enter into no further negotiations with
the Persian king. They pass the Zabatus, are harassed by Mithridates,
and suffer from the want of slingers and cavalry. Volunteers are enrolled
for these services.
1. WHEN this speech was concluded, they rose up, and
went off to burn their carriages and tents; of their superflu-
1 Επειδὴ καὶ Λακεδαιμόνιός ἐστι.] The καί, also, refers to something
understood: "since he is not only a brave man, but also a Lacedæ-
monian." Kühner. The Lacedæmonians were then at the head of
Greece: comp. v. 9. 26; vi. 6. 12. Zeune.
CH. 3.J THE GREEKS CROSS THE ZABATUS.
91
ous baggage they divided among themselves such portions as
any needed, and threw the rest into the fire. Having done
this, they went to breakfast. While they were at their meal,
Mithridates rode up to them with about thirty horsemen and
requesting the generals to come within hearing, spoke as fol-
lows: 2. "I was faithful to Cyrus, O men of Greece, as you
yourselves know; I am now well disposed towards you; and
I am living here under great apprehensions; if therefore I
should find that you are concerting any safe scheme for your
deliverance, I would come and join you, bringing with me all
my followers. Let me know, therefore, what you have in con-
templation, as one who is your friend and well-wisher, and
who is willing to march along with you." 3. The generals,
after consulting together, resolved on returning the following
answer; and Cheirisophus delivered it: "It is our deter-
mination, if no one hinders us from returning home, to pro-
ceed through the country with as little injury to it as possible;
but if any one opposes us on our march, to fight our way
against him as vigorously as we can." 4. Mithridates then
endeavoured to convince them how impracticable it was to
escape without the king's consent. But it was now concluded
that he was insidiously sent; for one of the followers of Tis-
saphernes was in attendance on him to insure his fidelity.'
5. In consequence, it was thought right by the generals to
pass a resolution that the war should be such as to admit of
no intercourse by heralds; for those that came tried to cor-
rupt the soldiers, and succeeded in seducing one of the cap-
tains, Nicarchus an Arcadian, and he deserted in the night
with about twenty men.
6. Having then dined, and crossed the river Zabatus, they
marched on in regular order, keeping the baggage-cattle and
camp-followers in the centre. But before they had gone far,
Mithridates made his appearance again with about two hun-
dred cavalry and about four hundred archers and slingers,
¹ Пiorews éveka.] To watch him, lest he should act treacherously.
Kühner.
2
Hóλεμov ȧkýρUKTOV.] Properly war in which there is no use for he-
ralds, but in which all is violent and desperate; so that drйouкTos
will be equivalent, according to Hesychius, to άðiáλλaкros, implaca-
ble, irreconcilable. See Erasm. Adag. iii. 3. 84. Sturz Lex. Others
rather think it a deadly war, not commenced by sending heralds,
and not to be terminated by sending them. Kühner. See Herod.
v. 81
92
[B. III.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
very light and active troops. 7. He advanced towards the
Greeks as a friend, but, when he came near, some of his men,
both horse and foot, suddenly discharged their arrows, and
others used their slings, and wounded some of our men.
The
rear of the Greeks indeed was much harassed, and could do
nothing in return; for the Cretan bowmen shot to a less dis-
tance than the Persians, and had also, as being lightly armed,
sheltered themselves within the heavy troops; and the javelin-
men did not hurl far enough to reach the slingers. 8. Upon
this it seemed to Xenophon that it would be well to pursue
them; and such of the heavy-armed and peltasts as happened
to be with him in the rear, began to pursue, but could over-
take in the pursuit not a single man of the enemy; 9. for the
Greeks had no cavalry, nor could their infantry, in a short
distance, overtake the infantry of the enemy, who took to
flight when they were a long way off, since it was impossible
for the Greeks to follow them to a great distance from the
rest of the army. 10. The Barbarian cavalry, too, inflicted
wounds in their retreat, shooting backwards as they rode,
and however far the Greeks advanced in pursuit, so far were
they obliged to retreat fighting. 11. Thus during the whole
day they did not advance more than five-and-twenty stadia;
however, they arrived at the villages in the evening.
1
66
Here again there was much dejection; and Cheirisophus
and the oldest of the generals blamed Xenophon for pursuing
the enemy apart from the main body, endangering himself,
and yet being unable to hurt the assailants. 12. Xenophon,
hearing this charge, acknowledged that they blamed him justly,
and that the result bore testimony in their favour. But,'
said he, “I was under the necessity of pursuing, as I saw
that we suffered great damage while remaining at our posts,
and were unable to retaliate. 13. But when we began to
pursue," continued he, "the truth was as you say; for we
were none the better able to injure the enemy, and we could
not retreat without great difficulty. 14. Thanks are due to the
gods, therefore, that the Barbarians did not come upon us in
great force, but only with a few troops, so that, whilst they
Cyrus's Greek auxiliaries for the expedition had consisted only
of infantry; all his cavalry was either Asiatic or Thracian. The
Thracian horse had deserted, and the Asiatic cavalry had gone over
to Tissaphernes soon after the battle.
сн. 3.]
WANT OF CAVALRY AND SLINGERS.
93
16. If
did us no great harm, they showed us of what we stand in
need: 15. for at present the enemy shoot their arrows and
sling their stones such a distance, that neither can the Cretans
return their shots, nor can those who throw with the hand
reach them; and when we pursue them, we cannot go after
them any great distance from the main body, and in a short
space a foot-soldier, even if ever so swift, cannot overtake
another foot-soldier, starting at bow-shot distance.
therefore we would keep off the enemy, so that they may be
unable to hurt us on our march, we must at once provide our-
selves with slingers and cavalry. There are, I hear, some
Rhodians in our army, the greater number of whom, they say,
understand the use of the sling, while their weapon carries
even double the distance of the Persian sling, 17. which, as
they sling with large stones, reach only a short distance.
while the Rhodians know how to use leaden bullets.
then, we ascertain which of them have slings, and give money
to each of them for them; and pay money also to any one
who is willing to plait more, and find some other privilege 2
for him who consents to serve in the troop of slingers,3 possi-
bly some will offer themselves who may be able to be of ser-
vice to us. 19. I see also that there are horses in the army,
some in my possession, and some left by Clearchus, besides
many others taken from the enemy which are employed in
carrying the baggage. If, then, we collect all these, and put
ordinary baggage-cattle in their place, and equip the horses for
riders, they will perhaps annoy the enemy in their flight."
20. These suggestions were approved; and that very night
there came forward slingers to the number of two hundred.
The next day, as many as fifty horsemen and horses were
pronounced fit for service; leathern jackets and breastplates
1
18. If
Τούτῳ μὲν.] As τίνες πέπανται immediately precedes, the sin-
gular Tcúr rather startles the reader; but there are not wanting
examples of similar irregularity.
2 'ATENEιav.] Exemption, for instance, from keeping guard and
keeping watch. Krüger.
3 Τῷ σφενδονᾶν ἐντεταγμένῳ ἐθέλοντι.] “ To him willing to be a
slinger, being enrolled in the company (of slingers)." This is the
reading of Schneider, and Dindorf, and Bornemann. Kühner and
some others prefer iv - TETаyuiv, "in the place appointed him.
Eπoládεs.] This form of the word is preferred by Dindorf;
Schneider, Bornemann, and Kühner prefer σroládɛs, both in this
passage and in iv. 1. 18. Both forms seem to have been in use, and
94
[B. III.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
were furnished to them; and Lycius the son of Polystratus
an Athenian, was appointed their captain.
CHAPTER IV
Mithridates again pursues the Greeks, but is repulsed. They reach the
Tigris, encamp at Mespila, and are attacked by Tissaphernes with a nu-
merous force. They repel him, and alter their order of march. Traversing
a mountainous part of the country, they are harassed by the enemy, till,
on getting possession of a height, they are enabled to reach the plain be
yond it in safety.
1. HAVING halted for that day, they went forward on the
next, rising earlier in the morning than usual; for they had
a ravine formed by a torrent to pass, at which they were
afraid that the enemy would attack them while they were
crossing. 2. It was not till they had got over, however, that
Mithridates again made his appearance, having now with him
a thousand horse, and archers and slingers to the number of
four thousand; for he had solicited and obtained that number
from Tissaphernes, promising that, if he received them, he
would deliver the Greeks into his hands; for he had con-
ceived a contempt for them, because, in his previous attack
on them, though he had but a small force with him, he had
suffered no loss, and thought that he had caused them great
annoyance. 3. When the Greeks, having crossed, were dis-
tant about eight stadia from the ravine, Mithridates also
passed over it with his force. Instructions had been issued
to such of the peltasts and heavy-armed troops as were to
pursue, and a charge had been given to the horsemen to pur-
sue with boldness, as a sufficient force would follow to support
them. 4. When therefore Mithridates overtook them, and
the slings and arrows began to take effect, a signal was given
to the Greeks with the trumpet, and those who had been or-
dered immediately hastened to charge the enemy, the cavalry
riding forward at the same time. The enemy however did
not wait to receive their charge, but fled back to the ravine.
to have had the same signification; but orolás to have been the
more common. See Pollux, 1. 135. Hesychius has oπolàs, xiTWVÍOKOS
βαθὺς, σκύτινος, ὁ βύρσινος θώραξ. See Pollux, 7. 70; 10. 143.
Suidas, Phavorinus, and Photius give similar interpretations.
CII. 4.]
LARISSA.
95
5. In the pursuit several of the Barbarian foot were killed,
and about eighteen of the horse were made prisoners in the
defile. The Greeks, of their own impulse, mutilated the dead
bodies, in order that the sight of them might be as horrible
as possible to the enemy.
6. The enemy, after faring thus, went off, and the Greeks,
advancing the rest of the day without molestation, arrived at
the river Tigris. 7. Here was a large deserted city, the name
of which was Larissa, and which the Medes had formerly in-
habited. The breadth of its wall was five and twenty feet,
and the height of it a hundred; its circuit was two parasangs.
It was built of bricks made of clay, but there was under it a
stone foundation,' the height of twenty feet. 8. This city the
king of the Persians,2 at the time when the Persians wrested"
the empire from the Medes, was unable by any means to take
a cloud, however, having covered the sun, hid it from view,
1 Κρηπὶς δ' ὑπῆν λιθίνη, κ. τ. λ.] The foundation appears to have
risen twenty feet above the ground; so that the whole height of the
wall would be a hundred and twenty feet. Mr. Ainsworth says that
he found the ruins of the brick wall at Resen, which he considers
to be the same with Larissa, “based on a rude and hard conglome-
rate rock, giving to them all the solidity and characteristics of being
built of stone." Travels in the Track, p. 139.
Cyrus the Great.
3 'Eλᵤavor.] That the Medes did not willingly submit, but
were overcome by force, is testified by Herodotus, and is apparent
from what is said here; whence it follows that λαμβάνειν τὴν ἀρχὴν
Tapá Tivoc may be applied even when those who lose the govern-
ment are forcibly deprived of it. Xenophon however is at variance
with himself in the Cyropædia, where Cyrus is said to have suc-
ceeded to the throne by a marriage with the daughter of Cyaxares.
Kühner.
4 "Ηλιον δὲ νεφέλη προκαλύψασα ἠφάνισε.] This reading has been
adopted by Dindorf and others, from a conjecture of Brodæus or
Muretus; the manuscripts have all ἥλιος δὲ νεφέλην προκάλυψας, ex-
cept two, one of which has the erased in repśλr, and the other
vepély. Those who read with Dindorf refer to Plutarch de Pla-
νεφέλη.
cit. Philosoph. ii. 24, where the cause of an eclipse of the sun is
said by some philosophers to be a condensation of clouds imper-
ceptibly advancing over the disc. Bornemann and Kühner restore
the reading of the manuscripts, which Langius thus interprets:
sol nubem sibi prætendens se obscuravit; than which no better ex-
planation has been offered. That we are not to suppose an eclipse
of the sun to be signified in the text, is well observed by Borne-
mann; as Thales had previously ascertained the causes of such
eclipses, and had foretold one, according to Herodotus i. 74; hence it

96
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
I
2
[B. III.
till the people deserted it, and so it was taken. 9. Near the
city was a stone pyramid. of the breadth of one plethrum,
and the height of two plethra. Upon it3 were many of the
Barbarians who had fled from the neighbouring villages.
4
10. Hence they proceeded one day's journey, six parasangs,
to a large unoccupied fortress, situated near a city, the name
of which was Mespila; the Medes had formerly inhabited it.
The foundation of the wall was of polished stone, full of
shells," the breadth fifty feet, and the height fifty; 11. and on
it was constructed a wall of bricks, fifty feet broad, and a
hundred high; the circumference of it was six parasangs.
Here Medea, the king's wife, is said to have taken refuge,
when the Medes were deprived of their empire by the Per-
sians. 12. The king of the Persians, on besieging this city,
was unable to reduce it either by length of time or by assault,
but Jupiter, as with a thunder-stroke," deprived the inhabit-
ants of their senses, and thus it was taken.
7
13. Hence they proceeded one day's journey, a distance of
four parasangs. In the course of this day's march Tissaphernes
made his appearance, having with him the cavalry which he
himself commanded, the force of Orontes, who had married
the king's daughter, the Barbarian troops with which Cyrus
is impossible to believe that Xenophon would have spoken of a
solar eclipse himself, or have made the inhabitants speak of one, so
irrationally. Hutchinson and Zeune absurdly understand rijv tóλiv
with ἠφάνισε.
1 'EITO.] Hutchinson and Weiske interpret this word ani-
mis defecerunt. Abreschius (Dilucid. Thucyd. p. 274) makes it re-
liquerunt sc. urbem; an interpretation adopted by Porson, Schneider,
Kühner, and all the modern editors.
2 Eupos.] We must understand the length of each side.
3 'ETi Taúτns.] There might be steps on the outside on which
they might climb.
Teixos.] Now called Yarumjah, according to Ainsw. Travels,
p. 139.
5
Κογχυλιάτου.] "It is a curious fact, that the common building-
stone of Mosul (near Mespila) is highly fossiliferous, and indeed
replete with shells, characteristic of a tertiary or supra-cretaceous
deposit; and the same limc-stone does not occur far to the north
er south of Mosul, being succeeded by wastes of gypsum." Ainswo.
Travels, p. 140.
Εμβροντήτους ποιεῖ.] "Jupiter makes the inhabitants thun-
derstruck.' "He rendered them," says Sturz, "either stupid
or mad."
7 ii. 4. 8.

ca. 4. | THE GREEKS REPULSE TISSAPHERNES.
97
went up, the troops with which the king's brother came to
assist him, and, besides these, all that the king himself had
given him ; so that his army appeared extremely numerous.
14. When he came near, he stationed some of his companies in
the rear, and brought others round upon our flanks, but did not
venture to make a charge, or show any disposition to endanger
himself, but ordered his men to use their slings and bows. 15.
But when the Rhodians, who were dispersed among the ranks,
began to use their slings, and the Scythian archers' dis-
charged their arrows, no one failing to hit a man, (for it
would not have been easy to do so, even if they had been ever
so desirous,) Tissaphernes hastily retreated beyond reach of
the missiles, and the other divisions drew off at the same time.
16. During the rest of the day the Greeks continued their
march, and the enemy followed; but the Barbarians no longer
harassed them with their usual skirmishing; for the Rhodians
sent their missiles to a greater distance than the Persians,
and than most of the bowmen. 17. The bows of the Persians,
too, were large, so that such of their arrows as were taken up,
were of service to the Cretans, who continued to use the
cnemy's arrows, and practised shooting by sending them far up
into the air.2 A great number of bowstrings were also
found in the villages, and some lead, so that they could use it
for their slings.
18. For that day, therefore, as soon as the Greeks reached
the villages and encamped, the Barbarians went off, having
had the worst in the skirmish; and during the next the
Greeks remained where they were, and collected provisions,
for there was plenty of corn in the villages. The day after,
they proceeded through the open country, and Tissaphernes
followed, hurling missiles at them from a distance. 19. Here
the Greeks found that a square was a bad disposition for an
1 Σκύθαι τοξόται.] As there is no mention of Scythians" in the
whole Anabasis, Krüger, in his larger edition, suggested that the
word Zkusaι might have been written in the margin by some scio-
list, who was thinking of the Athenian rožóra; but in his smaller
edition he has shown that he has learned something better from
Arrian. Tact. ii. 13: "Those of the cavalry who use bows are called
ἱπποτοξόται, and by some Σκύθαι.” Kühner.
2 In order that they might fall with the greater weight. Borne-
mann. Or perhaps, as Bishop Thirlwall thinks, that they might
reach a greater distance.
VOL 1.
H
98
[B. III.
THE
EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
army when the enemy was behind them; for it must neces-
sarily happen, that if the flanks of the square close together
from the road being narrow, or from hills or a bridge making
it necessary, that the heavy-armed men must be pushed out of
their places, and march with difficulty,' being at the same
time crowded together and thrown into confusion; so that
when in such disorder they must be nearly useless. 20. And
when, again, the flanks divide, those who were previously
forced out of their places, must now of necessity separate, and
the space between the flanks be left empty; and men who are
thrown into such a condition must doubtless lose heart, if the
enemy are behind them. Whenever, too, they had to pass a
bridge, or any other crossing-place, each hastened on to get first,
and the enemy had then a fine opportunity of attacking them.”
21. The generals, seeing that such was the case, formed six
companies of a hundred men each, and appointed captains of
these companies, as well as captains of fifty and captains of
twenty-five. These captains and their companies, on the
march, whenever the flanks of the square closed together, fell
behind, so as to cause no disorder in the flanks, and then led
on outside the flanks; 22. and whenever the sides of the square
opened, they filled up the centre, if the opening was narrow,
by companies; if rather wide, by fifties; if very wide, by
twenty-fives; so that the centre was always full. 23. If,
then, it was necessary to pass any defile or bridge, they were
not thrown into confusion, but the captains and companies went
over in succession; 5 and if anything was needed in any part
4
1 Πονήρως.] From πόνηρος, difficult, not from πονηρός, bad.
Thucyd. viii. 24, ed. Popp. part iii. vol. iv. p. 658, seqq.
Kühner.
See
2 Καὶ εὐεπίθετον ἦν ἐνταῦθα τοῖς πολεμίοις. I have rendered this
phrase agreeably to the notion of Krüger, who thinks EvεTIETOν used
absolutely, or as a substantive. Some, however, understand rò
πλαίσιον, οἳ τὸ στράτευμα, which is perhaps better.
3 Ενωμοτάρχας.] The ἐνωμοτία being the fourth part of a λόχος,
or twenty-five men. See Xen. De Rep. Lac. ii. 4; Arnold's
Thucyd. v. 68.
As there were six companies of a hundred men each, they
moved into the vacant space, if it was but narrow, by centuries,
that is, six men in front, and a hundred deep; if it was somewhat
broader, by fifties, that is, twelve men in front, and fifty deep; if
very broad, by twenty-fives, that is, twenty-four men in front, and
twenty-five deep. Kühner.
5 'Ev T μépei.] Each in his place; one after another in the order
which had been previously appointed.
CH. 4.]
THE GREEKS STILL HARASSED.
of the main body, these were at hand.
advanced four days' journey.
1
99
In this order they
25.
24. As they were pursuing the fifth day's march, they ob-
served a kind of palace, and several villages round it. The
way to this place, they perceived, lay among high hills, which
reached down from a mountain, at the foot of which the vil-
lage was.¹ These hills the Greeks were glad to see, as was
natural, when the enemy's force consisted of cavalry.
But when, after leaving the plain, they had ascended the first
hill, and were descending in order to mount the second, the
Barbarians came upon them, and from the eminence began,
under the lash,2 to hurl darts, use their slings, and shoot
arrows, on the ground below; 26. they wounded many, and
had the advantage over the light-armed Greeks, and shut
them up within the heavy-armed; so that both the slingers
and archers were that day entirely useless, being mixed with
the crowd that had charge of the baggage. 27. When the
Greeks, on being hard pressed, attempted pursuit, they
mounted the height but slowly, as being heavily armed, while
the enemy sprang up speedily. 28. When, again, they re-
treated back to the rest of the force, they fared equally ill.
The same occurrences took place on the second hill;
so that
they thought it proper not to move the soldiers from the third
hill, until they led up a body of peltasts to the mountain from
the right wing of the square. 29. When these had got above
the pursuing enemy, they no longer attacked them in their
descent, fearing that they might be cut off from their own
body, and that enemies might assail them on both sides.
Marching in this manner for the rest of the day, some by the
route among the hills, and others advancing abreast of them
1 κώμη.]
30.
"Hvý kúμŋ.] Schneider, Bornemann, and most editors before
Dindorf, read kúµŋ, a village, without the article. Dindorf has
added the article from two manuscripts, and Kühner has followed
him, supposing that the particular village of which the Greeks had
now caught sight is meant. Bornemann, if the article be added,
thinks that the village in which the palace stood is intended. The
passage seems to me decidedly better without the article; for, if it
be inserted, the reader is puzzled to know why Xenophon changes
the number, when he had just before said that the palace stood in
the midst of villages.
According to the discipline of the Persians; see Herod. vii. 21,
56, 223.
H 2
100
[B. III.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
along the mountain, they arrived at the villages, and ap-
pointed eight surgeons, for there were many wounded.
1
31. Here they remained three days, both for the sake of the
wounded, and because they found, at the same time, abund-
ance of provisions, wheat-flour, wine, and a great quantity
of barley laid up for horses; supplies which had been col-
lected for the satrap of the country. On the fourth day
they went down into the plain. 32. But as Tissaphernes
overtook them with his forces, necessity taught them to en-
camp where they first saw a village, and not to march on still
fighting; for there were many unfitted for action, some
wounded, some carrying the wounded, and some bearing the
arms of those that carried them. 33. When however they
were encamped, and the Barbarians, coming up to the village,
attempted to skirmish with them, the Greeks had greatly the
advantage; for they found a great difference between sally-
ing from their own ground to repulse the enemy, and fighting
with a pursuing enemy on their march.
34. When evening approached, it became time for the
cnemy to retire; for the Barbarians never encamped at a less
distance from the Greeks than sixty stadia, fearing lest the
Greeks should attack them in the night. 35. For in the night
a Persian army is difficult to manage; as their horses are
tied, and for the most part fastened by the feet, that they may
not run away if they should be untied; and if any sudden at-
tack takes place, the Persian has³ to put the housings on his
4
¹ This is the first mention of surgeons in the Greek army, as Mr.
Stanford observes, since the time of Homer. But whether the
persons here mentioned were professed surgeons, or merely some of
the soldiers, who, in long service, had gained experience in the
treatment of wounds, is uncertain. The latter supposition is more
in consonance with the word appointed.
· Πολὺ γὰρ διέφερον ὁρμῶντες-πορευόμενοι.] The manuscripts
present some variations here. Bornemann's text is the same as
Dindorf's. Kühner prefers διέφερεν ὁρμῶντας πορευομένους, ex-
pressing a doubt whether the other method be really Greek.
3 Δεῖ-Πέρσῃ ἀνδρὶ] Most commentators concur in taking this as
an example of the rarer construction of dei with the dative; though
it has been suggested whether Пépon ávdpi may be the dative after
¿πiσážαι, as if a Persian horse-soldier had an attendant to equip his
horse for him.
4 Επισάξαι.]
* 'Erioάα.] Spelman quarrels with D'Ablancourt for translat-
ing this word by "saddle," and adopts in his own version
hous-
сн.
CH. 4.] THE BARBARIANS PRE-OCCUPY THE PASSES. 101
horse, and to bridle him, and then, when he has put on his
armour, to mount; but all these things are troublesome by
night and in the midst of an alarm. On this account they
encamped at a distance from the Greeks.
36. As soon as the Greeks saw that they intended to retire,
and were passing the order for doing so, proclamation was
made among the Greeks, in the hearing of the enemy, that
they were to collect their baggage; when the Barbarians, for
some time, delayed their march; but, when it grew late, they
went off, for they did not think it expedient to march and ar-
rive at their camp in the night. 37. When the Greeks ob-
served them evidently moving away, they themselves also
decamped 2 and began to march, and accomplished as much as
sixty stadia. There was thus so great a distance between the
armies, that the enemy did not appear on the following day or
on the third; but on the fourth, the Barbarians, having gone
forward in the night, occupied an elevated position on the
right, on the route by which the Greeks were to pass; the
brow of a mountain, beneath which was the descent into the
plain. 38. As soon as Cheirisophus saw that this eminence
was pre-occupied, he sent for Xenophon from the rear, and
ordered him to bring his peltasts and come to the front.
Xenophon however did not bring the peltasts, (for he saw
Tissaphernes, and all his force, in full view,) but, riding up
alone, asked, "Why do you call me?" Cheirisophus replied,
"You may see; for the eminence above the descent has been
pre-occupied against us, and it is impossible to pass, unless we
cut off those who are on it. But why did you not bring the
peltasts?"
40. Xenophon replied that he did not think it
right to leave the rear unguarded when the enemy were in
sight. "But it is high time,” he continued, “to consider how
some of us may dislodge those men from the hill." 41. Xeno-
phon now noticed that the summit of the mountain 3 was
39.
ings," which I have borrowed from him, from inability to find a
better word.
1 Τὸ στρατόπεδον. ] Apparently for the place where they intended
to encamp. It seems needless to understand, with Krüger,
interea à lixis et calonibus posita."
2 Αναζεύξαντες.] ᾿Αναζεύξαι, castra movere. Zeune.
castra
3 The enemy had not occupied the highest part of the mountain,
but a lower position upon it. Comp. sect. 37. Kühner.
102
[B. III.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
above their own army, and that there was a way from it to
the hill where the enemy were, and exclaimed, "It is best for
us, Cheirisophus, to hasten as quickly as possible to the
summit, for if we gain this, those who are above our road
will be unable to maintain their ground. But do you, if you
please, remain with the army; I have a desire to go forward;
or, if you prefer it, proceed on to the mountain, and I will
stay here."
42. "I leave you," replied Cheirisophus, "to
choose which of the two you please." Xenophon, observing
that he was the younger, decided on advancing, but requested
Cheirisophus to send with him a detachment from the front,
as it was too great a distance to bring one from the rear.
43. Cheirisophus then sent with him the peltasts from the
front;
and he took those that were in the middle of the
square. Cheirisophus also ordered the three hundred that he
had with him at the head of the square, consisting of picked
men, to follow Xenophon.
44. The party then marched forward with all possible
speed. But the enemy on the heights, when they perceived
that the Greeks were directing their course towards the sum-
mit, hurried forward also themselves to contend for the pos-
session of the summit. 45. There was then great shouting
from the Grecian army, cheering their men, and great shout-
ing also from the troops of Tissaphernes, cheering on theirs.
46. Xenophon, riding along on horseback, encouraged his
party, saying, "Consider, soldiers, that you are now contend-
ing for Greece; that after a brief struggle now, we shall
march the rest of the way without fighting, to join our chil-
dren and our wives." 47. Soterides, a Sicyonian, cried out,
"We are not upon an equality, Xenophon; for you are car-
ried on a horse, while I have hard work to carry my shield."
48. Xenophon, on hearing this remark, leaped from his horse,
pushed Soterides from the ranks, took from him his shield,
and marched on with it as fast as he was able. He happened
however to have on his horseman's corslet, so that he was
distressed. Yet he continued to exhort the men in front to
lead on gently, and those behind, who followed with difficulty,
to come up.
49. But the rest of the soldiers beat and threw
stones at Soterides, and reviled him, till they obliged him to re-
sume his shield and march in his place. Xenophon, remount-
ing, led the way, as long as it was passable for his horse, on
CH. 5.]
THE GREEKS FORCE A PASSAGE.
103
horseback, but when it became impassable, he left his horse
behind, and hastened forward on foot. Thus they got the
start of the enemy, and arrived first at the summit.
CHAPTER V.
The Greeks arrive at a point where the Carduchian mountains overhang the
river, and, as they are still harassed by the enemy, the generals hold a
consultation, and determine to march across the mountains.
1. THE Barbarians, in consequence, turned their backs and
fled every one as he could, and the Greeks took possession of
the top of the hill. Tissaphernes and Ariæus turned aside, and
went off in another direction. Cheirisophus and his forces, go-
ing down into the plain, encamped in a village abounding with
acceptable supplies; and there were also in this plain many
other villages stored with excellent provisions, lying along the
river Tigris. 2. When it was evening, the enemy suddenly
showed themselves in the plain, and cut off some of the
Greeks who were dispersed over the ground foraging; for
several herds of cattle had been intercepted as they were
being transported to the other side of the river. 3. Here
Tissaphernes and his party attempted to set fire to the vil-
lages, and some of the Greeks were much disheartened, being
apprehensive that, if they should burn them, they would have
no place whence to procure supplies.
4. Cheirisophus and his men now returned from giving
succour;¹ and Xenophon, when he came down, riding past
the ranks, as the Greeks, coming in from affording aid, met
him, said, 5. “You see, Greeks, that the enemy admit that
the country is now ours, for whereas they stipulated, when
they made the truce, that we should not burn the king's coun-
try, they now burn it themselves, as being no longer theirs.
¹ 'Ek Tys Bondεias.] Xenophon is here somewhat obscure; for he
made no mention of this Bonesía before. Cheirisophus and his men
seem to have gone to aid the party of Greeks that were dispersed
for plunder, when some of them were cut off by the Persians,
and when Tissaphernes attempted to burn the villages.*** After-
wards he is rather tautological; for the words vika- -οἱ Ἕλληνες
express no more than is said in οἱ μὲν ἀμφὶ Χειρίσοφον βοηθείας,
except that they serve to mark the exact time when Xenophon ad-
dressed the men. Kühner.
104
[B. III.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRus.
But wherever they leave supplies for themselves, thither also
they shall see us direct our march. 6. I think, however,
Cheirisophus," continued he," that we ought to resist these burn-
ers, as if in defence of our own territory.” I," replied Chei-
risophus, "am of a different opinion; rather let us burn also,"
said he, "and thus they will the sooner ceasc."
1
8.
7. When they returned to their quarters, the soldiers
busied themselves about their provisions, but the generals
and captains held a council. There was now much perplex-
ity; for on one side of them were exceeding high mountains,
and on the other a river of such depth, that, when they
sounded it, their spears did not rise above the water.
While they were in doubt how to act, a Rhodian came to
them, and said, "I am willing to convey you across, O Greeks,
by four thousand heavy-armed men at a time, if you will
furnish me with what I require for the purpose, and give me
a talent as a remuneration." 9. Being asked what he should
require, he replied, “I shall want two thousand hides made
into bags; and I see here many sheep, goats, oxen, and asses,
the hides of which, being blown out,2 would easily furnish the
means of crossing. 10. I shall want also the
10. I shall want also the ropes which you
use for the baggage-cattle; joining, with these, the bags to
one another, steadying each bag by attaching stones to it, let-
ting the stones down like anchors into the water, extending the
bags across the stream, and securing them to both banks, I
will then lay wood upon them, and strew earth over the wood.
11. That you will not sink, you will at once see; for each
skin will prevent two men from sinking, and the wood and
earth will keep them from slipping off." 12. The generals,
on hearing this proposal, thought the invention ingenious,
but the execution of it impossible, for there were numerous
cavalry on the other side to hinder their passage, who, at the
commencement, would not have allowed the first that made the
attempt to effect their purposes.
1 'Eπì Tàs oкηvác.] The tents were burned, iii. 3. 1; and Krüger
therefore observes that we must consider ràc orŋvác as equivalent
to rò orρarómedov, or the place of encampment. This explanation
is better than that of Weiske and Zeune, who think that the shelter
of the villages is meant.
2“Α ἀποδαρέντα καὶ φυσηθέντα.] "Which being skinned and
blown out." From brevity, Xenophon has said that of the animals
which he ought to have said of their skius. Krüger.
CH. 5.]
GUIDES CONSULTED.
105
13. The next day they retreated back towards Babylon, to
some unburnt villages, having first set fire to those which they
abandoned; so that the enemy did not come up to them, but
watched them, and seemed to be wondering which way the
Greeks would turn themselves, and what they had in their
mind. 14. The rest of the soldiers then turned their thoughts
to getting supplies; but the generals and captains held ano-
ther council, and, bringing together the prisoners, questioned
them as to the whole country around, what each part was.
15. They said that the parts toward the south were on the
road towards Babylon and Media, through which the Greeks
had come; that the road towards the east led to Susa and
Ecbatana, where the king was said to pass the summer and
spring; that the one across¹ the river, towards the west, led
to Lydia and Ionia; and that the other over the mountains,
towards the north, led to the Carduchi. 16. This people,
they said, lived among the mountains, were very warlike, and
did not obey the king; that on one occasion, a royal army of
a hundred and twenty thousand men had penetrated into their
country, whence, from the impracticability of the ground, not
one of them returned; but that, whenever they made a treaty
with the satrap of the plain, some of them had intercourse
with the Carduchi, and some of the Carduchi with them.
17. The generals, having heard these statements, kept apart
by themselves those who said that they knew the road in each
direction, not letting it be known which way they intended to
go. It appeared necessary to the generals, however, to make
their way over the mountains into the country of the Cardu-
chi; for the prisoners said that after passing through this they
would come to Armenia, a large and rich country, of which
Orontes was governor, whence it would be easy for them to go
whichever way they pleased.
18. With reference to this proceeding, they made a sacri-
fice, in order that, when it should seem time, they might com-
mence their march; for they were afraid that the passage
over the mountains might be pre-occupied by the enemy; and
they gave orders, that when the soldiers had supped, they
should all pack up their baggage and go to rest, and follow
their leaders whenever the signal should be given.
1 Aiabávτi.] The road "for one crossing" the river.
BOOK IV.
CHAPTER I.
The Greeks enter the territory of the Carduchi, where they suffer greatly
from the wind and cold, as well as from the Barbarians, who harass them
with frequent attacks on their march.
1. WHAT Occurred in the expedition up the country to the
time of the battle, and what took place after the battle during
the truce which the king and the Greeks that went up with
Cyrus concluded, and what hostilities were committed against
the Greeks after the king and Tissaphernes had violated the
truce, and while the Persian army was pursuing them, have
been related in the preceding part of the narrative.
2. When they had arrived at a spot where the Tigris was
quite impassable from its depth and width, and where there
was no passage along its banks, as the Carduchian mountains
hung steep over the stream, it appeared to the generals that
they must march over those mountains, 3. for they had heard
from the prisoners that "if they could but cross the Carduchian
mountains, they would be able to ford, if they wished, the
sources of the Tigris in Armenia, or, if they declined doing
so, to make a circuit round them.' The sources of the Eu-
phrates, too, they said were not far from those of the Tigris ;
and such is the truth.¹
4. Their entrance upon the territory of the Carduchi they
made in the following manner, endeavouring at once to escape
observation, and to anticipate the enemy in getting pos-
session of the heights. 5. When it was about the last watch,
and enough of the night was left to allow them to cross the
plain under cover of the darkness, they arose at a given sig.
nal, and, marching onwards, reached the hills by break of
day. 6. Here Cheirisophus took the lead of the army, having
with him both his own men and all the light-armed; while
Xenophon brought up the rear with the heavy-armed troops,
having not a single light-armed soldier; for there seemed to
¹ Kai čoTiv OÜTws exor.] A most happy emendation of Abreschius,
Dilucid. Thucyd. p. 640, for Kai čσTiv OUTW OTEVÓV.
CH. 1.J
THE GREEKS REACH KURDISTAN.
107
be no danger that any of the enemy would attack them in the
rear as they were marching up the mountains. Cheirisophus
indeed mounted the summit before any of the enemy perceived
him; he then led slowly forward; 7. and each portion of the
army, as it passed the summit in succession, followed him to the
villages which lay in the windings and recesses of the moun-
tains.¹ 8. The Carduchi, in consequence, quitting their dwell-
ings, and taking with them their wives and children, fled to
the hills. There was plenty of provisions left for the Greeks
to take; and the houses were furnished with great numbers
of brazen utensils, none of which the Greeks took away. Nor
did they pursue the people, being inclined to spare them, if
perchance the Carduchi, since they were enemies to the king,
might consent to allow them to pass through their country as
that of friends; 9. the provisions, however, as many as fell in
their way, they carried off; for it was a matter of necessity
to do so. But as for the Carduchi themselves, they would
neither listen when they called, nor did they give any other
sign of friendly feeling.
10. But when the rear of the Greeks was descending from
the hills into the villages, being now overtaken by darkness,
(for, as the way was narrow, their ascent of the heights, and
descent to the villages, had lasted the entire day,) some of
the Carduchi, collecting together, attacked the hindmost, and
killed and wounded some of them with stones and arrows.
They were but few; for the Greek troops had come on them
unawares; 11. but had they assembled in greater numbers, a
great part of the army would have been in danger of being
destroyed. For this night, accordingly, they took up their
abode in the villages; and the Carduchi lighted a number of
fires around them on the hills, and observed the positions of
one another.2 12. As soon as it was day, the generals and
"Thus they accomplished their entrance into Kurdistan with-
out opposition, and crossed one of the most defensible passes that
they were almost destined to meet. * The recesses-left be-
tween the hills are in the present day the seat of villages, as they
were in the time of Xenophon, and the crags in front, and in the
rear, bristle with the small and rude rock-forts of the Kurds.” Ains-
worth, Travels in the Track, p. 153, 154.
Evvεwρwv ảλλýλovs.] The lighted fires served as signals, by
means of which the Carduchi could keep an eye on one another.
Kühner
108
[B. IV.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
captains of the Greeks, meeting together, resolved, when they
should march, to reserve only such of the baggage-cattle as
were most necessary and most able, abandoning the rest, and
to dismiss all the slaves in the army that had been recently
captured; 13. for the cattle and the slaves, being numerous,
rendered their progress slow, and the number of men in charge
of them were unable to take part in any encounter; and be-
sides, when the men were so numerous, it was necessary to
procure and carry with them a double quantity of provisions.
This resolution being passed, they made proclamation that the
troops should act accordingly.
1
16.
14. When they had breakfasted, and were on the march,
the generals, taking their stand in a narrow part of the way,
took from the soldiers whatever of the things mentioned they
found had not been left behind; and the men submitted to this,
unless any of them, smitten with desire of a handsome boy or
woman, conveyed them past secretly. Thus they proceeded
during this day, sometimes having to fight a little, and some-
times resting themselves. 15. On the next day a great storm
arose; but they were obliged to pursue their march, for they
had not a sufficient supply of provisions. Cheirisophus con-
tinued to lead, and Xenophon had charge of the rear.
The enemy pressed steadily upon them, and, where the passes
were narrow, came close up, and used their bows and their
slings; so that the Greeks, sometimes pursuing and some-
times retreating, were compelled to march but slowly; and
Xenophon, when the enemy attacked them violently, had fre-
quently to pass the word for a halt. 17. Cheirisophus, at
other times, when the order was passed, halted, but on one
occasion he did not halt, but hurried on rapidly, and passed
the word to follow; so that it was manifest that there was some-
thing extraordinary; but there was no time to go forward
and ascertain the cause of the haste; and the march of the
rear-guard became like a flight. 18. On this occasion a brave
soldier, Cleonymus a Lacedæmonian, met his death, being shot
with an arrow in the side through his shield and corslet; 2 and
also Basias, an Arcadian, shot right through the head.
19. When they arrived at the place of encampment, Xeno-
1 Πλὴν εἴ τίς τι ἔκλεψεν, κ. τ. λ.] Except if any one concealed
anything, either coveting a youth or woman of the handsome ones
Tys σπoλádos.] See note on iii. 3. 20.
ch. 1.]
THEIR PROGRESS STILL OBSTRUCTED.
109
phon immediately proceeded, just as he was, to Cheirisophus,
and blamed him for not having halted, as the men had been
compelled to flee and fight at the same time. "Two honour-
able and brave soldiers," said he, "have now been killed, and
we have been unable either to carry off their bodies or bury
them." 20. To this remark Cheirisophus answered, "Cast
your eyes upon those mountains, and observe how impassable
they all are. The only road which you see is steep; and
close upon it you may perceive a great multitude of men, who,
having occupied the pass, keep guard at it. 21. For these
reasons I hastened on, and therefore did not wait for you, to
try if I could get the start of the enemy before the pass was
seized; and the guides whom we have say that there is no other
road." 22. Xenophon rejoined, "I have two prisoners; for
when the enemy molested us, we placed an ambush, which
enabled us to recover breath, and killed some of them; and
we were also anxious to take some alive for this very purpose,
that we might use them, as being well acquainted with the
country, for guides."
23. Immediately after, bringing forward the two men, they
inquired of them separately whether they knew of any other
road than that which was open to their view. The one denied
that he knew of any other, though many threats were held out
to him; and as he would give no useful information, he was put
to death in sight of the other. 24. The survivor said that the
other had denied any knowledge of a road, because he had a
daughter there married to somebody, but stated that he him-
self would lead them by a road that might be passed even by
beasts of burden. 25. Being then asked if there was any spot
in it difficult to be passed, he replied that there was one height.
and that unless a party secured it before-hand, it would be im-
possible for them to pass. 26. Upon this it was thought proper
to call together the captains, both of the peltasts and of the
heavy-armed men,¹ and to acquaint them with the prospect of
affairs, and ask whether any of them was willing to prove
himself a man of valour, and engage to go on this service as a
volunteer. 27. Of the heavy-armed, Aristonymus of Methy-
drium, and Agasias of Stymphalus, both Arcadians, offered
1 Λοχαγοὺς καὶ πελταστὰς καὶ τῶν ὁπλιτῶν.] Η. e. Centuriones et
ex peltastis et ex militibus gravis armaturæ. Kühner. Heλraoràs is to
be taken as an epithet; compare yuμrηtwv ražiaρxur, sect. 28.
110
[B. IV.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
themselves; and Callimachus of Parrhasia, also an Arcadian,
disputed the honour with them, and said that he himself was
eager to go, taking with him volunteers from the whole army;
"for I am sure," said he, "that many of the young men will
follow if I take the lead." 28. They then asked if any of the
officers of the light-armed troops were willing to join in the
attempt; and Aristeas of Chios presented himself, a man
who had often proved himself of great value to the army for
similar services.
CHAPTER II.
One of the prisoners is forced to guide them to an eminence, from which
they dislodge the Carduchi. But they are still harassed, and the rear
suffers severely.
1. It was now afternoon, and the generals' desired the
party to take some refreshment and set forward. Hav-
ing bound the guide, they put him into their hands, and
arranged with them, that, if they should gain the summit,
they should keep guard at that post during the night, and give
a signal by trumpet at break of day, and that those on the
height should then charge the enemy in possession of the
apparent egress,2 and those below should issue forth and come
in a body to their assistance as soon as they were able.
2. When they had made this arrangement, the party set
out, being in number about two thousand; and there was
heavy rain at the time. Xenophon, taking the rear-guard,
led them towards the apparent egress, in order that the enemy
might turn their attention in that direction, and that those
who were going round might as much as possible escape no-
tice. 3. But when the rear-guard came to a ravine, which
they had to pass to gain the ascent, the Barbarians then rolled
down masses of rock,³ each big enough to load a waggon, with
1 Xenophon and Cheirisophus. Kühner.
2 Τὴν φανερὰν ἔκβασιν.] Xenophon calls the passage to the top of
the mountain an ekbaois, or egrcss, with reference to the Greeks, to
whom it was a way of escape from a disagreeable position. Kühner
ad c. 5. 20. The same words are repeated by Xenophon in the
next sect.
3. 'Oroir póxovs.] A word borrowed from Homer, signifying pro-
сп. 2.]
THE CARDUCHI PUT TO FLIGHT.
4.
1
111
other stones greater and smaller, which, striking in their de-
scent against the rocks, were hurled abroad in all directions; ¹
and it was utterly impossible even to approach the pass.
Some of the captains, when they could not succeed in this
part, made attempts in another, and continued their efforts
till darkness came on. When they thought that they might
retire unobserved, they went to get their supper; for the
rear-guard had been dinnerless that day. The enemy, how-
ever, being evidently in fear, continued to roll down stones
through the whole of the night, as it was easy to conjecture
from the noise. 5. Those, meanwhile, who had the guide,
taking a circuitous route, surprised a guard of the enemy
sitting round a fire, and, having killed some of them, and put
the rest to flight, remained on the spot, with the notion that
they were in possession of the summit. 6. But in possession
of it they were not; for there was a small hill above them,
round which lay the narrow pass, at which the guard had
been posted. However, there was a way from thence to that
party of the enemy who were stationed at the open egress. 7.
Here they remained during the night.
As soon as day began to dawn, they advanced in regular
order, and with silence, against the enemy; and as there was
a mist, they came close upon them before they were per-
ceived. But when they caught sight of one another, the
trumpet sounded on the side of the Greeks, who, raising the
shout of battle, rushed upon the enemy. The Barbarians did
not stand their charge, but quitted the pass and fled; only a
few of them were killed, for they were active in moving off.
8. At the same time the party of Cheirisophus, hearing the
sound of the trumpet, marched immediately up the plain
track; while others of the officers proceeded by untrodden
paths, where each happened to be, and, climbing up as well
as they could, drew up one another with their spears; 9. and
these were the first to join those who had secured the position.
Xenophon, with the half of the rear-guard, went up by the
perly a round stone fit for rolling, or a stone that has been made round
by rolling, as a pebble in the sea. It was originally an adjective,
with Terpog understood. Most critics suppose it to be from oλos and
rpexw,
Tρέxw, totus teres atque rotundus. Liddell and Scott derive it from
siλw, volvo. See Theocr. xxii. 49.
1 Διεσφενδονῶντο.] "Shivered in pieces, and flew about as if
hurled by a sling."
112
[B. IV
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
same way as those who had the guide; for it was the most
practicable for the baggage-cattle; the other half he ordered to
come up behind the cattle. 10. In their way they came to a hill
overhanging the road, which was occupied by the enemy,
whom they must either dislodge or be separated from the rest
of the Greeks. The men themselves, indeed, might have gone
the same way as the rest of the army, but the baggage-cattle ·
could ascend by no other route than this. 11. Encouraging
one another, therefore, they made an attack upon the hill in
files,¹ not on every side, but leaving a way of escape for the
enemy, if they should be inclined to flee. 12. For a while,
as they were making their way as each best could, the Bar-
barians shot arrows and threw stones at them, but did not
receive them in close encounter, and at last abandoned the
place entirely.
The Greeks had no sooner passed the hill, than they caught
sight of another before them occupied also by the enemy.
Upon this hill it was resolved likewise to make an assault,
13. But Xenophon, apprehending that, if he left the hill
which they had taken unguarded, the enemy, recovering it,
might attack the baggage-cattle as they were passing, (for the
train of baggage-cattle reached a great distance, as they were
marching along a narrow path,) left upon the hill the captains
Cephisodorus the son of Cephisophon, an Athenian, Amphi-
crates the son of Amphidemus, an Athenian, and Archagoras,
an exile from Argos, while he himself, with the others, directed
his march upon the second hill, which they also captured in a
similar manner. 14. However, there was still a third hill left
for them to take, which was by far the steepest of the whole;
this was an eminence that overhung the post where the guard
was surprised in the night by the volunteers. 15. But as the
Greeks came up, the Barbarians deserted the hill without
attempting any defence, so that all were surprised, and sus-
pected that they had left their position from fear of being sur-
rounded and besieged in it. But the truth was, that having ob-
· Ὀρθίοις τοῖς λόχοις.] Each λοχος or company marching in file
or column, so that the depth of the λóxos was equal to the number
of soldiers of which it consisted. Sturz. This is the interpretation
adopted by Kühner. Yet it would be hard to prove that opios
Aóxos always meant single file; the term seems to have included
any form of a company in which the number of men in depth ex-
ceeded the number in front.
!
CH. 2.]
THE GREEKS STILL HARASSED.
113
served from the eminence what had passed behind, they all
went off with the intention of attacking the rear.
16. Xenophon, with the youngest of his men, ascended to
the top, and ordered the rest to march on slowly, so that the
companies in the rear might join them; and he directed them,
after proceeding some distance, to halt under arms, on a level
piece of ground. 17. At this juncture Aristagoras the Argive
came fleeing from the enemy, and said that the Greeks were
driven from the first hill, and that Cephisodorus, and Amphi-
crates, and all the rest, who had not leaped from the rock, and
joined the rear-guard, had been killed. 18. The Barbarians,
after this success, appeared upon an eminence opposite the
third hill, and Xenophon began to treat with them, through
an interpreter, about making a truce, and called upon them
to give up the dead. 19. They replied, that they would give
them up on condition that he would not burn their villages.
To this Xenophon agreed.
But while the rest of the army
was passing on, and these were discussing the terms of a
truce, all the Barbarians from that part of the country had
flocked together. Here the enemy made a stand; 20. and
when Xenophon's party began to descend the hill, to join the
others where the heavy-armed troops were drawn up,¹ they
came forward in great numbers and with loud shouts. When
they had reached the top of the hill from which Xenophon
was descending, they rolled down stones, and broke the leg
of one man; and Xenophon's shield-bearer deserted him,
carrying off his shield, 21. but Eurylochus, an Arcadian from
Lusia, a heavy-armed soldier, ran to his support, and went
on holding his shield before them both; and the rest went to
Join those who were already drawn up.
2
22. The entire Grecian force was now together, and took
up their quarters in a number of good houses, and in the
midst of abundance of provisions. Wine was so abundant,
that they kept it in excavations under ground, which were
plastered over. 23. Xenophon and Cheirisophus now made
¹ Tà önλa ékeivTO.] See sect. 16. The heavy-armed men had
halted on the level piece of ground, and their arms were lying by
them. See Kühner ad i. 5. 14.
2 A small town of Arcadia, to the north-west of Clitor.
* Εν λάκκοις κονιατοῖς.] The Athenians and other Greeks used
to make large excavations under ground, some round, some square,
VOL. I.
I
114
[B. IV.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
an agreement with the enemy, that on receiving the dead
bodies they should give up the guide; and they performed al
funeral rites for the deceased, as far as they could, according
to what is usually done at the interment of brave men.
24. The next day they proceeded without a guide; and the
enemy, sometimes by skirmishing, and sometimes, where there
was a narrow pass, by pre-occupying it, endeavoured to
obstruct their progress.
25. Whenever therefore they im-
peded the front, Xenophon, ascending the hills from the rear,
endeavoured to break through the opposition made in that
quarter, trying always to reach higher ground than the ob-
structing enemy; 26. and when they assailed the rear, Chei-
risophus, quitting his place, and striving also to get above
the enemy, removed the obstruction that was offered to the
passage of that part of the army. Thus they relieved and
supported each other with effect. 27. Sometimes, too, when
the Greeks had ascended eminences, the Barbarians gave
them great annoyance in their descent; and, as they were
nimble, they could escape, though they had but a very short
start of us ;¹ for they were encumbered with no other weapons
than bows and slings. 28. As archers they were very expert,
and had bows nearly three cubits long, and arrows above two
cubits; and they drew the string, whenever they discharged
their arrows, advancing the left foot2 against the lower ex-
tremity of the bow. Their arrows penetrated through shields.
and, covering them over with plaster, laid up their wine and oil in
them; they called them λárkot. Schol. ad Aristoph. Eccl., cited by
flutchinson. Spelman translates AáKROι RoviaToi, "plastered cis-
terns," a term which Ainsworth adopts. "The plastered cisterns
noticed by Xenophon," says he, are also met with throughout
Kurdistan, Armenia, and Syria. They are especially numerous
around some of the ancient villages of the early Christians of those
countries, as more especially between Semeïsát and Bireh-jik, and
have frequently been a subject of discussion as to their former
uses. This notice of Xenophon serves to clear up many doubts
upon the subject, although, since the Kurds have become Mahom-
medans, and rejected the use of wine, there is no doubt they are
sometimes used for depots for corn or hay, and even sometimes
for water. They were generally closed by a single large stone."
Travels in the Track, &c. p. 164.
¹ 'EYYÚSεv pεÚYоvres.]"Fleeing from near," i. e. when they were
at no great distance before us.
Τῷ ἀριστερῷ ποδὶ προσβαίνοντες.] All the manuscripts have
προβαίνοντες: προσβαίνοντες is a conjecture of Wesseling ad
1
JH. 3.]
ARRIVAL AT THE RIVER CENTRITES.
115
and corslets; and the Greeks, taking them up, made use of
them as javelins, fixing thongs to them. In these parts the
Cretans were of the greatest service. Stratocles, a Cretën,
had the command of them.
CHAPTER III.
The Greeks arrive at the river Centrites, which divides the Carduchi from
Armenia. They see the Persians drawn up on the opposite bank, while
the Carduchi threaten their rear. They are encouraged by a dream of
Xenophon's to try a ford, and effect a safe passage across the stream.
1. THIS day the Greeks abode in the villages above the
plain near the river Centrites, the breadth of which is about
two hundred feet, and which forms the boundary between
Armenia and the territory of the Carduchi. Here they took
some rest, being glad to see a piece of level country. The
river is distant from the mountains of the Carduchi about six
or seven stadia. 2. It was with great satisfaction that they
stayed here, as they had a sufficiency of provisions, and were
frequently reflecting on the difficulties that were past, for,
during seven days that they had been marching among the
Carduchi, they had been constantly fighting, and had suffered
more evils than all those which they had endured from the
Diod. Sic. iii. 8, which all the recent editors have adopted, but by
which it does not appear that anything is gained, as πρὸς τὸ κάτω
TOŨ Tóžov precedes. Spelman, who was himself an archer, has
illustrated the passage very clearly by a quotation from Arrian,
Indic. 16: Resting one end of the bow upon the ground, and step-
ping forward with the left foot, (τῷ ποδὶ τῷ ἀριστερῷ ἀντιβάντες,)
they thus discharge the arrow, drawing the string a long way back,
the arrow being nearly three cubits long." See also Diod. Sic. 1. c.,
where he speaks of the archery of the Ethiopians; Strabo, xvi. p.
1117; Suidas in "Apabes, cited by Weiske. Schneider and Halbkart,
strangely enough, think that Xenophon is speaking of cross-bows,
which few besides themselves have supposed to have been known
in Xenophon's time.
1 Εναγκυλῶντες.] “Fitting them with ἀγκύλαι.” The ἀγκύλη is
generally supposed to be the same with the Latin amentum, a strap
or loop fastened to the middle of a javelin, or the shaft of a spear,
that it might be hurled with the greater force. The writer of the
article Ansa in Smith's Dict. of G. and R. Ant. thinks, however,
that the two were not the same.
I 2
116
[B. IV
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
king and Tissaphernes. Having escaped from such hard-
ships, they gladly took repose.
3. At day-break, however, they perceived on the other side
of the river a body of cavalry, in complete armour, ready to
prevent them from crossing, and on the high banks above the
cavalry, another of foot prepared to hinder them from enter-
ing Armenia. 4. These were Armenians, Mardians, and
Chaldæans, mercenary troops of Orontes and Artuchas."
The Chaldæans were said to be a free people, and warlike;
for arms they had long shields and spears. 5. The high
banks on which these forces were drawn up, were three or
four hundred feet from the river; and the only road that was
visible was one that led upward, apparently a work of art.
Here the Greeks endeavoured to cross, 6. but as, on making
trial, the water rose above their breasts, and the bed of the
river was rough with large and slippery stones, and as it was
impossible for them to carry their arms in the water, or, if
they attempted to do so, the river swept them away, (while,
if any of them took their arms on their heads, they became
exposed to the arrows and other missiles of the enemy,) they
in consequence retreated, and encamped at the side of the
river.
7. They now perceived the Carduchi assembled in great
numbers under arms on the spot where they themselves had
1 Yet "the Carduchian mountains," observes Rennell, "in effect
presented an asylum to the Greeks, who could no other way have
escaped, at least, the reiterated attacks of such a host of enemies,
whose numbers also were augmenting instead of diminishing
But as a Persian army could not subsist, or their cavalry act, with
in the wide range of these mountains, the Greeks, by ascending
them, got rid of their dreaded enemy. And although, in the mean
time, they had to contend with an enemy much more brave and
persevering, their numbers were fewer, and they might reasonably
expect an earlier escape from them than from the Persians. Had
they known that the Tigris was fordable under the Zaco hills, and
passed into Mesopotamia, they would still have had the Euphrates
to cross, a yet more difficult river, in the line which they must have
pursued. Therefore, according to our limited view of things, it
appears that nothing less than such a barrier as these mountains.
presented, could have saved the Greeks from eventual destruction,
from the attacks of the Persians." Illustrations of the Exp. of
Cyrus, p. 173.
2 Orontes was satrap of Armenia, iii. 5. 17; Artuchas is nowhere
else mentioned.
ļ
cn. 3.]
A FORD DISCOVERED.
117
been on the previous night. Hence great despondency was
felt by the Greeks, as they knew the difficulty of passing
the river, and saw the Carduchi ready to attack them if they
attempted to cross. 8. This day, therefore, and the following
night, they remained where they were in great perplexity.
Xenophon however had a dream; he thought that he was
bound in fetters, but that they fell off him of their own
accord, so that he was set at liberty, and walked securely¹
whithersoever he pleased. 9. When the morning approached,
he went to Cheirisophus, told him that he had hopes that all
would be well, and related to him his dream. Cheirisophus
was much pleased, and, as soon as it was day, all the generals
who were present offered sacrifice, and the victims were
favourable at the very first. As soon as they left the place of
sacrifice, the generals and captains gave directions to the
troops to take their breakfast.
10. While Xenophon was at breakfast, two young men
came running up to him, for every one knew that it was
allowable to approach him whether breakfasting or supping,
and to wake him and speak to him even when asleep, if they
had anything to tell of affairs relating to the war.
11. The
youths informed him that they had been gathering sticks for
their fire, and had chanced to see, on the opposite side of the
river, among the rocks that reached down to the stream itself,
an old man, a woman, and some girls, depositing in a cavern-
ous rock what appeared to be bags of clothes; 12. that when
they saw this, they thought it would be safe to cross, as the
ground at that point was inaccessible to the enemy's horse ;
that having taken off their clothes, and taken their daggers in
their hands, they went over undressed, in expectation of hav-
ing to swim, but that, as they went on, they reached the other
side before they were wet to the middle, and, having thus
forded the stream, and taken the clothes, they came back
again. 13. Xenophon immediately therefore made a libation,
and ordered the young men to join in it,2 and to pray to the
Διαβαίνειν.]
! Aiabaiver.] "Ingredi, pedem proferre." Kühner. His fetters
being removed, he was able to put his legs apart, and walk with
stability; as is indicated, says Weiske, by the preposition diá.
* Εγχεῖν.] This passage is commonly taken thus: ἐκέλευε τοῖς
rεaviσKois Exxer, "he ordered the young men to pour (wine) into
νεανίσκοις ἐγχεῖν,
(the cup for themselves)," for the purpose of making a libation.
Kühner, however, makes it έκέλευε (τοὺς περὶ αὐτὸν ἐγχεῖν τοῖς
vɛavioroig, he ordered those about him (the attendants) to pour into
118
| B. IV
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
gods who had sent the dream and pointed out the ford, to
complete what was wanting to their success. After the liba-
tion, he at once conducted the youths to Cheirisophus, and
to him they gave the same account. Cheirisophus, on hear-
ing it, made a libation also.
14. When the libation was over, they gave orders to the
soldiers to get their baggage ready; while they themselves,
calling the rest of the generals together, consulted with them
how they might cross the river to the best advantage, and how
they might defeat the enemy in front, and suffer no damage
from those in the rear. 15. It was then resolved that Cheiri-
sophus should take the lead, and cross over with half of the
army, that the other half should stay behind with Xenophon,
and that the baggage-cattle and camp-followers should go
over between the two. 16. When these matters were fairly
arranged, they began to move, the young men acting as
guides, and keeping the river on the left, the distance to the
ford being about four stadia. 17. As they proceeded, the
lines of the enemy's cavalry advanced abreast of them on the
opposite bank; and when they came to the ford, and the mar-
gin of the river, they halted, laying down their arms; and
then Cheirisophus himself, placing a chaplet upon his head,'
and laying aside his outer garments, took up his arms and
commanded the rest to follow his example, directing the cap-
tains to lead their troops in files,2 some on his left hand, and
some on his right. 18. The augurs at the same time sacri-
ficed victims over the river;3 while the enemy plied their
bows and slings, but did not reach the Greeks. 19. As the
sacrifices appeared favourable, all the soldiers sung the pæan
and raised a shout, and all the women (for there were a number
of the men's mistresses in the army) joined in the cry.
the cup for the young men. The former mode is the more simpie,
Eλεú being sometimes found with the dative, and agrees better
with what follows.
1 Tεpaνwoάμεvos.] According to the custom of the Lacedæmo-
nians, of which Xenophon speaks de Repub. Lacedæm. 13. 8;
Hellen. iv. 2. 12; see also Plutarch, Lycurg. c. 22. Schneider.
2 Τοὺς λόχους όρθιους.] See iv. 2. 11.
3 Εσφαγίαζοντο εἰς τὸν ποταμόν.] Offering a sacrifice to the gods
inhabiting the river, as Alexander in the middle of the Hellespont
sacrificed a bull to Neptune and the Nereids: see Arrian i. 11. 10,
cited by Hutchinson. They slew the animals so as to allow the
blood to flow into the river." Poppo
(6
CH. 3.]
PASSAGE OF THE CENTRITES.
119
20. Cheirisophus and his men then entered the stream; and
Xenophon, taking the most active of the rear-guard, marched
at full speed back to the ford¹ opposite the outlet into the
mountains of Armenia, making a feint that he meant to cross
the river there, and thus cut off the cavalry that were on the
bank; 21. when the enemy, seeing Cheirisophus and his men
crossing over with ease, and Xenophon and his party hurry-
ing back, were afraid of being intercepted, and fled with pre-
cipitation to gain the outlet that led up from the river, and as
soon as they came to that passage, they directed their course
up into the mountains. 22. Lycius, who had the command of
the troop of horse, and schines, who commanded the band of
peltasts attending on Cheirisophus, seeing the enemy retreat-
ing with so much haste, set off in pursuit of them; and the
rest of the soldiers called to each other not to stay behind,2
but to go along with them up the mountains. 23. But Cheiri-
sophus, when he had crossed the river, did not follow the
cavalry, but made his way up the high banks that reached
down to the river, to attack that portion of the enemy that
were on the more elevated ground.3 This party on the
heights, however, seeing their cavalry take to flight, aban-
doned their commanding position above the stream.
24. Xenophon, when he saw that all was going well on the
other side, returned with all possible speed to join that part of
the army which was crossing over; for the Carduchi were
evidently descending into the plain, with the view of falling
upon the rear. 25. Cheirisophus was now in possession of
the heights, and Lycius, who, with his small party, had pro-
ceeded in pursuit of the enemy, had captured some of their
baggage that they had left behind, and amongst it some rich
garments and drinking-cups. 26. The baggage and camp-
followers of the Greeks were still in the act of crossing; and
Xenophon, turning towards the Carduchi, halted under arms
over against them, and ordered the captains to form each his
own company into divisions of five and twenty men, bringing
round each division in line towards the left; and he directed
1 Tòv Tópor.] The ford mentioned in sect. 5, 6.
Behind the enemy. Kühner. Or behind the cavalry that were
pursuing the enemy.
3 Those mentioned in sect. 3.
''Exì gáλayyos.] This disposition of a company was in opposi-
120
[B. IV.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
both the captains, and the officers of the divisions of five and
twenty, to advance facing the Carduchi, and the rearmost to
halt facing the river.
27. The Carduchi, when they observed that the rear-guard
of the camp-followers was diminished in number, and that
they seemed now indeed to be but few, advanced at a quicker
pace, singing at the same time certain songs. Cheirisophus,
when he saw that all was safe on his own side, sent the pel-
tasts, and the slingers and archers, to Xenophon, desiring
them to do whatsoever he should direct. 28. Xenophon, see-
ing them beginning to cross, sent a messenger to desire that
they should remain by the river where they were, without
crossing, and that, when his own party should begin to cross,
they should come forward into the water on each side opposite to
him, the javelin-men holding their weapons by the thong,'
and the archers with their arrows on the string, as if with
the intention of crossing over, but not to advance far into the
river. 29. His own men he ordered, as soon as a sling should
reach them and a shield should ring,2 to raise the pean and
rush towards the enemy; and he directed that when the
enemy should take to flight, and the trumpeter should sound
the signal of attack3 from the river, the rear should wheel to
the right and take the lead, and that they should then all run
forward as fast as possible, and cross over at the part where
each happened to be stationed, so as not to impede one
another; telling them that he would be the best man who
should first reach the opposite side. 30. The Carduchi, see-
ing that those who were left were but few, (for many even of
those who had been ordered to stay had gone away, some to
take care of the cattle, some of their baggage, and others of
The expression
tion to λóxoi öpdio (iv. 2. 11): see c. S, sect. 10.
λόχοι ὄρθιοι
¿πì páλayyoç, says Kühner, properly means for a phalanx, or so that
a phalanx (or acies) might be formed.
1 Διηγκυλωμένους.] The verb διηγκυλοῦσθαι is rightly interpreted
by Hesychius τὸ ἐνεῖραι τους δακτύλους τῇ ἀγκύλη (h. e. amento) του
ἀκοντίου. Sturz. The following ἐπιβεβλημένους must be similarly
explained.
'Aonis op] From the enemy's missiles striking upon it.
Kühner. Hutchinson, Weiske, and Zeune think that a clashing of
shields on the part of the Greeks is meant, preparatory to an onset;
but, without doubt, erroneously.
3. Or, sound a charge. The design of it was to precipitate the
enemy's flight Compare sect. 32.
CII. 4.]
ARMENIA: SOURCES OF THE TIGRIS.
121
their mistresses,) began, in consequence, to press forward
boldly, and to use their slings and bows. 31. The Greeks
then sang the pæan, and rushed upon them at full speed; and
the Barbarians did not stand their charge; for though they
were well enough equipped for a sudden onset and retreat
upon the mountains, they were by no means sufficiently armed
to receive an enemy hand to hand. At this juncture the
trumpeter sounded, 32. when the enemy fled still faster, and
the Greeks, turning in the opposite direction, made their way
over the river with all possible speed. 33. Some of the
enemy, perceiving this movement, ran back to the river, and
wounded a few of our men with their arrows; but the greater
number of them, even when the Greeks were on the other
side, were observed to continue their flight. 34. The troops,
meanwhile, that came to meet Xenophon, being carried away
by their courage, and advancing too far, repassed the river in
the rear of Xenophon's men; and some of these also werc
wounded.
CHAPTER IV.
The Greeks enter Armenia, pass the sources of the Tigris, and arrive at the
Teleboas. They make a treaty with Tiribazus, the governor of the pro-
vince, and discover his insincerity.
1. WHEN they had crossed, and had ranged themselves in
order about noon, they proceeded through the country of Ar-
menia, consisting wholly of plains and gently sloping hills, a
distance of not less than five parasangs; for there were no
villages near the river, in consequence of the hostilities with
the Carduchi. 2. The village, however, at which they at
length arrived, was of considerable size, and contained a palace
for the satrap;¹ upon most of the houses there were towers,
and provisions were in great plenty.
3. Hence they proceeded, two days' journey, a distance of
ten parasangs, until they passed round the sources of the river
Tigris. From hence they advanced, three days' journey, fif-
1 Orontes: iii. 5. 17; 4. 3, 4. He was the satrap, as Krüger
thinks, of Eastern Armenia; Tiribazus being called satrap of West-
ern Armenia, sect. 4.
122
[B. IV.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
teen parasangs, to the river Teleboas, a stream not large, in-
deed, but of much beauty; and there were many villages on
its banks. 4. This part of the country was called Western
Armenia. The deputy-governor of it was Tiribazus, who was
an intimate friend of the king; and no one else, when he was
present, assisted the king to mount his horse. 5. He now
rode up with a body of cavalry, and sending forward an inter-
preter, said that he wished to speak with the commanders.
The generals thought proper to hear what he had to say, and,
advancing within hearing, asked what he wanted. 6. He re-
plied, that he wished to make a treaty with them, on the con-
ditions that he himself should not hurt the Greeks, and that
the Greeks should not burn the houses, but should be at
liberty to take such provisions as they required. This pro-
posal was agreeable to the generals, and they concluded a
treaty upon these terms.
7. Hence they proceeded, three days' march, a distance of
fifteen parasangs, through a plain; and Tiribazus followed
them with his troops, keeping at the distance of about ten
stadia. They then came to a palace, with several villages
around it stored with abundance of provisions. 8. While
they were encamped, there fell a great quantity of snow in
3
1 Túpos.] Apparently intended for a sort of defences, should the
people be attacked by any of their neighbours. Compare v. 2. 5.
2 Kaλòs µèv, µɛyaç d'ou.] I have, with Bornemann and Poppo, re-
stored this reading, in which all the manuscripts concur. Muretus,
from Demetrius Phalereus, sect. 6 and 121, has given uέyaç µèv oỡ.
kaλòç dé, and Hutchinson and all other editors down to Bornemann
have followed him. It cannot be denied that this is the usual order
in such phrases; as in iv. 8. 2; vi. 4. 20; but passages are not want-
ing in which the contrary order is observed; see iv. 6. 2. Kühner.
As the piece attributed to Demetrius Phalereus is not genuine, little
attention need be paid to it.
که
3 It would seem to have been the palace of Tiribazus, as the one
mentioned in sect. 2 was that of Orontes. Schneider.
• See Diod. Sic. xiv. 28.] Ainsworth speaks of the cold in the
nights on these Armenian uplands, p. 173. "When Lucullus, in
his expedition against Mithridates, marched through Armenia, his
my suffered as much by the frost and snow as the Greeks under
Xenophon; and, when Alexander Severus returned through this
country, many of his men lost their hands and feet through excessive
cold. Tournefort also complains that at Erzeroum, though situated
in a plain, his fingers were so benumbed with cold, that he could
not write till an hour after sunrise. (See Plutarch in Lucull., and
Zonaras's Annals.)" Spelman.
CH. 4.]
GREAT FALL OF SNOW.
123
the night; and in the morning it was thought advisable that
the companies and officers should take up their quarters in
the neighbouring villages; for they perceived no enemy, and
it appeared to be safe on account of the quantity of the snow.'
9. Here they found all kinds of excellent provisions, cattle,
corn, old wines of great fragrance, dried grapes, and vegetables
of all kinds.

10.
Some of the soldiers, however, who had strolled away from
the camp, brought word that they had caught sight of an army,
and that many fires had been visible during the night.
The generals thought it unsafe, therefore, for the troops to
quarter apart, and resolved to bring the whole army together
again. They accordingly assembled, for it seemed to be clear-
ing up.2 11. But as they were passing the night here, there
fell a vast quantity of snow, so that it covered both the arms
and the men as they lay on the ground. The snow cramped
the baggage-cattle, and they were very reluctant to rise; for,
as they lay, the snow that had fallen upon them served to
keep them warm, when it had not dropped off. 12. But when
Xenophon was hardy enough to rise without his outer gar-
ment, and to cleave wood, some one else then rose, and, taking
the wood from him, cleft it himself. Soon after, the rest got
up, and lighted fires and anointed themselves; 13. for abund-
ance of ointment was found there, made of hog's-lard, sesa-
mum,³ bitter almonds, and turpentine, which they used in-
stead of oil. Of the same materials also an odoriferous
unguent was found.
14. After this it was resolved to quarter again throughout
1 There being no cause to apprehend the approach of an enemy
during such deep snow.
2 siaipiásεir.] The commentators rightly interpret this word dis-
screnascere, "to clear up." Kühner, who, however, prefers ovvai-
Opiάlav, for which there is good manuscript authority. He trans-
lates it, with Bornemann, simul disserenascere, "to clear up at the
same time;" so that the one word has little advantage over the
other. Sturz disapproves of the interpretation disserenascere, and
would have both verbs to signify sub dio agere,
(C to bivouack in the
open air;" but the other sense appears preferable.
3 See note on i. 2. 22. Oil made of sesamum, or sesama, is men-
tioned, says Kühner, by Plin. H. N. xiii. 1, xviii. 10; Q. Curt. vii.
4. 23; Dioscorid. 2. 119-121; Theophrast. de Odoribus, p. 737,
ed. Schneid.; Salmas. Exercit. Plin. p. 727; Interp. ad Aristoph.
Pac. 865.
124
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
[E, IV
the villages, under shelter; and the soldiers went off with
great shouting and delight to the cottages and provisions.
Those who had set fire to the houses, when they quitted them
before, paid the penalty of having to encamp uncomfortably in
the open air. 15. Hence they despatched in the night De-
mocrates of Temenos, giving him a detachment of men, to the
hills where the stragglers said that they had seen the fires; they
selected him because he was thought on several former occasions
to have brought exact information concerning such matters,
reporting what was, just as it appeared, and what was not, as
not existing. 16. Having gone, he said that he saw no fires,
but he brought with him a captive that he had taken, having
a Persian bow and quiver, and a short battle-axe, such as the
Amazons have. 17. Being asked of what country he was, he
said that he was a Persian, and that he was going from the
army of Tiribazus to get provisions. They then asked him
how large the army was, and for what purpose it was assem-
bled. 18. He said that Tiribazus had his own troops, and
some mercenaries from the Chalybes and Taochians; and that
he was prepared to attack the Greeks in their passage over
the mountains, at a narrow defile through which lay their
only road.
19. The generals, on hearing this, resolved to collect the
army, and, leaving a guard, with Sophanetus the Stymphalian.
as commander over those who stayed behind, proceeded to
march without delay, taking the man that had been captured
for their guide. 20. After they had passed the mountains,
the peltasts, who went before the rest, and were the first to
discover the enemy's camp, did not wait for the heavy-armed
men, but ran forward with a shout to attack it. 21. The
Barbarians, hearing the noise, did not stand their ground, but
fled; some of them however were killed, and about twenty
horses taken, as was also the tent of Tiribazus, and in it some
couches with silver feet, and drinking-cups, and some prison-
ers, who said that they were bakers and cup-bearers.
When the officers of the heavy-armed troops heard what had
taken place, they resolved upon marching back as fast as pos-
sible to their own camp, lest any attempt should be made on
those who had been left there. Calling in the men immedi-
ately, therefore, by sound of trumpet, they returned to the
camp the same day.
22.
CH. 5.] MARCH THROUGH A DESERT COUNTRY.
125
CHAPTER V.
The Grecks march through an uninhabited tract of country, suffering great-
ly from cold winds, snow, and want of provisions. At length they reach
some well-stored villages, where they rest seven days.
1. THE next day it was thought necessary to march away
as fast as possible, before the enemy's force should be re-
assembled, and get possession of the pass. Collecting their
baggage at once, therefore, they set forward through a deep
snow, taking with them several guides; and, having the same
day passed the height on which Tiribazus had intended to at-
tack them, they encamped. 2. Hence they proceeded three
days' journey through a desert tract of country, a distance of
fifteen parasangs,¹ to the river Euphrates, and passed it with-
out being wet higher than the middle. The sources of the
river were said not to be far off. 3. From hence they ad-
vanced three days' march, through much snow and a level
plain, a distance of fifteen parasangs; the third day's march
was extremely troublesome, as the north-wind blew full in
their faces, completely parching up everything and benumb-
ing the men. 4. One of the augurs, in consequence, advised
that they should sacrifice to the wind; and a sacrifice was
accordingly offered; when the vehemence of the wind ap-
peared to every one manifestly to abate. The depth of the
snow was a fathom;2 so that many of the baggage-cattle and
slaves perished, with about thirty of the soldiers. 5. They
continued to burn fires through the whole night, for there
was plenty of wood at the place of encampment. But those
who came up late could get no wood; those therefore who
had arrived before, and had kindled fires, would not admit
the late comers to the fire unless they gave them a share of
the corn or other provisions that they had brought. 6. Thus
they shared with each other what they respectively had. In
the places where the fires were made, as the snow melted,
¹ Rennell, p. 214, and Kinneir, p. 485, think this distance too great
for troops marching through deep snow. Πέντε occurs in one
manuscript, and Kühner has admitted it into his text.
2 'Opyvid.] A great depth. We cannot suppose the snow to have
been of that depth everywhere. None of the commentators make
any remark.

126
B. IV.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
there were formed large pits that reached down to the ground;
and here there was accordingly opportunity to measure the
depth of the snow.
7. From hence they marched through snow the whole of
the following day, and many of the men contracted the buli-
mia.¹ Xenophon, who commanded in the rear, finding in his
way such of the men as had fallen down with it, knew not
what disease it was. 8. But as one of those acquainted with
it, told him that they were evidently affected with bulimia,
and that they would get up if they had something to eat, he
went round among the baggage, and, wherever he saw any-
thing eatable, he gave it out, and sent such as were able to
run to distribute it among those diseased, who, as soon as they
had eaten, rose up and continued their march. 9. As they
proceeded, Cheirisophus came, just as it grew dark, to a vil-
lage, and found, at a spring in front of the rampart, some
women and girls belonging to the place fetching water. 10.
The women asked them who they were; and the interpreter
answered, in the Persian language, that they were people
going from the king to the satrap. They replied that he was
not there, but about a parasang off. However, as it was late,
they went with the water-carriers within the rampart, to the
head man of the village; 11. and here Cheirisophus, and as
many of the troops as could come up, encamped; but of the
rest, such as were unable to get to the end of the journey,
spent the night on the way without food or fire; and some of
the soldiers lost their lives on that occasion. 12. Some of the
enemy too, who had collected themselves into a body, pursued
our rear, and seized any of the baggage-cattle that were un-
able to proceed, fighting with one another for the possession
of them. Such of the soldiers, also, as had lost their sight
from the effects of the snow, or had had their toes mortified by
the cold, were left behind. 13. It was found to be a relief to
the eyes against the snow, if the soldiers kept something black
before them on the march, and to the feet, if they kept con-
stantly in motion, and allowed themselves no rest, and if they
1 Εβουλιμίασαν.] Spelman quotes a description of the βουλιμία οι
Bouluos from Galen Med. Def., in which it is said to be a disease
in which the patient frequently craves for food, loses the use of his
limbs, falls down, turns pale, feels his extremities become cold, his
stomach oppressed, and his pulse feeble." Here, however, it seems
to mean little more than a faintness from long fasting.

CH. 5. |
SUFFERINGS FROM THE SNOW.
127
took off their shoes in the night; 14. but as to such as slept
with their shoes on, the straps worked into their feet, and the
soles were frozen about them; for when their old shoes had
failed them, shoes of raw hides had been made by the men
themselves from the newly-skinned oxen. 15. From such
unavoidable sufferings, some of the soldiers were left behind,
who, seeing a piece of ground of a black appearance, from the
snow having disappeared there, conjectured that it must have
melted; and it had in fact melted in the spot from the effect
of a fountain, which was sending up vapour in a woody hol-
low close at hand. Turning aside thither, they sat down and
refused to proceed farther. 16. Xenophon, who was with the
rear-guard, as soon as he heard this, tried to prevail on them
by every art and means not to be left behind, telling them,
at the same time, that the enemy were collected, and pursuing
them in great numbers. At last he grew angry; and they
told him to kill them, as they were quite unable to go forward.
17. He then thought it the best course to strike a terror, if
possible, into the enemy that were behind, lest they should
fall upon the exhausted soldiers. It was now dark, and the
enemy were advancing with a great noise, quarrelling about
the booty that they had taken; 18. when such of the rear-
guard as were not disabled, started up, and rushed towards
them, while the tired men, shouting as loud as they could,
clashed their spears against their shields. The enemy, struck
with alarm, threw themselves among the snow into the
hollow, and no one of them afterwards made themselves heard
from any quarter.
19. Xenophon, and those with him, telling the sick men that
a party should come to their relief next day, proceeded on
their march, but before they had gone four stadia, they found
other soldiers resting by the way in the snow, and covered
up with it, no guard being stationed over them. They roused
them up, but they said that the head of the army was not
moving forward. 20. Xenophon, going past them, and send-
ing on some of the ablest of the peltasts, ordered them to ascer-
tain what it was that hindered their progress. They brought
word that the whole army was in that manner taking rest.
21. Xenophon and his men, therefore, stationing such a guard
as they could, took up their quarters there without fire or
supper. Wher. it was near day, he sent the youngest of his
128
[B. IV
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
men to the sick, telling them to rouse them and oblige them
to proceed. 22. At this juncture Cheirisophus sent some of
his people from the villages to see how the rear were faring.
The young men were rejoiced to see them, and gave them the
sick to conduct to the camp, while they themselves went for
ward, and, before they had gone twenty stadia, found them-
selves at the village in which Cheirisophus was quartered.
23. When they came together, it was thought safe enough to
lodge the troops up and down in the villages. Cheirisophus
accordingly remained where he was, and the other officers,
appropriating by lot the several villages that they had in sight,
went to their respective quarters with their men.
24. Here Polycrates, an Athenian captain, requested leave
of absence, and, taking with him the most active of his men,
and hastening to the village which Xenophon had been allot-
ted, surprised all the villagers, and their head man, in their
houses, together with seventeen¹ colts that were bred as a
tribute for the king, and the head man's daughter, who had
been but nine days married; her husband was gone out to
hunt hares, and was not found in any of the villages. 25.
Their houses were under ground, the entrance like the mouth
of a well, but spacious below; there were passages dug into
them for the cattle, but the people descended by ladders. In
the houses were goats, sheep, cows, and fowls, with their
young; all the cattle were kept on fodder within the walls.¹
26. There was also wheat, barley, leguminous vegetables, and
That this number is corrupt is justly suspected by Weiske, and
shown at some length by Krüger de Authent. p. 47. Bornemann,
in his preface, p. xxiv., proposes iπтà кai KaTòv, a hundred and
seven. Strabo, xi. 14, says that the satrap of Armenia used to send
annually to the king of Persia twenty thousand horses. Kühner.
Krüger, 1. c., suggests that Xenophon may have written two hun-
dred, instead of IZ', seventeen. In sect. 35 we find Xenophon taking
some of these horses himself, and giving one to each of the other
generals and captains; so that the number must have been con-
siderable.
2 "This description of a village on the Armenian uplands applies
itself to many that I visited in the present day. The descent by
wells is now rare, but is still to be met with; but in exposed and
elevated situations, the houses are uniformly semi-subterraneous,
and entered by as small an aperture as possible, to prevent the cold
getting in. Whatever is the kind of cottage used, cows, sheep, goats,
and fowls participate with the family in the warmth and protection
thereof." Ainsw. Travels, p. 178.
ca. 5.]
THE GREEKS ENTERTAINED.
129
barley-wine,' in large bowls; the grains of barley floated in
it even with the brims of the vessels, and recds also lay in it,
some larger and some smaller, without joints; 27. and these,
when any one was thirsty, he was to take in his mouth, and
suck.2 The liquor was very strong, unless one mixed water
with it, and a very pleasant drink to those accustomed to it.
28. Xenophon made the chief man of his village sup with
him, and told him to be of good courage, assuring him that
he should not be deprived of his children, and that they would
not go away without filling his house with provisions in re-
turn for what they took, if he would but prove himself the
author of some service to the army till they should reach
another tribe. 29. This he promised, and, to show his good-
will, pointed out where some wine 3 was buried. This
night, therefore, the soldiers rested in their several quarters
in the midst of great abundance, setting a guard over the
chief, and keeping his children at the same time under their
eyc. 30. The following day Xenophon took the head man
and went with him to Cheirisophus, and wherever he passed
by a village, he turned aside to visit those who were quarter-
ed in it, and found them in all parts feasting and enjoying
themselves; nor would they anywhere let them go till they
had set refreshments before them; 31. and they placed every-
where upon the same table lamb, kid, pork, veal, and fowl,
with plenty of bread both of wheat and barley. 32. When-
ever any person, to pay a compliment, wished to drink to
another, he took him to the large bowl, where he had to stoop
down and drink, sucking like an ox. The chief they allowed
to take whatever he pleased, but he accepted nothing from
them; where he found any of his relatives, however, he took
them with him.
1
Oivos кpídivos.] Something like our beer. See Diod. Sic. i.
20, 34; iv. 2; Athenæus i. 14; Herod. ii. 77; Tacit. Germ. c. 23.
The barley-wine I never met with." Ainsw p. 178.
2 The reeds were used, says Krüger, that none of the grains of
barley might be taken into the mouth.
Xenophon seems to mean grape-wine, rather than to refer to the
barley-wine just before mentioned, of which the taste does not
appear to have been much liked by the Greeks. Wine from
grapes was not made, it is probable, in these parts, on account o
the cold, but Strabo speaks of the oivos Movapirns of Armenia Mi
nor as not inferior to any of the Greek wines. Schneider
VOL. J.
K
130
33.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
1
[B. IV.
When they came to Cheirisophus, they found his men
also feasting in their quarters, crowned with wreaths made
of hay, and Armenian boys, in their Barbarian dresses, wait-
ing upon them, to whom they made signs what they were to
do as if they had been deaf and dumb. 34. When Cheiriso-
phus and Xenophon had saluted one another, they both asked
the chief man, through the interpreter who spoke the Persian
language, what country it was. He replied that it was Ar-
menia. They then asked him for whom the horses were bred;
and he said that they were a tribute for the king, and added
that the neighbouring country was that of the Chalybes, and
told them in what direction the road lay. 35. Xenophon then
went away, conducting the chief back to his family, giving
him the horse that he had taken, which was rather old, to fat-
ten and offer in sacrifice, (for he had heard that it had been
consecrated to the sun,) being afraid, indeed, that it might
die, as it had been injured by the journey. He then took some
of the young horses, and gave one of them to each of the other
generals and captains. 36. The horses in this country were
smaller than those of Persia, but far more spirited. The chief
instructed the men to tie little bags round the feet of the
horses, and other cattle, when they drove them through the
snow, for without such bags they sunk up to their bellies.
5
CHAPTER VI.
The Greeks leave the villages under conduct of a guide, who, on being
struck by Cheirisophus, deserts them. After wandering through the
country for seven days, they arrive at the Phasis, and in two days more
at some mountains occupied by the Phasiani, Taochi, and Chalybes, whom,
by skilful manoeuvring, they dislodge.
1. WHEN the eighth day was come, Xenophon committed
the guide to Cheirisophus. He left the chief² all the members
1 Ekηvouvras.] Convivantes, epulantes. Comp. v. 3. 9; vii. 3. 15.
Kühner. Having no flowers or green herbs to make chaplets, which
the Greeks wore at feasts, they used hay.
This is rather oddly expressed; for the guide and the chief
were the same person.
CII. 6.]
ARRIVE AT THE PIASIS.
131
of his family, except his son, a youth just coming to mature
age; him he gave in charge to Episthenes of Amphipolis, in
order that if the father should conduct them properly, he
might return home with him. At the same time they carried
to his house as many provisions as they could, and then broke
up their camp, and resumed their march. 2. The chief con-
ducted them through the snow, walking at liberty. When he
came to the end of the third day's march, Cheirisophus was
angry at him for not guiding them to some villages. He said
that there were none in that part of the country. Cheiriso-
phus then struck him, but did not confine him; 3. and in con-
sequence he ran off in the night, leaving his son behind him.
This affair, the ill-treatment and neglect of the guide,
was the only cause of dissension between Cheirisophus and
Xenophon during the march. Episthenes conceived an affec-
tion for the youth, and, taking him home, found him extremely
attached to him.
4. After this occurrence they proceeded seven days' journey,
five parasangs each day, till they came to the river Phasis,
the breadth of which is a plethrum. 3. Hence they advanced
two days' journey, ten parasangs; when, on the pass that led
over the mountains into the plain, the Chalybes, Taochi, and
Phasians were drawn up to oppose their progress.
6. Chei-
risophus, seeing these enemies in possession of the height,
came to a halt, at the distance of about thirty stadia, that he
might not approach them while leading the army in a column.
He accordingly ordered the other officers to bring up their
companies, that the whole force might be formed in line.2
7. When the rear-guard was come up, he called together
the generals and captains, and spoke to them as follows:
"The enemy, as you see, are in possession of the pass over
the mountains; and it is proper for us to consider how we
may encounter them to the best advantage.
s. It is my
opinion, therefore, that we should direct the troops to get
their dinner, and that we ourselves should hold a council, in
1 Not the Colchian Phasis, which flows into the Euxine, but a
river of Armenia ('Apáns, now Aras) which runs into the Caspian.
See Ainsworth, Travels, p. 179, 247. However Xenophon himself
seems to have confounded this Phasis with that of Colchis. See
Rennell, p. 230. Kühner.
• Ἐπὶ φάλαγγος.] See on iv. 3. 26.
F 2
132
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
[B. IV.
the mean time, whether it is advisable to cross the mountain
to-day or to-morrow." 9. "It seems best to me," exclaimed
Cleanor, “to march at once, as soon as we have dined and
resumed our arms, against the enemy; for if we waste the
present day in inaction, the enemy who are now looking
down upon us will grow bolder, and it is likely that, as
their confidence is increased, others will join them in greater
numbers."
10. After him Xenophon said, "I am of opinion, that if
it is necessary to fight, we ought to make our arrangements
so as to fight with the greatest advantage; but that, if we
propose to pass the mountains as easily as possible, we ought
to consider how we may incur the fewest wounds and lose the
fewest men. 11. The range of hills, as far as we see, extends
more than sixty stadia in length; but the people nowhere
seem to be watching us except along the line of road; and it is
therefore better, I think, to endeavour to try to seize unobserved
some part of the unguarded range, and to get possession of
it, if we can, beforehand, than to attack a strong post and
men prepared to resist us. 12. For it is far less difficult to
march up a steep ascent without fighting than along a level
road with enemies on each side; and, in the night, if men
are not obliged to fight, they can see better what is before
them than by day if engaged with enemies; while a rough
road is easier to the feet to those who are marching without
molestation than a smooth one to those who are pelted on the
head with missiles. 13. Nor do I think it at all impracticable
for us to steal a way for ourselves, as we can march by night,
so as not to be seen, and can keep at such a distance from
the enemy as to allow no possibility of being heard. We
seem likely, too, in my opinion, if we make a pretended
attack on this point, to find the rest of the range still less
guarded; for the enemy will so much the more probably
stay where they are. 14. But why should I speak doubtfully
about stealing? For I hear that you Lacedæmonians, O
Cheirisophus, such of you at least as are of the better
class, practise stealing from your boyhood, and it is not a
1
1 Τῶν ὁμοίων.] The ὅμοιοι at Sparta were all those who had an
equal right to participate in the honours or offices of the state;
qui pari inter se jure gaudebant, quibus honores omnes æqualiter patebant.
Cragius de Rep. Lac. i. 10, cited by Sturz in his Lex. Xenoph
CH. 6.]
ENEMIES TO BE DISLODGED.
133
disgrace, but an honour, to steal whatever the law does not
forbid; 15. while, in order that you may steal with the utmost
dexterity, and strive to escape discovery, it is appointed by
law that, if you are caught stealing, you are scourged. It is
now high time for you, therefore, to give proof of your
education, and to take care that we may not receive many
stripes." 16. "But I hear that you Athenians also," rejoined
Cheirisophus, "are very clever at stealing the public money,
though great danger threatens him that steals it; and that
your best men steal it most, if indeed your best men are
thought worthy to be your magistrates; so that it is time for
you likewise to give proof of your education." 17. "I am then
ready," exclaimed Xenophon, "to march with the rear-guard,
as soon as we have supped, to take possession of the hills. I
have guides too; for our light-armed men captured some of
the marauders following us by lying in ambush; and from
them I learn that the mountains are not impassable, but are
grazed over by goats and oxen, so that if we once gain
possession of any part of the range, there will be tracks also
for our baggage-cattle. 18. I expect also that the enemy will
no longer keep their ground, when they see us upon a level
with them on the heights, for they will not now come down
to be upon a level with us. 19. Cheirisophus then said,
"But why should you go, and leave the charge of the rear?
Rather send others, unless some volunteers present themselves."
20. Upon this Aristonymus of Methydria came forward with
his heavy-armed men, and Aristeas of Chios and Nicomachus
of Eta with their light-armed; and they made an arrange-
ment, that as soon as they should reach the top, they should
light a number of fires. 21. Having settled these points, they
went to dinner; and after dinner Cheirisophus led forward
the whole army ten stadia towards the enemy, that he might
appear to be fully resolved to march against them on that
quarter.
1
22. When they had taken their supper, and night came on,
See Xenophon De Rep. Lac. 13. 1 and 7; Aristot. Polit. 5. 7. 3,
"A similar designation to that of opório in the Cyropædia.
Schneider. See Hellen. iii. 3. 5.
A native of the country about Mount Eta in Thessaly. There
was also however a town of that name in the south of Thessaly:
Thucyd. iii. 92.
134
[B. IV.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
those appointed for the service went forward and got posses-
sion of the hills; the other troops rested where they were.
The enemy, when they saw the heights occupied, kept watch
and burned a number of fires all night. 23. As soon as it
was day, Cheirisophus, after having offered sacrifice, marched
forward along the road; while those who had gained the
heights advanced by the ridge. 24. Most of the enemy,
meanwhile, stayed at the pass, but a part went to meet the
troops coming along the heights. But before the main bodies
came together, those on the ridge closed with one another,
and the Greeks had the advantage, and put the enemy to
flight. 25. At the same time the Grecian peltasts ran up
from the plain to attack the enemy drawn up to receive them,
and Cheirisophus followed at a quick pace with the heavy-
armed men. 26. The enemy at the pass, however, when they
saw those above defeated, took to flight. Not many of them
were killed, but a great number of shields were taken, which
the Greeks, by hacking them with their swords, rendered
useless. 27. As soon as they had gained the ascent, and had
sacrificed and erected a trophy, they went down into the plain
before them, and arrived at a number of villages stored with
abundance of excellent provisions.
CHAPTER VII.
The Greeks, entering the country of the Taochi, storm a fort, capturing a
great number of cattle, on which they subsist while traversing the region
of the Chalybes. They cross the Harpasus, and, marching through the
territory of the Scythini, arrive at a town called Gymnias, whence they
are conducted to Mount Theches, from the top of which they sec the
Euxine.
1. FROM hence they marched five days' journey, thirty
parasangs, to the country of the Taochi, where provisions
began to fail them; for the Taochi inhabited strong fastnesses,
in which they had laid up all their supplies. 2. Having at
length, however, arrived at one place which had no city or
houses attached to it, but in which men and women and a
great number of cattle were assembled, Cheirisophus, as
soon as he came before it, made it the object of an attack;
CH. 7.]
FORT OF THE TAOCHI STORMED.
135
and when the first division that assailed it began to be tired,
another succeeded, and then another; for it was not possible
for them to surround it in a body, as there was a river about
it. 3. When Xenophon came up with his rear-guard, peltasts,
and heavy-armed men, Cheirisophus exclaimed, “You come
seasonably, for we must take this place, as there are no pro-
visions for the army, unless we take it.'
4. They then deliberated together, and Xenophon asking
what hindered them from taking the place, Cheirisophus
replied, "The only approach to it is the one which you see;
but when any of our men attempt to pass along it, the enemy
roll down stones over yonder impending rock, and whoever
is struck, is treated as you behold;" and he pointed, at the
same moment, to some of the men who had had their legs and
ribs broken. 5. "But if they expend all their stones," re-
joined Xenophon, "is there anything else to prevent us from
advancing? For we see, in front of us, only a few men, and
but two or three of them armed. 6. The space, too, through
which we have to pass under exposure to the stones, is, as you
see, only about a hundred and fifty feet in length; and of
this about a hundred feet is covered with large pine trees in
groups, against which if the men place themselves, what
would they suffer either from the flying stones or the rolling
ones? The remaining part of the space is not above fifty
feet, over which, when the stones cease, we must pass at a
running pace." 7. "But," said Cheirisophus, "the instant
we offer to go to the part covered with trees, the stones fly in
great numbers." "That," cried Xenophon, "would be the
very thing we want, for thus they will exhaust their stones
the sooner. Let us then advance, if we can, to the point
whence we shall have but a short way to run, and from which
we may, if we please, easily retreat."
8. Cheirisophus and Xenophon, with Callimachus of Par-
rhasia, one of the captains, who had that day the lead of all
the other captains of the rear-guard, then went forward, all
the rest of the captains remaining out of danger. Next, about
seventy of the men advanced under the trees, not in a body,
but one by one, each sheltering himself as he could. 9. Aga-
sias of Stymphalus, and Aristonymus of Methydria, who
were also captains of the rear-guard, with some others, were
at the same time standing behind, without the trees, for it was
136
[B. IV.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
not safe for more than one company to stand under them.
10. Callimachus then adopted the following stratagem: he ran
forward two or three paces from the tree under which he was
sheltered, and when the stones began to be hurled, hastily
drew back; and at each of his sallies more than ten cart-
loads of stones were spent. 11. Agasias, observing what Cal-
limachus was doing, and that the eyes of the whole army
were upon him, and fearing that he himself might not be the
first to enter the place, began to advance alone, (neither call-
ing to Aristonymus who was next him, nor to Eurylochus of
Lusia, both of whom were his intimate friends, nor to any other
person,) and passed by all the rest. 12. Callimachus, seeing him
rushing by, caught hold of the rim of his shield, and at that
moment Aristonymus of Methydria ran past them both, and
after him Eurylochus of Lusia, for all these sought distinction
for valour, and were rivals to one another; and thus, in
mutual emulation, they got possession of the place, for when
they had once rushed in, not a stone was hurled from above.
13. But a dreadful spectacle was then to be seen; for the
women, flinging their children over the precipice, threw them-
selves after them; and the men followed their example.
Eneas of Stymphalus, a captain, seeing one of them, who had
on a rich garment, running to throw himself over, caught hold
of it with intent to stop him. 14. But the man dragged him
forward, and they both went rolling down the rocks together,
and were killed. Thus very few prisoners were taken, but
a great number of oxen, asses, and sheep.
15. Hence they advanced, seven days' journey, a distance
of fifty parasangs, through the country of the Chalybes.
These were the most warlike people of all that they passed
through, and came to close combat with them. They had
linen cuirasses, reaching down to the groin, and, instead of
skirts, thick cords twisted. 16. They had also greaves and
helmets, and at their girdles a short faulchion, as large as a
Spartan crooked dagger, with which they cut the throats of
all whom they could master, and then, cutting off their heads,
carried them away with them. They sang and danced when
the enemy were likely to see them. They carried also a spear
‹f about fifteen cubits in length, having one spike.2 17. They
· Αντὶ τῶν πτερύγων.] That this is the true sense of this word
appears from Xen. de Ke Equest. 12. 4.
Having one iron point at the upper end, as in v. 4. 12, and no
point at the lower for fixing the spear in the ground. Schneider.
CII. 7.] THE GREEKS IN SIGHT OF THE SEA.
137
stayed in their villages till the Greeks had passed by, when
they pursued and perpetually harassed them. They had
their dwellings in strong places, in which they had also laid
up their provisions, so that the Greeks could get nothing
from that country, but lived upon the cattle which they taken
from the Taochi.
18. The Greeks next arrived at the river Harpasus, the
breadth of which was four plethra. Hence they proceeded
through the territory of the Scythini, four days' journey,
making twenty parasangs, over a level tract, until they came
to some villages, in which they halted three days, and collect-
ed provisions. 19. From this place they advanced four days'
journey, twenty parasangs, to a large, rich, and populous city,
called Gymnias, from which the governor of the country sent
the Greeks a guide, to conduct them through a region at war
with his own people. 20. The guide, when he came, said that
he would take them in five days to a place whence they should
see the sea ; if not, he would consent to be put to death. When,
as he proceeded, he entered the country of their enemies, he
exhorted them to burn and lay waste the lands; whence it was
evident that he had come for this very purpose, and not from
any good will to the Greeks. 21. On the fifth day they came
to the mountain; and the name of it was Theches. When
the men who were in the front had mounted the height, and
looked down upon the sea, a great shout proceeded from them;
22. and Xenophon and the rear-guard, on hearing it, thought
that some new enemies were assailing the front, for in the
rear, too, the people from the country that they had burnt
were following them, and the rear-guard, by placing an am-
buscade, had killed some, and taken others prisoners, and had
captured about twenty shields made of raw ox-hides with the
hair on. 23. But as the noise still increased, and drew nearer,
and as those who came up from time to time kept running at
full speed to join those who were continually shouting, the
cries becoming louder as the men became more numerous, it
1 The word iɛpóv, which precedes opos in the older editions, is er
closed in brackets, as being probably spurious, by most of the mo-
dern editors, and actually ejected by Dindorf. Yet something seems
to be wanting in connexion with ooog, for the guide (sect. 20) says
merely that he will bring them to a xwpiov, and on the fifth day
after it is said that they come to the mountain.
138
[B. IV.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
appeared to Xenophon that it must be something of very great.
moment. 24. Mounting his horse, therefore, and taking with
him Lycius and the cavalry, he hastened forward to give aid,
when presently they heard the soldiers shouting, "The sea,
the sea!" and cheering on one another. They then all began
to run, the rear-guard as well as the rest, and the baggage-
cattle and horses were put to their speed; 25. and when they
had all arrived at the top, the men embraced one another, and
their generals and captains, with tears in their eyes. Sud-
denly, whoever it was that suggested it, the soldiers brought
stones, and raised a large mound, 26. on which they laid a
number of raw ox-hides,' staves, and shields taken from the
enemy. The shields the guide himself hacked in pieces,2
and exhorted the rest to do the same. 27. Soon after, the
Greeks sent away the guide, giving him presents from the
common stock, a horse, a silver cup, a Persian robe, and ten
darics; but he showed most desire for the rings on their
fingers, and obtained many of them from the soldiers. Having
then pointed out to them a village where they might take up
their quarters, and the road by which they were to proceed
to the Macrones, when the evening came on he departed, pur-
suing his way during the night.
3
CHAPTER VIII.
The Greeks proceed unmolested through the country of the Macrones, and
enter Colchis. Putting to flight the Colchians who obstructed their pass-
age, they arrive at Trebisond, a Greek city, where they perform whatever
Tows they had made, and celebrate games.
1. HENCE the Greeks advanced three days' journey, a dis-
tance of ten parasangs, through the country of the Macrones.
On the first day they came to a river which divides the terri-
tories of the Macrones from those of the Scythini. 2. On
They appear to be the hides of oxen offered up as a sort of sa-
crifice to the gods. Balfour.
2 In order, says Krüger, to render them useless, so that they
might not be carried off by any of the neighbouring people.
3 i. 1. 9.
CII. 8.]
TRUCE WITH THE MACRONES.
139
their right they had an eminence extremely difficult of access,
and on their left another river, into which the boundary
river, which they had to cross, empties itself. This stream
was thickly edged with trees, not indeed large, but growing
closely together. These the Greeks, as soon as they came to
the spot, cut down,2 being in haste to get out of the country
as soon as possible. 3. The Macrones, however, equipped
with wicker shields, and spears, and hair tunics, were drawn
up on the opposite side of the crossing-place; they were ani-
mating one another, and throwing stones into the river.3
They did not hit our men, or cause them any inconvenience.
66
""
4. At this juncture one of the peltasts came up to Xeno-
phon, saying that he had been a slave at Athens, and adding
that he knew the language of these men. "I think, indeed,'
said he, "that this is my country, and, if there is nothing to
prevent, I should wish to speak to the people." 5.
"There is
nothing to prevent," replied Xenophon ; so speak to them,
and first ascertain what people they are." When he asked
them, they said that they were the Macrones. Inquire,
then," said Xenophon, "why they are drawn up to oppose us,
and wish to be our enemies." 6. They replied, "Because
you come against our country." The generals then told him
to acquaint them that we were not come with any wish to do
them injury, but that we were returning to Greece after hav-
ing been engaged in war with the king, and that we were
desirous to reach the sea. 7. They asked if the Greeks would
give pledges to this effect; and the Greeks replied that they
were willing both to give and receive them. The Macrones
accordingly presented the Greeks with a Barbarian lance,
and the Greeks gave them a Grecian one; for they said that
such were their usual pledges. Both parties called the gods
to witness.
8. After these mutual assurances, the Macrones immediate-
ly assisted them in cutting away the trees, and made a passage
A stream running into the Tchórúk-sú, according to Ainsworth,
Travels, p. 189.
2 The Greeks cut down the trees in order to throw them into
the stream, and form a kind of bridge on which they might cross.
Schneider.
3 They threw stones into the river that they might stand on them,
and approach nearer to the Greeks, so as to use their weapons with
more effect. Bornemann.
140
[B. IV
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
2
for them, as if to bring them over, mingling freely among the
Greeks; they also gave such facilities as they could for buying
provisions, and conducted them through their country for three
days, until they brought them to the confines of the Colchians.
9. Here was a range of hills,' high, but accessible, and upon
them the Colchians were drawn up in array. The Greeks, at
first, drew up against them in a line, with the intention of
marching up the hill in this disposition; but afterwards the
generals thought proper to assemble and deliberate how they
might engage with the best effect.
10. Xenophon then said
it appeared to him that they ought to relinquish the arrange-
ment in line, and to dispose the troops in columns ;3
" for a
line," pursued he, "will be broken at once, as we shall find
the hills in some parts impassable, though in others easy of
access; and this disruption will immediately produce despond-
ency in the men, when, after being ranged in a regular line, they
find it dispersed. 11. Again, if we advance drawn up very many
deep, the enemy will stretch beyond us on both sides, and will
employ the parts that outreach us in any way they may think
proper; and if we advance only a few deep, it would not be
at all surprising if our line be broken through by showers of
missiles and men falling upon us in large bodies. If this
happen in any part, it will be ill for the whole extent of the
line. 12. I think, then, that having formed our companies in
columns, we should keep them so far apart from each other as
that the last companies on each side may be beyond the
enemy's wings. Thus our extreme companies will both
outflank the line of the enemy, and, as we march in file, the
bravest of our men will close with the enemy first, and wher-
ever the ascent is easiest, there each division will direct its
course. 13. Nor will it be easy for the enemy to penetrate
into the intervening spaces, when there are companies on each
side, nor will it be easy to break through a column as it ad-
vances; while, if any one of the companies be hard pressed,
the neighbouring one will support it; and if but one of the
companies can by any path attain the summit, the enemy will
no longer stand their ground." 14. This plan was approved,
and they threw the companies into columns. Xenophon,
¹ Kárá Kapán, or Kóhát Tágh, according to Ainsw. p. 190.
¹· Karà páλayya.] See on iv. 3. 26.
3 Aoxovc opious.] See on iv. 2. 11.
CII. 8.] THE COLCHIANS: INTOXICATING HONEY.
141
riding along from the right wing to the left, said, "Soldiers,
the enemy whom you see before you, are now the only ob-
stacle to hinder us from being where we have long been eager
to be. These, if we can, we must eat up alive.” 1
2
15. When the men were all in their places, and they had
formed the companies into columns, there were about eighty
companies of heavy-armed men, and each company consisted of
about eighty men. The peltasts and archers they divided into
three bodies, each about six hundred men, one of which they
placed beyond the left wing, another beyond the right, and
the third in the centre. 16. The generals then desired the
soldiers to make their vows to the gods; and having made
them, and sung the pean, they moved forward. Cheirisophus
and Xenophon, and the peltasts that they had with them, who
were beyond the enemy's flanks, pushed on; 17. and the ene-
my, observing their motions, and hurrying forward to receive
them, were drawn off, some to the right and others to the left,
and left a great void in the centre of their line; 18. when the
peltasts in the Arcadian division, whom Æschines the Acar-
nanian commanded, seeing them separate, ran forward in all
haste, thinking that they were taking to flight; and these were
the first that reached the summit. The Arcadian heavy-
armed troop, of which Cleanor the Orchomenian was captain,
followed them. 19. But the enemy, when once the Greeks
began to run, no longer stood their ground, but went off in
flight, some one way and some another.
Having passed the summit, the Greeks encamped in a num-
ber of villages containing abundance of provisions. 20. As
to other things here, there was nothing at which they were
surprised; but the number of bee-hives was extraordinary,
and all the soldiers that ate of the combs, lost their senses,
vomited, and were affected with purging, and none of them
were able to stand upright; such as had eaten only a little were
like men greatly intoxicated, and such as had eaten much were
like mad-men, and some like persons at the point of death.
21. They lay upon the ground, in consequence, in great num-
bers, as if there had been a defeat; and there was general de-
Ωμοὺς—κατάφαγεῖν.] "Eat up raw," without waiting to cook
them; a metaphorical expression for to extirpate utterly and at once,
taken from Homer, Il. v. 35 : Ωμὸν βεβρώθοις Πρίαμον Πρίαμοιό τε
παιδας.
•
2 See the payment of these vows in sect. 25.
142
[B. IV.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
jection. The next day no one of them was found dead; and
they recovered their senses about the same hour that they had
lost them on the preceding day; and on the third and fourth
days they got up as if after having taken physic.'
22. From hence they proceeded two days' march, seven
parasangs, and arrived at Trebisond, a Greek city, of large
population, on the Euxine Sea; a colony of Sinope, but lying
in the territory of the Colchians. Here they stayed about
thirty days, encamping in the villages of the Colchians, 23.
whence they made excursions and plundered the country of
Colchis. The people of Trebisond provided a market for
the Greeks in the camp, and entertained them in the city;
and made them presents of oxen, barley-meal, and wine.
They negotiated with them also on behalf of the neighbour-
ing Colchians, those especially who dwelt in the plain, and
from them too were brought presents of oxen.
24.
25. Soon after, they prepared to perform the sacrifice which
they had vowed. Oxen enough had been brought them to
offer to Jupiter the Preserver, and to Hercules, for their safe
conduct, and whatever they had vowed to the other gods.
They also celebrated gymnastic games upon the hill where
they were encamped, and chose Dracontius a Spartan, (who
had become an exile from his country when quite a boy, for
having involuntarily killed a child by striking him with a
dagger,) to prepare the course and preside at the contests.
26. When the sacrifice was ended, they gave the hides² to
¹ That there was honey in these parts with intoxicating qualities,
was well known to antiquity. Pliny, H. N. xxi. 44, mentions two
sorts of it, one produced at Heraclea in Pontus, and the other
among the Sanni or Macrones. The peculiarities of the honey
arose from the herbs to which the bees resorted; the first came from
the flower of a plant called ægolethron, or goats'-bane; the other
from a species of rhododendron. Tournefort, when he was in that
country, saw honey of this description. See Ainsworth, Travels in
the Track, p. 190, who found that the intoxicating honey had a bit-
ter taste. See also Rennell, p. 253. "This honey is also mentioned
by Dioscorides, ii. 103; Strabo, xii. p. 826; Ælian, H. A. v. 42;
Procopius, B. Goth. iv. 2." Schneider.
2 Lion and Kühner have a notion that these skins were to be
given as prizes to the victors, referring to Herod. ii. 91, where it is
said that the Egyptians, in certain games which they celebrate in
honour of Perseus, offer as prizes cattle, cloaks, and dépμara, hides.
Krüger doubts whether they were intended for prizes, or were given
as a present to Dracontius.
B. V. CII. 1.]
VOWS PAID : GAMES.
1
143
Dracontius, and desired him to conduct them to the place where
he had made the course. Dracontius, pointing to the place where
they were standing, said, "This hill is an excellent place for
running, in whatever direction the men may wish."
"But
how will they be able," said they, "to wrestle on ground so
rough and bushy?" "He that falls," said he, "will suffer the
more."
27. Boys, most of them from among the prisoners,
contended in the short course, and in the long course¹ above
sixty Cretans ran; while others were matched in wrestling,
boxing, and the pancratium. It was a fine sight; for many
entered the lists, and as their friends were spectators, there
was great emulation. 28. Horses also ran; and they had to
gallop down the steep, and, turning round in the sea, to come
up again to the altar.² In the descent, many rolled down;
but in the ascent, against the exceedingly steep ground, the
horses could scarcely get up at a walking pace. There was
consequently great shouting, and laughter, and cheering from
the people.
BOOK V.
CHAPTER I.
Cheirisophus goes to Anaxibius, the Spartan admiral, to obtain ships for
the Greeks. Xenophon, meanwhile, attends to other matters, and devises
another plan for procuring vessels, if Cheirisophus should fail in his mis-
sion, and causing the roads to be repaired, in case the army should be
obliged to proceed by land. Treachery of Dexippus, and efficient exertions
of Polycrates.
1. WHAT the Greeks did in their march up the country
with Cyrus, and what they underwent in their journey to the
Euxine Sea; how they arrived at the Greek city of Trebi-
sond, and how they offered the sacrifices which they had vowed
to offer for their safety as soon as they should reach a friendly
country, has been related in the preceding part of this narrative.
¹ Eradiov――dóλixov.] The stadion, or short course, was six ple-
thra, or 600 Greek feet, equal to 606 feet English; the dóλyog, or
long course, was six or more stadia, even up to twenty-four. Hussey,
Append. ix. sect. 11.
1 Σταδιον
41.
The altar, apparently, at which they had been sacrificing.
144
[B. V,
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
2. They now assembled to hold a council concerning the
remainder of their journey; and Antileon, a native of Thurii,
stood up first, and spoke thus: "For my part, my friends, I
am now quite exhausted with packing up my baggage, walk-
ing, running, carrying my arms, marching in order, mount-
ing guard, and fighting, and should wish, since we have come
to the sea, to rest from such toils, and to sail the remainder of
the way; and to arrive at Greece, like Ulysses, stretched out
asleep "1
3. The soldiers, on hearing these remarks, cried
out that he spoke well; and then another, and afterwards all
the rest, expressed the same feelings. Cheirisophus then
rose, and spoke as follows: 4. "Anaxibius 2 is a friend of mine,
and is now admiral. If, therefore, you will commission me to
go to him, I have no doubt that I shall return with galleys
and transport-vessels to carry you. And as you wish to sail,
stay here till I come back; for I shall come very soon." When
the soldiers heard this offer, they were delighted, and voted
that he should set sail with all speed.
5. After him Xenophon stood up, and spoke to the follow-
ing effect: "Cheirisophus is going to fetch ships, and we
shall remain here; and I will now mention what I think it
proper for us to do during our stay. 6. In the first place,
we must get provisions from the enemy's country; for the
market here is not abundant enough to supply us, nor have
we, except some few, a sufficiency of means with which to
purchase. But the country around us is inhabited by ene-
mies; and there is danger, therefore, that many of you may
be killed, if you go out in quest of provisions heedlessly and
unguardedly. 7. It seems to me, then, that we ought to seek
1
-The winged galley flies;
Less swift an eagle cuts the liquid skies;
Divine Ulysses was her sacred load,
A man in wisdom equal to a god!
Much danger, long and mighty toils he bore,
In storms by sea, and combats on the shore:
All which soft sleep now banish'd from his breast,
Wrapt in a pleasing, soft, and death-like rest.
Ulysses sleeping on his couch they bore,
And gently placed him on the rocky shore.
He was then at Byzantium: see vii. 1. 3.
Pope, Odyss. xiii
CH. 1.]
SUGGESTIONS OF XENOPHON.
1
145
provisions in foraging-parties, and not to wander about at
random; so that you may preserve your lives; and that we,
the officers, should have the regulation of these proceedings."
These suggestions were approved. 8. "Attend also," he
said, "to the following hints. Some of you will go out
for plunder. I think it will be better, then, for any one that
intends to go out, to give us notice, and say in what direc-
tion, that we may know the number of those who go and of
those who stay at home, and may take part in their projects if
it should be necessary; and that, if it should be requisite to
send succour to any party, we may know whither to send it;
while if any of the less experienced make an attempt in any
quarter, we may aid his views by trying to learn the strength
of the enemy against whom he is going." To this proposal
assent was likewise given. 9. "Consider this too," added
he;
"the enemy have leisure to rob us; they meditate attacks
upon us, and with justice, for we are in possession of their
property. They are also posted above us; and it appears to
me, therefore, that sentinels should be placed round the camp,
so that, if, being divided into parties, we keep guard and
watch by turns, the enemy will be less in a condition to catch
us by surprise. 10. Take this also into consideration.
knew for certain that Cheirisophus would come with a suffi-
cient number of ships to transport us, there would be no occa-
sion for what I am going to say; but, since this is uncertain,
I think that we ought, in the mean time, to endeavour to pro-
vide ourselves with ships from hence; for, if he comes with
ships, and vessels are ready here, we shall sail in a greater
number of ships; and, if he brings none, we shall make use of
what we have procured here. 11. I observe vessels frequently
sailing past; and if therefore we should ask the people of
Trebisond for ships of war, and bring them in to the shore and
keep them under guard, unshipping their rudders till a suffi-
cient number be collected to carry us, we shall possibly not
fail of securing such conveyance as we require." This sugges-
tion was also approved. 12. "Reflect also," said he, "whether
it will not be proper to support the mariners whom we bring
into harbour from the common stock, as long as they may stay
If we
¹ Evv πрovoμaïs.] A military mode of expression, as it appears,
signifying instructo agmine pabulatum seu frumentatum exire. Kühner
Compare Cyrop. vi. 1. 24; Hellen. iv. 1. 16. Krüger.
VOL. J.
146
[B. V.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
13.
"It
on our account, and to make an agreement with them about
the passage-money, that by benefiting us they may also be
benefited themselves." To this they also agreed.
appears to me further," he continued, "that if our efforts are
not successful to procure vessels in sufficient number,¹ we
should enjoin the towns lying on the sea to repair the roads,
which, we hear, are scarcely passable; for they will obey
such an injunction both from fear and from a wish to be rid of
us."
14. At this point of his speech they cried out that there
must be no travelling by land.
Xenophon, seeing their want of consideration, did not put
that particular to the vote. But he afterwards prevailed on
the towns to mend the roads of their own accord, telling them
that if the roads were made passable, they would so much the
sooner be delivered from the Greeks. 15. They received also
a fifty-oared galley from the people of Trebisond, over which
they placed Dexippus, a Spartan, one of the perioci;2 who,
neglecting to get vessels together, went off with the galley
clear out of the Euxine. He however met with a just retribu-
tion some time after; for being in Thrace, at the court of
Seuthes, and engaging in some intrigue, he was killed by
Nicander a Lacedæmonian. 16. They received too a thirty-
oared galley, over which Polycrates an Athenian was ap-
pointed, who brought all the vessels that he could get to
the shore before the camp; and the Greeks, taking out their
cargoes, if they had any, set guards over them, that they
might be secure, and reserved the vessels for their passage.
17. While these affairs were going on, the soldiers were
making excursions for plunder; and some succeeded and
others not; but Cleænetus, as he was leading out his own
troop and another against some strong place, was killed, as
well as several of those that were with him.
1 "QσTε ȧρKεTV Tλoĩa.] "So that vessels may be sufficient (for us).”
2 IIεpiouкor.] The pericci were the free inhabitants of the towns
around Sparta; they were excluded from civil offices, and held a
middle place between the native Spartans (the oμoto of iv. 6. 14)
and the Neodamods and Helots. See Thucyd. viii. 22; Arnold's
Thucyd. i. 101; Valckenær. ad Herod. ix. 11.
cn. 2.] THE GREEKS ATTACK THE DRILÆ.
147
CHAPTER II.
To augment their stock of provisions, Xenophon undertakes a foraging ex-
pedition against the Drile, who lay waste their fields, and shut themselve
up in their chief fort, which the Greeks take and burn to the ground.
1. WHEN it was no longer possible for the foragers to get
provisions, so as to return the same day to the camp, Xeno-
phon, taking some of the people of Trebisond as guides, led
out half the army against the Drila, leaving the other half to
guard the camp; for the Colchians, having been driven from
their homes, were collected in large numbers, and had posted
themselves on the heights. 2. The guides from Trebisond,
however, did not conduct them to places whence it was easy
to get provisions, for the inhabitants of those parts were their
friends, but led them with great eagerness into the territories
of the Drilæ, from whom they had received injuries, into
mountainous and difficult tracts, and against the most warlike
of all the people on the shores of the Pontus Euxinus.
3. When the Greeks had got up into their country, the
Drilæ retreated, having first set fire to such of their places as
seemed easy to be taken; and there was nothing for the
Greeks to capture but swine, or oxen, or any other cattle that
had escaped the fire. But there was one place that consti-
tuted their metropolis; and to this they had all flocked.
Around it there was an extremely deep ravine, and the ways
of access to the place were difficult. 4. However the peltasts,
having outstripped the heavy-armed men by five or six stadia,
crossed the ravine, and getting sight of a great deal of cattle
and other booty, made an attack upon the place; and many
spear-men,¹ who had gone out for plunder, followed close upon
them; so that the number of those who crossed the ravine
amounted to more than two thousand. 5. As they found
themselves unable to take the place by assault, (for there was
a broad trench round it, the earth from which had been thrown
up as a rampart, and upon the rampart were palisades, and a
number of wooden towers erected,) they attempted to retire,
but the enemy pressed hard upon them; 6. and as they could
Aopupópot.] No particular class of troops is meant, but merely
such of the foragers as had armed themselves with spears, either for
defence, or to assist them in bringing home what they took.
1
L 2
148
B. V.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
7.
not effect a retreat, (for the descent from the place to the ravine
would allow only one to pass at a time,) they sent for aid to
Xenophon, who was at the head of the heavy-armed men.
The messenger said, that the place was stored with abundance
of things; "but," said he, "we are unable to take it, for it is
strong; nor is it easy for us to retreat, for the enemy
sally forth and assail our rear, and the way from it is dif-
ficult."
8. Xenophon, on hearing this account, brought up the
heavy-armed to the ravine, and ordered them to halt there
under arms, while he himself, crossing over with the captains,
deliberated whether it would be better to bring off those that
had already gone over, or to lead over the heavy-armed also,
in the hope that the place might be taken; 9. for it seemed
impossible to bring off the first party without the loss of many
lives, and the captains were of opinion that they might take
the place. Xenophon accordingly yielded to their judgment,
placing some reliance, at the same time, on the sacrifices; for
the augurs had signified that there would be an action, and
that the result of the excursion would be favourable.
10. He
therefore despatched the captains to bring over the heavy-
armed men, while he himself remained where he was, keeping
back the peltasts, and allowing none of them to skirmish with
the enemy.
11. When the heavy-armed troops came up, he
ordered each of the captains to form his company in such a
manner as he might think most advantageous for fighting;
for those captains, who were perpetually contending with one
another in gallantry, were now standing close to each other.
12. They executed his orders; and he then directed all the
peltasts to advance holding their javelins by the thong,' as it
would be necessary to hurl whenever he should give the
signal, and the archers having their arrows resting on the
string, as, whenever he gave the signal, they would have to
shoot; he ordered the skirmishers2 also to have their bags full
of stones, and commissioned proper persons to see these orders
executed. 13. When everything was ready, and the captains
1
* See on iv. 3. 28.
2 The уvμvñτau are here distinguished from the archers, although
уvμvñтaι is a general name for both archers, javelin-men, and
slingers. Compare iii. 4. 26. Kühner. The slingers are evidently
meant here.
CH. 2.]
ATTACK ON A FORT OF THE DRILE,
2
149
and lieutenants, and all those who thought themselves not
inferior to these, were in their places, and had a full view of
each other, (for the disposition of the troops, from the nature
of the ground, was in the form of a crescent,) the heavy-armed
men, 14. after they had sung the pæan and the trumpet had
sounded, raised the war-cry to Mars, and ran forward, while
the missiles, consisting of lances, arrows, balls from slings, and
numbers of stones flung from the land, were hurled among
the enemy; and some of the men, too, threw fire-brands at
the place. 15. By reason, therefore, of the multitude of these
missives, the enemy abandoned both the palisades and the
towers; so that Agasias of Stymphalus and Philoxenus of
Pellene, laying aside their armour, mounted the ramparts in
their tunics only; and then one drew up another, and others
mounted by themselves, and the place, as it appeared, was
taken. 16. The peltasts and light-armed men, accordingly,
rushed in and laid hands on whatever they could find; while
Xenophon, taking his stand at the gates, detained as many of
the heavy-armed as he could outside of them, for other bodies
of the enemy were showing themselves upon some strong posi-
tions among the hills. 17. After the lapse of a short interval
of time, a cry arose within, and the men came fleeing out,
some carrying what they had seized, and one or two perhaps
wounded; and there was great crowding about the gates.
Those who rushed out, being questioned as to the cause, said
that there was a citadel within, and a great number of the
enemy, who sallied forth and fell upon our men who were in
the place. 18. Xenophon then told Tolmides the crier to pro-
claim that whoever wished to get any plunder might go in ;
when many hastened to the entrance, and those who tried to
push their way in got the better of those that were hurrying
out, and shut up the enemy again within the citadel. 19. All
the parts without the citadel were then ravaged, and the
Greeks brought out the spoil; while the heavy-armed men
ranged themselves under arms, some round the palisading, and
some along the way leading to the citadel. 20. Xenophon
and the captains then deliberated whether it would be possible
to take the citadel, for, in that case, a safe retreat would be
Halbkart supposes, with much reason, that we must understand
the captains of fifty and twenty-five. See iii. 4, 21.
2 In order to climb with more agility.
150
[B. V.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
secured; otherwise it seemed a difficult matter to retire; and
it appeared to them, upon consideration, that the citadel was
altogether impregnable. 21. They accordingly began to pre-
pare for a retreat; each of the men pulled up the palisades
that were nearest to him; and the captains sent out of the
place the useless hands, and those who were loaded with
plunder, but retained those in whom they severally confided.2
1
22. When they commenced their retreat, numbers of the
enemy sallied forth upon them from within, armed with light
shields, spears, greaves, and Paphlagonian helmets,3 while
others climbed upon the houses that were on each side of the
road leading to the citadel, 23. so that it was not safe to
pursue them towards the gate leading thither, for they hurled
down large pieces of timber from above; and it was in con-
sequence dangerous either to remain or retreat; and the
night, which was coming on, increased their alarm. 24. But
while they were thus engaged and in perplexity, some god
gave them the means of saving themselves; for one of the
houses on the right suddenly burst out in flames, whoever it
was that set fire to it, and when it fell in, the enemy fled
from all the houses on the right; 25. when Xenophon, having
learned this expedient from fortune, gave orders to set fire to
all the houses on the left, which were of wood, and soon in a
blaze; and the enemy accordingly fled from these houses also.
26. Those who were directly over against them, however,
and those only, still continued to annoy them, and gave evident
signs of an intention to fall upon them in their egress and
descent. Xenophon in consequence ordered all who were out
of reach of the missiles to bring wood into the space between
them and the enemy; and when a considerable quantity was
collected, they set fire to it, setting fire at the same time to
the houses close to the palisading, in order that the enemy's at-
4
1 Tous ȧxpεíovs.] Whatever camp-followers there were, with the
wounded, and those that were laden with spoil.
2 They retained a trusty band, to cover the rear of the retreating
Greeks.
³ In ch. iv. sect. 13, these are said to be made of leather; by
Herodotus, vii. 72, they are called TETλEyμéva: whence Halbkart,
who refers to Homer, Il. x 258, concludes that these helmets were
formed of pieces of leather interwoven. Kühner.
4 Κατὰ τὸ στόμα.] Those in front of the assailants. Στόμα, το
ἔμπροσθεν μέρος τοῦ στρατοῦ. Suidas.
CH. 2.] RETURN FROM THE COUNTRY OF THE DRILÆ. 151
tention might be engaged about these proceedings. 27. Thus,
by interposing fire between themselves and the enemy, they
effected, though with difficulty, a retreat from the place.
The whole of the town, houses, towers, palisading, and every-
thing else except the citadel, was reduced to ashes.
28. The next day the Greeks marched away, carrying with
them the provisions that they had taken; but as they had
some fears with regard to the descent to Trebisond, (for it
was steep and narrow,) they placed a pretended ambuscade.
29. A certain man, a Mysian by birth, and bearing that name,¹
took ten² Cretans with him and waited in a woody place,
making it appear that he was endeavouring to conceal himself
from the enemy; while their shields, which were of brass,
glittered from time to time through the bushes. 30. The
enemy accordingly, observing these indications, were afraid
as of a real ambuscade; and in the mean time the army
effected its descent. When it appeared to the Mysian that
they were advanced far enough,3 he gave a signal for them
to flee with all speed, and he himself, and those that were with
him, started up and hurried off. 31. The others, the Cretans,
quitting the road, (for they said that they were gained upon in
the race,) threw themselves down among the wood into the
bushy hollows, and got off safe; 32. but the Mysian himself,
pursuing his flight along the road, was heard to call out for aid,
when some ran to his relief, and brought him off wounded. The
party who had rescued him then retreated step by step with
their face towards the enemy, being exposed to their missiles,
while some of the Cretans discharged their arrows in return.
Thus they all returned in safety to the camp.
4
He was a Mysus or Mysian by birth, and was called Mysus.
Krüger aptly refers to Lucian Τox. 28: οἰκέτης αὐτοῦ Σύρος καὶ
τοὔνομα καὶ τὴν πατρίδα.
Schneider has "four or five," which is found in some manuscripts.
Even ten seems to be but a small number.
3 I have here deserted Dindorf's punctuation, who puts a comma
before 7 Muo. Krüger and Kühner agree in putting the comma
after Μυσφ.
4 "Epacav.] Commentators have made needless difficulties about
this word. It is to be translated simply "they said;" i. c. they told
their fellow-soldiers when they returned.
152
| B. V.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
CHAPTER III.
Being unable, from want of provisions, to wait longer for Cheirisophus, the
Greeks despatch the camp-followers and baggage by sea, and proceed
themselves by land to Cerasus, where the whole army is reviewed. They
divide among themselves the money arising from the sale of the prison-
ers, the generals taking charge of the tenth part, which had been vowed
to Apollo and Diana. Description of Xenophon's residence, and of the
temple of Diana, at Scillus.
1. As Cheirisophus did not return, and a sufficient number
of vessels were not collected, and as there was no longer a
possibility of getting supplies, it appeared that they must take
their departure. They accordingly put on board the sick.
persons, and those who were above forty years of age, with
the women and children, and whatever baggage it was not
necessary to retain, and appointed Philesius and Sophænetus,
the eldest of the generals, to go in the vessels and take charge
of them. The rest of the army proceeded by land; for the
road was now prepared. 2. Pursuing their march, they ar-
rived on the third day at Cerasus, a Greek city upon the
coast in the country of Colchis, and a colony from Sinope.
3. Here they stayed ten days, and a review of the troops
under arms was held, and their number taken; they were in
all eight thousand six hundred. These were saved out of
about ten thousand; the rest had been cut off by the enemy
and the snow, and perhaps two or three by sickness.
4. Here also they distributed the money arising from the
sale of the prisoners. The tenth part, which they set aside
for Apollo and Diana of Ephesus, the generals took among
them, each a portion, to keep for those duties. Neon of Asina
received that which was intended for Cheirisophus.
5. Xenophon, after causing an offering to be made for
Apollo, deposited it in the treasury of the Athenians at
Delphi, inscribing on it his own name, and that of Proxenus,
who was killed with Clearchus; for he had been his guest-
friend. 6. The portion designed for Diana of Ephesus he
left with Megabyzus, the warden of that goddess's temple,
when he returned' with Agesilaus out of Asia on an expedi-
1 "OTε ȧTýjel, K. T. λ.] Verte: quum redibat cum Agesilao ex Asiâ
expeditionem cum eo in Boeotos faciens. Xen. Ages. i. 36, ii. 9;
Hellen. iv 3; Plutarch. Ages. c. 18. Kühner.
CH. 3.]
XENOPHON'S RESIDENCE AT SCILLUS.
153
tion to Boeotia, because he seemed likely to incur some peril,
and enjoined him, if he escaped, to return the money to him,
but, if he met with an ill fate, to make such an offering as he
thought would please the goddess, and dedicate it to her.
7. Afterwards, when Xenophon was banished¹ from his
country, and was living at Scillus, a colony settled by the
Lacedæmonians near Olympia, Megabyzus came to Olympia
to see the games, and restored him the deposit. Xenophon, on
receiving it, purchased some land as an offering to the goddess
where the god had directed him. The river Selinus happens
to run through the midst of it; 8. and another river named
Selinus runs close by the temple of Diana at Ephesus; and
in both there are different kinds of fish, and shell-fish. On
the land near Scillus, too, there is hunting, of all such beasts
as are taken in the chase. 9. He built also an altar and a
temple with the consecrated money, and continued afterwards
to make a sacrifice every year, always receiving a tenth of the
produce of the seasons from the land; and all the people of
the town, as well as the men and women of the neighbour-
hood, took part in the festival; while the goddess supplied
those in tents there with barley-meal, bread, wine, sweetmeats,
and a share of the victims offered from the sacred pastures,
and of those caught in hunting; 10. for the sons of Xenophon,
and those of the other inhabitants, always made a general
hunt against the festival, and such of the men as were willing
hunted with them; and there were caught, partly on the
sacred lands, and partly on Mount Pholoe, boars, and antelopes,
and deer. 11. This piece of ground lies on the road from
Lacedæmon to Olympia, about twenty stadia from the temple
of Jupiter at Olympia. There are within the place groves
and hills covered with trees, adapted for the breeding of swine,
goats, oxen, and horses, so that the beasts of the persons
coming to the festival are amply supplied with food. 12. Round
the temple itself is planted a grove of cultivated trees, bearing
whatever fruits are eatable in the different seasons. The
edifice is similar, as far as a small can be to a great one, to
that at Ephesus; and the statue is as like to that at Ephesus
1 He was banished by the Athenians for having joined Cyrus in
this expedition against the king of Persia, whom they then consider-
ed as a friend. Pausan. v. 6. 4. Diog. Laert. ii. 51. See iii. 1. 5;
vii. 7. 57.
154
[B. V
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
as a statue of cypress can be to one of gold. 13. A pillar
stands near the temple, bearing this inscription: THIS GROUND
IS SACRED TO DIANA. HE THAT POSSESSES AND REAPS THE
FRUIT OF IT IS TO OFFER EVERY YEAR THE TENTH OF ITS
PRODUCE, AND TO KEEP THE TEMPLE IN REPAIR FROM THE
RESIDUE. IF ANY ONE FAIL TO PERFORM THESE CONDITIONS,
THE GODDESS WILL TAKE NOTICE OF HIS NEGLECT.
CHAPTER IV
The Greeks arrive at the country of the Mossynoci, who, relying on their
strong-holds, endeavour to stop their progress. But as they were divided
into two parties, the Greeks defeat the one with the aid of the other,
burn two fortresses, and plunder the chief city. Account of the barbarous
manners of the Mossyncci.
1. FROM Cerasus those who had previously gone on board
pursued their voyage by sea; the rest proceeded by land.
2. When they came to the confines of the Mossynæci, they
sent to them Timesitheus, a native of Trapezus, and a guest-
friend of the Mossynæci, to inquire whether they were to
march through their country as one of friends or of enemies.
The Mossyncci replied that "they would allow them no pass-
age at all;" for they trusted to their strong-holds. 3. Time-
sitheus then acquainted the Greeks that the Mossynœci in the
country beyond were at enmity with these; and it was re-
solved accordingly to ask them whether they were willing to
form an alliance with the Greeks. Timesitheus, being de-
spatched for that purpose, returned with their chiefs.
4. On their arrival, the chiefs of the Mossynoci and the
generals of the Greeks held a conference, when Xenophon
spoke, and Timesitheus interpreted. 5. "We are desirous,"
said he, “O Mossynoci, to effect a safe passage to Greece by
land, as we have no ships; but these people, who, as we hear,
are your enemies, oppose our way. 6. It is in your power,
therefore, if you think proper, to take us for your allies, and
to avenge yourselves for whatever injury they have done you,
and make them subject to you for the future.¹ 7. But if you
1 Καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ὑμῶν ὑπηκόους εἶναι τούτους.] Supply ἔξεστιν ὑμῖν,
after which it would have been more straightforward to say exuv
CII. 4.0
THE MOSSYNŒŒCI.
155
""
reject our application, consider whence you will again procure
so efficient a power to support you." 8. To this the head chief
of the Mossynoci answered that they were pleased with the
"Well then,'
proposal, and would consent to the alliance. 9.
said Xenophon, "for what purpose will you want to make
use of us, if we become your allies, and how far will you be
able to assist us with regard to our passage through the
country?" 10. They replied, "We shall be able to make an
irruption, from the farther side, into the country of those who
are enemies to both you and us, and to send hither for you,
both ships and men, who will be your auxiliaries, and guide
you on your way." 11. Having given and received pledges
on these terms, they departed.
وو
The next day they returned with three hundred canoes,¹
and three men in each, of whom two disembarked, and formed
in line under arms, while the third remained on board. 12.
The latter sailed off with the canoes, and those who were left
behind, ranged themselves in the following manner. They
drew up in lines, of about a hundred men in each, like rows
of dancers fronting one another, all bearing shields made of
the hides of white oxen, with the hair on, shaped like an ivy-
leaf, and in their right hand a spear six cubits long, with a
point at the upper end, and at the lower a round knob formed
from the wood of the shaft. 13. They were clad in short
tunics, that did not reach to their knees, of the thickness of a
linen bag for bed-clothes, and had on their heads helmets
made of leather like those of the Paphlagonians, with a plait
of hair round the middle, nearly resembling a tiara; they had
also battle-axes of iron. 14. One of them next went forward,
and all the rest followed him, singing to a tune; and then,
passing through the lines and heavy-armed troops of the
Greeks, they proceeded straight towards the enemy, to attack
a fortress, which appeared easy to be assailed, 15. and which
was situated in front of the city which they call their metro-
polis, occupying the highest point in the country of the Mos-
instead of είναι: but ἔξεστιν ὑμῖν easily leads us to the conception of
the verb διαπράξεσθε. Kühner.
2
• ПIλoïa poróžvλa.] Boats made of the trunk of a single tree hol-
lowed out.
* Λινοῦ στρωματοδέσμου.] A bag or sack in which slaves had to
pack up bed-clothes, e. g. for their master, when he was going to
travel. Aristoph. Fr. 249; Plato Theæt. § 84, ubi vide Heindorf.
156
[B. V.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
synoci. It was about this strong-hold that the present war
had arisen; for those who for the time being held this posi-
tion, were regarded as chief of all the Mossynœci; and they
said that the other party had seized it unjustly, and, by ap-
propriating to themselves a common possession, had gained
the ascendency over them. 16. Some of the Greeks followed
these men, not by orders from their officers, but for the sake
of plunder. While they were advancing, the enemy were
quiet for a time, but, as they drew near the fort, they sallied
out and put them to flight, killing several of the Barbarians,
and some few of the Greeks that went up with them, and
continued the pursuit until they saw the main body of the
Greeks coming to the rescue. 17. They then turned and fled,
and, cutting off the heads of the slain, exhibited them to the
Greeks and their own enemies, dancing and singing, at the
same time, to some kind of tune.
18. The Greeks were much vexed on this occasion, because
they had rendered the enemy bolder, and because their own
men, who had gone out with the party in considerable num-
bers, had run away; a circumstance which had never before
happened during the expedition. 19. Xenophon however,
calling the Greeks together, said, "Do not be cast down, sol-
diers, at what has happened, for be assured that the good
which has occurred is not less than the evil. 20. In the first
place, you are now convinced that those who are to guide us,
are in reality enemies to those to whom it is necessary for us
also to be enemies. In the next, those of the Greeks who
were regardless of our discipline, and thought themselves able
to do as much in conjunction with the Barbarians as with us,
have paid the penalty of their rashness; so that on any other
occasion they will be less inclined to desert our body. 21.
And it is now incumbent on you so to prepare yourselves, that
you may appear to such of the Barbarians as are your friends
to be superior to them in courage, and to prove to your ene-
mies that they will not fight with the same kind of men now,
as when they fought with those who were in disorder."
22. Thus they rested for that day. On the next, when
they had sacrificed, and found favourable omens, and had
taken their breakfast, they formed themselves in columns,
ranging the Barbarians on the left in the same way, and
marched forward with the archers between the columns, keep-
CH. 4.}
A FORTRESS STORMED.
157
ing a little within the front ranks of the heavy-armed troops,
for some of the enemy's light-armed men ran down and hurled
stones at them. 23. These the archers and peltasts tried to
keep in check; the rest of the Greeks proceeded at a slow
pace, in the first place, towards the fortress, from which the
Barbarians, and the Greeks who were with them, had been
repulsed the day before; for here the enemy were drawn up
to oppose, them.
24. The Barbarians awaited the charge of
the peltasts, and engaged with them; but when the heavy-
armed came up, they took to flight, when the peltasts immedi-
ately pursued them up the hill to the metropolis, and the
heavy-armed followed in order. 25. As soon as they had
reached the top, and were close to the houses in the metropo
lis, the enemy, being now collected in a body, encountered
and hurled lances at them; and, using other spears of great
thickness and length, such as a man could hardly carry, they
endeavoured to defend themselves with them hand to hand.
1
26. As the Greeks however did not give way, but engaged
them in close combat, they fled also from this part, abandon-
ing the place entirely. But their king, who resided in a
wooden tower, built upon an eminence, and whom, while he
lives there, they all maintain and guard² in common, would
not consent to come out, nor would those who were in the
fortress that was first taken,³ but were burnt there toge-
ther with the towers. 27. The Greeks, in ransacking the
place, found in the houses stores of bread, laid up, as the
Mossynoci themselves said, according to their hereditary prac-
tice, and the new corn put by in the straw; the most of it
was spelt. 28. Sliced flesh of dolphins, too, was found pic-
kled in jars, and fat of dolphins also in other vessels, which
4
1 Μόσσυνι.] Μόσσων, ξύλινος πύργος, as appears from Diod. Sic.
xiv. 30. Apoll. Rhodius lengthens the v, ii. 1018, 1019, as well as
Dionysius Periegetes, v. 766. The form μoooúvoig from μóoovvos
occurs below; but Schneider, on the suggestion of Buttmann, reads
poooúvow, that Xenophon may be consistent with himself.
2 ÞvλÁTTOVOL.] This reading is adopted by Dindorf from a con-
jecture of Brunck, ad Apoll. Rhod. ii. 1030, which was approved
by Porson, and is supported by Pomponius Mela, i. 19:
Mossyni maintain their king shut up in a tower."
4
3 That which is mentioned in sect. 15. Kühner.
Onoavpous.] Apothecas, receptacula, cellas. Zeune.
The
The Chalybes also are said to pickle dolphins, and use their fat,
by Strabo, xii. 3, p. 27.
158
[B. V.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
29. In the upper
the Mossynoci used as the Greeks use oil.
part of the houses were vast stores of chestnuts,¹ of the broad
kind, without any fissure; these they used in great quantities
for food, boiling them and baking loaves of them.
Wine was
likewise found, which, when unmixed, seemed sour to the
taste by reason of its roughness, but mixed with water, was
both fragrant and sweet.
31.
30. The Greeks, after dining here, proceeded on their march,
delivering up the place to the tribe of Mossyncci that had
become their allies. As for the other towns at which they
arrived, belonging to the people on that side of the enemy,
the Barbarians deserted such as were most accessible, while
the inhabitants of others willingly came over to them.
Most of these places were situated thus: they were distant
from one another about eighty stadia, some more, some less;
yet the inhabitants could hear each other calling out from
one town to another; so mountainous and hollow is the
country.
32. When the Greeks, advancing onward, arrived in the
country of their friends, they showed them some boys, sons of
the richer sort of people, extremely fat, (having been fed on
boiled chestnuts,) very soft and fair-skinned, and not far from
being equal in height and breadth, painted also on their backs
with various colours, and tattooed all over their fore-parts
with flowers.2 33. They wanted to have intercourse in public
with the mistresses that the Greeks had with them; for such
is their custom. Both the men and women were very fair.
34. Those engaged in this expedition said that these were the
most barbarous of all the people they passed through, and
furthest removed from the manners of the Greeks; for they
do those things in a crowd, which other men would do in pri-
vate, or would not venture to do at all; and they acted, when
alone, just as they would have acted in company with others;
¹ Kápva.] The commentators rightly understand castaneæ nuces,
chestnuts, of which the name was taken from Castana, a city of
Thessaly, where they were first cultivated by the Greeks: see Pol-
lux, i. 232; Salmas. Exercit. Plin. p. 425. Kühner.
{
2 'Aveμiov.] So Leunclavius, Schneider, Kühner, and most of
the commentators interpret. Zeune, from Hesychius's definition of
ἀνθέμιον, “ γραμμή τις ελικοειδής ἐν τοῖς κίοσι,” is disposed to think
that the people were tattooed in front with spiral lines, but this no-
tion, says Kühner, minimè placet.
CH. 5.
ARRIVAL AT COTYORA.
159
they talked to themselves, laughed to themselves, and stopped
and danced wherever they happened to be, as if they were ex-
hibiting themselves to others.
CHAPTER V
The Greeks pass through the territories of the Chalybes, and arrive at
Cotyora, a colony from Sinope, in those of the Tibareni. Not being hos-
pitably received, they subsist by plundering the neighbouring country,
and that of the Paphlagonians. The people of Sinope complain of these
depredations, but are appeased by the reply of Xenophon.
1. THROUGH this country, partly hostile and partly friend-
ly, the Greeks proceeded eight days' journey, and arrived
among the Chalybes. This people are few in number, and
subject to the Mossynocci; and the subsistence of most of
them is procured by working in iron. 2. They next came to
the Tibareni, whose country was much more level, and con-
tained some towns on the sea-coast, not very strongly fortified.
Upon these places the generals were inclined to make an at-
tack, and thus in some degree to benefit the army; and accord-
ingly they did not receive the offerings of hospitality that
were sent them from the Tibareni, but ordered those who
brought them to wait till they had considered how to act, and
then proceeded to sacrifice. 3. After offering several victims,
all the augurs at last gave their opinion that the gods by no
means approved of war. They then accepted the presents,
and marching on, as through a country belonging to friends,
they arrived in two days at Cotyora, a Greek city, a colony
from Sinope, situated in the territory of the Tibareni.
4. Thus far the army had proceeded by land. The length
of their journey down the country, from the field of battle
near Babylon to Cotyora, was a hundred and twenty-two days'
march, six hundred and twenty parasangs, or eighteen thou-
sand six hundred stadia; and the length of time spent in it
was eight months.
5. Here they stayed forty-five days; during which they
first sacrificed to the gods, and then each of the Greeks, ac-
cording to their tribes, celebrated processions and gymnastic
160
[B. V.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
games. 6. Their provisions, meanwhile, they took partly
from Paphlagonia, and partly from the lands of the Cotyo-
rites; for they refused to permit them to purchase, or to re-
ceive their sick within the walls.
7. During this state of things ambassadors came from the
people of Sinope, who were in fear about the city of Cotyora,
(for it belonged to them, and the inhabitants paid them.
tribute,) and about the land, as they had heard that it was
being ravaged. Having arrived at the camp, they said,
(Hieronymus, who was thought a man of eloquence, speaking
for the rest,) 8. "The people of Sinope, soldiers, have sent us
hither, first of all, to offer you commendation, because, being
Greeks, you have overcome the Barbarians, and next to con-
gratulate you on having arrived here safe, as we hear, through
many and great struggles. 9. But we think it right that, as
we ourselves are Greeks, we should receive favour, and not
injury, at the hands of you who are Greeks; for we have
certainly never been aggressors in doing you any ill. 10. The
people of Cotyora are colonists of ours, and we gave them this
land after having taken it from the Barbarians; on which ac-
count they pay us an appointed tribute, in the same manner
as the people of Cerasus and Trebisond; so that whatever
evil you do to them, the city of Sinope will consider itself
aggrieved by it. 11. We are now informed that, having en-
tered the town by force, you are quartered, some of you, in
the houses, and are taking whatever you want from the
neighbourhood without having obtained the people's consent.
12. These proceedings we cannot approve, and, if you continue
to act thus, it will be necessary for us to make friends of
Corylas and the Paphlagonians, and whomsoever else we may
be able to attach to us.'
""
66
13. In reply to these complaints Xenophon rose up and
spoke in behalf of the army as follows: We, O men of
Sinope, have come hither, content with having preserved our
persons and our arms; for to bring away spoil with us, and
at the same time to fight with our enemies, was impossible;
14. and now, since we arrived among the Greek cities, (at
Trebisond for example, for there they allowed us to buy,) we
have got our provisions by purchase; and in return for the
honours which they did us, and the presents which they gave
to the army, we paid them every respect, and abstained from
CII. 5.] XENOPHION JUSTIFIES THEIR PROCEEDINGS.
161
16. But
injuring any of the Barbarians that were their friends, while
to their enemies, agair whom they led us, we did as much
harm as we could. 15. Inquire of them, (for the men, whom,
through friendship, the city sent along with us as guides, are
present here,) what sort of persons they found us.
whithersoever we come and find no opportunity of purchas-
ing, whether to a country of Barbarians or of Greeks, we
take provisions for ourselves, not tyrannically, but from neces-
sity. 17. Thus we made the Carduchi, the Taochi, and the
Chaldæans, (not subjects of the king indeed, but very formid-
able people,) our enemies, by being under the necessity of
taking provisions from them, as they gave us no opportunity
to buy; 18. but the Macrones, since they afforded us every
facility for purchasing that they could, we regarded, though
Barbarians, as friends, and took nothing from them by force.
19. But as for the people of Cotyora, (who, you say, are your
subjects,) for whatever we have taken from them they them-
selves are to be blamed; for they did not make advances to us
as friends, but, shutting their gates, would neither admit us
within their walls, nor offer us provisions for sale without;
and they alleged that the governor appointed by you was the
cause of these proceedings. 20. With regard to your remark
that we have entered the city and lodged ourselves in it by
force, we requested them to receive our sick under their roofs;
but, when they would not open their gates, we, effecting an
entrance where the place itself would admit us,¹ committed no
further act of violence; and the sick now lodge in the houses,
living upon their own means; while we place a guard at the
gates, only that our disabled soldiers may not be in the hands
of your governor, but that it may be in our power to remove
them when we wish. 21. The rest of us, as you see, are en-
camped in order in the open air, prepared, if any one does us
a service, to do him a service in return; if an injury, to defend
ourselves against him. 22. And as to your threat that, if you
think proper, you will make Corylas and the Paphlagonians
your allies against us, be assured that we, if it be necessary
will fight with you both, (for we have already fought with
1 'EdéxεTO autò Tò xwpiov.] Quà nos ipse locus recipichat : h. e. quà
nobis per ipsius loci naturam licebat urbem intrare. Kühner. Schneider's
text has our idéxovro, but all the modern editors concur with
Dindorf.
VOL. I.
IT
162
[E. V
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
enemies much more numerous than you,) or, if we think fit,
we will make the Paphlagonian leader our friend, 23. for we
have heard that he covets both your city and all the other
places on the sea. We shall try to become his friends by as-
sisting him in the attainment of what he desires."
24. After this speech the colleagues of Hecatonymus testi-
fied manifest displeasure at what he had said, and another of
them, coming forward, said that they were not come to make
war, but to declare that they were friends.
"And if you
come,” he continued, "to the city of Sinope, we will receive
you there, with tokens of friendship, and, for the present, we
will desire the people here to supply you with what they can,
for we see that all that you state is true." 25. The people of
Cotyora then sent presents to the army, and the generals of
the Greeks entertained the ambassadors from Sinope; and
they conversed with one another about many other things that
concerned them, and inquired about such particulars as each
party wanted to know respecting the remainder of the route.
CHAPTER VI.
The Greeks, by the advice of Hecatonymus, resolved to procced by sea, if
the people of Sinope will send them ships enough for their conveyance.
A project of Xenophon's to build a city in Pontus is frustrated by the
treachery of Silanus. Several of the Greeks are inclined to settle in
Pontus.
1. SUCH was the end of that day. On the next, the generals
assembled the soldiers, and it was resolved to call in the am-
bassadors from Sinope and consult them about the rest of
their journey; for, if it should be necessary to proceed by
land, the Sinopeans seemed likely to prove useful as guides,
as they were well acquainted with Paphlagonia; or if by sea,
it appeared that they would want the aid of the Sinopeans, for
they were the only people that seemed able to furnish a suffi-
cient number of ships for transporting the army. 2. Having
requested the attendance of the ambassadors, therefore, they
asked their opinion, and desired that, being Greeks, they
would in the first place receive them well, both by being
1
1 The student will find the original, in this passage, somewhat
CH. 6.]
ADVICE OF HECATONYMUS.
163
kind to them as Greeks, and by advising them for the
best.
3. Hecatonymus, rising up, first stated in apology for his
observation "that they would make the Paphlagonian their
friend," that he had said this, not to imply that they were
going to make war upon the Greeks, but that they would
prefer the friendship of the Greeks though they had the option
of becoming friends to the Barbarians. When they called
upon him to give them his advice, he spoke, with an appeal to
the gods, to the following effect: 4. "If I advise you what
seems to me to be best, may many good things befall me; if
not, things of a contrary nature; for that sort of counsel,
which is said to be sacred,¹ appears now to be required; and,
if I shall be thought to have advised you well, there will be
many of you to applaud me, and if ill, many of you to execrate
5. I am aware, then, that we ourselves shall have much
more trouble if you proceed by sea, for it will be necessary for
us to furnish the vessels; while, if you go by land, it will fall
upon you to fight your way. 6. However, I must tell you
what I know; for I am well acquainted both with the country
of the Paphlagonians and with their strength. As for the
country, it presents many beautiful plains, and mountains of a
very great height; 7. and I know, in the first place, the part
where you must certainly make your entrance into it, for it is
impossible to enter it at any other point than where the peaks
of a mountain rise to a vast height on each side of the road,
which a handful of men in possession of them would be able
to defend;2 and, if they are pre-occupied, not even all the
me.
obscure, as the accusative that déxɛo ai should govern is wanting,
and "EXAŋot is given in anticipation of evrovç, on which it undoubt-
edly depends. To make it depend on övras, with Henry Stephens,
is manifestly erroneous.
¹ An allusion, without doubt, to the proverb iepòv xoñµa ǹ cvµťovλý,
or ¡epà ý ovµ¤ovλn, concerning which see Hesychius, Suidas, and
Phavorinus; also Zenobii Proverbb. 4. 20, ibique Schottus; also
Erasmi Chiliadd. 2. 1. 47. Erasmus cites Plato, Epist. 5, and ob-
serves that iɛpá is also applied to the anchor which the sailors cast
out as their last resort in danger. Zeune remarks that iɛpóv is ap-
plied to whatever is great and distinguished in its kind, so that
Xenophon may mean the best and most important counsel. Sturz
Lex. Xenoph. s. v. ovµbovìý.
2 Κρατεῖν.
Kpareiv.] Krüger makes this verb equivalent to defendere,
Kühner understands with it ruv ñoλeµíwr, “to prove superior to
1
M2
164
[B. V.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS,
1
These I
8. Be-
men in the world would be able to force a passage.
could show you, if you would send anybody with me.
yond, I know that there are plains, and a body of cavalry
which the Barbarians themselves think superior to all
the king's cavalry; and, on a recent occasion, they did not
join him when he summoned them, as their leader has too
high a spirit to do so. 9. But if you could even pass the
mountains unobserved, or anticipate the enemy in taking pos-
session of them, and could defeat their cavalry, as well as more
than a hundred and twenty thousand infantry, in battle on the
plain, you would in the next place come to rivers, first to the
Thermodon, three hundred feet in breadth, which I consider
difficult to pass, especially with a large number of enemies
before you, and an equal number following you behind; next
to the Iris, three hundred feet broad also; and, thirdly, to the
Halys, not less than two furlongs in breadth, which you would
be unable to cross without boats; and with boats who would
supply you? The Parthenius, too, at which you would arrive
if you were to pass the Halys, is equally impassable. 10. I
consider this way, therefore, not merely as difficult, but as ab-
solutely impracticable. But if you go by sea, you may sail
along the coast from hence to Sinope, and from Sinope to
Heraclea; and from Heraclea there will be no difficulty in
proceeding either by land or sea, as there are plenty of vessels
at Heraclea.”
11. When he had given this advice, some suspected that he
had given it through friendship for Corylas, as he was a
public guest-friend of his; others thought that he was to
receive a reward for his counsel; and others, again, imagined
that he had thus advised them, in order that they might not,
by marching through the territory of the Sinopeans, do any
damage to it. The Greeks however gave their votes for going
Dy sea.
12. Xenophon then said, "O men of Sinope, the soldiers
have chosen the mode of travelling which you advise; and
the matter now stands thus; if the vessels are to be furnished
their enemies." Krüger's method is the more simple.
"This pass
appears to be situated in the range of mountains which extends
northward into the sea, to form the cape Jasonium, now Yasun
Burnu." Ainsworth, p. 205.
¹ Corylas.
XENOPHON WOULD FOUND A CITY.
CII. 6.]
165
in sufficient numbers, so that not a man of us be left here,
we will sail; but if some of us are to be left here, and others to
sail, we shall not go on board the vessels at all; 13. for we are
sure that wherever we are the stronger, we shall be able both
to save ourselves and to get provisions, but that if we are
anywhere found weaker than our enemies, it is quite clear we
shall be in the condition of slaves." 14. The ambassadors,
on hearing this statement, desired the Greeks to send an
embassy to Sinope. They accordingly sent Callimachus an
Arcadian, Ariston an Athenian, and Samolas an Achæan;
all of whom immediately set out.
15. In the mean time, when Xenophon contemplated the
numerous body of heavy-armed Greeks, as well as the great
number of peltasts, archers, slingers, and cavalry, rendered
extremely efficient by exercise, that were now in Pontus,
where so large a force could not be collected without great
expense, it appeared to him that it would be an honourable
undertaking to acquire territory and power for Greece by
founding a city there. 16. He thought that such a city might
become great, when he considered both the number of the
Greeks themselves, and that of the surrounding inhabitants.
of Pontus. With reference to this project he offered a sacri-
fice, summoning to it Silanus of Ambracia, who had been
augur to Cyrus, before he spoke on the subject to any one of
the soldiers. 17. Silanus, fearing that the scheme might take
effect, and that the army might form a settlement somewhere,
spread a report through the army that Xenophon wanted
them all to remain there, and form a city, and thus give him
fame and power.
18. But what Silanus himself wished, was
to set off for Greece as soon as possible, as he had saved the
three thousand darics that he had received from Cyrus, when,
sacrificing for him, he gave a true prediction concerning the
ten days.¹ 19. As to the soldiers, when they heard of the
matter, some thought it best to stay there, but the majority
were of a different opinion; and Timasion the Dardanian and
Thorax the Baotian told some merchants of Heraclea and
Sinope who happened to be there, that if they did not
procure pay for the troops, so that they might have provisions
on the voyage, there would be danger of so great an army
1 i. 7. 13
166
[B. V.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
دو
remaining in Pontus; for Xenophon, said they, is forming
this project, and desires us, when the vessels have arrived,
suddenly to say to the army, 20. Soldiers, we observe that
we are now at a loss both how to get provisions for our
voyage, and how to benefit our families on returning home.
But if you are inclined to select some spot, wherever you
please, in the inhabited country around the Euxine, and to
take possession of it, allowing those to go home who are
desirous to go, and those who are willing, to settle here, you
have ships at command, so that you may make a sudden descent
upon any part you may think proper. 21. The merchants,
on hearing this account, communicated it to their cities; and
Timasion the Dardanian sent with them Eurymachus, also a
Dardanian, and Thorax the Boeotian, to make the same state-
ment. The people of Sinope and Heraclea, as soon as they
learned this, sent to Timasion, and engaged him, on receipt of
a certain sum of money, to use his influence in bringing it to
pass that the army might sail out of the Euxine. 22. He
willingly listened to this proposal, and made a speech, in an
assembly of the soldiers, to the following purport: “We ought
not to give our thoughts, soldiers, to remaining here; or to
esteem any other country as preferable to Greece. I hear,
however, that certain persons are sacrificing with a view to
this object, without informing you of it.
23. But, if you
will sail out of the Euxine, I engage to give each of you
monthly a stater of Cyzicus as pay, computing from the first
day of the month; and I will then conduct you to Troas,
from whence I am an exile, and my city shall aid you, for my
countrymen will gladly receive me. 24. I will also guide you
to places from which you may get wealth, for I am well
acquainted with Eolia, Phrygia, Troas, and all the satrapy of
Pharnabazus, partly from being a native of that quarter, and
partly from having served there with Clearchus and Dercyl-
lidas."
I
25. Thorax the Boeotian, who was always contending with
Xenophon for the chief command, immediately 2 stood up, and
said, that if they sailed out of the Euxine, there would be
¹ Worth about 22s. 9d. according to Hussey, ch. vi. sect. 4.
2 Dindorf, with most other editors, has audig. I have thought
proper to follow Schneider in reading suus, which occurs in two
manuscripts.
CII. 6.]
XENOPHON JUSTIFIES HIMSELF.
167
before them the Chersonese,¹ a fine and rich country; so that
such as wished might settle there, and such as were unwilling
to do so, might return home; adding that it was ridiculous,
when there was abundance of rich land in Greece, to seek
settlements in a country of Barbarians. 26. "And until you
arrive there," said he, "I, as well as Timasion, engage that
you shall have pay." This he said from having learned what
the people of Heraclea and Sinope had promised on condition
that they sailed away. Xenophon, in the mean time, was
silent. 27. Philesius and Lycon, however, both Achæans,
rose up and observed that it was intolerable that Xenophon
should privately persuade the soldiers to remain, and sacrifice
with a view to their stay, not allowing the army to participate
in the sacrifice, and saying nothing on the subject to the
general council. Xenophon was in consequence obliged to
rise and speak as follows:
28. "I sacrifice, as you see, soldiers, to the best of my
ability, both for you and for myself, in order that I may say,
and think, and do such things as may be most honourable and
advantageous both for yourselves and me; and I was just now
sacrificing about this very consideration, whether it would be
better to proceed to speak and treat with you on this subject,
or not to touch on the point at all. 29. Silanus the augur in-
formed me, what was the most important particular, that the
victims were favourable, but added (for he knew that I was
not unskilled in such matters, from being constantly present
at the sacrifices,) that some fraud and treachery was indicated
against me by the sacrifices, as being conscious, forsooth, that
he himself was treacherously purposing to calumniate me to
you; for he it was that spread the report that I intended to
carry this scheme into execution without gaining your con-
sent. 30. If indeed I had seen you in want, I should have
meditated some scheme, of which the result might have been
that you, after possessing yourselves of some town,2 might
sail home, such of you as were inclined, immediately, and such
as were not so, after they had acquired sufficient to be of some
benefit to their families. 31. But since I see the people of
Heraclea and Sinope sending you vessels to sail in, and
'The Thracian Chersonese.
2 Hóv.] Haken thinks that Xenophon meditated taking posses-
sion of the city of Cotyora. Comp. sect. 15.
168
[B. V.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
individuals here promising you pay from the beginning of the
month, it appears to me an excellent thing for us, after getting
safe where we wish to be, to receive pay for allowing ourselves
to be preserved; and I myself, accordingly, give up this
project, and think that all who have come to me saying that
we ought to act in this manner, should give it up likewise.
32. For what I think is this; that while you continue together,
as at present, in large numbers, you are likely to be held in
honour, and to find provisions, (since in superior strength lies.
the privilege of taking what belongs to the weaker ;) but if you
are divided, and your force broken into small bodies, you will
neither be able to procure subsistence, nor effect a departure
to your satisfaction. 33. My opinion, consequently, is the
same with your own, that we ought to set out for Greece, and
that if any one remain here, or be found leaving any one be-
hind, before the whole army is in a place of safety, he be
brought to trial as a criminal. And by whomsoever," he
added, "these sentiments are approved, let him hold up his
hand." They all held them up.
34. But Silanus cried out in opposition, and attempted to
show that such as wished to leave the army ought to be
allowed to do so. This proposition however the soldiers would
not endure, but threatened that, if they caught him running
away, they would inflict punishment on him. 35. Soon after,
when the Heracleans learned that it was resolved to sail out
of the Euxine, and that it was Xenophon who had put the
matter to the vote, they sent the ships; but about the money
for pay, which they had promised to Timasion and Thorax,
they broke their word. 36. In consequence, those who had
engaged for its payment were confounded, and in dread of
the army.
Taking with them therefore the rest of the
رو
1 MIODOV TYS Owτnpias λaµbáveiv.] An elegant expression, with a
certain irony, for if one person is saved by another, he does not
receive, but give, a reward for his preservation. Compare vii. 6.
30: μισθὸν προσετέλει τῆς ἀσφαλείας, “ he gave you in addition a re-
ward for the safety which he secured you. With like humour
Xenophon says in his Memorabil. ii. 6. 4, εὖ δὲ πάσχων ἀνέχεται:
and so v. 3. 13, ὅσοις σώζεσθαι μὲν ἤρκει δι᾽ ὑμᾶς. That this very
nicety of language has led to corruption of the passage, is not at
all surprising. Kühner. Hutchinson and Leunclavius read ropeias,
which occurs in some manuscripts, and which Bornemann is in-
clined to prefer.
сн. 7.]
DISSATISFACTION OF THE TROOPS.
1
169
generals, those at least to whom they had communicated what
they were previously attempting, (and these were all except
Neon of Asina, who commanded under Cheirisophus, and
Cheirisophus had not yet returned,) they went to Xenophon,
and told him that they were sorry for what had been done,
and that it seemed the best course to them, since they had
vessels, to sail to the river Phasis, and take possession of the
country of the Phasians, of whom a grandson of Æetes?
happened then to be king. 37. Xenophon replied that he
would propose nothing of the sort to the troops, "but assemble
them yourselves," said he, "and lay the matter before them
if you please." Timasion the Dardanian then gave his
opinion that they should not call a general assembly, but that
each of the leaders should endeavour, in the first place, to
persuade his own men. They accordingly went off and put
this plan in execution.
CHAPTER VII.
Xenophon, being accused of encouraging the army to sail to the Phasis, de-
fends himself in a formal speech, and is the means of bringing certain of
the soldiers, who had some time before insulted the ambassadors from
Cerasus, to punishment.
1. THE soldiers now learned that these matters were in
agitation; and Neon of Asina told them that Xenophon,
having brought the other generals over to his side, was re-
solved to deceive the army and take them back again to the
Phasis. 2. The soldiers, on hearing this account, were great-
ly displeased, meetings began to be held, and knots collected
among them; and they gave great reason to fear that they
would act as they had done to the heralds of the Colchians
and the commissaries of the market; for as many of them as
had not escaped to the sea had been stoned.³ 3. As soon as
1
A town of Laconia; he is accordingly called Aakwvikós, vii.
2. 29.
2 Eetes was a common name of the kings of Colchis. Strabo,
i. 2, p. 71.
3
Of this affair no account has been given; but it is told below,
170
[B. V
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
Xenophon observed this state of things, he thought proper to
call the army immediately together, and not to leave them to
collect of their own accord. He therefore ordered the herald
to summon a general assembly, 4. and the troops, when they
heard the herald's voice, hastened to the meeting with the
greatest alacrity. Xenophon did not accuse the other generals
of having come to him,' but addressed the troops thus:
5. "I hear, soldiers, that some one accuses me of intending
to deceive you, and to take you to the Phasis.
Hear me
therefore, in the name of the gods, and if I appear to have
done wrong, I ought not to depart hence till I have suffered
due punishment; but if, on the contrary, my accusers are
proved to be in the wrong, treat them, I beseech you, as they
deserve. 6. You doubtless know," he continued, "where the
sun rises and where it sets, and that whoever intends to go
to Greece must proceed towards the west, and whoever would
go to the Barbarians, in the contrary direction towards the east;
and is there any one, then, who would be able deceitfully to
persuade you that the sun rises in this quarter and sets in that,
sets here, and rises there?2 7. You also know that the north
wind carries you out of the Euxine Sea towards Greece, and
the south wind inwards towards the Phasis; and you exclaim,
when the north wind blows, that it is fair sailing for Greece.
Is it possible, then, that any one could deceive you with re-
gard to this, to induce you to embark when the south wind is
blowing? But you will say, perhaps, I shall put you on
board when it is calm. 8. I however shall sail but in one
ship, and you in a hundred at least; and how then could I
force you to sail with me against your will, or lead you away
by deceit? 9. But I will suppose that you are deceived and
bewitched by me, and arrive at the Phasis; we then land in
the country; you will know very well that you are not in
Greece, and I, who have deceived you, shall be but one, while
sect. 13-25. Weiske blames Xenophon for this omission, if it be
not rather, he says, the fault of transcribers. Krüger defends Xe-
nophon on the ground that he wished to avoid repetition.
Of having come to him to propose an invasion of the country of
the Phasians, c. 6, sect. 36.
2 We must suppose the speaker to point to the different quarters
as he alludes to them. Schæfer (Meletem. Crit. p. 3) and Weiske
have proposed other readings of the passage, but there seems to be
no just cause for disturbing it.
CH. 7.]
ADDRESS OF XENOPHON.
171
you who have been deceived, will be nearly ten thousand,
with arms in your hands; and how could one individual more
effectually bring vengeance on himself, than by planning thus
concerning himself and you? 10. But these charges proceed
from foolish men, and men who are jealous of me because I
am honoured by you; though indeed they are jealous without
reason; for which of them do I hinder from speaking before
you, if he has anything to propose for your advantage, or
from fighting, if he wishes, for you and himself, or from
watching, if he cares to do so, for your safety? When you
choose officers, do I stand in the way of any one? I am
ready to resign; let another¹ take the command; only let
him show that he would do something for your advantage.
11. What I have said, however, upon this point, is sufficient.
But if any one of you thinks that he could of himself have
been deceived in this matter, or that any other person could
have deceived him in it,² let him speak and make known his
thoughts to us.
12. "When you are satisfied on this head, do not dis-
perse until you have heard something of a sort of conduct,
which, I perceive, is beginning to show itself among the
troops; for if it goes on, and becomes what it threatens to be,
it is time for us to consider about ourselves, that we may not
appear in the sight of gods and men, of enemies and friends,
to be the basest and most infamous of all men, and bring our-
selves utterly into contempt." 13. The soldiers, on hearing
these words, wondered what the matter could be, and desired
him to proceed. He accordingly resumed his speech: "You
are aware that there were some places upon the mountains
belonging to the Barbarians, and in alliance with the people
of Cerasus, from which some of the inhabitants came down
to us, and offered to sell us cattle for sacrifice, and such other
things as they had. Some of you seem to have gone to the
nearest of these places, and to have made some purchases and
returned. 14. Clearchus, one of the captains, understanding
that this place was small and unguarded, because the people
supposed that they were in friendship with us, went against
'He seems to allude to Thorax the Boeotian, mentioned c. 6,
sect. 19. Hutchinson.
2 Ei dé Tiç vµãv, k. 7. X.] Si quis verò vestrûm putet vel fieri posse aut
ut ipse se ita deceperit, aut alius ipsum ita deceperit. Bornemann.
172
[B. V
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
:
it in the night to plunder it, without telling any of us of his
intention. 15. He had purposed, if he should take the place,
not to return again to the army, but, embarking in a vessel,
in which his comrades were sailing along the coast, and put-
ting on board whatever he got, to sail clear away out of the
Euxine. His companions in the vessel had concerted all this
with him, as I now learn. 16. Assembling therefore as many
as he could induce to follow him, he led them towards the
place. But day-light overtook him on his way, and the in-
habitants collecting together, and hurling missiles, and using
other weapons, from their places of defence, killed Clearchus
and several of the rest; some few of them retreated to Cera-
sus. 17. These occurrences happened on the day on which
we set out hither from Cerasus by land, and while some of
those who were to sail¹ along the coast were still at Cerasus,
not having as yet weighed anchor. After this, as the people
of Cerasus state, three of the older men came from the place,
desiring to have an interview with our common assembly.
18. As they did not find us, they told the people of Cerasus
that they wondered why we had thought of attacking them.
The people of Cerasus, however, said that when they told
them that the outrage had not been committed by public au-
thority, they were delighted, and were going to sail hither to
give us an account of what had happened, and to invite those
who wished it to take their dead and bury them. 19. But
some of the Greeks that had fled happened to be still at Ce-
rasus, and discovering whither the Barbarians were going,
had the daring to throw stones at them themselves, and en-
couraged others to do the same. Thus these men, the three
deputies, were stoned to death.
20. “When this crime was committed, some of the people
of Cerasus came to us, and gave us an account of the affair.
We, the generals, on listening to it, were greatly concerned at
what had happened, and consulted with the men from Cerasus
how the dead Greeks might be buried. 21. As we were sit-
ting in council, outside the quarters of the heavy-armed men,
we suddenly heard a great outcry of voices, 'Strike, strike,
throw, throw!' and immediately saw a great number of men
running together with stones in their hands, and others pick-
¹ Twv tλεóvTwv.] See c. 4, sect. 1; c. 3, sect. 1.
CH. 7.]
in fear.
ACCOUNT OF AN OUTRAGE.
173
ing them up. 22. The people of Cerasus, as having witnessed
what had happened among themselves, retreated in fear to their
vessels; and there were some of us, by Jove, who were also
23. I, for my part, went up to them, and asked them
what the matter was. Some of them knew nothing about it;
and yet had stones in their hands. When at length I met
with one who did know, he told me that the commissaries of
the market were treating the army in a manner not to be en-
dured. 24. At this moment one of the soldiers perceived the
commissary Zelarchus retreating towards the sea, and called
out; the rest, hearing the cry, rushed towards him as if a wild
boar or a stag had appeared. 25. The men of Cerasus, seeing
the soldiers hurrying in their direction, and thinking that they
were coming to attack them, fled in all haste, and threw them-
selves into the sea; when some of our men threw themselves
in likewise, and such as did not know how to swim were
drowned. 26. Why do you think that these men filed? They
had done no wrong; but they were afraid that some madness,
like that of dogs, must have seized our men. If things are to
go on thus, consider what will be the state of our army.
You, as a body, will not have the privilege either of commencing
war with whom you please, or of breaking it off, but every
man that chooses may lead off troops of his own will, on
whatever enterprise he thinks proper. And if any deputies.
come to you, to ask for peace or anything else, whoever
pleases may, by putting them to death, prevent you from hear-
ing the requests of those who apply to you. 28. Besides, those
whom you have all elected generals, will then be of no au-
thority, but whoever may elect himself general, and be inclined
to cry Throw, throw,' will be able to put to death either
officer or private among you, whomsoever he pleases, without
a trial, at least if men be found, as in this recent instance, to
obey him.
27.
29. "Consider, too, what these self-elected leaders have
done for you.
If Zelarchus the commissary has done you
any wrong, he has sailed off without making any atonement
to you; if he has done you none, he has fled from the camp
for fear of being put to death unjustly and without trial.
Those who stoned the deputies have made it unsafe for you
alone, of all the Greeks, to go to Cerasus, unless with a power-
ful force; and with regard to the dead, whom, previously,
30.
174
[B. V.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
those that killed them invited you to bury, they have rendered
it no longer safe for you to carry them off, even though attended
with a herald's staff. Who, indeed, that has killed heralds,
will be willing to go as a herald? However, we have requested
the people of Cerasus to bury them.
31. "If these proceedings be right, let them be sanctioned
by you, in order that, as such conduct is to be pursued, every
man may procure a guard for himself, and endeavour to pitch
his tent in a strong and advantageous position.¹
32. But if
such acts appear to you rather those of wild beasts than of
men, contrive some mode of putting a stop to them; or, if
you do not, how, in the name of Jupiter, shall we sacrifice to
the gods with any satisfaction, while we are guilty of impious.
deeds? Or how shall we fight with our enemies, if we kill
one another ?2 33. Or what city will receive us with friend-
ship, that sees such lawlessness among us? Or who, with
any confidence, will offer us provisions for sale, if we are
found to offend in things of such moment?3 Or, in the coun-
try where we expected to obtain the praise of all, who will
praise us if we bear such a character? For I am very certain
that we should pronounce others, who should be guilty of such
acts, to be bad men.'
34. In consequence they all stood up and said that the
leaders in these proceedings should suffer punishment; that
for the future it should be forbidden to enter upon any law-
lessness of the kind, and that whoever attempted any, should
be put to death; that the generals should bring all such per
sons to trial; and that there should be trials also in case any
person had been wronged in any way since Cyrus was killed.
The captains they appointed to be judges. On the motion of
1 Τὰ ἐρυμνὰ ὑπερδέξια—ἔχων σκηνοῦν.] Munita et edita loca. Bor-
nemann. Tutum præsidium quærat. Kühner. Yπepdog is properly
high on the right, hence taken to signify commanding, advantageous.
Krüger however thinks that either έρυμνά or ὑπερδέξια should be
struck out of the text. But it is not likely that vπepdikia was inter
polated. Perhaps Xenophon, as he pronounced the word, pointed
to some strong position on his right.
2 Referring to the treatment of the Greeks of Cerasus, sect
15-23.
3 Περὶ τὰ μέγιστα τοιαῦτα.] This appears principally to allude to
the murder of the heralds, which was the most grievous violation
of the rights of nations, and of the ordinances of religion; but in
some measure also to the ill-treatment of the ayopavóμos. Balfour.
CH. 8.] THE OFFICERS CALLED TO ACCOUNT.
175
Xenophon, too, and with the concurrence of the augurs, it
was resolved to purify the army. The purification accord-
ingly took place.
CHAPTER VIII.
A resolution is passed that the generals shall give an account of their con
duct. Xenophon is accused by some of the soldiers of having inflicted
stripes upon them. Xenophon acknowledges the facts, but amply justi-
fies his conduct.
1. Ir was resolved also that the generals should give an
account of their conduct during the time past; and when
they gave it, Philesius and Xanthicles were condemned, for
their negligent custody of the cargoes of the merchant ships,'
to pay the sum that was deficient, namely, each twenty minæ ;²
and Sophænetus was fined ten minæ, because, being chosen a
general, he had neglected his duty.
2.
Some also brought accusations against Xenophon, alleging
that they had been beaten by him; and made their charges
on the ground that his conduct had been tyrannical.
Xenophon, standing up, called upon him who had spoken first 3
to say where he had been beaten. He replied, "Where we
were perishing with the cold, and where the greatest fall of
snow was." 3. Xenophon rejoined, “If, during such severe
weather as you mention, when provisions were failing us,
when we had not wine even to smell to, when many of us
were exhausted with fatigue, and the enemy were close be-
hind us, if, I say, I acted tyrannically at such a time, I ac-
knowledge that I must have been more spiteful even than
asses,5 in which they say that from spite fatigue is not pro-
1 See v. 1. 16.
4
2 About £81 5s., the mina being valued at £4 1s. 3d. Hussey,
ch. iii. sect. 12.
3 The word πρ@Tоv occurs twice in Dindorf's and most other texts,
Bornemann and Kühner judiciously omit the second.
* Οἴνου δὲ μηδ᾽ ὀσφραίνεσθαι παρόν.] "And it not being in our
power even to smell to wine." Krüger would read παρόντος,
which would be an improvement, though certainly no change is
necessary.
5 Twv övwv vbpioтóτεpos.] A proverbial expression. The com
nentators adduce Lucian, Pseudologist. 3: idévai övwv àæάVTWY
176
|B. V.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
duced. 4. Tell us, however, for what cause you were beaten.
Did I ask you for anything, and beat you when you would
not give it me? Or did I demand anything back from you,
or was I fighting about any object of affection, or did I abuse
you in a fit of intoxication?" 5. As he said that there was
nothing of this kind, Xenophon asked him whether he was
one of the heavy-armed men? He answered, "No." Whether
he was one of the peltasts? He said that he was not, but
was a free-man, set to drive a mule by his comrades. 6.
Xenophon now recognised him, and asked him, "Are you the
man that was carrying the sick person?" "I certainly am,"
replied he, "for you compelled me to do so, and scattered
about the baggage of my comrades." 7. "The scattering,"
rejoined Xenophon, "was something in this way; I distri-
buted it to others to carry, and directed them to bring it to
me again; and, on receiving it, I restored it all safe to you,
after you had produced the man that I gave you in charge.
But hear," he continued, "how the affair happened; for it is
worth your while. 8. A man was left behind because he was
no longer able to continue his march; I knew nothing of the
man but that he was one of us; and I obliged you to carry
him, that he might not perish; for, as I believe, the enemy
were in pursuit of us. This the man acknowledged. 9.
Then," said Xenophon, "after I had ordered you to go be-
fore, I soon overtook you, and found you, as I came up with
the rear-guard, digging a pit for the purpose of burying the
man; when I stopped and commended you. 10. But as the
man, while we stood by, drew in his leg, all who were present
cried out that he was alive; and you said, 'He may be as
much alive as he likes, for I shall not carry him.' Upon this
I struck you; you say but the truth; for you seemed to me
to have been aware that the man was alive." 11. "What
ὑβριστότατόν σε ὄντα. Piscat. 34: ἀσελγεστέρους τῶν ὄνων. Kühner.
The latter quotation however is to be understood de libidine,
with which, as Schneider observes, we have nothing to do here,
the allusion being only to the malice of the animal, which it will
exhibit even under the greatest sufferings. "Everybody knows,"
says Spelman, "that asses, and mules their offspring, have such an
inbred viciousness that no fatigue can subdue it." Spelman may
be rather too positive in saying that everybody knows; but the pro-
verb shows that such notion must have prevailed among the Greeks.
*Εδοξας—εἰδότι ἐοικέναι.] "You seemed to me to be like one
knowing."
<<
1
CH. 8.]
XENOPHON REPLIES TO ACCUSATIONS.
177
then," exclaimed the accuser, "did he the less die, after I had
shown him to you?" "We shall all die," rejoined Xeno-
phon, "but must we for that reason be buried alive?" 12.
At this all the assembly cried out that Xenophon had not
beaten him enough.
14. I also struck
He then called upon the rest to state on what account each
of them had been struck. 13. But as none of them stood for-
ward, he said, "I acknowledge, fellow-soldiers, that I have
beaten men for leaving their ranks; such men as were con-
tent to be saved by our exertions, and, while we marched in
order and fought where it was necessary, tried, by quitting
their places, and hurrying on before us, to get plunder, and
gain in that respect an advantage over us. Had we all acted
in this way, we should all have perished.
some, and forced them to march, who were giving way to in-
action, unwilling to rise, and abandoning themselves to the
enemy; for I myself, when I was once waiting, during the
excessive cold, for some of the men to pack up their baggage,
and had sat for a considerable time, found that I could hardly
get up and stretch my legs. 15. Having therefore had ex-
perience in my own person, whenever afterwards I saw any
other sitting down and indulging in sloth, I drove him on ;
for motion and manful exertion created a certain warmth and
suppleness, but sitting and inaction, I observed, contributed
to the congealing of the blood, and the mortification of the
toes, which you know that many have suffered. 16. Others,
perhaps, who had loitered behind from indolence, and who
hindered both you who were in front, and us who were in the
rear, from advancing, I may have struck with my fist, that
they might not be struck with the spear of the enemy.
Those, therefore, who have thus been preserved, may now, if
they have suffered anything from me contrary to justice, ob-
tain redress; but if they had fallen into the hands of the
enemy, what injury could they have suffered of such magni-
tude, as that they would ever have claimed to get satisfaction
for it! 18. My case," he proceeded, “is plain; for if I have
1
17.
· Τί μέγα ἂν οὕτως ἔπαθον ὅτου δίκην ἂν ἠξίουν λαμβάνειν ;] The
sense of this passage is excellently given by Amasæus: Quid tam
grave passi essent, ut co nomine eum, à quo violati essent, judicio persequi
possent? i. e. they would not have been able to get satisfaction even
or the severest injury. Kühner. If they had fallen into the hands
VOL. 1.
N
178
[B. V.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
1
punished any one for his good, I am willing to make such
atonement as parents make to their children and masters to
their scholars. Surgeons, too, cut and cauterize for the good
of their patients. 19. But if you imagine that I acted thus
from a love of tyranny, consider that I have now, through the
favour of the gods, more spirit than I had then, and am
bolder now than I then was, and drink a greater quantity of
wine, and yet strike no one; for I see you now in a calm;
20. but when a storm rises, and a great sea sets in, do you not
observe that the commander in the prow, even for a mere
nod, is angry with those in the fore-part of the vessel, and
the steersman angry with those in the stern, because, in such
circumstances, even small mistakes are sufficient to ruin every-
thing? 21. Even you yourselves, however, have pronounced
that I struck these men, on those occasions, with justice, for
you stood by with swords, not voting-pebbles, in your hands,
and might have taken their part if you had thought proper.
But, by Jupiter, you neither took their part, nor joined with
me in punishing the disorderly; 22. and you have in conse-
quence, by letting them alone, given encouragement to the
bad among them to grow audacious; for you will find, I
think, if you will but examine, that those who were then the
worst, are now the most audacious characters. 23. Boiscus,
for instance, the Thessalian boxer, strove earnestly, on pre-
tence of sickness, not to carry his shield; and now, as I hear,
he has robbed many of the people of Cotyora. 24. If there-
fore you are wise, you will treat this man in a way, the re-
verse of that in which they treat dogs; for dogs, when they
are spiteful, men tie up in the day, and let loose in the night;
but him, if you exercise your judgment, you will tie up in
the night, and let loose only by day. 25. But I wonder,"
he added, "why, if I gave offence to any of you, you bear it
in mind, and do not fail to speak of it, while, if I relieved any
of the enemy, they would have been unable to get redress for any
injury, however great.
1 Howpεúc.] The proreta, he who had the command of the rowers in
the fore-part of the vessel, and who was next in rank to the guber-
nator. Kühner. An officer whose business it was to keep a look-out,
as the sailors call it, at the head of the ship. I am informed that
we have no term, in our naval institution, that properly explains it;
that of pilot, the gentlemen of the navy tell me comes the nearest
to it. Spelman.
B. VI. CH. 1.] THE GREEKS IN PAPHLAGONIA.
179
of you during the cold, or kept off any enemy from you, or
supplied any of you, in any way, when sick and in want, no
one makes mention of these services; nor, if I have commend-
ed any one for good conduct in any case, or have honoured
any man, as far as I could, for valiant exertion, does any of
you remember these occurrences. 26. Yet is it more hon-
ourable, and just, and upright, and pleasing, to treasure in
the memory good acts than bad."
They accordingly rose up, and called to mind his services;
and the result was 2 that things were settled satisfactorily.
BOOK VI.
CHAPTER I.
The Greeks receive an embassy from the satrap of Paphlagonia, with whom
they make peace. They sail from Cotyora to Sinope, where they deter-
mine to elect a commander-in-chief, and fix upon Xenophon, who declines
the office; and they then choose Cheirisophus, who had just returned
with vessels from Anaxibius.
1. FROM this time the Greeks, during their stay here, sub-
sisted partly by purchasing provisions, and partly by plunder-
ing the country of Paphlagonia; while the Paphlagonians,
on their part, secretly intercepted, and with great adroitness,
the straggling soldiers, and made attempts, during the night,
to annoy those who were encamped at the out-posts. In con-
'Aveμíμvηokov.] As this verb has no substantive dependent on
it, the critics have been in doubt what turn to give it. Schneider's
method has obtained most favour: "Commemorabant beneficia
Xenophontis." Amasæus gives
Amasæus gives "se memores esse testificati sunt,
which is much to the same purpose. There is no other suggestion
worth notice.
2 ПεpiεуÉvεTO.] Res ista hunc exitum habuit (huc evasit) ut pulchrè se
haberent omnia. Stephanus. So Brodeus, Schneider, Poppo, and
the majority of the commentators: Schneider happily refers to
Thucyd. vi. 24; i. 32; iv. 12; to which Kühner adds Demosth. Ol.
i. 10. 4. Some have given to TEρiɛyέvɛTo the sense of vicit, and re-
ferred it to Xenophon; as Muretus: Et vicit Xenophon eos, qui sibi
calumniam intendebant. But the judgment of recent editors has com-
pletely set aside this view of the passage.
N 2
180
[B. VI.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
sequence of these proceedings they conceived the most hostile
feelings toward each other. 2. Corylas, however, who was
then governor of Paphlagonia, sent deputies to the Greeks with
horses and beautiful robes, to say that "Corylas was desirous
neither to injure the Greeks nor to receive injury from them.”
3. The generals replied, that " they would consider of the
matter with the army;" but received them, at the same time,
with hospitality, and invited such of the officers as they
thought most eligible¹ to meet them; 4. when, having killed
some of the oxen that they had captured, and other cattle,
they set before them a plentiful entertainment, of which they
partook reclining on mats made of grass,² and drank out of
horn cups which they had found in the country.
5. As soon as the libations were over, and they had sung
the pean, two Thracians rose up, and danced in full armour,
to the sound of a pipe; they leaped very high, and with great
agility, and wielded their swords; and at last one struck the
other, in such a manner that every one thought, he had killed
him, 6. (he fell, however, artfully,) and the Paphlagonians
cried out; the other, having despoiled him of his arms, went
out singing the Sitalces; 3 while other Thracians carried
off the man as if he had been dead; though indeed he had
suffered no hurt. 7. Afterwards some Ænians and Magnesi-
ans stood up, and danced what they call the Carpaan¹ dance,
in heavy arms. 8. The nature of the dance was as follows.
One man, having laid aside his arms, sows, and drives a yoke
of oxen, frequently turning to look back as if he were afraid.
¹ AIKαιOTάTOVÇ.] Such as had the best claim or title to be invited,
Sikatos being here used in the sense of dignus, "deserving," as in
the phrase dikaιós eiui, on which see Kühner ad h. 1., and Borne-
mann ad Conviv. iv. 15.
2 Eribáoiv.] Kühner reads oкiμжоσw, "low couches," which oc-
curs in five manuscripts, and of which, being a rarer word, he con-
siders σribáow to be a mere interpretation. I follow the definition
of Hesychius.
3
A song in which they seem to have celebrated the praises of one
of their kings named Sitalces. There were many Thracian kings of
that name; see Herod. iv. 80; Thucyd. ii. 29.
Tv Kapαiav.] Perhaps from raprós, fruit, one of the parties
being a sower; or from kаoróg, the wrist, the wrists of one being
bound. The former derivation appears the more plausible. This
dance is also described by Maximus Tyrius, Diss xii. p. 128, ed.
Davies, though not so fully as by Xenophon.
CH. 1.]
A FEAST AND DANCES.
181
A robber then approaches, and the other man, when he per-
ceives him, snatches up his arms and runs to meet him, and
fights with him in defence of his yoke of oxen; (and the men
acted all this keeping time to the pipe ;) but at last the robber,
binding the other man, leads him off with his oxen. Some-
times, however, the ploughman binds the robber, and then,
having fastened him to his oxen, drives him off with his hands.
tied behind him.
9. Next came forward a Mysian, with a light shield in each
hand, and danced, sometimes acting as if two adversaries
were attacking him; sometimes he used his shields as if en-
gaged with only one; sometimes he whirled about, and threw
a summerset, still keeping the shields in his hands, presenting
an interesting spectacle. 10. At last he danced the Persian
dance,¹ clashing his shields together, sinking on his knees, and
rising again; and all this he performed in time to the pipe.
11. After him some Mantineans, and others of the Arcadi-
ans, coming forward and taking their stand, armed as hand-
somely as they could equip themselves, moved along in time,
accompanied by a pipe tuned for the war-movement,2 and
sung the pean, and danced in the same manner as in the pro-
cessions to the gods. The Paphlagonians, looking on, testified
their astonishment that all the dances were performed in
armour. 12. The Mysian, observing that they were surprised
at the exhibition, and prevailing on one of the Arcadians, who
had a female dancer, to let her come in, brought her forward,
equipping her as handsomely as he could, and giving her a
light buckler. She danced the Pyrrhic dance with great
agility, and a general clapping followed; 13. and the Paphla-
1 Tò ПEρGIкÓV.] This Persian dance, from the frequent bendings
of the knee in it, they called ökλaopa, according to Pollux, iv. 100.
Zeune. Brunek ad Aristoph. Thesmoph. 1175 refers to Meursii Or-
chestra in κλασμα and Περσική.
2 Πρὸς τὸν ἐνόπλιον ῥυθμόν.] To a tune adapted for a dance in
armour. The commentators adduce Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 651;
Sturz, Lex. Xenoph.; and Phavorinus in µµéλeia and ratevó¬dior.
Kühner.
³ A kind of dance in arms which was sometimes performed to the
sound of trumpets and timbrels, and accompanied with every gesture
of the body used in giving and avoiding blows. See Sturz, Lex.
Xen.; Beck ad Aristoph. Av. 1169; Gronov. Thesaur. i. p. 1280
and 1525; Ast ad Plat. Legg. p. 352; Müller's Dorians, vol. ii.
p. 337. Kühner
192
[B. VI.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
gonians asked whether the women fought along with the men ;
when they replied that it was the women who had driven the
king from his camp.¹ This was the conclusion of the enter-
tainments for that night.
14. Next day the generals brought the deputies before the
army; and it was resolved by the soldiers that "they would
neither injure the Paphlagonians nor suffer any injury from
them." The deputies then took their departure; and the
Greeks, as a sufficient number of ships seemed to be ready,
went on board, and sailed all that day and the following night,
with a fair wind, keeping Paphlagonia on the left; 15. and
the day after, they arrived at Sinope, and cast anchor in Har-
mene, the harbour of that city. The Sinopeans are situate in
the Paphlagonian territory, but are colonists of the Milesians.
They sent the Greeks, as a mark of hospitality, three thousand
medimni² of flour, and fifteen hundred ceramia³ of wine. 16.
Here Cheirisophus now arrived with some galleys: the soldiers
expected that he was bringing them something; but he
brought them nothing. He announced however that Anaxi-
bius the admiral, and the rest of the Lacedæmonians, gave
them great praise; and that Anaxibius engaged, if they would
come away from the Euxine, that they should have pay.
4
17. The troops stayed five days at Harmene; and as they
considered that they were now near Greece, it became an
object with them, even more than before, to return home with
some booty in their possession. 18. And they thought that,
if they made choice of one general, that single person would
be better able to manage the army, whether by night or day,
than it was managed under the existing government of several;
so that if it should be necessary for them, in any case, to
conceal their designs, they would be concealed more effectually,
and if to anticipate the movements of the enemy, they would
be less likely to be behind-hand; as there would then be no
need of conferences, but whatever was determined by the one
commander would be put in execution; whereas the generals
¹ An extravagant allusion, says Krüger, to what is said in
i. 10. 3.
2 The medimnus is estimated as equal to 11 gallons, 7.1456 pints,
English, in Smith's Dict. of Gr. and Rom. Ant. art. Medimnus.
κεράμιον
3 The кεpáμov is considered by Hussey, xiii. 4, as equal to the
Roman amphora, or 5 gallons, 7.577 pints, English.
4 See v. 1. 4.
CH. 1.] OFFER TO MAKE XENOPHON SOLE General. 183
had hitherto done everything by the vote of the majority."
19. While they were contemplating this scheme, they turned
their thoughts to Xenophon; and the captains came to him
and said that the army was of this opinion, and each, express-
ing his good-will towards him, endeavoured to induce him to
undertake the command. 20. Xenophon was in some degree.
inclined to listen to the proposal, when he reflected that, by
his means, greater honour would fall to him, that his name
would reach his friends and his country with greater glory,
and that possibly he might also be the cause of some advan-
tage to the army. 21. Such considerations influenced him to
desire to become commander-in-chief. But when, on the
other hand, he remembered how uncertain it is to all men
what the future will produce, and that, consequently, he would
be in danger of losing the reputation which he had already
acquired, he felt uncertain how to act.
2
22. While he was perplexed as to his decision, it appeared
to him that the best thing that he could do was to lay the
matter before the gods; and having placed by the altar two
victims, he sacrificed to Jupiter the King, who had been
pointed out to him as the god that he should consult, by the
oracle at Delphi; and he thought that he had received from
that god the dream which he saw, when he was first appointed
to take charge of the army. 23. He called to mind also, that
when he was going from Ephesus to join Cyrus, an eagle
cried on his right, in a sitting posture however, which, as the
augur, who accompanied him, said, was an omen portending
something great, above the fortunes of a private individual;
foretelling what was honourable, but toilsome, since other
birds attack the eagle chiefly when sitting; and he added
that the omen was not at all indicative of gain, as the eagle
mostly secured prey when flying. 24. While he was sacri-
ficing on the present occasion, the god clearly directed him
not to seek any additional command, and not to accept it if
they should elect him; and this was the issue of the matter.
25. The army however came together, and all suggested that
one commander should be chosen; and, as it was resolved to
· Ἐκ τῆς νικώσης.] Sc. γνώμης, from the prevailing opinion or
vote.
2 Two victims were brought, that if favourable omens were not
obtained from the first, the second might be used. Zeune.
184
[B. VI.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
do so, they proposed Xenophon. As it seemed evident too
that they would elect him, if any one should put it to the
vote, he rose up and spoke as follows: 26. "My fellow-soldiers,
I am delighted, as I have the feelings of a man, at receiving
honour from you, and am grateful for it, and pray that the
gods may grant me to be the author of some advantage to
you; but that I should be preferred to be your leader, when a
Lacedæmonian is present, appears likely to be of no advan-
tage either to you or me; on the contrary, it seems probable
that if you should require assistance from them, you would
on this very account be less likely to obtain it. I moreover
think such dignity by no means safe for me; 27. for I see
that the Lacedæmonians never ceased making war on my
country until they made the whole people acknowledge that
the Lacedæmonians were masters of them as well as of others;¹
28. though, when they made this confession, they at once
desisted from hostilities, and no longer besieged the city. If
therefore, seeing this state of things, I should seem, where I
have the power, to render their supremacy uninfluential, I am
apprehensive lest I should very soon be reminded of my duty
29. As to your opinion, that there will be less faction among
you under one commander than under many, be assured that,
if you choose another, you will not find me factious; for I
consider that he who in war quarrels with his commander,
quarrels with his own safety; whereas, if you should elect
me, I should not wonder if you should find people show
resentment against both you and myself."
30. After he had thus spoken, far more persons than before
rose up, and said that he ought to take upon him the com-
mand. Agasias of Stymphalus said that it would be ridiculous
if things should be in such a state, since the Lacedæmonians
might then be enraged even if a party met to sup together
did not choose a Lacedæmonian as president of their ban-
quet. “If such be the case,” added he, "it is not proper even
for us, it would seem, to be captains, because we are Arcadians."
Upon this the assembly showed by a murmur their opinion
that Agasias had spoken well.
31. Xenophon, seeing that there was need of something
¹ Alluding to the consequences of the Peloponnesian war, by which
the supreme power over Greece fell into the hands of the Lacedes-
monians. Kühner.
CH. 2.]
CHEIRISOPHUS CHOSEN.
185
additional on his part, came forward and said, "But, my
fellow-soldiers, that you may be fully informed on this subject,
I swear to you by all the gods and goddesses, that after I
learned your inclination, I sought to ascertain by sacrifice
whether it would be better for you to confer this command
upon me, and for me to undertake it, or not; and they gave
me such manifest signs, by the victims, that even an untaught
person would have understood that I ought to decline the
command." 32. They in consequence chose Cheirisophus,
who, when he was elected, stood forward and said, "Be as-
sured of this, my fellow-soldiers, that I should have made no
factious opposition, if you had chosen another. However,"
added he, "you have done a service to Xenophon by not
electing him, as Dexippus has recently been accusing him
to Anaxibius. as far as he could, although I tried as much as
possible to silence him. Dexippus3 also said that he thought
Xenophon³ would rather be joined in command with Timasion,
a Dardanian, over the army of Clearchus, than with himself,
a Lacedæmonian. 33. But," he continued, "since you have
chosen me, I will endeavour, on my part, to do you all the
service that I can. Prepare yourselves, accordingly, to sail
to-morrow, if it be weather for sailing. Our course will be
for Heraclea, and it is incumbent on you all to do your
utmost to reach it. Of other matters we will consider when
we have arrived there."
2
CHAPTER II.
The Greeks sail to Heraclea, where disagreements arise among them, and
they separate into three parties; one, the most numerous, formed of
Arcadians and Achæans, who create for themselves ten captains; a seconc
attached to Cheirisophus; and a third to Xenophon.
1. WEIGHING anchor from hence the next day, they sailed
with a fair wind along the coast for two days. In their
¹ 'Idiúrny.] A private person; a person who was not a profes·
sional sacrificer or augur.
3
v. i. 15.
³ ‘O dè——aúróv.] I take these pronouns, with Bornemann an.
Kühner, to mean Dexippus and Xenophon. Timasion had beer
elected in the place of Clearchus, iii. 1. 47. Xenophon appears to
show his willingness to act with Clearchus in what is related iii
2.37.
186
LB. VI.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
course they saw the Beach of Jason, where the Argo is said
to have been moored; and the mouths of certain rivers, first
that of the Thermodon, then that of the Iris, next that of the
Halys, and finally that of the Parthenius. After sailing by
the last, they arrived at Heraclea, a Greek city, a colony of
Megara, situate in the territory of the Maryandyni. 2. They
came to anchor near the Acherusian Peninsula, where Her-
cules is said to have gone down to bring up the dog Cerberus,
and where they now show marks of his descent to the depth
of more than two stadia. 3. The people of Heraclea sent
the Greeks, as tokens of hospitality, three thousand medimni¹
of barley-meal, and two thousand ceramia2 of wine, with
twenty oxen and a hundred sheep. Here a river named
Lycus runs through the plain, in breadth about two hundred
feet.
4. The soldiers, assembling together, began to deliberate,
with regard to the rest of the way, whether it were proper
to proceed by land or sea, until they were beyond the Euxine.
Lycon, an Achæan, rising up, said, "I wonder at the generals,
my fellow-soldiers, for not endeavouring to procure us money
to buy provisions; for the presents received will not furnish
subsistence to the army for three days; nor is there any
place from whence we can get provisions as we proceed on
our journey. It appears to me, therefore, that we ought to
ask of the people of Heraclea not less than three thousand
Cyzicene staters."3 5. Another exclaimed, "Not less than
ten thousand," and proposed that, having chosen deputies, we
should send them at once to the city, while we were sitting
there, and hear what report they brought, and take measures
accordingly. 6. They then proposed, as deputies, first Chei-
risophus, because he was general-in-chief, and others then
named Xenophon; but both resolutely refused; for they
concurred in opinion that they ought not to compel a Greek
city, and one in friendship with them, to supply them with
anything that the inhabitants did not offer of their own
accord. 7. As they showed themselves resolved, therefore,
not to go, the army sent Lycon the Achæan, Callimachus a
Parrhasian, and Agasias of Stymphalus; who, going to the
town, informed the people of the resolutions just passed. It
was said, too, that Lycon even threatened them with violence,
2 vi. 1. 15.
1 vi. 1. 15,
3
v. 6. 23.
CH. 2.]
DISSENSION AND SEPARATION.
187
if they did not comply with these demands. 8. The Heracleans
listened to them, and said that they would consider of the
matter, and then immediately collected their property out of
the fields, and conveyed the provisions exposed for sale into
the city. At the same time the gates were shut, and armed
men appeared upon the walls.
9. In consequence, the authors of these dissensions accused
the generals of having defeated their plan; and the Arcadians
and Achæans began to hold meetings together, Callimachus
the Parrhasian and Lycon the Achæan being mostly at their
head. 10. The remarks among them were, that it was dis-
graceful that one Athenian, who had brought no force to the
army, should have the command of Peloponnesians and Lace-
dæmonians; that they had the labour, and others the profit,
although they themselves had secured the general safety; for
that those who had accomplished this object were Arcadians
and Achæans, and that the rest of the army was compara-
tively nothing; (and in reality more than half the army were
Arcadians and Achæans ;) 11. and therefore these, they said, if
they were wise, should unite together, and, choosing leaders
for themselves, should proceed on their way separately, and
endeavour to secure themselves something to their profit. 12.
To this proposal assent was given; and whatever Arcadians
and Achæans were with Cheirisophus, leaving him and
Xenophon, united with the rest, and all chose ten captains of
their own; and they appointed that these should carry into
execution whatever should be decided by the vote of the ma-
jority. The command of Cheirisophus over the whole army
was thus ended on the sixth or seventh day after he had been
elected.
13. Xenophon was inclined to pursue his way in company
with them, thinking that this method would be safer than for
each to proceed separately. But Neon persuaded him to go by
himself, as having heard from Cheirisophus that Cleander the
governor of Byzantium had said that he would come with some
galleys to the harbour of Calpe; 14. and he gave Xenophon
this advice, therefore, in order that no one else might take
advantage of this opportunity, but that they themselves only,
and their own soldiers, might sail on board these galleys. As for
Cheirisophus, who was both disheartened at what had oc-
curred, and who from that time conceived a disgust at the
188
[B. VI
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
15.
army, he allowed Xenophon to act as he thought proper.
Xenophon was also inclined to detach himself from the army
altogether, and to sail away; but as he was sacrificing to
Hercules the Conductor, and consulting him whether it would
be better and more advisable to march in company with such
of the soldiers as remained, or to take leave of them, the god sig-
nified by the victims that he should march with them. 16. The
army was thus divided into three bodies; the Arcadians and
Achæans, to the number of more than four thousand five hun-
dred men, all heavy-armed; the heavy-armed with Cheiriso-
phus, in number fourteen hundred, with seven hundred pel-
tasts, the Thracians of Clearchus; and seventeen hundred
heavy-armed men, with three hundred peltasts, under Xeno-
phon, who was the only one that had any cavalry, a body of
about forty horsemen.
17. The Arcadians, having procured ships from the people
of Heraclea, were the first to set sail, with the view of getting
as much booty as they could by making a sudden descent upon
the Bithynians, and accordingly disembarked at the harbour
of Calpe, somewhere about the middle of Thrace. 18. Chei-
risophus, proceeding straight from the city of Heraclea,
marched through the territory belonging to it; but when h、
entered Thrace, he kept along near the sea, for he was then
in ill-health. 19. Xenophon, having obtained vessels, landed on
the confines of Thrace and the region of Heraclea, and pur-
sued his way through the inland parts.
CHAPTER III.
The Arcadians land at Calpe, and make an incursion into the territory of
the Bithynians, where they are defeated by the enemy, and in danger of
being cut to pieces; Xenophon proceeds to rescue them. All the Greeks
join Cheirisophus at Calpe.
1 ¹ 1. EACH of these three parties fared as follows. The Ar-
cadians, disembarking by night at the port of Calpe, marched
1 Two or three lines, which occur in some copies at the beginning
of this chapter, are not translated. They are not found in the best
manuscripts, and are rejected by Bornemann, Dindorf, and Kühner.
CII. 3.]
THE ARCADIANS ATTACKED.
189
off to attack the nearest villages, lying about thirty stadia
from the sea. As soon as it was light, each of the officers led
his own division against a village; but against any village
that appeared larger than the rest, they led two divisions
together. 2. They fixed also upon a hill on which they were
all to re-assemble. As they fell upon the people unexpectedly,
they seized a great number of slaves and surrounded several
flocks of cattle.
1
4. But the Thracians, as fast as they escaped, collected
themselves into a body; and, as they were light-armed, the
number that escaped, even from the very hands of the heavy-
armed men, was great. As soon as they were collected, they
proceeded, in the first place, to fall upon the division of Smi-
cres, one of the Arcadian captains, who was marching away
to the place agreed upon, and carrying with him considerable
booty.
5. For a while the Greeks defended themselves as
they pursued their march, but, as they were crossing a ravine,
the Thracians put them to the rout, and killed Smicres and
all his party. Of another division of the ten captains, too,
that of Hegesander, they left only eight men alive, Hegesander
himself being one of those that escaped.
6. The other cap-
tains joined him at the appointed spot, some with difficulty,
and others without any.2 The Thracians, however, in conse-
quence of having met with this success, cheered on one
another, and assembled in great spirits during the night. At
day-break, numbers of horsemen and peltasts ranged them-
selves in a circle round the hill upon which the Greeks had
encamped; 7. and as more came flocking to them, they at-
tacked the heavy-armed men without danger, for the Greeks
had neither archers, nor javelin-men, nor a single horseman,
while the Thracians, running and riding up, hurled their
darts among them, and when the Greeks offered to attack
them, retreated with ease. 8. Some attempted one part, and
some another; and many of the assailed were wounded, but
none of the assailants. The Greeks were in consequence un-
able to move from the spot, and at last the Thracians cut
The Asiatic or Bithynian Thracians, who inhabited the villages
which the Arcadians had attacked. See c. 2, sect. 17.
· Συν πράγμασιν-ἄνευ πραγμάτων.] Difficulter- -sine negotio.
Kühner. So Leunclavius and Bornemann." I mention this, because
Schneider, following Amasæus, makes ρáypara equivalent to xon-
para, præda.
190
[B. V?.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
them off even from water.
they began to speak of terms of surrender; and other points
were agreed upon between them, but when the Greeks de-
manded hostages, the Thracians refused to give them; and
upon this the treaty was stopped. Such were the fortunes of
the Arcadians.
9. As their distress was great,
10. Cheirisophus, meanwhile, advancing unmolested along
the coast, arrived at the harbour of Calpe. As for Xenophon,
while he was marching through the middle of the country,
his horsemen, riding on before him, fell in with some am-
bassadors who were on their journey to some place. As they
were conducted to Xenophon, he inquired of them whether
they had anywhere heard of another Greek army. 11. They
gave him, in reply, an account of all that had occurred, saying
that the Greeks were then besieged upon a hill, and that the
whole force of the Thracians was collected round them. He
therefore had these men strictly guarded, that they might act
as guides wherever it might be necessary, and then, after
stationing scouts, he called together his soldiers and addressed
them thus:
66
12. Soldiers, some of the Arcadians are killed, and others
are besieged upon a hill; and I think that, if they are de-
stroyed, there will be no hope of safety for us, the enemy
being so numerous and so daring. 13. It seems best for us,
therefore, to march to their relief with all possible speed, that,
if they still survive, we may join with them in their struggle,
and not, being left alone, meet danger alone. 14. Let us for
the present, then, pitch our camp, marching on, however, un-
til it seems time to sup,' and whilst we are on the march, let
Timasion, with the horse, ride on before, but keeping us still
in sight, and let him reconnoitre the country in front, that
nothing may take us by surprise." 15. He despatched, at the
same time, some of the most active of the light-armed men to
the parts. on either flank, and to the hills, that if they saw any-
thing threatening in any quarter, they might give notice of it.
1 Ὅσον ἀν δοκῇ καιρὸς εἶναι εἰς τὸ δειπνοποιεῖσθαι.] Only so far,
that they would not be fatigued or exhausted before they went to
supper. This is Weiske's interpretation, and better than Krüger's,
who supposes that Xenophon was thinking of a place for pitching
the camp, not too near to the enemy, lest the troops should be
obliged to fight before they could take their supper.
CII. 3.]
XENOPHON GOES TO THEIR RESCUE.
191
He ordered them also to burn whatever combustible matter they
met with; 16. "for," said he, "we could not flee from hence
to any place of refuge; since it is a long way to go back to
Heraclea, and a long way to go over to Chrysopolis; and the
enemy are close at hand. To the harbour of Calpe, indeed,
where we suppose Cheirisophus to be, if he is safe, the dis-
tance is but short; but even there, there are neither vessels
in which we can sail from the place, nor subsistence, if we
remain, even for a single day. 17. Should those who are be-
sieged, however, be left to perish, it will be less advantageous
for us to face danger in conjunction with the troops of Chei-
risophus only, than, if the besieged are preserved, to unite all
our forces, and struggle for our safety together. But we must
go resolved in mind that we have now either to die gloriously,
or achieve a most honourable exploit in the preservation of
so many Greeks.
18. Perhaps some divinity orders it thus,
who wishes to humble those that spoke boastfully, as if they
were superior to us in wisdom, and to render us, who com-
mence all our proceedings by consulting the gods, more hon-
oured than they are. You must follow, then, your leaders, and
pay attention to them, that you may be ready to execute what
they order."
The
19. Having spoken thus, he led them forward.
cavalry, scattering themselves about as far as was safe, spread
fire wherever they went, while the peltasts, marching abreast
of them along the heights, burned whatever they found that
was combustible, as did the main body also, if they met with
anything left unburned by the others; so that the whole
country seemed to be on fire, and the Greek force to be very
numerous. 20. As soon as it was time, they mounted a hill
and encamped, when they caught sight of the enemy's
fires, which were distant about forty stadia; and they them-
selves then made as many fires as they could. 21. But as
soon as they had supped, orders were given to put out all the
fires; and, having appointed sentinels, they went to sleep for
the night. At dawn of day, after praying to the gods, and
arranging themselves for battle, they continued their march
with as much haste as they could. 22. Timasion and the
cavalry, taking the guides with them, and riding on before the
rest, found themselves, before they were aware, upon the hill
where the Greeks had been besieged, but saw no troops, either
192
[B. VI.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
23.
of friends or enemies, but only some old men and women, and
a few sheep and oxen that had been left behind; and this
state of things they reported to Xenophon and the army.
At first they wondered what could have happened; but at
length they learned from the people who were left that the
Thracians had gone off at the close of the evening and the
Greeks in the morning, but whither they did not know.
1
24. Xenophon and his party, on hearing this account, packed
up their baggage, after they had breakfasted, and pursued
their journey, wishing, as soon as possible, to join the rest of
the Greeks at the harbour of Calpe. As they proceeded,
they perceived the track of the Arcadians and Achæans on
the way to Calpe; and when they met, they were pleased to
see one another, and embraced like brothers. 25. The Ar-
cadians then asked Xenophon's men why they had put out
their fires, "for we," said they, "thought at first, when we
saw no more fires, that you were coming to attack the enemy
in the night; (and the enemy themselves, as they appeared to
us, went off under this apprehension, for they disappeared
about that time;) 26. but as you did not come, and the time
passed by, we concluded that you, hearing of our situation,
had been seized with alarm, and had retreated to the sea-
coast; and we determined not to be far behind you. Accord-
ingly we also marched in this direction.
CHAPTER IV.
Description of Calpe. The army resolve that it shall be a capital offence to
propose another separation. Neon leads out a party of two thousand men
to get provisions, contrary to the omens; he is attacked by Pharnabazus,
and obliged to retire with the loss of five hundred men. Xenophon
covers his retreat.
1. THIS day they remained encamped upon the shore near
the port.
The spot which is called the harbour of Calpe, is
situate in Asiatic Thrace; and this division of Thrace, begin-
ring from the mouth of the Euxine Sea, extends on the right
of a person sailing into the Euxine, as far as Heraclea.
From Byzantium to Heraclea it is a long day's passage for a
This question is not answered. See sect. 21.
2.
4
CH. 4.]
DESCRIPTION OF CALPE.
193
galley with oars; and in the space between these cities there
is no other town belonging to the Greeks or their allies; but
the Bithynian Thracians occupy it; and whatever Greeks
they capture, cast ashore by shipwreck or any other accident,
they are said to treat with great cruelty. 3. The harbour of
Calpe itself lies half-way between Heraclea and Byzantium,
as people sail from either side. On the sea there is a pro-
montory jutting out; that part of it which reaches down into
the water is a steep rock,2 in height, where it is lowest, not
less than twenty fathoms; the neck of the promontory, which
reaches up to the mainland, is in breadth about four hundred
feet; and the space within the neck is large enough to afford
accommodation for ten thousand men. 4. The harbour lies
close under the rock, with its coast toward the west. A
spring of fresh water, flowing copiously, is close by the sea,
and under cover of the promontory. Abundance of wood, of
various other sorts, but especially of such as is good for
ship-building,³ grows along the coast. 5. The mountain 4 at
the harbour extends inland about twenty stadia, and this
part of it has a soil of mould, free from stones; the other
part along the sea, to the distance of more than twenty stadia,
is covered with plenty of large trees of every kind.
6. The
surrounding country is beautiful and of great extent, and
there are in it many populous villages; for the soil produces
barley, wheat, all kinds of leguminous vegetables, millet,
sesame, figs in abundance, plenty of vines yielding a sweet
wine, and everything else but olive-trees. 7. Such is the
nature of the country.
sea.
5
The Greeks took up their quarters on the shore by the
In the part which might have been ground for a city 6
· Εν μέσῳ μὲν κεῖται ἑκατέρωθεν πλεόντων, κ. τ. λ.] "Lies in the
middle of those sailing from either side, from Heraclea and By-
zantium."
² Пéтρa áπoррŵž.] Now called Kirpé, or Kefken Adasi, according
to Ainsworth, p. 218.
3 "This is so much the case now, that it is designated by the
Turks as the Aghaj Denizi, or sea of trees. Ainsworth, p. 218.
* Now Kefken Tagh, according to Ainsworth.
5 Tò ¿v rç Xiuέvi.] Bornemann and Kühner regard these words
as a mere gloss, and have included them in brackets.
• Εἰς δὲ τὸ πόλισμα ἂν γενόμενον, κ. τ. λ.] In locum qui facilè op-
pidum futurus fuisset, seu ubi facilè oppidum condi potuisset, nolueruni
castra transferre., Zeune. A general suspicion seems to have pre-
VOL. I.
191
[B. VI.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
they were unwilling to encamp; for even their approach to it
appeared to have been the effect of some insidious design, from
the belief that certain persons were desirous to found a city
there. 8. For most of the soldiers had sailed from home
upon this service, not from want of subsistence, but from hav-
ing heard of the merit of Cyrus, some even bringing men
with them, others having spent money on the enterprise,
others having left their fathers and mothers, others their chil-
dren, in hope of returning when they had collected money for
them, for they heard that other Greeks who were with Cyrus
were acquiring considerable wealth.¹ Being men of such
character, they longed to return in safety to Greece.
9. When the day after their meeting together began to
dawn, Xenophon offered sacrifice with regard to an expedi-
tion, for it was necessary to lead out the troops to get provi-
sions; and he was also thinking of burying the dead. As the
victims were favourable, the Arcadians also accompanied him,
and buried the greatest part of the dead where they had
severally fallen; for they had now lain five days, and it was
no longer possible to bring them away; some of them how-
ever they gathered together out of the roads, and buried as
becomingly as they could with the means at their command;
while for those whom they could not find they erected a large
cenotaph, [with a great funeral pile,]2 and put garlands upon
it. 10. Having performed these rites, they returned to their
camp, and, after they had supped, went to rest.
Next day all the soldiers held a meeting; (Agasias of
Stymphalus, one of the captains, and Hieronymus of Elis, also
a captain, and others, the oldest of the Arcadian officers, were
the most active in bringing them together;) 11. and they
passed a resolution, that if any one for the future should pro-
vailed among the troops that Xenophon was desirous to detain them
there for the purpose of founding a city. Compare sect. 14, and
22, init.; also c. 6, sect. 4. See Thirlwall's History of Greece, vol.
iv. p. 352.
¹´Пoλλà кai άya‡à πрáттεiv.] “Were doing (for themselves) many
and good things;" were faring abundantly and well.
2 Καὶ πυρὰν μεγάλην.] These words are preserved as genuine
by Dindorf, (who observes, however, that they are wanting in three
manuscripts,) but are thought spurious by Zeune and Schnei-
der, and utterly ejected from the text by Poppo and Kühner.
Zeune remarks that he had never read of a funeral pile being
erected in conjunction with a cenotaph
CH. 4.]
SACRIFICES UNFAVOURABLE.
1
195
pose to divide the army, he should be punished with death;
and that the army should return homewards in the same order
in which it was before, and that the former leaders should
resume the command. Cheirisophus was now dead, from
having taken some drug² during a fever; and Neon of Asina
took his place.
12. After this Xenophon stood up and said, “It seems evi-
dent, fellow-soldiers, that we must pursue our journey by
land, for we have no ships; and it is necessary for us to set
out at once, for there are no provisions for us if we remain.
We will therefore," he continued, "offer sacrifice; and you
must prepare yourselves, if ever you did so, to fight; for the
enemy have recovered their spirit." 13. The generals then
offered sacrifice; and Arexion the Arcadian assisted as augur;
for Silanus of Ambracia had already fled, having hired a
vessel from Heraclea. They sacrificed with a view to their
departure, but the victims were not favourable. 14. This
day therefore they rested. Some had the boldness to say that
Xenophon, from a desire to settle a colony in the place, had
prevailed on the augur to say that the victims were unfavour-
able to their departure. 15. Xenophon, in consequence, having
made proclamation that whoever wished might be present at a
sacrifice on the morrow, and having given notice also, that if
there was any augur among the soldiers, he should attend to
inspect the victims with them, made another sacrifice, and a
great number of persons were present at it; 16. but though
they sacrificed again three times with reference to their de-
parture, the victims were still unfavourable to it. The soldiers
were on this account extremely uneasy, for the provisions
which they had brought with them were exhausted, and there
was no place near for them to purchase any.
17. They therefore held another meeting, and Xenophon
said, "The victims, as you see, fellow-soldiers, are not yet
favourable for our departure; and I see that you are in want
of provisions. It seems to me necessary, therefore, to offer
sacrifice with regard to this matter." 18. Here some one rose
1 That is, that the soldiers should severally return to the com-
panies in which they were serving before the secession of the Ar-
cadians and Achæans took place, and that thus each officer should
have his own men again.
2
Pápμarov.] Some interpret págμakov "poison." Kühner.
o 2
196
[B. VI.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
up and said, "It is with good reason, indeed, that the victims
are unfavourable; for, as I heard from a person belonging to a
vessel that came in yesterday by accident, Cleander, the
governor of Byzantium, is on the point of coming hither with
transport vessels and galleys." 19. In consequence they all
resolved to stay. But it was necessary to go out for provi-
sions; and to this end sacrifice was again offered three times,
but the victims were still unfavourable.
The soldiers now came to Xenophon's tent, and told him
that they had no provisions. He however replied, that he
would not lead them out while the victims were adverse.
20. The next day sacrifice was offered again, and, as all
were concerned, almost the whole army crowded around
the sacrifice; and the victims fell short. Still the generals
did not lead out the troops, but called them, however, together;
21. and Xenophon said, "Perhaps the enemy may be assem-
bled in a body, and it may be necessary for us to fight: if,
therefore, leaving our baggage in the strong part of the ground,
we march out prepared for battle, the victims may possibly
prove more favourable to us. 22. But the soldiers, on hear-
ing this observation, cried out that it was of no use to lead
them to the part that he mentioned, but that they ought. to
sacrifice without delay. Sheep were no longer to be had, but
they bought an ox that was yoked to a waggon, and sacrificed
it; and Xenophon begged Cleanor the Arcadian to be on the
alert if anything in the sacrifice should appear propitious.'
But not even on this occasion were the signs favourable.
""
23. Neon was now general in the place of Cheirisophus, and
when he saw how the men were suffering from want of food, was
desirous to get them relief, and having found a man of Heraclea,
who said that he knew of some villages in the neighbourhood,
from which it might be possible to procure provisions, he made
proclamation that whoever was willing might go out to get a
supply as there would be a guide to conduct them. A party
accordingly proceeded from the camp, to the number of two
1 Προθυμεῖσθαι εἴ τι ἐν τούτῳ εἴη.] " Studios rem urgere, si exta
unc (boni) aliquid portenderent. Zeune. This seems to be the
Dest of the various explanations that have been attempted of this
passage. Bornemann and Kruger conjecture #polveolat, which
Kühner highly approves. No alteration, however, is necessary.
Zeune supposes that Xenophon withdrew from the sacrifice to pre-
vent any suspicion of unfair play on his part.
CH. 5.]
BITHYNIA: THE GREEKS ATTACKED.
197
thousand, equipped with spears, leather bags, sacks, and other
things for holding what they might find. 24. But when they
had reached the villages, and had dispersed themselves to
plunder, the cavalry of Pharnabazus first¹ fell upon them, for
they had come to aid the Bithynians, designing, if they could,
in conjunction with them, to prevent the Greeks from pene-
trating into Phrygia. These horsemen cut off not less than
five hundred of the Greeks; the rest fled to the mountain.
25. One of those who escaped immediately carried the news
of the occurrence to the camp; and Xenophon, as the victims
had not been propitious that day, took an ox from a waggon,
(for there were no other cattle,) and, after sacrificing it, went
forth to give aid, with all the other soldiers not above thirty
years of age. 26. They brought off the rest of the party, and
returned to the camp.
It was now about sunset, and the Greeks were taking their
supper in great despondency, when some of the Bithynians,
coming suddenly upon the advanced guard through the thick-
ets, killed part of them, and pursued the rest to the camp.
27. A great outcry arising, all the Greeks ran to their arms;
but it did not seem safe to pursue the enemy, or break up their
camp, in the night, for the country was full of wood; and
they therefore passed the night under arms, covered by suffi
cient out-posts.
CHAPTER V.
The Greeks, moved by their previous dangers, at length consent to encamp
in the strong part of the ground. Xenophon, having sacrificed, and
placed a guard in the camp, led out the troops, who, after burying the
dead that they found on the way, and possessing themselves of some
booty from the villages, perceive the Barbarians posted upon a hill. They
proceed to attack them, and though obstructed by a valley difficult to
cross, are animated by the valour and eloquence of Xenophon to achieve
a successful issue.
1. In this manner they passed the night. At day-break
the generals proceeded to the strong part of the ground;2
Пpuro.] Afterwards some of the Bithynians, as is related in
aect. 26.
* Tò còn xupior.] See c. 4, sect. 3, 7, 21.
198
¦ B. VI,
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
and the men followed, bringing with them their arms and
baggage. Before it was time for dinner, they completed a
trench on the side where the entrance to the place was, and
fenced the whole length with palisades, leaving three gates.
A vessel meanwhile had arrived from Heraclea, bringing
barley-meal, cattle, and wine.
2. Xenophon, rising early, had sacrificed with reference to
an excursion, and in the first victim the omens were favour-
able. Just as the sacrifice came to a conclusion, Arexion of
Parrhasia, the augur, saw a lucky eagle, and encouraged Xe-
nophon to lead forth. 3. The men, therefore, crossing the
trench, ranged themselves under arms; and the heralds made
proclamation that the soldiers, after taking their dinner, should
march out equipped for battle, and leave the camp-followers
and slaves where they were. 4. All the rest accordingly went
out, except Neon; for it was thought best to leave him in
guard of the people in the camp.
But when the captains
and soldiers had left them, they were ashamed not to follow
where the others went, and in consequence left only those who
were above forty-five years of age; these therefore remained,
and the rest went forth. 5. But before they had proceeded
fifteen stadia, they began to meet with dead bodies, and bring-
ing up the rear of their line opposite the corpses that were
first seen, they buried all to which the line extended. 6. When
they had interred this first set, they marched on, and again
bringing up their rear against the first of those that they next
found unburied, they buried in like manner as many as the
line took in. When they came to the road that led to the
villages, where the dead bodies lay in great numbers, they
brought them all together and buried them.
7. It was now past mid-day, and having marched quite
through the villages, the men were engaged in taking what-
ever provisions they found within reach of the line, when, on
a sudden, they caught sight of the enemy marching over
some hills that were facing them, disposed in a line, consisting
of a large number of both cavalry and infantry; for Spithri-
1 'AεTòv aïoiov.] An eagle on the right. Esch. Prom. 498.
2 "Ew.] The troops in front seem to have marched quite through
the villages, and out beyond them; those in the rear appear to have
collected the provisions, keeping themselves, at the same time, under
cover of those in front.
CH. 5.]
EXCURSION AGAINST THE BITHYNIANS.
199
dates and Rathines had now arrived with a considerable force
from Pharnabazus. 8. As soon as the enemy perceived the
Greeks, they halted at the distance of about fifteen stadia.
Upon this Arexion, the augur of the Greeks, immediately
offered sacrifice, and in the very first victim the omens were
favourable. 9. Xenophon then said, "It appears to me, fel-
low-captains, that we ought to station some divisions on the
watch behind the main body, in order that, if it should any-
where be necessary, there may be troops to support that body,
and that the enemy, when thrown into disorder, may be re-
ceived by men in array and full vigour." This proposal was
approved by all. 10. “Advance then,” he continued,
the road towards the enemy, that, since we have been seen
by them, and have seen them, we may not stand still; and I,
after having arranged the divisions in the rear, as you have
sanctioned, will join you.”
66 on
11. The others then advanced quietly forward, and Xeno-
phon, detaching from the main body the three hindmost com-
panies, consisting of about two hundred men each, ordered
one of them to follow on the right, at the distance of about
a hundred feet behind; this company Samolas the Achæan
commanded. The second he directed to follow in the centre;
this company Pyrrhias the Arcadian headed. The other he
stationed on the left; this Phrasias the Athenian led. 12.
As the front line, in marching on, came to a woody ravine, of
great extent and difficult to pass, they halted, not knowing
whether it were possible to cross it, and passed the word for
the generals and captains to come to the front. 13. Xeno-
phon, wondering what it was that stopped their progress, but
soon hearing the word passed, rode up as fast as he could.
When the officers came together, Sophænetus, the oldest of
the generals, said that it was not worth consideration¹ whether
a ravine of such a nature were passable or not. 14. But Xe
nophon, eagerly seizing an opportunity to speak, said,
"You are certain, my fellow-soldiers, that I have never
voluntarily brought danger upon you, for I see that you do
not want reputation for valour, but safety. 15. But now the
matter stands thus with us: it is not possible for us to move
from hence without fighting; for if we do not advance upon the
That is, that no deliberation was necessary; that they ought
certainly to cross the ravine
200
[B. VI.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
enemy, the enemy will pursue and attack us when we retreat.
16. Consider, then, whether it is better for us to proceed
against the foe holding out our arms in front of us, or, when
we have turned them back, to find the enemy following be-
hind us.
17. You know, assuredly, that to flee from an enemy
has no semblance of honour, but that pursuit puts courage
even into cowards. For my own part, I had rather pursue
with half the number of men than retreat with twice as many.
As for these enemies, I know that you yourselves do not ex-
pect them to make a stand against us, if we charge them; but
we are all aware that if we draw back they will have courage
enough to follow us.
18. "But that we, by crossing, should place a difficult ravine
in our rear, when we are going to engage, is not this an ad-
vantage worth securing? As for the enemy, I should wish
every spot of ground to appear passable to them, so that they
may retreat; but it is for us to be instructed by the nature of
our position that there is no safety for us unless we conquer.
19. I wonder, too, whether any of us thinks this ravine more
formidable than many other places that we have passed.
How, indeed, will the plain be passable, unless we defeat
the cavalry? How will the hills that we have traversed be
passable, if so many peltasts pursue us? 20. Even if we ar-
rive safe at the sea, how large a ravine will the Euxine prove
to us, where there are neither vessels to convey us away, nor
provisions to support us if we remain; and the more haste we
should make thither, the more haste must we make to go out
again to find subsistence. 21. It is better therefore for us to
fight now, when we have dined, than to-morrow, when we
may be without a dinner. The sacrifices,¹ soldiers, are favour-
able, the omens encouraging, the victims most auspicious.
Let us march against the foe. Since they have certainly
seen us, they ought not now to sup at their ease, or to encamp
where they like."
22. The captains then bade him lead on, and no one made
any objection. He accordingly put himself at their head,
ordering each to cross at that part of the ravine where he
happened to be; for he thought that the army would thus
sooner get over the ravine in a body than if they defiled over
1 Τα τε ιερα
τα τε σφαγια.] i. 8. 15.
CH. 5.]
THE GREEKS VICTORIOUS.
201
the bridge that lay across it. 23. When they had passed
over, he said, as he passed along the line, "Remember, soldiers,
how many battles, with the assistance of the gods, you have
gained by coming to close quarters with the enemy, and how
those fare who turn their backs upon their adversaries.
Reflect also that you are at the very gates of Greece.²
24. Follow, then, Hercules your Conductor,³ and exhort one
another by name. It is pleasing to reflect, that he who now
says and does anything brave and honourable, will preserve
a remembrance of himself among those with whom he would
wish to preserve it.”
4
25. These exhortations he uttered as he rode along, and at
the same time proceeded to lead forward the troops in column;
and with the peltasts on each flank, they marched upon the
enemy. He gave orders that they should carry their spears
upon the right shoulder until a signal should be given with the
trumpet, and that then, lowering them for a charge, they should
follow their leaders at a steady pace, and that none should
advance running. The word was immediately after given,
JUPITER THE PRESERVER AND HERCULES THE CONDUCTOR.
The enemy, meanwhile, kept their position, thinking that they
had the ground in their favour. 26. As the Greeks approached
them, the peltasts shouted, and ran forward to charge them
before any one gave orders; and the enemy rushed to meet
them, both the horse and the mass of Bithynians, and put
them to flight. 27. But when the body of heavy-armed men
came up, advancing at a quick pace, and when the trumpet
sounded, and the men sang the pæan and shouted, and lowered
their spears, the enemy then no longer awaited their charge,
but took to flight. 28. Timasion and the cavalry pursued
them, and killed as many as they could, being but few. The
enemy's left wing, to which the Greek cavalry were opposed,
was at once dispersed, but the right, not being closely pursued,
rallied upon a hill. 29. As soon as the Greeks, however, saw
Krüger supposes that the ravine (váπoç) was the bed of a
mountain torrent, and that the bridge was constructed to afford a
passage over it when it was inundated by rains in winter. From
what Xenophon says above, it would hardly have been conceived
that there was a bridge.
2 That is, close upon Greece. Compare ii. 4. 4.
a See ch. 2. sect. 15. See also below, sect. 25.
As in Il. x. 68.
202
[B. VL
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
them making a stand, it appeared to them the easiest and
safest thing they could do, to charge them without delay.
Singing the pan, therefore, they immediately advanced upon
them; and the enemy withdrew. The peltasts then pursued
them till the right wing was also dispersed; but only a small
number were killed; for the enemy's cavalry, being numerous,
kept the Greeks in awe. 30. But when they observed the
cavalry of Pharnabazus still standing in a body, and the
Bithynian cavalry flocking to join them, and looking down
from an eminence on what was going on, they determined,
tired as they were, to make an assault upon them as vigor-
ously as possible, that they might not take breath and re-
cover their courage. 31. Drawing up in close order, there-
fore, they advanced; when the enemy's horse fled down the
hill as if they had been pursued by cavalry; for there was a
valley to receive them, of which the Greeks were not aware,
as they had desisted from the pursuit before they reached it,
it being now late. 32. Returning then to the place where
the first encounter occurred, they erected a trophy, and went
off towards the sea about sunset. The distance to their camp
was about sixty stadia.
CHAPTER VI.
The Greeks plunder Bithynia. Cleander, the Spartan governor of Byzan-
tium, arrives, and is prejudiced against the Greeks by Dexippus, but re-
conciled to them by the efforts of Xenophon. Cleander declines the chief
command, which is offered him, and the army march under their former
generals through Bithynia to Chrysopolis.
1. THE enemy now employed themselves about their own
affairs, and removed their families and effects as far off as they
could. The Greeks, in the mean time, waited for Cleander
and the galleys and transport vessels that were to come, and,
going out every day with their baggage-cattle and slaves,
brought in, without fear of danger, wheat, barley, wine, legu-
minous vegetables, millet, and figs; for the country afforded
every useful production except olives.
2. While the army lay at rest in the camp, the men had
liberty, individually, to go out for spoil, and those only who
cn. 6.]
DEXIPPUS: AGASIAS.
203
went out had a share of it; but when the whole army went
out, and any one, straggling from the rest, took any booty, it
was adjudged to be public property.
3. They had now abundance of everything; for provisions
for sale were brought from the Greek cities in every direction,
and people who were sailing along the coast, hearing that &
city was going to be built, and a harbour formed, willingly
put in there. 4. Such of the enemy, too, as lived in the
neighbourhood, sent to Xenophon, hearing that he had the
management of the intended settlement, to ask what they
should do in order to become his friends; and he introduced
them among the soldiers.¹
5. Cleander now arrived with two galleys, but no transport
vessel. At the time of his coming, it happened that the body
of the army was gone out; while some stragglers, going over
the mountain for plunder, some one way, some another, had
taken a great number of sheep, and being afraid that they
would be taken from them,2 informed Dexippus of the matter,
(the same that had run away with the fifty-oared galley from
Trebisond,) and requested him to keep the sheep for them, tak-
ing part for himself, and giving them back the rest. 6. Dexippus
immediately drove off the soldiers³ that stood round, and who
said that the sheep were public property, and, going to Cle-
ander, told him that they were endeavouring to seize them as
plunder for themselves. Cleander desired him to bring who-
ever should seize them before him. 7. Dexippus accordingly
laid hold on one of the men, and was taking him off, when
Agasias, meeting him, rescued the man; the prisoner being
a private of his own troop. The rest of the soldiers that were
there began to throw stones at Dexippus, calling him again
and again,
"the traitor." Not only he, in consequence, but
also many of the men belonging to his galleys, were struck
with terror, and fled towards the sea; and Cleander fled like-
wise. 8. But Xenophon, and the other generals, endeavoured to
stop their flight, and told Cleander that there was no reason
for alarm, but that the resolution passed by the army was
Xenophon, therefore, had not yet given up hopes of being able
to persuade the troops to stay there and found a city. Schneider.
2 As being public property. See sect. 2 and 6.
1
4
Not the soldiers that had taken the sheep, but others that had
gathered round.
Οτι οὐδὲν εἴη πρᾶγμα.] Πρᾶγμα is often used to signify some
204
[B. VI.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
R
the cause of the occurrence. 9. Cleander, however, being
instigated by Dexippus, and vexed with himself for having
shown so much fear, said that he would sail off, and make
proclamation that none of the cities should receive them, as
being public enemies. The Lacedæmonians were at that
time masters of all Greece.
10. This affair appeared to the Greeks to threaten evil, and
they entreated Cleander not to do so; but he said that it could
not be otherwise, unless somebody should give up to him the
man that began to throw stones, and the person that rescued
him. 11. The person that he wanted was Agasias, the con-
stant friend of Xenophon, for which reason Dexippus had ac-
cused him. As there was much perplexity, therefore, the
generals called together the soldiers; and some of them made
light of Cleander's menaces, but to Xenophon the affair ap-
peared of no small importance. Rising up, he said,
12. "It seems to me, soldiers, a matter of no trifling mo-
ment, if Cleander goes away, as he threatens, cherishing these
feelings towards us; for the Greek cities are close at hand,
the Lacedæmonians are the chief people of Greece, and each
individual Lacedæmonian is able to do what he pleases in
these cities. 13. If therefore he first shuts us out of Byzan-
tium, and then gives notice to the other governors not to ad-
mit us into their cities, as persons refusing obedience to the
Lacedæmonians and submitting to no law, and this character
of us reaches the ears of Anaxibius the admiral, it will be
difficult for us either to remain or to sail away, for at this
moment the Lacedæmonians are masters both by land and sea.
14. We ought not, therefore, for the sake of one or two men,
to exclude ourselves from Greece, but to do whatever they
direct; for the cities, from which we come, yield them obedi-
ence. 15. I, for my own part, (for I hear that Dexippus
assures Cleander that Agasias would have done nothing in
the matter, if I had not instigated him,) for my part, I say,
I am ready to clear you and Agasias from blame, if Aga-
sias himself shall say that I was at all the cause of these
proceedings, and I am prepared to condemn myself, if I en-
couraged stone-throwing or any other act of violence, as deserv-
ing of the severest punishment, and that punishment I wili
thing dangerous, or, at any rate, something of great moment.
Kühner.
CH. 6.]
AGASIAS: CLEANder.
205
submit to suffer. 16. I say, too, that if Dexippus accuses any
other person, he ought to surrender himself to Cleander to be
tried; for by this means you may be exonerated from all cen-
sure. Under the present complexion of the case, it will be
hard, if, when we expect applause and honour in Greece, we
shall, instead of obtaining them, be not even on an equality
with the rest of our countrymen, but be excluded from the
Greek cities."
17. Agasias then stood up and said, "I swear, my fellow-
soldiers, by all the gods and goddesses, that neither Xenophon,
nor any other person among you, desired me to rescue the
man; but, when I saw a brave fellow, one of my own troop,
led off by Dexippus, (who, you are aware, has played the
traitor towards you,) it seemed to me, I own, intolerable, and
I set him free. 18. You need not, then, deliver me up, for I
will surrender myself, as Xenophon recommends, to Cleander,
to do to me, after having tried me, whatever he pleases. As
far as this matter is concerned, enter into no contention with
the Lacedæmonians. May each of you return in safety to
whatever place he would reach! Make choice, however, of
some of your own number, and send them with me to Clean-
der, that, if I omit anything, they may speak and act for me."
19. Upon this the army allowed him to choose whomsoever he
would, and to go. He chose the generals.
Agasias and the generals, and the man that had been re-
leased by Agasias, accordingly proceeded to Cleander; and
the generals said, 20. "The army has sent us to you, O
Cleander, and requests that if you accuse them all, you will
yourself be the judge of them all, and treat them as you may
think fit; or, if you accuse one or two or more, they think it
right that they should surrender themselves to you for judg-
ment. If therefore you accuse any one of us, we are here
before you; if any other, let us know; for no man, who is
willing to obey us, shall refuse to submit to you.”
21. Agasias next stood forward, and said, "I am the per-
son, O Cleander, that rescued this man when Dexippus was
carrying him off, and that incited the men to stone Dexippus;
22. for I knew that the soldier was a deserving man, and I
knew also that Dexippus, after having been chosen by the
army to command the galley which we begged of the people
of Trebisond, for the purpose of collecting transport vessels to
206
[B. VI
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
save ourselves, had run away and betrayed the soldiers in
common with whom he had preserved his life. 23. Through
his misconduct, therefore, we have both deprived the people
of Trebisond of their galley, and seem to have acted dishon-
estly; and, as far as depended upon him, we were utterly un-
done; for he had heard, as well as we, that it would be im-
practicable for us, going by land, to cross the rivers and get
safe to Greece. 24. It was from such a character as this that
I rescued the man. If you had been leading him away, or
any one of those belonging to you, and not one of our own
deserters, be assured that I should have done nothing of the
kind. Consider, then, that if you put me to death, you will
put to death a man of honour for the sake of a coward and a
villain."
25. Cleander, on hearing this statement, said that he could
not approve of the conduct of Dexippus, if he had acted in
such a way, but observed, at the same time, that even if Dex-
ippus were the worst of villains, he ought not to suffer any
violence, but to be tried, ("as you yourselves," said he, "now
propose,") and to have his deserts. 26. "For the present
then," he continued, "retire, leaving Agasias with me, and,
when I give you notice, come to witness his trial. I neither
accuse the army, nor any one else, since Agasias himself con-
fesses that it was he who released the man. 27. The man
who had been released then said, "If you suppose, O Clean-
der, that I was apprehended for doing something wrong, be
assured that I neither struck nor threw stones at any one, but
merely said that the sheep were public property; for it was a
resolution passed by the soldiers, that if, when the whole army
went out, any particular person made any capture by himself,
that capture should go to the public store. 28. This was what
I said; and Dexippus, in consequence, seized me and was lead-
ing me off, so that no one might utter a syllable, but that he
himself, securing a share of the booty, might keep the rest for
the plunderers, contrary to the resolution of the army." To
this Cleander replied, "Since you are that sort of person,
stay here, that we may consider respecting you likewise."
1
29. Cleander and his party then went to dinner; and Xe-
1 Ἵνα μὴ φθέγγοιτο μηδείς.] That no one might report anything
about him (Dexippus). Kühner. Dexippus (as the man intimates)
supposed that the apprehension of one would be a terror to the rest.
CH. 6.
AGASIAS EXCULPATED.
207
30.
nophon assembled the troops, and advised them to send some
persons to Cleander to make intercession for the men.
They accordingly resolved to depute the generals and captains,
with Dracontius' the Spartan, and such of the rest as seemed
eligible, to entreat Cleander by all means to set the two men
free. 31. Xenophon, going to him, said, "You have the men
in your hands, O Cleander, and the army has allowed you to
do what you please with regard both to them and to their whole
force. They now, however, request and entreat of you to
give up the two men to them, and not to put them to death;
for they exerted themselves greatly, in time past, to be of
service to the army. 32. Should they obtain this favour from
you, they promise you, in return for it, that if you are willing
to be their leader, and the gods are propitious, they will let
you see both how well-disciplined they are, and how incapable,
when obedient to their general, and aided by superior powers,
of fearing an enemy. 33. They also beg of you, that when
you have come and taken the command of them, you will
make trial of Dexippus and the rest of them, ascertain what
sort of person each is, and give every one his desert."
34. Cleander, on hearing this application, replied, "By the
twin gods, I will give you an answer at once. I give up the
men to you, and will come to you myself; and, if the gods
permit, I will lead you into Greece.
Your words are very
different from the accounts that I heard of some of you,
namely, that you were alienating the army from the Lacedæ-
monians." 35. The deputies then took their leave, applaud-
ing Cleander, and taking with them the two men.
Cleander offered a sacrifice with reference to the journey,
and associated in a friendly way with Xenophon; and they
contracted a bond of hospitality between them. When he
saw the Greek soldiers, too, execute their orders with regu-
larity, he grew still more desirous to become their commander.
36. But as the omens were not favourable to his wishes, though
he offered sacrifices three days, he called the generals together,
and said, "The victims have not been favourable for me³ to
1 iv. 8. 25.
2 Nai Tu σi.] Castor and Pollux, by whom the Lacedæmonians
were accustomed to swear. See Schol. on Aristoph. Lys. 81, Pac.
214; Xen. Hellen. iv. 4. 10.
Εμοι μὲν οὐς ἐτελέσθη τὰ ἱερὰ ἐξάγειν.]
"The sacrifices have
208
[B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
lead you out; but be not discouraged on that account; for it
is given to you, as it appears, to conduct the army home.
Proceed then; and we will receive you at Byzantium when
you arrive there,¹ in the best manner that we can."
was then resolved by the soldiers to make him a present of
the sheep that were public property; and he, having accepted
them, gave them back to the soldiers again, and then sailed off.
37. It
The army, having disposed of the corn which they had col-
lected, and the other booty that they had captured, advanced
through the territory of the Bithynians. 38. But as, while they
pursued the straight road, they met with nothing to enable
them to enter the country of their friends with a portion of
spoil, they resolved upon marching back for a day and a night;
and, having done so, they took great numbers both of slaves
and cattle, and arrived, after six days' march, at Chrysopolis
in Chalcedonia, where they stayed seven days to sell their
booty.
BOOK VII.
CHAPTER I.
Anaxibius, at the instigation of Pharnabazus, who wishes to get the Greeks
out of his territory, allures them, with hopes of employment and
pay, to
Byzantium. They accordingly appear in arms before the city, but find-
ing the gates shut against them. force an entrance, and are with great
difficulty pacified by Xenophon. Caratades, a Theban, offers to lead
them into Thrace, and his proposal is accepted; but he soon shows his
incapacity, and lays down the command.
1. WHAT the Greeks did in their march up the country
with Cyrus, until the battle was fought, what they ex-
perienced in their retreat, after Cyrus was dead, till they
reached the Euxine Sea, and how they fared, in their pro-
gress by sea and land, from the time that they arrived at the
Euxine until they got beyond the mouth of it to Chrysopolis
not been concluded (so as to be favourable) for me," &c. Ouk
Erελéon is a conjecture of Bornemann's, adopted by Dindorf, for
the common reading our ¿éλɛ, which Kühner prefers and retains.
¹ I follow Kühner in the interpretation of KETOE in this passage.
The speaker probably pointed towards Byzantium.
CH. 1.]
OFFERS FROM SEUTHES.
209
in Asia, has been related in the preceding part of the nar-
rative.
2. Pharnabazus, fearing that the army of the Greeks might
make an irruption into his province, sent to Anaxibius the
Spartan admiral, who was at Byzantium, and begged him to
transport the army out of Asia, promising to do for him in re-
turn whatever he might require of him. 3. Anaxibius, ac-
cordingly, sent for the generals and captains of the troops
to Byzantium, engaging that if they came over to him, pay
should be given to the men. 4. The rest of the officers said
that they would give him an answer after they had considered
of the matter; but Xenophon told him that he was going to
leave the army, and wanted to sail away. Anaxibius, however,
requested him to come across with the rest, and then to take
his departure. Xenophon therefore said that he would do so.
5. In the mean time Seuthes the Thracian sent Medosades
to Xenophon, requesting that general to join with him in
using his efforts that the army might cross over, and saying
that he should have no cause to repent of assisting him in that
object. 6. Xenophon replied, "The army will doubtless cross
over; let him give nothing to me therefore, or to any one
else, on that account. When it has crossed, I shall quit it;
so let him address himself to those who stay, and who may
seem able to serve him, in such a manner as may appear
likely to be successful."
1

7. Soon after, the whole army of the Greeks crossed over to
Byzantium. Anaxibius however gave them no pay, but made
proclamation that the soldiers should take their arms and
baggage, and go out of the city, signifying that he intended
at once to send them away home, and to take their number.
The soldiers were in consequence greatly troubled, because
they had no money to get provisions for their journey, and
packed up their baggage with reluctance.
8. Xenophon, who had become a guest-friend to Cleander
the governor, went to take leave of him, with the intention of
For some account of him see c. 2, sect. 32. "He is not to be
confounded with Seuthes the son of Sparadocus, who succeeded
Sitalces as king of the Odryse, nor is to be altogether regarded as
a king, though he is distinguished by this name in c. 7, sect. 22. He
is with more propriety called ἄρχων (τῶν) ἐπὶ θαλάττῃ, c. 3, sect. 16.
See Xen. Hellen. iv. 8. 26. Aristot. Polit. v. 8. 15." Poppo. He was
at this time merely a commander in subjection to Medocus.
VOL. 1.
P
210
B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
[B.
sailing away immediately.
But Cleander said to him, "By
no means do so, for, if you do, you will incur blame, since
some people, indeed, already accuse you as the cause that the
army proceeds out¹ so slowly." 9. Xenophon replied, "I am
not the cause of this, but the soldiers, being in want of pro-
visions, are for that reason, of themselves, reluctant to go out."
10. "However I advise you," rejoined Cleander, “to go out
with them, as if you intended to accompany them, and when
the army is clear of the city, then to quit it." "We will
then go to Anaxibius," said Xenophon, "and further the pro-
ceedings." They accordingly went, and told him that such
was their intention. 11. He recommended that they should act
in conformity with what they said, and that the troops should
go out as soon as possible with their baggage packed up; de-
siring them to give notice, at the same time, that whoever
should not be present at the review and numbering of the
army, would have himself to blame. 12. The generals then
went out first, and the rest of the army followed them.
They were now all out except a few, and Eteonicus2 was
standing by the gates, ready to shut them, and thrust in the
bar, as soon as they were all outside, 13. when Anaxibius,
summoning the generals and captains, said, "You may take
provisions from the Thracian villages; for there is plenty of
barley and wheat, and other necessaries, in them; and when
you have supplied yourselves, proceed to the Chersonesus, and
there Cyniscus³ will give you pay." 14. Some of the sol-
diers that overheard this, or some one of the captains, com-
municated it to the army. The generals, meanwhile, in-
quired about Seuthes, whether he would prove hostile or
friendly, and whether they must march over the Sacred
Mountain, or round about through the middle of Thrace.
4
1 'EEρTel.] Non celeriter, sed quasi rependo exit (ex urbe).
Hutchinson. This notion of the word is condemned by Heiland,
Dial. Xen. p. 7, who shows, with much learning, that forev in the
Doric dialect signifies incedere, ire, so that ip in this passage is
merely the same as ἐκπορεύεσθαι. Kühner.
2 A Lacedæmonian of some rank. See Thucyd. viii. 23. Krüger.
3 A Spartan commander, doubtless, who was then engaged in a
war with the Thracians in the Chersonesus.
Zeunc.
4 Διὰ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ὄρους.] To be distinguished from the mountain of
the same name mentioned iv. 7. 21. Schneider. Its situation is un-
certain, but there was a road by it into the Chersonesus, as is ap-
CH. 1.] A TUMULT QUELLED BY XENOPHON.
211
15. But while they were talking of these matters, the soldiers,
snatching up their arms, ran in haste to the gates, with a de-
sign to make their way back within the walls. Eteonicus,
however, and those about him, when they saw the heavy-
armed men running towards them, shut the gates, and thrust
in the bar. 16. The soldiers then knocked at the gates, and
said that they were treated most unjustly, in being shut out as
a prey to the enemy, and declared that they would split the
gates asunder, if the people did not open them of their own
accord. 17. Some ran off to the sea, and got over into the
city by the pier of the wall; while others of them, who hap-
pened to be still in the town, when they perceived what was
passing at the gates, cut the bars in twain with their axes, and
set the gates wide open. They then all rushed in.
19.
18. Xenophon, observing what was going on, and fearing
lest the army should fall to plundering, and irreparable mis-
chief be done, not only to the city, but to himself and the
men, ran and got within the gates along with the crowd.
The people of Byzantium, at the same time, when they saw
the army entering by force, fled from the market-place, some
to the ships, and some to their houses, while others, who hap-
pened to be within-doors, ran out; some hauled down the
galleys into the water, that they might save themselves in
them; and all believed themselves ruined, regarding the city
as captured. 20. Eteonicus fled to the citadel. Anaxibius,
running down to the sea, sailed round to the same place in a
fishing-boat, and immediately sent for men from the garrison
at Chalcedon; for those in the citadel did not appear sufficient
to repel the Greeks.
21. The soldiers, as soon as they saw Xenophon, ran up to
him in great numbers, and cried, "You have now an oppor-
tunity, O Xenophon, to become a great man. You are in
possession of a city, you have galleys, you have money, you
have this large number of men. Now, therefore, if you are
inclined, you may benefit us, and we may make you a distin-
guished man." 22. Xenophon replied, “You say well, and I
will act accordingly; but if you aim at this object, range your-
selves under arms as quickly as possible," for he wished to quiet
"The fort iepòr opoc is mentioned by
ἱερὸν ὄρος
Phil. iii. p. 114, and De Fals. Leg.
parent from c. 3, sect. 3.
Demosth. de Hal. p. 85, extr.;
p. 390." Krüger.
F 2
212
[B. VII
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS,
them, and not only gave these orders himself, but desired
the other officers also to command the men to range themselves
under arms.
23. As the men, too, began to marshal them-
selves, the heavy-armed troops soon formed eight deep, and
the peltasts ran to take their station on each wing.
24. The
ground, which was called the Thracian Area,¹ was excellent
for the arrangement of troops, being clear of houses, and
level. When the arms were in their places,2 and the men
somewhat tranquillized, Xenophon called the soldiers round
him, and spoke as follows:
25. "That you are angry, soldiers, and think you have
been treated strangely in being deceived, I am not at all sur-
prised; but if we gratify our resentment, and not only take
revenge on the Lacedæmonians, who are here, for their impo-
sition, but plunder the city which is not at all to blame, con-
sider what will be the consequences; 26. we shall be the
declared enemies both of the Lacedæmonians and their allies.
What will be the nature of a war with them, we may conjec-
ture, as we have seen and remember what has recently occur-
red. 27. We Athenians entered upon the contest with the
Lacedæmonians and their allies, with not less than three hun-
dred³ galleys, some at sea and some in the docks, with a great
sum of money in the Acropolis, and with a yearly revenue,
from our customs at home and our territory abroad, of not less
than a thousand talents; but though we were masters of all
the islands, were possessed of many cities in Asia, and many
others in Europe, and of this very Byzantium where we now
are, yet we were reduced in the war to such a condition as
you all know.
28. And what may we now expect to be our
4
¹ Tò Opάikiov.] Larcher has not inaptly supposed that this place
was near the gates called the Thracian Gates, referring to Xen.
Hellen. i. 3, extr., τὰς πύλας τὰς ἐπὶ τὸ Θράκιον καλουμένας. Zeune.
The Thracian Gates of Byzantium, before which there were seven
towers, are mentioned by Dio Cassius, lxxiv. 14. Schneider. With
Opáciov understand yopiov: it was an open space, an area or square.
Ereito rà öñà¤.] Arma ordine disposita erant. Hutchinson. Leun-
clavius renders it postquam in armis ordine constiterant, but this is less
suitable to the passage. The soldiers had laid down their arms, that
they might listen to Xenophon more at ease. See iv. 2. 20.
2
3
Thucyd. ii. 13.
4 Ἐν τῇ πόλει.] The Athenians used to call their 'Ακρόπολις by
the simple name rólig: see Thucyd. ii. 15. The sum of money in
the Acropolis was not less than six thousand talents, Thucyd. ii. 25.
cn. 1.j
CERATADES.
213
fate, when the Lacedæmonians and Achæans are in alliance;
when the Athenians, and those who were then allied with
them, have become an accession to the Spartan power; when
Tissaphernes, and all the other Barbarians on the sea-coast,
are our enemies, and the king of Persia himself our greatest
enemy, whom we went to despoil of his throne, and, if we
could, to deprive of life? When all these opponents are united
against us, is there anybody so senseless as to think that we
could get the superiority? 29. Let us not, in the name of the
gods, act like madmen, and perish with disgrace, by becoming
enemies to our country, and to our own friends and relations!
For our connexions are all in the cities that will make war
upon us, and that will make war justly indeed, if, when we
declined to possess ourselves of any Barbarian city, though
we were superior in force, we should plunder the first Greek
city at which we have arrived. 30. For my own part, I pray
that, before I see such an atrocity committed by you, I may
be buried ten thousand fathoms under ground. I advise you,
as you are Greeks, to endeavour to obtain justice by submit-
ting to those who are masters of the Greeks. Should you be
unable to obtain it, however, we ought not, though wronged,
to deprive ourselves of all hope of returning to Greece.
It appears to me, therefore, that we should now send deputies
to Anaxibius, with this message: We came into the city
with no design to commit violence, but, if we could, to obtain
some service from you; but, if we obtain none, we intend to
show that we shall go out of it, not because we have been de-
ceived, but because we are willing to obey you.""
31.
32. This proposal met with approbation; and they de-
spatched Hieronymus the Elean, Eurylochus the Arcadian,
and Philesius the Achæan, to carry the message. They ac-
cordingly proceeded to deliver it.
33. But while the soldiers were still seated, Cœratades,¹ a
Theban, came up to them; a man who was going about the
country, not banished from Greece, but wanting to be a
general, and offering his services wherever any city or people
required a leader; and, as he came forward, he said that he
1 He had been a commander of the Boeotians towards the end of
the Peloponnesian war, and, at the surrender of Byzantium, fell
into the hands of the Athenians, by whom he was carried prisoner
to Athens, but contrived to escape. See Hellen. i. 3. 15. Zeune.
214
[B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
was prepared to conduct them to that part of Thrace called
the Delta, where they would find plenty of good things, and
that, till they should arrive there, he would supply them with
meat and drink in abundance. 34. The soldiers listened to
this offer, and heard, at the same time, the reply brought from
Anaxibius, for he had sent an answer that "if they complied
with his wishes, they should have no cause to repent; and
that he would report their conduct to the authorities at Sparta,
and would contrive to do for them whatever service he
could." 35. The soldiers, in consequence, took Caeratades as
their leader, and went out of the city, Coratades engaging to
come to the army next day with victims for sacrifice, an
augur, and meat and drink for the troops. 36. As soon as
they were gone out, Anaxibius caused the gates to be shut,
and proclamation made, that whoever of the soldiers should be
found within, should be sold as a slave.
37. Next day Coratades came with the victims and the
augur; and twenty men followed him carrying barley-meal,
and other twenty carrying wine; three also with as large a load
as they could bear of olives; one with as much as he could
carry of garlic, and another of onions. Having ordered these
things to be laid down, as if for distribution, he proceeded
to offer sacrifice.
38. Xenophon, meanwhile, having sent for Cleander, urged
him to obtain permission for him to enter the walls, and to
sail away from Byzantium. 39. When Cleander arrived, he
said, "I am come, after having obtained the permission with
extreme difficulty; for Anaxibius says that it is not proper
for the soldiers to be close to the walls, and Xenophon with-
in; and that the Byzantines are split into factions, and at
enmity one with another; yet he has desired you,” he added,
"to enter, if you intend to sail with him." 40. Xenophon
accordingly took leave of the soldiers, and went into the city
with Cleander.
Cœratades, the first day, had no favourable omens from the
sacrifice, and distributed nothing among the troops. The
next day the victims were placed at the altar, and Coeratades
66
¹ I read ei μéos, with Krüger, instead of ei µλλot, the common
reading, which gives, he has desired you to enter, if he (Xeno-
phon) intends to sail with him (Anaxibius)," a confusion of persons
at which Bornemann expresses his wonder.
CII. 2.!
DISAGREEMENT AMONG THE GENERALS.
215
took his station with a chaplet on his head, as if intending to
offer sacrifice; when Timasion the Dardanian, Neon the
Asinaan, and Cleanor the Orchomenian, came forward and
told Cœratades not to sacrifice, as he should not lead the
army, unless he supplied it with provisions. 41. He then or-
dered a distribution to be made. But as his supply fell far
short of one day's subsistence for each of the soldiers, he went
off, taking with him the victims, and renouncing the general-
ship.
CHAPTER II.
The generals disagreeing about the route, many of the soldiers desert.
Anaxibius and Xenophon, on their voyage, are met at Cyzicus by Aristar-
chus, Cleander's successor; he sells four hundred of the Greeks for slaves.
Xenophon returns to the army, and the Greeks, on his advice, agree to
sail back to Asia, but are hindered by Aristarchus.
Their services are
solicited by Seuthes, and Xenophon gocs to learn his terms.
1. BUT Neon the Asinæan, Phryniscus,' Philesius, Xanthi-
cles, all Achæans, and Timasion the Dardanian, remained in
command of the army, and marching forward to some villages
of the Thracians, over against Byzantium, encamped there.
2. The generals had now some disagreement, Cleanor and
Phryniscus wishing to lead the army to Seuthes, (for he had
gained them over to his interest, having presented a horse tʊ
the one, and a mistress to the other,) and Neon desiring to
take it to the Chersonesus, as he thought that if they came
into the dominions of the Lacedæmonians, he himself would
get the command of the whole army. Timasion, however,
wanted to cross over again into Asia, expecting by this means
to effect his return home. 3. The army were of the same
mind; but, while time was wasted in the discussion, many of
the soldiers deserted; some, selling their arms up and down
the country, sailed away as they could; others joined the
He was one of the generals, as appears from sect. 29, and c. 5,
sect. 10. "But at what time he was chosen, Xenophon has neg-
lected to state." Krüger.
* The words διδόντες τὰ ὅπλα κατὰ τοὺς χώρους, which Dindorf and
others enclose in brackets, are not translated. They appear to have
arisen from the error of some copyist, whose eye was caught by
nearly the same words above. Kühner preserves them, adopting
216
[B. VIC,
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
4. Anaxibius was pleased
people in the neighbouring towns.
to hear these accounts of the dispersion of the army; for he
thought that by such a state of things he should most gratify
Pharnabazus.
5. As Anaxibius was on his voyage from Byzantium, Aris-
tarchus, the successor of Cleander as governor of Byzantium,
met him at Cyzicus, and said that Polus, the successor of Anax-
ibius as admiral, was on the point of entering the Hellespont.
6. Anaxibius desired Aristarchus to sell all the soldiers of
Cyrus, whom he should find remaining in Byzantium, as
slaves. As for Cleander, he had sold none, but had even at-
tended, from compassion, to such as were sick, and obliged
the inhabitants to receive them into their houses; but Aris-
tarchus, as soon as he arrived, sold not less than four hundred.
7. Anaxibius, when he had sailed along the coast as far as
Parium, sent to Pharnabazus according to an agreement be-
tween them. But Pharnabazus, when he found that Aris-
tarchus was going as governor to Byzantium, and that Anax-
ibius was no longer admiral, neglected Anaxibius, and entered
into a negotiation with Aristarchus about the army of Cyrus,
similar to that which he had previously made with Anaxibius.
8. Soon after, Anaxibius called Xenophon to him, and
urged him, by every means and contrivance, to sail back to
the army as soon as possible, to keep it together, to collect as
many of the dispersed soldiers as he could, and then, leading
them along the coast to Perinthus, to transport them without
delay into Asia. He gave him, at the same time, a thirty-
oared galley and a letter, and sent a man with him to tell the
people of Perinthus to despatch Xenophon on horseback to
the army as soon as possible. 9. Xenophon then sailed across,'
and arrived at the army. The soldiers gladly welcomed him,
and followed him at once with cheerfulness, in expectation of
passing over from Thrace into Asia.
10. Seuthes, when he heard of his return, sent Medosades
to him by sea, and begged him to bring the army to him,
promising him whatever he thought likely to prevail on him.
Xenophon told him in reply that nothing of the kind was pos-
the notion of Sturz and Lion, that the soldiers gave away their arms
among the country people, that they might enter the towns unarm
so as not to alarm the inhabitants.
ed,
í Across the Propontis.
CH. 2.]
ILL CONDUCT OF ARISTARCHUS.
217
sible; 11 and Medosades, on receiving this answer, went
away.
When the Greeks came to Perinthus, Neon, drawing off
from the rest, encamped apart with about eight hundred men.
All the other troops remained together under the walls of
Perinthus.
But
12. Xenophon was next engaged in getting vessels, in order
that they might cross over to Asia as soon as possible.
just at this time Aristarchus the governor, instigated by
Pharnabazus, came with two galleys from Byzantium, and
forbade the masters of the ships to carry over the Greeks, and
then, going to the army, desired the soldiers not to go across
into Asia. 13. Xenophon told him that Anaxibius had or-
dered them to go, "and sent me hither," added he, "with that
view." 66
Anaxibius," retorted Aristarchus, "is no longer
admiral, and I am governor here; and if I find one of you on
the sea, I will drown him.” Having said this, he went off
into the town.
14. Next day he sent for the generals and captains of the
army; but, as they came up to the wall, somebody gave notice
to Xenophon, that if he went in, he would be apprehended,
and either suffer some injury there, or be delivered to Phar-
nabazus. Hearing this, he sent the others on before, and said
that he himself had a mind to offer sacrifice. 15. Returning,
accordingly, he sacrificed to know whether the gods would
permit him to attempt to lead the army to Seuthes, for he saw
that it was not safe to cross over into Asia, as he who would
hinder him had galleys at his command, nor was he willing to
go to the Chersonesus and be shut up there, or that the army
should be in great want of everything in a place where it
would be necessary to obey the governor, and where the troops
would be able to procure no supplies.
16. He was engaged about this matter, when the generals
and captains returned from Aristarchus, and brought word
that he had told them to go away for the present, and to come
back to him in the evening. Hence his treacherous intentions
became still more manifest. 17. Xenophon, therefore, as the
sacrifices seemed favourable for himself and the army to go
in security to Seuthes, took with him Polycrates the Athenian,
one of the captains, and from each of the generals, except
Neon, a person in whom they confided, and went in the night
218
[B. VI.
THE EXPEJ ITION OF CYRUS.
18. As he
to the camp of Seuthes, a distance of sixty stadia.
drew near it, he met with several watch-fires without guards,
and thought that Seuthes had decamped; but, hearing a
noise, and the men about Seuthes making signals to one
another, he understood that these fires had been kindled by
Seuthes in front of the night-posts, in order that the sentinels,
being in the dark, might not be seen, or show how many or
where they were, while those who approached might not be
concealed, but be conspicuous in the light. 19. When he
found that such was the case, he sent the interpreter whom he
had with him, and told him to let Seuthes know that Xeno-
phon was there, and desired a conference with him. They
inquired if it was Xenophon the Athenian, from the Grecian
army. 20. As he answered that it was he, they leaped upon
their horses, and hastened off. A little after, about two hun-
dred peltasts appeared, and conducted Xenophon and his
party to Seuthes.
21. Seuthes was in a tower, strictly guarded, and round it
stood horses ready bridled; for, through fear, he fed his
horses during the day, and kept on guard with them bridled
during the night. 22. For Teres, one of his ancestors, when
he had once a large army in this country, was said to have
lost great numbers of his men, and to have been stripped of
his baggage by the natives, who are called Thynians, and are
said to be the most formidable of all enemics, especially in the
night.
23. When they approached, Seuthes gave notice that Xeno-
phon, with any two of his attendants that he chose, might
enter. As soon as they went in, they first saluted one
another, and, according to the Thracian custom, drank to
cach other in horns full of wine; Medosades, who acted as the
ambassador of Seuthes on all occasions, being present with
him. 24. Xenophon then began to speak as follows.
"You
sent Medosades, who is present here, to me, O Seuthes, for
the first time at Chalcedon, requesting me to join my efforts
to yours that the army might cross over out of Asia, and,
promising, as Medosades here said, that if I succeeded, you
would do me some service in return." 25. When he had said
this, he asked Medosades if it was true; and he said that it
"When I had gone over again to the army from Pari-
um, Medosades came to me a second time, assuring me, that if
was.
cn. 2. j
XENOPHON CONFERS WITH SEUTHES.
219
I would bring the army to you, you would not only treat me
as a friend and a brother in other respects, but that the towns
also along the sea, of which you are master, would be assigned
to me from you." 26. He then again asked Medosades
whether he said this, and Medosades acknowledged it. "Well
then," said Xenophon, "tell Seuthes what answer I gave you,
on the first occasion, at Chalcedon." 27. "You answered
that the army was going to cross over to Byzantium, and that
there would therefore be no occasion on that account to give
anything either to you or to any other person; you added that,
as soon as you had crossed, you would quit the army; and all
took place as you said.” 28. "And what did I say," con-
tinued Xenophon, "when you came to Selybria?"1 "You
said that what I proposed was impracticable, but that the
army was to go to Perinthus, and pass over into Asia."
"Well then," said Xenophon, "I am now present before you,
with Phryniscus here, one of the generals, and Polycrates, one
of the captains; and, without, are deputies from the other
generals, the most confidential friends of each, except from
Neon the Lacedæmonian. 30. If you wish the business to
have greater sanction, call them in also; and do you, Poly-
crates, go and tell them that I desire them to leave their arms
outside; and do you leave your sword there, and come in
again."
29.
31. Seuthes, on hearing this, said that he would distrust no
one of the Athenians, for he knew that they were connected
with him by lineage,2 and regarded them as kind friends.
1 I have adopted this mode of spelling the name with all the mo-
dern editors, though not without reluctance, for Selymbria is much
more pleasing to the ear than Selybria. If Strabo's derivation is
right, however, (lib. vii. c. 6, p. 111, ý τoũ Σýλvos móλıç, the city of
Selys, ẞpía being the Thracian word for a city,) it would appear that
the letter m is an intruder. Yet, as Kühner observes, Stephanus of
Byzantium has Enλvulpia, and Selymbria is the invariable mode of
spelling among the Latins. I like Thimbron, too, much better than
Thibron.
Evyyεveis.] Valckenaer (ad Herod. iv. 80) deduces this σvyyéveta
from the circumstance of Sadocus, the son of Sitalces, having re-
ceived the rights of citizenship from the Athenians. (Thucyd. ii.
29; Schol. ad Aristoph. Acharn. 145.) Krüger (de Authent. p. 33)
rejects this notion, observing that ovyyéveia would not follow from
Toλireia. But as Procne, the daughter of Pandion, king of Athens,
is said to have been married to Tereus, king of Thrace, (see Apollod.
220
[B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
Afterwards, when those who were wanted had come in, Xe-
nophon first asked Seuthes what use he proposed to make of
the army.
32. Seuthes then proceeded to speak thus: "Mæ
sades was my father; and under his government were the
Melandit, the Thynians, and the Tranips. But when the
power of the Odrysæ declined, my father, being driven from
this country, died of a disease, and I, being left an orphan,
was bred up with Medocus, the present king. 33. As soon
as I became a young man, however, I could not bear to sub-
sist in dependence upon another person's table; and I sat on
my seat¹ before him as a suppliant that he would give me as
many troops as he could, in order that, if I found it at all in my
power, I might inflict some evil on those who had expelled
us, and might cease to live by looking, like a dog, to his table.
34. In compliance with my request he gave me the infantry
and cavalry which you will see as soon as it is day. I now
subsist with the aid of these troops, making depredations on
my own hereditary dominions; and if you join me, I should
expect, with the assistance of the gods, to recover my authority
with ease. This is what I desire of you."
7
35. “If we should come, then," said Xenophon, “what would
you be able to give to the soldiers, captains, and generals? Let
me know, that these who are with me may carry word to them."
36. Seuthes then promised to give every soldier a Cyzicene
stater,2 twice as much to a captain, and four times as much
to a general, with as much land as they should desire, yokes
of oxen, and a walled town near the sea. 37. "But if," said
Xenophon, "when we attempt this service, we should not
succeed, but something to deter us should arise on the part of
the Lacedæmonians, will you, if any of us should wish to take
refuge with you, receive them into your country?" 38. "Nay
more," replied he, "I will even treat them as brothers, make
them guests at my own table, and sharers of all that we may
be able to acquire. To you, Xenophon, I will give my
iii. 14. 8, ibique Heyne,) is it not more probable that this is the
ovyyέveia to be here understood? See c. 3, sect. 39. Kühner.
i 'Evoippios.] In sellâ, the same as εv dippy, c. 3, sect. 29. Kühner.
The Thracians did not recline on couches at meals, but sat on seats.
Zeune. But the exact meaning of ivdippios in this passage is un-
certain. Sturz settles nothing. In sect. 38, the word is used in the
sense of oμотράπεlo, table-companions.
2 See v. 6. 23. 'Monthly' is to be understood: see on c. 3, sect. 10
CH. 3.]
XENOPHON ADDRESSES THE ARMY.
1
221
daughter; and, if you have a daughter, I will buy her ac-
cording to the Thracian custom, and will give you Bisanthe,
which is the finest of my towns upon the sea, as a residence."
CHAPTER III.
All the Grecks, except Neon and his party, accept the proposals of Seuthes,
and join him. They march with Seuthes against his enemies, whom they
surprise unawares, and take a great number of slaves, and much spoil.
1. THE party having heard these offers, and having ex-
changed right hands, rode off. They got back to the camp
before day-break, and made each his report to those who sent
him. 2. As soon as it was light, Aristarchus sent again for
the generals and captains, but they determined to decline
going to him, and to call together the army. All the troops
came, except those of Neon, who were about ten stadia dis-
tant. 3. When they were met, Xenophon stood up and spoke
as follows:
"Soldiers! Aristarchus, having galleys at command, seeks
to prevent us sailing whither we desire; and in consequence
it is not safe for us to embark. He would have us make our
way by force over the Sacred Mountain into the Chersonesus ;
and, if we should succeed in crossing that mountain, and ar-
rive there, he says that he will not again sell any of you, as
he did at Byzantium, or deceive you again, but that you shall
receive pay, and that he will no longer suffer you, as at present,
to be in want of provisions. 4. Thus speaks Aristarchus.
Seuthes, on the other hand, says that if you go to him, he
will be of service to you. Consider, therefore, whether you
will decide on this point while remaining here now, or after
having gone back to get provisions. 5. My own opinion is,
that since we have no money here to purchase, and since they
will not allow us to take provisions without money, we should
1
'Qvýoopai.] So Herodotus v. 6: The Thracians buy their wives
from their parents with large sums of money. Kühner. The people.
of the East, as is well known, had the same custom, as also the an-
cient Greeks: see Aristot. Polit. ii. S. Weiske. See also Tacit.
Germ. c. 13. Lion. Consult Mannert. vii. p. 24. Bornemann.
222
[B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
return to the villages where the inhabitants, being weaker
than we are, permit us to take them, and that there, when we
have got supplies, and heard what each of them desires of you,'
you may choose whatever may seem best. 6. To whomsoever
this proposal is agreeable, let him hold up his hand." They
all held up their hands. "Go then," continued he, "and
prepare your baggage, and when any one gives the signal,
follow your leader.”
7. Soon after, Xenophon put himself at their head, and
they followed him. Neon, however, and some other persons
sent by Aristarchus, tried to persuade them to turn back; but
they paid no regard to their words. When they had advanced
about thirty stadia, Seuthes met them; and Xenophon, when
he saw him, invited him to ride up, that he might state to him,
in the hearing of as many as possible, what he thought for
their advantage. s. As he came forward, Xenophon said,
We are going to some place where the army will be likely
to get provisions, and where, after hearing your proposals,
and those of the Lacedæmonian, we shall determine upon that
course which may seem best to us. If therefore you will
conduct us to a place where provisions are in the greatest
abundance, we shall consider ourselves as being your guests."
9. Seuthes replied, "I know of several villages lying close to-
gether, containing all sorts of provisions, and distant from us.
only so far that you may go over to them and dine in com-
fort." "Conduct us, then," said Xenophon.
10. When they had reached the villages, in the afternoon,
the soldiers assembled, and Seuthes spoke thus: "I wish you,
soldiers, to take service with me, and propose to give each of
you a Cyzicene stater2 monthly, and the captains and generals
what is customary. In addition to this, I will do honour to
every man that proves himself worthy of it. Meat and drink
you shall have, as at present, by taking it from the country;
but whatever spoil may be taken, I shall think proper to keep
myself, that, by disposing of it, I may provide pay for you.
.1 "O TI TIS Vµõv deitai.] Ad quam rem uterque (Seuthes et Aristar-
chus) operû vestrâ uti velit. Zeune.
2 See v. 6. 23. The words rou μŋvós, which occur in Hutchinson's
and other old editions after kulikηvóv, are omitted by Dindorf and
Kühner. It appears better to preserve them. They are wanting
in e 2, seet. 36.
CII. 3.]
PROPOSALS OF SEUTHES ACCEPTED.
223
12.
11. Such enemies as flee from us, and conceal themselves, wo
shall be able to pursue and discover; and such as resist us,
we shall endeavour, with your assistance, to overcome."
Xenophon then inquired, "How far from the sea shall you re-
quire the army to follow you?" He replied, "Never more
than seven days' march, and often less."
13. Liberty was then given to any one that wished, to speak;
and many concurred in saying that Seuthes made proposals
of the greatest advantage, as it was winter, and no longer
practicable, even for such as desired, to sail home; and as it
was impossible for them to live, though in a country of friends,
if they were to subsist by purchasing, while it would be safer
for them to remain and find subsistence in an enemy's country
jointly with Seuthes than by themselves, so many advantages
offering themselves, and if, in addition to these, they also re-
ceived pay, it appeared to them an unexpected piece of good
fortune. 14. Xenophon then said, "If any one has aught to
say against this opinion, let him speak at once; if not, let him
vote for it." As no one said anything against it, he put it to
the vote, and the decision was in favour of it. Xenophon
immediately told Seuthes that they would take the field with
him.
2
15. The soldiers then pitched their tents according to their
divisions; the generals and captains Seuthes, who occupied a
neighbouring village, invited to supper. 16. When they were
at the entrance, going in to supper, a man named Heraclides,
a native of Maronca, presented himself before them. This
man, addressing himself to every one whom he thought pos-
sessed of anything to present to Seuthes, and first to certain
people from Parium,3 who were come to establish a friendship
with Medocus, king of the Odrysæ, and had brought presents
for Seuthes and his wife, said that Medocus resided up the
country, twelve days' journey from the sea, and that Seuthes,
since he had taken this force into his service, would be master
on the coast; 17. "being your neighbour therefore," he added,
· Διώκειν καὶ μαστεύειν.] Διώκειν, to prose, with the aid of the
cavalry; paσTEVE, to search out, through being well acquainted with
the country. Zeune.
2 A town of Thrace between Abdera and Doriscus, now called
Maronia.
3 A town of Mysia, mentioned c. 2, sect. 7.
224
LB. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
66
he will be greatly in a condition to do you both good and
harm; and, if you are wise, you will accordingly give him
what you have brought, and it will be bestowed to better
account than if you were to give it to Medocus, who lives at a
distance." 18. By these arguments he prevailed upon them.
Accosting, in the next place, Timasion the Dardanian, as he
had heard that he had cups and Persian carpets, he observed
that it was customary, whenever Seuthes invited people to
supper, for those who were invited to make him presents;
and," said he, "if he becomes powerful in this country, he
will be able either to restore you to yours, or to make you
rich here." In this manner he sued for Seuthes, addressing
himself to each of the guests. 19. Advancing also towards
Xenophon, he said, "You are of a most honourable city, and
your name stands very high with Seuthes; and perhaps you
will desire to have some place of strength, and a portion of
land, in this country, as others' of your countrymen have.
It will be proper for you, therefore, to honour Seuthes most
magnificently; 20. and I give you this advice as your well-
wisher; for I know that the greater presents you make him,2
the greater benefits you will receive from him." Xenophon,
on hearing this, was in some perplexity; for he had come over
from Parium with only one servant and just enough money
for the journey.
21. When the company went in to supper, consisting of the
chief Thracians who were there, the generals and captains of
the Greeks, and such ambassadors as had come from any city,
the supper was prepared for them as they took their seats in
a circle, and tables with three feet were then brought in for
each. These tables were full of pieces of meat piled up, and
large leavened loaves were attached to the meat. 22. The
tables³ were always placed near the strangers in preference to
others; for such was their custom. Seuthes then first pro-
ceeded to act as follows: taking up the loaves that were set
He seems chiefly to allude to Alcibiades. See Corn. Nep. Alc.
c. 7. Zeune. Consult Hellen. ii. 1. 25, where the rɛixn of Alcibiades
on the coast of Thrace are mentioned. Schneider.
2 Tour.] Kühner, and most other editors, read roúrwv, "than
these," i. e. those of your countrymen to whom I have alluded.
Αἱ τράπεζαι.] These are the same that are before called τρίπο
dec. Kühner.
3
CH. 3.]
PRESENTS MADE TO SEUTHES.
1
225
by him, he broke them into small portions, and distributed to
those whom he pleased, and the flesh in a similar way, leaving
for himself only just sufficient to taste. 23. The rest of those,
before whom tables were placed, followed his example. But
a certain Arcadian, whose name was Arystas, an extra-
ordinary cater, took no care about distributing, but taking in
his hand a loaf of about three choenices, and placing some
meat upon his knees, went on with his supper. 24. In the
mean time they carried round horns of wine, and everybody
took some; but Arystas, when the cup-bearer came to him
with the horn, and he observed that Xenophon had finished
his supper, said, "Give it to him, for he is now at leisure; I
am not so yet." 25. Seuthes, hearing the voice, asked the
cup-bearer what he said; and the cup-bearer (for he knew the
Greek language) told him. A laugh in consequence followed.
26. As the cup made its way, a Thracian entered leading a
white horse, and, taking up a horn full of wine, said, "I drink
to you, O Seuthes, and present you with this horse, mounted
on which, and pursuing whomsoever you please, you will over-
take him, and, when retreating, you will have no cause to fear
an enemy." 27. Another, bringing in a boy, presented him,
drinking to Seuthes, in like manner, and another vestments
for his wife. Timasion, drinking to him, made him a present
of a silver cup, and a carpet worth ten minæ. 28. But one
Gnesippus, an Athenian, rose up and said, that it was an ex-
cellent custom in old times, that those who had anything
should give presents to the king to do him honour, and that
the king should give to those who have nothing; I therefore
beg something of you, that I may have something to present
you, and to do you honour."
2
29. As for Xenophon, he was in doubt how to act, for he
was seated, as a person held in honour, in the place next to
Seuthes; and Heraclides now desired the cup-bearer to pre-
sent him the horn. However he stood up boldly, (for he had
by this time drunk rather copiously,) and, taking the horn,
said, 30. "I present you, O Seuthes, myself, and these my
comrades, to be your faithful friends, no one of them being
reluctant, but all desiring, even more than myself, to be your
¹ See i. 5. 7.
2 "Iva kai ¿yw, K. T. λ.] Sententia aliqua mente supplenda est, ut
dico tibi hoc, aut peto abs te hoc. Kühner.
VOL. I
226
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
[B. VII.
adherents. 31. They are now here before you, asking nothing
else of you, but desiring to labour for you, expressing their
willingness to incur dangers for your sake; with whose as-
sistance, if the gods are favourable, you will recover, on the
one hand, a large portion of country which was your father's,
and, on the other, acquire some in addition; and you will also
become master of many men and women, whom it will not be
necessary to take by force, but they themselves will come to
you with presents in their hands." 32. Seuthes then stood up
and drank with him, and then joined with him in sprinkling
what remained in the horn upon himself.2
1
Soon after some people came in that played on horns, such
as they make signals with, and trumpets made of raw ox-hides,
blowing regular tunes, and as if they were playing on the
magadis.3 33. Seuthes himself rose up and uttered the war-
1 EVVEETIE] The preposition oùv, says Kühner, shows that Seuthes
received the address of Xenophon with pleasure. Porson (ed. Hutch.)
reads συνέπιε, which is given by Suidas sub voce Κατασκεδάζειν. The
use of the preposition, indeed, is not very apparent, unless it be
to signify that Seuthes drained the cup to the bottom.
2 Καὶ κατεσκεδάσατο μετὰ τοῦτο τὸ κέρας.] “It was a custom of the
Thracians at their banquets, when the guests had drunk as much
wine as they could, to pour the rest of the wine upon the garments
of the guests, which they called karaokedále." Suidas. "The Scy-
κατασκεδάζειν.
thians and Thracians, indulging in wine, both their wives and them-
selves, to excess, and pouring it over their garments, think that they
observe an honourable and excellent custom." Plato de Legg. i. 9.
The middle voice, in this passage of Xenophon, signifies that the
Thracians poured whatever remained in the cup, after they had
drunk, not on the garments of their guests, but on their own. Kühner.
This critic accordingly rejects the emendation of Pierson ad Morin,
p. 217, though approved by Toup and Porson: σvykαTEORédage Twv
μεT' AUTOυ Tо Képaç, quod reliquum erat vini, in convivas effudit. But as
Athenæus iv. 35, Eustathius ad Hom. p. 707, Suidas sub voce Kaтα-
σκεδάζειν, and Phavorinus, all read μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ instead of μετὰ τοῦτο,
he has admitted that reading into his text, thus making the sense
of the passage,
Seuthes joined with Xenophon in sprinkling the
wine on himself," i. e. Seuthes sprinkled wine from his own goblet
on his own garments, and Xenophon, imitating him, sprinkled wine
from his own goblet on his own garments. This is perhaps the best
way in which the passage can be read and interpreted, if the verb
be kept in the middle voice, which is in accordance with the passage
just cited from Plato, though somewhat at variance with what is
said by Suidas. But whether they sprinkled the wine over their own
clothes or those of others, or both, we may dismiss the passage with
Spelman's observation, that it was a "ridiculous custom.'
""
* Athenæus, iv. c. ult., says, Ὁ δὲ μάγαδις καλούμενος αὐλὸς—ὀξὺν
CH. 3.]
PREPARATIONS FOR AN EXPEDITION.
227
cry, and sprang out of his place with the utmost agility, like a
man guarding against a missile. Buffoons also entered.
34. When the sun was near setting, the Greeks rose, and
said that it was time to place the guards for the night, and to
give out the watch-word. They requested Seuthes, at the
same time, to give orders that none of the Thracians should
enter the Greek camp by night; "for," said they,
for," said they, “both your
enemies are Thracians, and so are you, our friends." 1 35. As
they were going out, Seuthes stood up, not at all like a man
intoxicated, and, walking forth, and calling back the generals
by themselves, said to them, "The enemy, my friends, know
nothing as yet of our alliance; if, then, we should march upon
them before they are on their guard against a surprise, or are
prepared to make any defence, we should be very likely to
take both prisoners and booty." 36. The generals expressed
their assent to what he said, and desired him to lead them.
"Prepare yourselves then," he replied, "and wait for me, and,
when the proper time comes, I will come to you, and, taking
the peltasts and yourselves, will, with the aid of the gods,
conduct you." 37. "Consider however," rejoined Xenophon,
"whether, since we are to march in the night, the Greek
practice is not preferable; for on the march, during the day,
whatever part of the army be suitable for the ground, takes
the lead, whether it be the heavy-armed men, or the peltasts,
or the cavalry; but in the night it is the custom among the
Greeks for the slowest part of the force to lead the way.
Thus the troops are least likely to be dispersed, and least in
danger of straggling unobserved from one another; for bodies
that have been separated often fall foul of each other, and both
do and suffer injury unawares." 39. "You say well," replied
Seuthes," and I will conform to your custom; I will also pro-
vide you guides, some of the oldest men, best acquainted with
the country; I will bring up the rear myself with the cavalry,
38.
cai Bapir póyyov ¿πideíkvutai: "The magadis, a pipe so called, gives
forth a shrill and strong sound." This seems to be the instrument
here meant, though the same author (ibid.) observes that there was
another kind of payadis, resembling a harp. Poppo refers to Boeck.
Comment. Metr. in Pind. p. 261.
Your enemies are Thracians, and you our friends are also Thra-
cians, so that in the dark we might mistake you for our enemies
Weiske.
Q 2
228
[B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
and, if there be occasion, will soon come up to the front." For
the watch-word they fixed upon MINERVA, on account of their
relationship. After this conversation they went to rest.
66
1
40. When it was about midnight, Seuthes came to them
with his cavalry clad in their corslets, and his peltasts
equipped with their arms. After he had appointed the guides.
the heavy-armed men took the lead, the peltasts followed, and
the cavalry formed the rear-guard. 41. As soon as it was
day, Seuthes rode up to the front, and extolled the Greek
custom, for he said that he himself, when marching in the
night, though but with a small force, had often been separated,
along with the cavalry, from the infantry; "but now," he
added, we all appear in a body at break of day, as we ought
to be. But halt here, and take some rest, and I, after having
taken a survey of the country, will return to you.' 42. When
he said this, he rode off over a hill, taking a particular road.
Having come to some deep snow, he examined whether there
were any footsteps of men on it, pointing either forward or
the contrary way.
But as he found the way untrodden, he
soon came back, and said, 43. "All will be well, my friends,
if the gods be but favourable; for we shall fall upon the in-
habitants unawares. For my own part, I will lead the way
with the cavalry, in order that, if we come in sight of any per-
son, he may not run off and give notice to the enemy. Follow
me; and, if you are left behind, keep in the track of the
cavalry. When we have crossed these hills, we shall come to
a number of well-stored villages."
44. When it was mid-day, he had already reached the sum-
mit, and, after taking a view of the villages, came riding back
to the heavy-armed men, and said, "I will now send off the
horse to gallop down into the plain, and the peltasts to attack
the villages. Follow therefore as fast as you can, that if any
of the enemy offer resistance, you may give your support."
45. Xenophon, on hearing this, alighted from his horse. "Why
do you alight," inquired Seuthes, "when it is necessary to
make haste?" "I am sure," replied Xenophon, "that you do
not want me only; and the heavy-armed men will hasten on
with greater speed and alacrity, if I lead them on foot."
Seuthes then rode off, and Timasion, with about forty of the
1 C. 2, sect. 31.
46.
R
CH. 4.]
BOOTY TAKEN: VILLAGES BURNED.
1
229
Greek cavalry, went with him. Xenophon called on the most
active men of each company, such as were under thirty years
of age, to come forward, and, taking these, he hurried on,
while Cleanor led up the rest of the Greeks. 47. When they
came to the villages, Seuthes, riding up to Xenophon, with
about fifty horse, said, "What you said, Xenophon, has hap-
pened; the inhabitants are captured; but my cavalry are
gone off without a leader, pursuing the people some one way,
some another; and I am afraid that the enemy, collecting in a
body somewhere, may do us some mischief. It is necessary,
too, that some of us should remain in the villages, for they are
full of people." 48. "I then," said Xenophon, "with the
force that I have, will possess myself of the heights; and do
you, meanwhile, order Cleanor to extend his line along through
the plain by the villages." When they had made this arrange-
ment, about a thousand slaves, two thousand oxen, and ten
thousand head of other cattle, were captured. They then took
up their quarters there for the night.
CHAPTER IV.
Seuthes burns the villages, and takes more spoil. The Greeks suffer from
cold. The Barbarians, who had fled, come down from the mountains on
pretence of wishing to make a truce; they thus reconnoitre the camp, and
then attack the Grecks in the night, by whom they are repulsed; they
make submission to Seuthes, and their lives are spared.
1. THE next day, Seuthes, having entirely burned the vil-
lages, and left not a single house standing, (in order to strike
terror into the rest of the people, when they saw what they
would sufler if they did not submit,) made a retreat. 2. The
booty he sent Heraclides to sell at Perinthus, that pay might
be raised for the soldiers. He himself and the Greeks en-
To what this alludes, the critics are not agreed. Zeune refers it
to sect. 38; Schneider to sect. 37; Bornemann, perhaps with more
probability, to sect. 31, where Xenophon says, "You will become
master of many men and women," to which he considers that the
words of Seuthes, "the inhabitants are captured," refer. Halbkart,
however, considers that it alludes to something which Xenophou
has omitted to mention.
230
[B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
camped on the plain of the Thynians, who left their dwellings,
and fled to the mountains.
3. There was now a great fall of snow, and such severe
frost, that the water which the attendants brought in for
dinner, and the wine in the vessels, were frozen, and the noses
and ears of many of the Greeks were bitten off. 4. Hence it
became evident why the Thracians wear the skins of foxes
over their heads and ears, and coats that extend not only
over their breasts, but round their thighs; and why, when on
horseback, they wear wide garments,' not cloaks, reaching
down to their feet.
5. Seuthes, sending some of the prisoners to the mountains,
made it known that if the inhabitants did not come down and
submit to him, he would burn both their villages and their
corn, and that they would then perish with hunger. In con-
sequence the women, children, and old men came down, but
the younger sort encamped in the villages at the foot of the
hills. 6. Seuthes, on receiving notice of their proceedings,
desired Xenophon to take the youngest of the heavy-armed
men, and to follow him. Starting, accordingly, in the night,
they arrived at the villages by break of day. Most of the
occupants fled, for the mountains were close at hand. All that
Seuthes took, he put to the spear without mercy.
7. There was with him on this occasion one Épisthenes,2 an
Olynthian, a great lover of boys, who, seeing a handsome youth,
just in his bloom, with a shield in his hand, about to be put
to death, ran up to Xenophon, and begged him to intercede
for so beautiful a young man. s. Xenophon, going up to
Seuthes, begged him not to kill the youth, and made him ac-
quainted, at the same time, with the character of Episthenes,
telling him that he once raised a company in which he made
it his sole object that the men should be handsome; and that
at the head of these he proved himself a man of valour.
9.
¹ Zɛpác.] From what is said by Harpocration, that the Seipai
were put on μετὰ τοὺς χιτῶνας, ὥσπερ ἐφαπτίδας, Zeune concludes
that the Supά was a penula or outer garment, reaching to the feet,
and fastened with a belt; referring also to what Herodotus (vii. 69)
says of the Arabs, Lepàs vπelwoμévoi joav. Kühner. The lower part
seems to have been something of the nature of a petticoat. Spelman
renders the word "cassocks."
ως
• Not he that is mentioned i. 10. 7; iv. 6. 1.
Ch. 4.] AN ATTACK FROM THE THRACIANS.
""
231
Seuthes then put this question to Episthenes: "Would you
be willing, Episthenes, to die for this youth?" Episthenes,
stretching out his neck, replied, "Strike, if the youth desires
it, and will feel grateful to me.' 10. Seuthes next asked the
youth whether he should kill Episthenes instead of him. The
youth would not consent, but besought him to kill neither.
Episthenes then embraced the youth, and said, "Now, Seuthes,
you must fight with me for him; for I will not give up the
youth." 11. Seuthes laughed, and did nothing further in the
matter.
It was resolved by Seuthes that they should encamp where
they were, in order that the people upon the mountains might
not get subsistence from the villages. He himself, going down
a little lower into the plain, pitched his camp there. Xeno-
phon, with the select body of men,¹ fixed himself in the village
highest up under the hills. The rest of the Greeks took up
their quarters close by, among the people called the mountain
Thracians.
12. Not many days had elapsed, when the Thracians, coming
down from the hills to Seuthes, made a treaty with him about
a peace, and the giving of hostages. Xenophon, at the same
time, went and told Seuthes that they were encamped in a
dangerous place, and that the enemy were near at hand, and
said that he would rather encamp in some secure post abroad,
than in a sheltered position with the danger of being cut off.
Seuthes bade him fear nothing, and pointed to the hostages
then in his hands. 13. Some of the people from the moun-
tains, too, came down and begged Xenophon to assist them in
effecting a treaty. Xenophon assented, told them to keep up
their spirits, and engaged that they should suffer no harm if
they submitted to Seuthes. But they had come with this re-
quest only for the purpose of acting as spies.
14. These things took place during the day. In the course
of the following night the Thracians came down from the hills
and attacked them. Each master of a house acted as a leader,
for it would have been difficult for them, under any other ar-
rangement, to find the houses in the villages in the dark, as
they were surrounded with high palisades to secure the cattle.
15. When they came up to the door of each house, some hurled
1 Ch. 3, sect. 46
232
[B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
their spears in at them, others struck them with their clubs
which they carried, they said, to knock off the heads of the
spears, while others set fire to the buildings, and calling for Xe-
nophon by name, bade him come forth and be put to death; or
else they declared that he should be burned to ashes upon the
spot. 16. The fire soon began to show itself through the roof,
and Xenophon and his men were within, with their corslets
on, and their shields, swords, and helmets in their hands,
when Silanus, a native of Macestus,2 about eighteen years of
age,3 blew a signal with the trumpet, and they immediately
rushed out, with their swords drawn, as well as those from
the neighbouring houses. 17. The Thracians at once tock to
flight, slinging their shields, as was their custom, over their
shoulders; and some of them, as they were trying to leap over
the palisades, were caught and suspended, their shields stick-
ing fast among the stakes; some were killed through missing
the outlets; and the Greeks drove the rest out of the village.
18. A party of the Thynians, however, came back under cover
of the darkness, and hurled their javelins at some of the Greeks
that were running past a burning house, taking aim out of the
darkness at those who were in the light; they wounded Hiero-
nymus a Euodean, and Theogenes a Locrian, both captains;
but nobody was killed; though the clothes and baggage of
some of them were burned. 19. Seuthes came to their relief
with seven horsemen, the first that he met, bringing with
him the Thracian trumpeter; and, when he saw how matters
stood, the trumpet, by his orders, continued to sound as long
as he was on the march to give aid; so that this noise also
4
Perhaps they had been prevented by the lowness of the roofs
from putting on their helmets.
2 A town in the Triphylian district of Elis. Steph. Byz.
3 Schneider supposes that the age of the youth is mentioned be-
cause it properly required a grown-up person to inflate a trumpet
effectually; Halbkart, because he showed such presence of mind
as would have been remarkable in one of maturer years.
4 Ἱερώνυμόν τε Εὐοδέα.] The last word is generally regarded as
corrupt. Kühner supposes that this is the same Hieronymus who
is mentioned as a native of Elis, iii. 1. 34; vi. 4. 10; vii. I. 32; and
thinks that Xenophon here gives him an epithet from the particular
town of Elis in which he was born. Some copies have 'Tepévvµóv te
kai Evodia, as if Euodeus were the name of another man; but the
kai is justly rejected by Bornemann; and Kühner, though he re-
tains, does not defend it.
¿
CH. 5.]
SEUTHES BECOMES POWERFUL.
contributed to strike terror into the enemy.
233
When he came
up, he congratulated the Greeks, and said that he had ex-
pected to find many of them killed.
20. Xenophon then requested Seuthes to give up the host-
ages to him,' and to march with him, if he was willing, to the
mountains; if not, to permit him to go himself. 21. The next
day, accordingly, Seuthes gave him the hostages, (who were
men of advanced age, the most considerable persons, as they
said, among the mountaineers,) and joined him with his army.
Seuthes had now a force three times as large as before;2 for
many of the Odrysæ, on hearing what he was doing, had come
down to take the field with him. 22. The Thynians, when
they beheld from the mountains so vast a force of heavy-
armed men, peltasts, and cavalry, came down and besought
him to make peace with them, engaging to serve him in every
way, and requesting him to accept pledges from them.
Seuthes, calling in Xenophon, communicated to him what
they said, and observed, at the same time, that he would not
make peace, if Xenophon wished to take revenge on them
for their attack. 24. Xenophon replied, "I consider my-
self sufficiently revenged, if these people, instead of remain-
ing free, are to become slaves;" adding, however, that he
advised him to take as hostages in future those who had most
power to harm him, and to let the old men stay at home. All
the people in this part of the country accordingly submitted
to Seuthes.
23.
CHAPTER V.
The Greeks are not paid in full, yet continue to serve Seuthes; the soldiers
are dissatisfied, on this account, with Xenophon. Unfairness of Seuthes;
the expedition to Salmydessus.
1. THEY now crossed over³ to the
zantium, into what is called the Delta.
Thracians above By-
called the Delta. This had not formed
The reason for this request is not very clear.
2 A force three times as great as he had before the Greeks joined
him. Zeune.
3 In the translation of the commencement of this chapter, I have
adhered to the pointing of Dindorf, which makes ùπερ¤áλλovo the
234
B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
2
1
any part of the dominion of Mæsades, though it had belonged.
to Teres, a son of Odryses, some ancient king. 2. Here He-
raclides met them with the price of the spoil.
Seuthes, selecting three pairs of mules, (for there were no
more,) and others of oxen, sent for Xenophon and requested
him to accept the first for himself, and to distribute the others
among the generals and captains. 3. Xenophon replied, "For
myself it will be sufficient to receive something another time;
give these to the generals and captains that have followed you
in company with me.” 4. Timasion the Dardanian then re-
ceived one of the pairs, Cleanor the Orchomenian another,
and Phryniscus the Achæan the third; the pairs of oxen were
divided among the captains. But Seuthes gave the army
only twenty days' pay, though the month was expired; for
Heraclides said that he had been unable to sell any more. 3
3. Xenophon, being concerned at this deficiency, exclaimed,
with an imprecation, "You seem to me, Heraclides, not to
have such care for the interests of Seuthes as you ought to
have; for, if you had such care, you would have brought the
full pay, even though you had borrowed money to make it up,
or sold your own clothes, if you could not raise the sum by
any other means."
6. At this reproach Heraclides was extremely vexed, and
feared that he should be deprived of the friendship of Seuthes;
and, from that day, in whatever way he could, he laboured to
bring Xenophon into disgrace with Seuthes. 7. The soldiers,
too, threw blame upon Xenophon because they did not receive
their pay; and Seuthes was displeased with him because he
was earnest in demanding it for them. 8. Until that time he
had been constantly telling him that, when he arrived at the
sea, he would put him in possession of Bisanthe, and Ganos,
third person plural. Krüger and Kühner point the passage in such
a way as to make vπɛρ¤άMovσι the dative plural of the participle,
dependent on παρῆν.
I The father of Seuthes, c. 2, sect. 32.
The article rou after Tipov shows us that we should understand
Xenophon as meaning Teres the son of Odryses, the old king from
whom the Odryse were named. Bornemann. The sense of the pas-
sage seems to be that the Delta had formerly been part of the king-
dom of the Odryse in the time of Teres, but had ceased to belong to
it before or during the reign of Mæsades, the father of Seuthes.
3 OÙ πλεĨоν ɵπоλýcaι.] Not to be rendered with Leunclavius nor
pluris, but non majorem prædæ partem. Kühner.
CH. 5.]
DECEITFULNESS OF HERACLIDES.
235
and Neontichos, but, after that period, he alluded to none of
those places; for Heraclides had maliciously insinuated that
it was not safe to intrust fortresses to a man at the head of
an army.
9. Xenophon, in consequence, began to consider with him-
self what he ought to do about the expedition farther up the
country. Heraclides, meantime, was thrusting the other ge-
nerals upon Seuthes, and urging them to say that they could
lead the army not less effectively than Xenophon; he assured
them also that, in a few days, their full pay for two months
should be given them, and recommended them to continue in
the service of Seuthes. 10. To this Timasion replied, “For
my part, even if five months' pay were to be given me, I
would not serve without Xenophon." Phryniscus and Cleanor
expressed the same sentiments as Timasion.
11. Seuthes then blamed Heraclides for not calling in Xe-
nophon with them; and they accordingly sent for him alone.
But Xenophon, seeing that this was a trick of Heraclides, to
render him unpopular with the rest of the generals, took with
him, when he went, not only all the generals, but all the cap-
tains. 12. As they were all moved by the arguments of
Seuthes, they joined him in an expedition, and proceeded
through the country of the Thracians called Melinophagi,
keeping the Euxine Sea on the right, to Salmydessus. Here
many of the ships sailing into the Euxine are grounded and
driven ashore; for a shoal there stretches far out into the sea.
13. The Thracians who live in those parts, set up pillars as
boundaries, and each party plunder the wrecks stranded on
their own portion of the coast; but for some time before they
erected the pillars, it was said that they fell in great numbers
by the hands of each other while engaged in plundering. 14. In
this place were found couches, boxes, written books, and
1
1 Πολλαὶ δὲ βίβλοι γεγραμμέναι.] If γεγραμμέναι is genuine, as can-
not indeed be doubted, we must necessarily suppose that written
books are meant. But some commentators have expressed great
surprise at the mention of written books in this passage, because they
were extremely scarce in those days, and because it was not at all
likely that they would have been brought by merchants into those
parts. This consideration induced Larcher to set aside the word
γεγραμμέναι, and suggest that we should read πολλὰ δὲ βυβλία, that
is, many funiculi, restes, rudentes, “ropes or cables." *** On the
traffic in books, see Becker's Charicles, tom. i. p. 207. Kühner
236
[B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
many other things, such as seamen carry in their wooden
store-chests. Having subdued this people, they went back
again. 15. Seuthes had now an army superior in number to
that of the Greeks; for many more of the Odrysæ had come
down to him, and others, as fast as they submitted, joined his
force. They encamped in a plain above Selybria, at the dis-
tance of about thirty stadia from the sea. 16. No pay as yet
appeared; the soldiers were greatly dissatisfied with Xeno-
phon; and Seuthes no longer treated him with familiarity,
but, whenever he went to desire to speak with him, many en-
gagements were pretended.
CHAPTER VI.
The Greeks are solicited by the Lacedæmonians to join them in a war with
Tissaphernes, when a certain Arcadian brings a formal accusation against
Xenophon; he defends himself, and is justified by others. He is requested
by Seuthes to remain in his service with a thousand men, but resolves to
depart.
1. AT this time, when two months had nearly expired,
Charminus, a Lacedæmonian, and Polynicus, came from Thi-
bron, and stated that the Lacedæmonians had resolved to take
the field against Tissaphernes, and that Thibron 2 had set sail
Some have thought that Bieλo here means merely rolls of bark, as
Theophrastus (H. P. iv. 8. 4) says that the Biblos was used for
sails, ropes, mats, and other articles; but this notion, as well as
that of Zeune and Weiske, who think that nothing but paper iz
meant, is irreconcilable with the word yeypaµµévai, which, as Küt
ner observes, we have the strongest reason to think genuine.
"And
as so many books were written and read in Greece," says Krüger,
"it is not at all surprising that some of them should have been
transported to the Greek colonies." Hutchinson refers to a passage
of Theopompus, similar to that of Xenophon, preserved by Longi-
nus, sect. 43.
'Ev Evλívois TEUXEOI.] These, in case of shipwreck, would not
sink, but float to the shore. Krüger.
2 Oibpwv.] See c. 2, sect. 28. Tissaphernes, unsuccessful in his
attempts on the Ten Thousand Greeks, had returned to Asia Minor
to assume Cyrus's authority, and take vengeance on such as had
supported him. The cities of Ionia, fearing his resentment, had
applied for protection to the Lacedæmonians, who had sent out Thi
bron thither as harmost, with an army of 4500 men. See Xen.
Hellen. iii. 1. 3.
CH. 6.] SOLICITATIONS FROM THE LACEDÆMONIANS.
237
for the purpose of carrying on the war with him; adding that
he was in want of this auxiliary force, and promised that a
daric a month should be the pay for each common soldier,
twice as much for the captains, and four times as much for the
generals. 2. When these Lacedæmonians arrived, Heraclides.
hearing that they were come for the army, remarked to Seu-
thes that it was a fortunate occurrence, "for the Lacedæmoni-
ans," said he, are in want of the army, and you no longer
require it; by resigning it, therefore, you will gratify them,
and the soldiers will cease to ask you for pay, and will leave
the country."
66
4.
3. Seuthes, listening to these representations, desired him to
bring the Lacedæmonians to him; and as they told him that
they were come for the army, he said that he would give it up,
and was willing to be their friend and ally, and invited them
to a banquet, at which he entertained them magnificently, but
did not invite Xenophon, or any of the other generals.
The Lacedæmonians inquiring what sort of a person Xeno-
phon was, he replied, that in other respects he was not a bad
man, but that he was a great friend to the soldiers, " and on that
account," added he, "it is the worse for him."1 "Does the
man then,” said they, "try to make himself popular with the
soldiers?” “Certainly," replied Heraclides. 5. "Will he not
then oppose us," said they, "respecting the removal of the
army?" "But if you call the soldiers together," rejoined He-
raclides, "and promise them pay, they will show little regard
to him, and will hasten away with you." 6. " How, then,"
said they, "can they be assembled to hear us?" "To-morrow
morning," answered Heraclides, "we will bring you to them,
and I feel assured that, as soon as they see you, they will
readily flock together." Thus ended that day.
7. Next morning Seuthes and Heraclides conducted the
Lacedæmonians to the army, and the soldiers were called to-
gether. The Lacedæmonians then stated that it was resolved
by their countrymen to go to war with Tissaphernes, "who,"
said they, "has injured you. If therefore you join with us,
you will both revenge yourselves on an enemy, and will re-
ceive, each of you, a daric a month, a captain double, and a
general fourfold.” 8. The soldiers listened to this offer with
He is in a worse condition than he would be, if he paid less re
gard to the soldiers. Kühner.
238
[B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
pleasure; and one of the Arcadians immediately rose up to
make an accusation against Xenophon. Seuthes was also pre-
sent, being desirous to know how the matter would end, and
was standing where he could easily hear, attended by an in
terpreter, though he himself understood most of what was
spoken in Greek. 9. The Arcadian proceeded to say,
"We
should certainly, O Lacedæmonians, have been with you long
ago, if Xenophon had not wrought upon us and led us hither,
where, serving through a severe winter, we have had no rest'
night or day; while he has the fruit of our labours, and Seu-
thes enriches him personally, and deprives us of our pay; 10.
so that if I, who am the first to speak on this occasion, could
see him stoned to death, and paying the penalty for what he
has made us suffer in dragging us about, I should think that I
had received my pay, and should cease to be concerned at
what I have undergone." After him another stood up, and
then another; when Xenophon proceeded to speak as follows:
11. "A man may well, indeed, expect any kind of fate,
since I now meet with accusations from you, at a time when I
am conscious of having displayed the utmost zeal to serve you.
After I had set out homewards, I turned back, not certainly
from learning that you were in a satisfactory condition, but
rather from hearing that you were in difficulties, and with the
intention of aiding you if I could.2 12. When I got back to
the army, though Seuthes here sent many messengers to me,
and promised me many advantages, if I would induce you to
go to him, I made no attempt, as you yourselves know, to do
so, but led you to a place³ from which I thought you would
have the quickest passage into Asia; for I considered that
this course would be best for you, and knew that you desired
it. 13. But when Aristarchus came with his galleys, and
prevented you from sailing across, I then (as was doubtless
proper) called you together, that we might consider what
measures we ought to take. 14. After hearing then Aristar-
chus, on the one hand, desiring you to go to the Chersonesus,
1 Πεπαύμεθα.] Πετάμενα has crept into many editions, Henry
Stephens having said that it was found in some manuscripts. But
Dindorf and Kühner declare that every manuscript that has yet
been examined presents πεπαύμεθα.
2 See c. 1, sect. 40, and c. 2, sect. 8.
Perinthus c. 2, sect. 10. Kühner.
CH. 6.] XENOPHION OBLIGED TO JUSTIFY HIMSELF.
239
and listening to Seuthes, on the other, urging you to take the
field with him, you all said that you would go with Seuthes,
and all gave your votes for that course. In what respect then
did I wrong you on that occasion, by leading you whither you
all resolved to go?
15. "Since Seuthes, however, has begun to break his word
concerning your pay, you, if I were to express approbation of
his conduct, would justly accuse and detest me; but if I, who
was previously his greatest friend, am now most of all men at
variance with him, with what reason can I, who have prefer-
red your interest to that of Seuthes, incur censure from you
for that very conduct through which I have brought upon me
his enmity? 16. But perhaps you may say that I have re-
ceived your pay from Seuthes, and am merely deluding you.
This however is certain, that if Seuthes has paid me anything,
he did not pay it with a view of losing what he gave me, and
of paying, at the same time, an additional sum to you; but, I
should think, if he had given me anything, he would have
given it with this intention, that by bestowing on me a less
sum, he might not have to pay you a greater. 17. If there-
fore you suppose that such is the case, it is in your power to
render the compact profitless to both of us, by requiring from
him your pay; for it is evident that Seuthes, if I have re-
ceived anything from him, will in that case demand it back
from me, and will demand it justly, if I fail to fulfil the con-
tract for which I was bribed? 18. But I am conscious of
being far from possessing anything that belongs to you; for I
swear to you by all the gods and goddesses, that I have not
even received what Seuthes promised me for myself; and he
is himself present, and as he hears me, knows whether I com-
mit perjury or not; 19. and, that you may be still more sur-
prised, I swear that I have not even received as much as the
other generals have received, no, nor even as much as some of
the captains. 20. From what motive, then, did I act thus?
I thought, my fellow-soldiers, that the more I participated in
his poverty for the time, the more effectually should I render
him my friend when he should be able to serve me. But
I now see him at once in a state of prosperity, and understand
his real disposition. 21. Possibly some one may say, 'Are
you not ashamed, then, of having been thus foolishly deceived?'
I should indeed be ashamed, if I had been thus deceived by as
240
[B. VII
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS,
enemy, but in a friend it appears far more disgraceful to de-
ceive than to be deceived. 22. If however we are to be on
our guard against friends, I know that we have been on the
strictest guard not to give Seuthes any just pretence for re-
fusing to pay us what he promised; for we have neither done
him any harm, nor neglected his interests, nor shrunk from
any undertaking to which he called us.
23. "But, you may say, I ought to have taken pledges at
the time, that even if he had had the will, he might not have
had the power to deceive. With regard to this point, hear
what I should never have mentioned before him,' if you had
not shown yourselves either extremely inconsiderate or ex-
tremely ungrateful towards me. 24. For recollect in what
circumstances you were placed, when I extricated you from
them by conducting you to Seuthes. Did not 2 Aristarchus
the Lacedæmonian prevent you from entering Perinthus, shut-
ting the gates if you offered to approach the city? Did you
not encamp without the walls in the open air? Was it not the
middle of winter? Had you not to buy provisions, when you
found but few commodities for sale, and had but little with
which to buy? 25. Were you not obliged to remain in
Thrace, because galleys at anchor prevented you from sailing.
across, while, whoever stayed, had to stay in an enemy's
country, where there were numbers of cavalry and numbers of
peltasts to oppose you? 26. And though we had a heavy-
armed force, with which, going to the villages in a body, we
might perhaps have procured a moderate supply of food, we
had no troops with which we could pursue or capture slaves
or cattle; for I found neither cavalry nor peltasts any longer
existing in a body among you. 27. If, then, when you were
in such straits, I had, without demanding any pay for you,
procured you Seuthes as an ally, who had cavalry and pel-
tasts, of which you were in want, should I have appeared to
have consulted ill for you? 28. For, through having the aid
He would not have said this in the presence and hearing of
Seuthes, lest Seuthes might say, in justification of his conduct, that
he had done the Greeks benefit, and that they had not been led to
join him from any liking for his service, but from being compelled
by the difficulties of their circumstances. Weiske.
2 Most editors, I might perhaps say all, give this passage inter-
rogatively, except Dindorf, who puts no note of interrogation. I
have not thought proper to adhere to him on this occasion.
CH. 6.]
SPEECH OF XENOPHUN.
241
of these troops, you not only found a greater abundance of
provisions in the villages, from the Thracians being obliged to
flee with greater precipitation, but had a greater share of both
cattle and slaves. 29. As for enemies, we no longer saw any
after the cavalry was attached to us, though, before that time,
they pursued us both with horse and peltasts, hindering us
from dispersing anywhere in small parties, so as to get pro-
visions in greater quantities. 30. And if he who afforded
you this security, did not give you, in addition, very high pay
for the security,' is this the dreadful calamity of which you
complain, and do you think that, on this account, you ought
by no means to allow me to live?
31. “But under what circumstances is it that you are now
leaving the country? Is it not after having passed the winter
in the midst of abundance, and while you have in your pos-
session, besides, whatever you have received from Seuthes?
What you have consumed belonged to the enemy; and, while
faring thus, you have neither seen any of your number killed,
nor lost any alive. 32. If any reputation had been gained by
you against the Barbarians in Asia, have you not that still
undiminished, and have you not added to it new glory by sub-
duing the Thracians, against whom you took the field, in
Europe? I think, indeed, that you may justly return thanks
to the gods, as for so many blessings, for those very things
for which you are incensed against me.
33. "Such is the state of your affairs; and now, in the
name of the gods, consider what is the condition of mine.
When I first set sail for home, I went off with great praise
from you, and with honour, through your means, from the rest
of the Greeks. I was also trusted by the Lacedæmonians, or
they would not have sent me back to you.2 34. But now I
go away calumniated in the eyes of the Lacedæmonians by
your statements, and at enmity with Seuthes upon your ac-
count, whom I hoped, by serving him in conjunction with you,
to secure as an honourable protector both for myself and my
children, if I should have any. 35. Yet you, for whose sake
chiefly I have incurred hatred, and incurred it from people
far more powerful than myself, and while I do not yet cease
attempting whatever good I can for you, entertain such an
VOL. I
1 Consult what is said on v. 6, 31.
R
2 C. 2, sect. 8,
242
[B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
opinion of me as you now express. 36. But you have me in
your power, having neither found me fleeing nor attempting
to flee; and, if you do what you say, you will put to death a
man who has often watched for your safety; who has gone
through many toils and dangers in company with you, accord-
ing to his share and beyond his share; who, by the favour of
the gods, has raised with you many trophies over the Bar-
barians; and who has exerted himself most strenuously for
you,' in every way that he could, in order that you might not
make yourselves enemies to any of the Greeks. 37. As it is,
you are at liberty to go whither you please, by sea or land,
without censure; and now, when abundance of everything
presents itself before you, when you are going to sail whither
you have long desired to go, when those who are at the
height of power solicit your services, when pay is offered, and
when Lacedæmonians, who are thought to be the best of
leaders, are come to take the command of you, does it seem to
you to be a fit time for putting me at once to death? 38. You
had no such inclination when we were in the midst of hard-
ships, O men of admirable memories! You then called me
father, and promised always to remember me as your bene-
factor. However, those, who are now come to request your
services, are not void of judgment, so that, as I think, you
will not, by being such as you are towards me, appear better
in their estimation." Having spoken thus, he ceased.
2
39. Charminus, the Lacedæmonian, then stood up and said,
"By the twin gods,3 soldiers, you do not appear to be dis-
pleased with this man on any reasonable grounds; for I my-
self can bear testimony in his favour: since, when Polynicus
and myself asked Seuthes about Xenophon, inquiring what
sort of man he was, he had nothing else to lay to his charge,
contra vos.
"for
1 Πρὸς ὑμᾶς.] Contra vos or apud vos.
The former is perhaps pre-
ferable. He alludes, v. gr. to vii. 1. 25, seqq. Weiske. Also to vi.
6, 11, seqq. Kühner. Weiske is right in interpreting
Schneider. I follow those who are in favour of vestrá causâ,
your sake." Bornemann. I think Bornemann in the right.
contra vos might perhaps be Englished, "against your follies or
caprices."
Yet
Ὦ πάντων μνημονικώτατοι.] Must be understood ironically.
Henry Stephens thinks that we should read aµvημоviкúтαTοi, which
Jacobs approves, considering that irony is unsuitable to the passage.
See on vi. 6. 34.
сп. 6.]
XENOPHON DEFENDED.
243
but, as he said, that he was a great friend to the soldiers, on
which account, he observed, it was worse for him' both with
us Lacedæmonians and with himself." 40. Eurylochus an
Arcadian, a native of Lusia,2 rising up after him, exclaimed,
"It seems to me, Lacedæmonians, that your first act of gener-
alship for us should be this, to exact our pay from Seuthes,
either with his consent or against it, and that, till you do so,
you ought not to lead us from hence." 41. Polycrates, the
Athenian, next rose and spoke in favour of Xenophon :3 "I
see," said he, “soldiers, Heraclides also present here, who, after
receiving the spoil which we obtained by our exertions, and
having sold it, gave the proceeds neither to Seuthes nor to us,
but, having appropriated it to himself, still keeps possession
of it. If therefore we are wise, we shall lay hold of him, for
he is not a Thracian, but, being himself a Greek, acts dis-
honestly to Greeks."
4
42. Heraclides, on hearing this remark, was still more
alarmed, and, moving towards Seuthes, said, "If we are wise,5
we shall withdraw from hence, out of the power of these men."
Mounting their horses, accordingly, they rode off to their own
1 See sect. 4.
CC
2 iv. 2. 21.
CC
3 Εἶπεν ἐνετὸς ὑπὸ Ξενοφῶντος.] This is the reading which Din-
dorf's text exhibits, but to which most critics must surely prefer the
common reading, εἶπεν ἀναστὰς ὑπὲρ Ξενοφῶντος, arose and spoke
on behalf of Xenophon," i. e. in favour and justification of Xeno-
phon. Eurylochus did not indeed speak undisguisedly," observes
Kühner, "in behalf of Xenophon, but rather with a covert attempt
to transfer the blame from Xenophon to Heraclides. It is however
greatly to be doubted," he adds," whether the received reading be
genuine; for instead of ἀναστὰς three manuscripts exhibit αἰνετῶς.
in a praiseworthy manner,' and two have reròs, which Dindorf
has admitted into his text, changing at the same time to into vπò,
so that ἐνετὸς ὑπὸ Ξενοφῶντος will be subored by Xenophon.
But a strong objection to this reading is, that iverós is a word of the
later age of the Greek language; it occurs in Appian; but Xeno-
phon would rather have used vлóпεμжTоç, as in iii. 3. 4. Nor is this
word altogether suitable to the narrative. Some have objected to
the order of the words εἶπεν ἀναστάς, instead of ἀναστὰς εἶπεν, which
is more usual in Xenophon; but this is a matter of very small mo-
ment, and is completely nullified by the examples adduced in Bor-
nemann's note and in Sturz's Lex. Xen. tom. i. p. 209, as well as
by Cyrop. ii. 3. 4; De Rep. Ath. i. 6; and Hellen. i. 7. 7."
Five manuscripts have µãλλor, instead of páλa, which Dindorf
has injudiciously adopted. Kühner.
5 "How poorwμer.] This seems to be an intentional repetition of
these words, which occur just above, in the speech of Polycrates.
R 2
244
[B. VII
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
camp; 43. from whence Seuthes sent Abrozelmes, his inter-
preter, to Xenophon, and begged him to remain in his service
with a thousand heavy-armed men, engaging at the same time,
to give him the fortresses on the sea, and the other things which
he had promised him. He also told him, causing it to be com-
municated as a secret, that he had heard from Polynicus, that
if he fell into the hands of the Lacedæmonians, he would cer-
tainly be put to death by Thibron. 44. Many other persons,
too, sent notice to Xenophon that he had been made an object
of calumny, and ought to be upon his guard. Xenophon, on
receiving these communications, took two victims and sacri-
ficed to Jupiter, consulting him whether it would be better
for him to stay with Seuthes on the conditions that he pro-
posed, or to go away with the army. Jupiter signified to him
that he had better depart.
CHAPTER VII.
The Greeks go to get provisions from the villages. Medosades tries to send
them away, and prevails on Xenophon to go and consult the Lacedæmoni-
ans. The Lacedæmonians refuse to take away the army till Seuthes has
paid them. Xenophon's speech to Seuthes. Seuthes at last produces the
money, which Xenophon gives to the Lacedæmonians to be distributed
among the soldiers.
1. SEUTHES then encamped at a great distance; and the
Greeks quartered in villages from which they intended to get
plenty of provisions, and then to march to the sea. These
villages had been given by Seuthes to Medosades; 2. who,
seeing his property in them consumed by the Greeks, was much
displeased; and, taking with him one of the Odrysæ, the most
influential of all those that had come down from the upper
country, and about fifty horse, went and called Xenophon out
of the Grecian camp. Xenophon, taking some of the captains,
and other proper persons, came out to meet him. 3. Medosades
then said, "You act unjustly, O Xenophon, in laying waste our
villages. We give you notice therefore, I on the part of
Seuthes, and this man on the part of Medocus the king of the
upper country, to quit this district; if, however, you do not
quit it, we shall not allow you to continue your depredations,
but, if you do harm to our territories, we shall defend ourselves
against you as enemies."
CII. 7.]
XENOPHON REPLIES TO MEDOSADES.
245
4. Xenophon, on hearing this warning, said, "To give you
an answer, when you speak in such terms, is painful, yet for
the information of this young man, I will reply to you, that he
may know what sort of people you are, and what sort we are.
5. We," he continued, “before we became your allies, march-
ed through this country whithersoever we thought fit, laying
waste what we pleased, and burning what we pleased; 6. and
you yourself, when you came to us as an ambassador, pitched
your tent with us, without fear of any enemy; but your people
never entered this region at all, or, if ever you did venture
into it, used to encamp with your horses still bridled, as in the
territory of those more powerful than yourselves. 7. But
now, since you have become allied with us, and have by our
means, and with the assistance of the gods, got possession of
the country, you would drive us from that very land which
you received from us, when we held it as our own by force of
arms, for, as you are aware, the enemy were not strong enough
to dispossess us. 8. And you would send us away, not only
without offering us a present, or doing us any service in re-
turn for the benefits that you have received from us, but evel
without allowing us to encamp, as far as you are able to pre-
vent us, when we are just taking our departure. 9. In ad-
dressing us thus, you show no respect either for the gods or
for the man that accompanies you, who beholds you now
abounding in wealth, but who saw you, before you were our
ally, supporting your existence by plunder, as you yourself
have acknowledged. 10. But why do you address yourself
thus to me," added Xenophon, "for I no longer hold the com-
mand, but the Lacedæmonians, to whom you gave the army
that they might lead it away, and gave it, O most admirable
of men, without calling on me to take part in the resignation
of it, so that, as I incurred their disapprobation when I
brought it to you, I might now do them a pleasure by restor-
ing it to them."
11. When the Odrysian heard this account, he said, "I, Q
Medosades, am ready to sink into the earth with shame, as I
listen to such a statement. Had I known this before, I should
certainly not have accompanied you, and shall now take my de-
parture; for Medocus, my king, would by no means approve
my conduct, if I should assist in expelling his benefactors
1 C. 2, sect. 34. Kühner.
246
[B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
from the country." 12. As he uttered these words, he mounted
his horse and rode off, and all the other horsemen went with
him, except four or five. But Medosades (for the devastation
of the country made him uneasy) requested Xenophon to call
to him the two Lacedæmonians. 13. Xenophon, taking the
most eligible persons to attend him, went to Charminus and
Polynicus, and told them that Medosades wished to speak
with them, intending to warn them, as they had warned him,
to quit the country. 14. "I think, therefore," continued
Xenophon, "that you might secure the pay owing to the
army, if you were to say that the troops have entreated you to
support them in obtaining their dues from Seuthes, whether
with his consent or without it; that they engage to follow you
cheerfully if they gain their object; that they appear to you
to say what is just; and that you have promised them not to
depart until they have received their just demands."
15. The
Lacedæmonians replied that they would say this, and what-
ever else they might be able to urge with the greatest effect;
and immediately set out, with all proper persons accompany-
ing them.
When they arrived, Charminus said, "If you have anything
to say to us, Medosades, speak; if not, we have something to
say to you." 16. Medosades replied, very submissively, "I
have to say, and Seuthes says the same, that we desire that
those who have become our friends may suffer no evil at your
hands; for whatever harm you do to them, you do at the same
time to us, as they are our allies." 17. "We, then," said the
Lacedæmonians, "shall be ready to depart, when those who
have effected such services for you, have received their pay;
if they do not receive it, we are here even now to take their
part, and to take vengeance on such as have wronged them in
violation of their oaths. If you are of that number, it is from
you that we shall begin to require justice for them."
"Would you be willing, Medosades," rejoined Xenophon, "to
leave it to the people in whose country we are, (as you say
that they are your friends,) to decide whether it is fit that you
should quit the country, or we? 19. To this proposal he
would not consent, but urged the two Lacedæmonians by all
means to go to Seuthes about the pay, and said that he thought
they would succeed with Seuthes; if they did not, he re-
Juested them to send Xenophon with him, and promised to
""
18.
cn. 7.]
XENOPHON'S SPEECH TO SEUTHES.
247
support their application. In the mean time he begged them
not to burn the villages.
20. They then deputed Xenophon, and those who appeared
most eligible along with him. When he came to Seuthes, he
said, "I am not come, O Seuthes, to ask anything of you,
but to convince you, if I am able, 21. that you had no just
cause to be displeased with me for demanding, on behalf of the
soldiers, the pay which you so readily promised them; since
I thought it would be not less advantageous for you to pay it
than for them to receive it; 22. for I knew that, next to the
gods, they have been instrumental in placing you in a con-
spicuous position, by making you king over a large extent of
country and great numbers of people, so that it is not possible
for you to escape the notice of mankind, whether you do what
is good or what is evil. 23. To a man in such a con-
dition it seems to me to be of no small importance that he
should not be thought to send away his benefactors with-
out gratitude; of importance also to have the approbation of
six thousand men; and most important of all to show that you
are never to be distrusted in what you say. 24. For I observe
the words of the faithless wander about without power, influ-
ence, or regard; while the words of those who are known to
observe truth, are not less effectual, if they desire anything,
in accomplishing their desire, than the strength of other men;
if they wish to recall any one to his duty, I know that the
threats of such men are not less influential in producing re-
form than the actual punishments of others; and if men of
such a character promise anything, they produce no less ef-
fect by their promises than others by giving at the moment.
25. Consider with yourself: what did you pay us before you
obtained our alliance? You know that you paid us nothing
but from confidence being placed in you that you would truly
perform what you said, you induced such a number of men to
join you in the field, and to conquer for you a kingdom not
worth fifty talents merely, the sum which they now think they
ought to receive from you, but many times that sum. 26.
First of all, then, this confidence which was placed in you,
and which secured you the kingdom, is bartered away by you
for this sum of money.
27. "Consider, too, how great a matter you then thought it
to obtain those dominions which you have now subjugated
248
| B. VII
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
and possess. I am well aware that you would have prayed
for the accomplishment of what has now been done for you
rather than for many times such a sum of money.
28. To
29. You are
me, then, it seems a greater disadvantage, as well as a greater
disgrace, not to retain this power than not to have acquired
it; just as it is more grievous to a man to become poor after
being rich than never to have been rich at all, and as it is
more afflicting to appear as a private man after having been
a king, than never to have been on a throne.
sensible, moreover, that those who have now become your
subjects, have not submitted to be governed by you from any
affection for you personally, but from necessity, and that they
would endeavour to make themselves free again, if there were
no fear to restrain them. 30. Whether therefore do you think
that they will be more under the restraint of fear, and act
more sensibly for your interests, if they should see these troops
so disposed towards you, as to be willing to stay now if you
request them, or soon to return again if it should be necessary,
and find that others, hearing many good accounts of you from.
these, are ready to join you at once whenever you wish; or if
they should form an unfavourable opinion of you, and believe
that no others will engage in your service through distrust
arising from what has now happened, and that the Greeks are
better affected towards your new subjects than yourself? 31.
These people, besides, did not submit to you because they
were inferior in number to us, but because they wanted lead-
ers. It is now a matter of apprehension, then, that they may
choose some of our men, who think themselves wronged by
you, or the Lacedæmonians, who are still more powerful than
they, as leaders, especially if, on the one hand, our soldiers
promise to serve the Lacedæmonians with greater alacrity, on
condition that they' exact what is due to them from you, and
the Lacedæmonians, on the other, assent to this condition
from the need which they have of our army. 32. That the
Thracians who have just become subject to you, would march
against you much more willingly than with you, is indisput-
able; for, while you hold the mastery, servitude is their lot,
but, if you are conquered, freedom.
33. "If, again, it be your business to take forethought for
That is, the Lacedæmonians.
?
CH. 7.]
XENOPHON'S SPEECH TO SEUTHES.
249
the country, as being your own property, whether you do
think that it would be less exposed to harm, if these soldiers,
after having received from you what they claim, should go
away leaving peace behind them, or if they stay in the coun-
try as in that of an enemy, and you, with other soldiers more
numerous than they, who will be constantly in want of pro-
visions, proceed to take the field against them? 34. Or whe-
ther will more money be expended by you, if what is due to
the Greeks be paid, or if this be left due, and you have at the
same time to take other troops, able to overcome them, into
your service?
35. "But this sum, in the opinion of Heraclides, (as he ex-
pressed himself to me,) appears excessively large. It is
doubtless, however, a much lighter matter for you either to
receive or pay such a sum, than it was, before we joined you,
to receive or pay the tenth part of it. 36. For it is not the
actual amount that defines the much or the little, but the
ability of him who has to pay or to receive. But your annual
income is now greater than the whole of the property which
you formerly possessed.
such
37. "In these observations, O Seuthes, I have had regard
to your interest as to that of a friend, in order that you may
appear worthy of the advantages which the gods have be-
stowed upon you, and that I, at the same time, may not lose
all reputation with the army. 38. For be assured, that if I
now wished to do harm to an enemy, I should not be able to
effect it with these troops, and that, if I desired again to give
assistance to you, I should not be in a condition to do so
is the feeling of the army towards me. 39. Yet I call both
you yourself, and the gods who know the truth, to witness,
that I have neither received anything from you on account of
the soldiers, nor have I ever asked of you, for my own private
use, what was due to them, nor have I claimed what you pro-
mised me. 40. I also swear to you, that, even though you had
offered to pay me, I would not have received anything from
you, unless the soldiers had been at the same time to receive
what was due to them; for it would have been disgraceful in
me to have settled my own business, and to have allowed
theirs to continue in an unsatisfactory condition, especially
when I had received honour from them.
41. "To Heraclides, however, everything seems a trifle, in
250
[B. VI.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
comparison with the acquirement of money by whatever
means. But I, O Seuthes, think no possession more honour-
able or more glorious to a man than that of virtue, and justice,
and generosity. 42. He that has these qualities, is rich in the
numerous friends that he has, and rich in the good-will of
numbers that wish to become his friends; if he is prosperous,
he has associates ready to rejoice with him; if he meets with
a reverse of fortune, he is not in want of people to lend
him aid.
43. "If you have neither understood from my actions that
I am a friend to you at heart, nor are able to discover it from
my words, yet consider, by all means, the expressions of the
soldiers concerning me; for you were present and heard what
those said who sought to asperse me. 44. They accused me
to the Lacedæmonians of regarding you more than them;
they also charged me with taking more care that your affairs
might prosper than their own; and they added, that I had
received presents from you. 45. Whether, then, do you
think that they accused me of having received those presents
from you, because they saw in me some ill-will towards you,
or because they observed in me a great zeal for your good?
46. I consider, indeed, that all men are of opinion that grati-
tude ought to be cherished¹ towards him from whom they
have received favours. You, before I did you any service,
entertained me favourably with looks, and words, and demon-
strations of hospitality, and were never satisfied with promis-
ing how great rewards should be mine; and now, when you
have accomplished what you desired, and have become as
great as I could assist you to become, have you the heart to
allow me to be thus dishonoured among the soldiers?
have nevertheless confidence that time will yet teach you to
resolve to pay, and that you, of yourself, will not endure to
ἀποδείκνυσθαι).
47. I
1 Αποκεῖσθαι.] Two manuscripts have ἀποκεῖσθαι, which Dindorf,
Poppo, and Krüger have admitted into their texts (instead of the
common άodεiкvvodai). It cannot be denied that there is much
elegance in this reading, for ἀποκεῖσθαι, like κατατίθεσθαι and other
similar verbs, are very frequently used in regard to favours and be-
nefits, as is shown by Poppo, referring to Jacobs ad Achill. Tat. p.
678; yet this circumstance does not appear to me of sufficient weight
to justify us in deserting that reading which is supported by the au-
thority of almost all the manuscripts, and makes very good sense.
See my note on the Mem. Soc. ii. 1. 21. Kühner.
CH. 7 j
SEUTHES PROMISES TO PAY.
251
see those who freely did you service,' loading you with re-
proaches. I entreat you, then, when you make the payment,
to study to leave me in as much credit with the army as you
found me."
(C
49.
48. Seuthes, on hearing this address, uttered imprecations.
on the man who had been the cause that the debt was not dis-
charged long before; (and every one surmised that Heracli-
des was meant ;) for," said he, "I never meant to deprive
the men of their pay, and will now give it to them."
Xenophon then said again, "Since therefore you are resolved
to pay, I now beg you to make the payment through me, and
not to suffer me, on your account, to bear a different character
with the army from that which I bore when we came to you.”
50. Seuthes replied, "You shall not lose more credit with the
army by my means; and if you will stay with me with only a
thousand heavy-armed men, I will give you the fortresses, and
everything else that I promised." 51. "It cannot be so," re-
joined Xenophon; "let us therefore depart." "Yet I know,"
replied Seuthes, "that it will be safer for you to remain with
mẽ than to go away.” 52. “I commend your care of me,”
rejoined Xenophon, "but it is impossible for me to stay; yet
be assured that wherever I receive greater honour, there will
be good attendant on it for you.” 53. Seuthes then said, “I
have but very little money, and that I give you, one talent ;³
but I have six hundred oxen, four thousand sheep, and a hun-
dred and twenty slaves; take these, and the hostages 4 from
those who were treacherous to you, and depart." 54.
"And
if these," said Xenophon, laughing, "are not sufficient to
2
3
1 Τούς σοι προεμένους εὐεργεσίαν.] Schneider observes that the
phrase προέσθαι τινὶ εὐεργεσίαν was used when a person conferred a
benefit on another without being certain whether he should receive
any return; and refers to Plato, Gorg. p. 520. "The Greeks," says
Kühner, “had indeed bargained for a remuneration, (c. 2, sect. 36,)
but, though it was not paid, they still continued to give their services
to Seuthes." Krüger, however, observes that Xenophon certainly
indulges in a little rhetorical exaggeration.
ETaiv.] A similar mode of expression to that of people de-
clining an invitation, “I thank you, I am obliged to you, as in
Latin laudo, benignè. See Bos. Ellips. p. 785, ed. Schæfer. Kühner.
3 i. 7. 1S.
Weiske observes that these were Thynians, who had broken
their word by attacking Xenophon in the night, c. 4, sect. 14. See
also sect. 13, 20, 21. Poppo.
252
[B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
make up the pay, for whom shall I say that I have the
talent? Will it not be better for me, since danger threatens
me, to secure myself against stoning by taking my departure?2
You heard the threats." The remainder of that day they
continued there.
55. The next day Seuthes delivered to them the cattle he
had promised, and sent men with them to drive them. The
soldiers, in the mean time, began to say that Xenophon was
gone to Seuthes to live with him, and to receive what Seuthes
had promised him; but when they saw him returning, they
were rejoiced, and ran to meet him. 56. As soon as Xeno-
phon saw Charminus and Polynicus, he said, "This property
has been saved for the army through your influence; I deliver
it to you; dispose of it, and divide the proceeds among the
soldiers." The Lacedæmonians accordingly received the
cattle, and, appointing salesmen, sold it, and incurred much
blame.3 57. As for Xenophon, he took no part in the pro-
ceeding, but openly prepared to return home; for a vote of
banishment had not yet been passed against him at Athens.`
But his friends in the camp came to him, and begged him
not to desert them until he had led off the army and delivered
it to Thibron.
1 Τίνος τάλαντον φήσω ἔχειν ;] “whose talent shall I say that l
have?" Among which of the Greeks shall I divide this talent,
when their number is so great? Kühner.
2 Xenophon is to be considered as speaking with a sort of irony
or sarcasm. If I return to the camp of the Greeks with this small
sum of money, great danger will threaten me; it will therefore be
better for me to go away than to return to the camp. Kühner. The
passage may be understood thus: Since danger threatens me, Seu-
thes, as you yourself observed, (sect. 51,) will it not be better for
me to go away into my own country, and so escape stoning? Borne-
mann. Comp. c. vi. sect. 10.
2 It being supposed that they had been guilty of fraud in the dis-
tribution. Kühner.
* See the biography of Xenophon prefixed to this volume.
CH. 8.] THE GREEKS PROCEED TO LAMPSACUS.
253
CHAPTER VIII.
The Greeks pass over to Lampsacus. Xenophon, having received no pay, is
obliged to sell his horse. He sacrifices to Jupiter Meilichius. The Greeks
arrive at Pergamus. Xenophon is prevailed upon to attack Asidates, a
Persian nobleman, and at length takes him prisoner, with a great quantity
of booty, of which he receives a considerable share. He delivers the army
into the hands of Thibron, to be incorporated with the forces assembled
against Tissaphernes.
1. FROM hence they sailed across to Lampsacus, when Eu-
clides the augur, a native of Phlius,' the son of Cleagoras, who
wrote THE DREAMS IN THE LYCEUM,2 came to meet Xeno-
phon. He congratulated Xenophon on having returned safe,
and asked him how much gold he had. 2. Xenophon assured
him, with an oath, that he should not have enough for his ex-
penses in travelling home, unless he sold his horse, and what
he had about him. Euclides did not believe him. 3. But
after the people of Lampsacus had sent presents to Xenophon,
and Xenophon was proceeding to sacrifice to Apollo, he made
Euclides stand beside him at the time, who, on inspecting the
victims, said that he was now convinced he had no money.
"But I observe," added he, "that even if money should ever
¹ A city of Achaia in the Peloponnesus, between Sicyon and
Argos.
2 Τοῦ τὰ ἐνύπνια ἐν Λυκείῳ γεγραφότος.] I interpret with Brodæus
and Krüger, "he who wrote the Dreams in the Lyceum," i. e. the book
entitled Dreams in the Lyceum." Whether the received reading be
genuine, is uncertain; for three manuscripts read ro≈ rà ¿voikia įv
oikių. Several conjectures have been proposed by scholars, as
ἐντοίχια, εἰκόνια, ἐνώπια, but these, as nothing is known of Cleagoras,
can be of no service in leading us to a decision. The conjecture
¿vúπia (a Homeric word) was thrown out by Toup, Ep. Critic. p.
48, Lips., in the sense of "he who painted the front or façade of the
Lyceum. "Weiske defends irúπvia, on the supposition that Cleagoras
might have been a painter of such genius as to have given a strik-
ing representation of the dreams mentioned in the Odyssey, r', 562,
as going out of the horn and ivory gates; or of such as went on foot,
Il. B', 8, 16; or of such as flew about, Eur. Hec. 71. Schneider re-
marks that there was a statue of a dream in the temple of Escula-
pius, as is told by Pausanias, Corinth. 10. 2. Bornemann thinks the
word vúvia suspicious, and encloses it in brackets. As to the omis-
sion of the article after ivúπvia, it can offend no one, if we con-
sider, with Krüger, that 'Evúvia iv Avneiw, was the title of the book.
I read γεγραφηκότος, instead of γεγραφότος, with four of the best
nanuscripts. See Lobeck. in Addend. ad Phryn. p. 764. Kühner.
254
[B. VII.
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
2
be likely to come to you, there will be some obstacle, and, if
no other, that you will be an obstacle to yourself." Xeno-
phon assented to the justice of the observation. 4. "Jupiter
Meilichius, however," said Euclides, "is an obstacle in your
way;" and then asked whether he had ever sacrificed to that
god, "as I was accustomed," continued he, "to sacrifice and
offer holocausts for you at home."3 Xenophon replied, that
since he had left home he had not sacrificed to that deity.
Euclides then advised him to sacrifice as he had been used to
do, and said that it would be for his advantage. 5. Next
day, Xenophon, going on to Ophrynium, offered a sacrifice,
burning whole hogs 4 after the custom of his country, and found
the omens favourable.
6. The same day Biton and Euclides came to bring pay
for the army.
These men were hospitably entertained by
The Lyceum was a sacred enclosure at Athens, dedicated to
Apollo, where the polemarch originally kept his court. It was de-
corated with fountains, plantations, and buildings, and became the
usual place of exercise for the Athenian youth who devoted them-
selves to military pursuits. Nor was it less frequented by philoso-
phers, and it was especially the favourite resort of Aristotle and his
followers. Cramer's Ancient Greece, vol. ii. p. 340.
1
By your disinterestedness and liberality. Veiske.
2 That is, Jupiter placabilis, Jupiter that might be propitiated by
sacrifices. This appellation is often given to Jupiter, as in Thucyd.
i. 126, where see Duker. See the Schol. ad Aristoph. Nub. 407;
and Meurs. in Thes. c. 7. But it appears from Pausanias, x. 38,
that there were several gods to whom this title was given. Hut-
chinson.
3 Εἰώθειν ἐγὼ ὑμῖν θύεσθαι καὶ ὁλοκαυτεῖν.] As I was accustomed
at home (i. e. at Athens) to sacrifice and burn for you whole victims,
the kai being explicative, and equivalent to namely.
* This
mode of sacrificing is to be distinguished from the common method,
in which only the best parts of the victims were burned in sacrifice
to the gods. Kühner. Hence it appears that Euclides lived at Athens
with Xenophon, and was accustomed to assist at his sacrifices as
an augur or priest; and thus a friendship and familiarity had arisen
between them. Schneider.
Xoípovs.] Larcher, referring to Thucyd. i. 126, and the scholiast
on that passage, conjectures that these were not real swine, but
loaves baked in the shape of swine; a conjecture which Schneider
justly repudiates; for as there is nothing in the text to indicate that
the word is used in that signification, it is our business to take it in its
ordinary sense.
5 Not the Euclides mentioned in sect. 1. Kühner thinks the name
corrupt.
• Ξενοῦνται.] The phrase ξενοῦσθαί τινι usually means “to enter
1
CII. 8.]
ATTACK ON ASIDATES.
255
Xenophon, and having repurchased his horse, which he had
sold at Lampsacus for fifty darics, (as they suspected that he
had parted with it from necessity, for they had heard that he
was fond of the horse,) they restored it to him, and would not
receive from him the price of it.
1
7. Hence they advanced through Troas, and, passing over
Ida, came first to Antandrus; then, proceeding along by the
sea, they arrived at the plain of Thebe in Lydia. 8. March-
ing from hence through Atramyttium and Certorium, by
Atarneus, to the plain of the Caicus, they reached Pergamus
in Mysia.
Here Xenophon was hospitably received by Hellas the
wife of Gongylus of Eretria,2 and mother of Gorgion and Gon-
gylus. 9. She told him that Asidates, a Persian, resided in
the plain, and said that if he would attack him in the night
with three hundred men, he might take him, with his wife and
children, and his wealth, which was considerable.
10. To
guide him in the enterprise she sent her own cousin, and a
man named Daphnagoras, whom she greatly esteemed; and
Xenophon, having these with him, offered sacrifice. Basias,
an augur from Elis, who was present, said that the omens were
extremely favourable, and that the man might easily be cap-
tured. 11. After supper, accordingly, he set out, taking with
him such of the captains as were most attached to him, and
had constantly been his friends, in order that he might do
them a service.3 Others also came to join the party, forcing
into a bond of hospitality with any one," "to become a person's
guest-friend," but as this relation already existed between the par-
ties, we must take the verb here in a more general signification.
Krüger. So with Eevouraι in sect. 8.
I
Krüger thinks that we should read Mysia, in which it appears
that Thebe or Hypoplacia (so called from being built at the foot
of Mount Placos) was situate. See Schneider ad h. 1., and Cramer's
Asia Minor, vol. i. p. 129.
2 Gongylus of Eretria had been an accomplice of Pausanias in his
treachery to Greece; see Thucyd. i. 128; Diod. Sic. xi. 44; C. Nep.
Paus. ii. 2. Xerxes in consequence, according to the practice of the
Persian kings, (see ii. 1. 3; Herod. viii. 85, 136,) had put him in
possession of certain towns, of which it may be inferred from this
passage that Pergamus was one. See Hellen. iii. i. 6, from whence
it appears that he was an exile in the time of the Persian wars.
Hellas we must suppose to have been the wife, not of this Gongylus,
but of his son. Krüger.
3
By giving them a share of whatever plunder he might get.
256
[B. VII
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
themselves upon him, to the number of six hundred; but the
captains sent them back, that they might not have to give
them any portion of the booty, which they regarded as ready
to their hands.
12. When they came to the place, about midnight, the slaves
that were about the castle, and the greater part of the cattle,
escaped them, as they neglected these in order that they might
capture Asidates himself and his riches. 13. But as they were
unable to take the building by assault, (for it was high and
large, and had battlements, and many brave men to defend it,)
they proceeded to dig a passage into it. 14. The wall was
eight bricks of earth thick; but a breach was made in it by
day-break; and the moment an opening appeared, some one
from within pierced the thigh of the man that was nearest
him through with an ox-spit; and afterwards, by shooting
showers of arrows, they rendered it unsafe even to approach.
15. As they uttered loud cries, too, and made signals with
torches, Itabelius,² with his force, came to their assistance, as
well as some Assyrian heavy-armed men, and about eighty
Hyrcanian cavalry, who were in the king's pay, from Coma-
nia; and other troops, lightly armed, to the number of eight
hundred, with cavalry, some from Parthenium, and others from
Apollonia and the neighbouring parts.
16. It was now time for the Greeks to consider how they
should retreat; and, taking what oxen and sheep were at hand,
they drove them off, placing them with the slaves, within a
hollow square, not so much because they were anxious about
the booty, but lest, if they went off and left it, their retreat
might appear like a flight, and the enemy might thus be ren-
dered bolder, and their own men more dispirited; whereas
they now retired as if resolved to defend their capture.
But when Gongylus observed that the Greeks were but few,
and those who hung upon their rear were numerous, he sallied
forth himself, against the will of his mother, at the head of
his own force, wishing to take a share in the action; Procles
also, and Teuthranias, a descendant of Damaratus,³ came to his
17.
A large spit; such as might be supposed large enough for roast-
ing a whole ox.
who he was,
2 Who he was, is uncertain. Bornemann conjectures that we
should read Itabelisis.
* See ii. 1. 3. Teuthrania was a city of Mysia, on the river
CH. 8.]
CONCLUSION.
257
support from Halisarne. 18. Xenophon and his party, as they
were sorely harassed by the enemy's arrows and slings, and as
they marched in a circle to hold their shields as a defence
against the missiles, got with great difficulty across the river
Caicus, nearly half of them being wounded. 19. On this oc-
casion Agasias the Stymphalian, one of the captains, was
wounded, after making head the whole time against the enemy.
But they at last came off safe, with about two hundred slaves,
and cattle enough for sacrifice.
20. On the following day Xenophon offered sacrifice, and
led out his whole force in the night, with a design to go as
far as possible into Lydia, in order that the Persian might not
be in fear from his proximity, but be thrown off his guard. 21.
But Asidates, hearing that Xenophon had again sacrificed with
a view to an attack upon him, and that he would return
with all his strength, went out to encamp in some villages
lying close under the little town of Parthenium. 22. Here
Xenophon and his troop came round upon him, and captured
himself, his wife and children, his horses, and all his property;
and thus the omens of the first sacrifice were verified.
23. They then marched back to Pergamus; and here Xeno-
phon had no cause to complain of the god; for the Lacedæmo-
nians, the captains, the rest of the generals, and the soldiers,
all agreed that he should receive select portions of the spoil,
consisting of horses, oxen, and other things; so that he was
now able even to serve a friend.
24. Soon after, Thibron arrived and took charge of the army,
and, uniting it with the rest of the Greek force, proceeded to
make war upon Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus.
25.2 The governors of the king's country, as much of it as
Caicus. See Strabo, xiii. p. 615. Damaratus had been king of
Sparta, but, having been expelled from his throne by his colleague
Cleomenes, had taken refuge with Darius Hystaspes, by whom he
was courteously received, and presented with the cities Teuthrania
and Halisarna. See Herod. vi. 67; Xen. Hellen. iii. 1. 6. Kühner.
Jupiter Meilichius. See sect. 4, 5. Kühner.
1
2 This paragraph is pronounced by Krüger de Authent. p. 7,
seqq., to be a mere interpolation. His reasons for forming this
opinion are chiefly these: 1. That Xenophon is made to use the
first person in it; a circumstance, however, which Kühner thinks
of little weight, referring to i. 9. 28, and v. 7. 23, in both which pass-
ages Xenophon uses the first person. 2. That Cyrus was satrap of
Lydia and Phrygia before he marched against his brother, and that
VOL. I.
258
[B. VIL
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
we went through, were these: of Lydia, Artemas; of Phrygia,
Artacamas; of Lycaonia and Cappadocia, Mithridates; of
Cilicia, Syennesis; of Phoenicia and Arabia, Dernes; of Syria
and Assyria, Belesys; of Babylon, Rhoparas; of Media,
Arbacas; of the Phasiani and Hesperit, Tiribazus; (the
Carduchi, the Chalybes, the Chaldeans, the Macrones, the
Colchians, the Mossynoci, the Cœtæ, and the Tibareni, were
independent nations ;) of Paphlagonia, Corylas; of the Bithy-
nians, Pharnabazus; and of the Thracians in Europe, Seuthes.
26. The computation of the whole journey, the ascent and
descent,¹ was two hundred and fifteen days' march, one thousand
one hundred and fifty-five parasangs, thirty-four thousand six
hundred and fifty stadia. The length of time occupied in the
ascent and descent was one year and three months.
Tissaphernes succeeded him in the government of them. 3. That
it is utterly incredible that Phoenicia and Arabia, countries lying at
such a distance from one another, could have formed one satrapy.
4. That Syria and Assyria were never under the same satrap. 5.
That if we suppose Hesperite to mean the Western Armenians, how
is it that Xenophon makes no mention of Eastern Armenia, the sa-
trap of which he had named, iii. 5. 17? 6. Why also does he not
mention the Taochi and Drile? 7. What is to be made of the
Cotæ, who are mentioned neither in the Anabasis nor in any other
ancient author? 8. That it is ridiculous to rank Seuthes among the
king of Persia's satraps. These reasons appear sufficient to convince
most readers of the spuriousness of the paragraph. Dindorf, how-
ever, allows it to stand without any mark of disapprobation. Kühner
encloses it in brackets.
1 As far as Cotyora; for from Ephesus to Cunaxa are numbered
(ii. 2. 6) 535 parasangs, and 16,050 stadia; and from Cunaxa to
Cotyora, (v. 5. 4,) 620 parasangs, and 18,600 stadia. Thus from
Ephesus to Cotyora the distance was 1155 parasangs, and 34,650
stadia. Zeune. But the manuscripts do not all agree with regard to
the numbers. Kühner. See the "Tabular View" subjoined.
!
TABULAR VIEW
or
THE MARCHES AND STOPPAGES IN THE EXPEDITION OF
THE TEN THOUSAND GREEKS.
TABULAR VIEW OF THE MARCHES AND STOPPAGES
EXTRACTED FROM THE EDITION OF
THE ANABASIS, OR MARCH UP THE COUNTRY TO CUNAXA.

Parasange.
From Sardis to the Mæander
22
To Colossæ
8
To Celænæ
20
To Peltæ
10
To Ceramorum Forum
12
To the Plain of Caystrus
30
To Thymbrium
10
To Tyriæum
10
To Iconium
20
Through Lycaonia
30
To Dana
25
LD Ch to NNW to to come co
Days'
March.
Stoppages.
Date. n. c. 401.
Reference to
Xenophon.
3
Mar.
1 7 days
9.
10-17.
i. 2. 5.
i. 2. 6.
3130
20-Apr. 19. i. 2. 7.
2 3
Apr. 21-24.
i. 2. 10.
2
24-26.
i. 2. 10.
3
5
29-May 4.
i. 2. 11.
2
May
6.
i. 2. 13.
2
3
co co
3
8-11.
i. 2. 14.
14-17.
i. 2. 19.
5
22.
i. 2. 19.
4.
3
26-29.
i. 2. 20.
In the Plain
1
30.
i. 2. 21.
To Pyramus
Through the Defies into Cilicia
Stay at Tarsus
From Tarsus to R. Psarus
To Issus
25 4.
June
3.
i. 2. 21.
20
23.
i. 2. 23.
10
C
25.
j. 4. 1.
26.
ib.
15
2
28-July 1.
ib.
To the Gates of Syria
5
July
2.
i. 4. 4.
To Myriandrus
5 1
7
To the river Chalus
20
To the river Daradax
30
To Thapsacus
15
3
To the river Araxes
50
9
To Corsote
35 5 3
co co on
་
3-10.
i. 4. 6.
14.
i. 4. 9.
19.
i. 4. 10.
22-27.
i. 4. ll.
3
Aug.
5-8.
i. 4. 19.
13-16.
i. 5. 4.
To Pylæ
90 13
29.
i. 5. 5.

Through Babylonia
15 4
1
Day of the battle at Cunaxa
Sept. 2.
3.
i. 7. 1.
i. S. 0.
Sum 514 84 97
To this sum is to be added the march from Ephesus, which is said to have occupied
three days: see Krüger, ed. maj. p. 551. But Xenophon himself (Anab. ii. 2.6)
states that "the length of the journey from Ephesus in Ionia to the place where the
battle was fought, was ninety-three days' march, five hundred and thirty-five para-
sangs, and sixteen thousand and fifty stadia; while from the field of battle to Babylou
the distance was said to be three hundred and sixty stadia." Hence it follows, either
that Xenophon has made a mistake in reckoning up the numbers, or that the numbers
themselves have been corrupted by transcribers.
As to the dates in this table, the reader may consult Krüger, ed. maj. p. 556; Ains-
worth, Travels in the Track of the Ten Thousand Greeks, p. 240, seqq.; Karl Koch
Der Zug der Zehntausend nach Xenophons Anabasis, Leipz. 1850, p. 140, segg
Kühner.
IN THE EXPEDITION OF THE TEN THOUSAND GREEKS.
DR. RAPHAEL KÜHNER.
THE CATABASIS, OR RETURN FROM CUNAXA TO COTYORA.
Parasangs.
Days'
March.
Day after the battle of Cunaxa
Sept. 4.
Junction with Ariaus
223 days
6-29.
To the Wall of Media
3
Oct. 2.
Stoppages. Date. B. c. 101, 400.
Reference to
Xenophon.
ii. 2. 1, seqq.
ii. 2. 8.
ii. 4. 9—12.
To Sitace
8
2 2
4.
ii. 4. 13.
To the river Physcus
20
4
8.
ii. 4. 25.
Through Media
30
6
14.
ii. 4. 27.
To Cænæ
4
1
15.
ii. 4. 28.
To the river Zabatus
16
4
3
19-22.
ii. 5. 1.
To some villages not named
iii. 3. 11.
5
1
1
23, 24.
iii. 4. 1.
To Larissa
1
25.
iii. 4. 7.
To Mespila
6
1
26.
lii. 4. 10.
To some villages not named
4
1 1
27, 28.
iii. 4. 13-18.
Through the Plain
1
* 29.
iii. 4. 18.
To a palace
5
3
Nov. 3-6.
iii. 4. 24.
To certain villages
]
7.
ib.
Into the Plain
March back
3
10.
iii. 4. 31.
1
11.
iii. 5. 13.
Though the Carduchi
7
18.
iv. 1. & 2.
At the river Centrites
1
19.
iv. 3. 2.
To the sources of the Tigris
15
To the river Teleboas
15
Through the Plain
15
1125
co co co
3
22.
iv. 4. 3.
3
25.
ib.
3 2
28-30.
iv. 5. 2.
To the Euphrates
4
Dec. 4.
ib.
To the Armenian villages
4 7
8-15.
iv. 5. 22, 23.
When the guide escaped
3
15.
iv. 6. 3.
Advance beyond the Phasis
35 7
25.
iv. 6. 4.
To the mountains of the Taochi
10
2 1
27, 28.
iv. 6. 5.
Crossing the mountains
1
29.
iv. 6. 5-27.
Through the Taochi
30
Through the Chalybes.
Through the Scythini
To Gymnias
To Mount Theches
Through the Macrones
2822
5
Jan. 3. E. c. 400. iv. 7. 1.
50
7
20 4 3
20 4
10
co co cn HA
3
3
10.
15-18.
iv. 7. 15.
iv. 7. 18.
22.
iv. 7. 19.
27.
iv. 7. 21.
30.
iv. S. 1-S.
Through the Colchians
Feb. 2.
iv. S. S.
Battle with the Colchians
1
3.
iv. 8. 9-19.
Delay on account of the honey
3
6.
To Trebisond
7
230
To Cerasus
3/10
Mar. 13-23.
To the borders of the Mossynæci
1
Through the Mossynœci
24.
Apr. 1.
iv. 8. 20.
S-Mar. 10. iv. 8. 22.
v. 3.
2.
v. 4. 2.
v. 4. 2-29.
Through the Chalybes.
To Cotyora
v. 5. 1.
Sum
245
122 134
3-May 10. v. 5. 3.
So Xenophon (Anab. v. 5. 4) says that "the length of the journey down the coun-
try, from the field of battle near Babylon to Cotyora, was a hundred and twenty-two
days' march, six hundred and twenty parasangs, and eighteen thousand six hundred
stadia, occupying eight months," i. e. from September 4th, 401, to May 18th, 400. The
voyage from Cotyora to Sinope took two days, May 19th and 20th; the army stayed at
262
THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.
Sinope five days, that is, till May 25th; and two days after, May 27th, they arrived at
Heraclea. From thence they proceeded to the Harbour of Calpe, situated in Bithynia,
or Asiatic Thrace; at the beginning of October they crossed over to Byzantium; and
during December, 400, and January, 399, they were engaged in the service of the
Thracian prince Seuthes. Kühner.
Xenophon (v. 5. 4) terminates the Catabasis at Cotyora. A summary of the events
that took place after the Greeks arrived at Cotyora, is subjoined.

Occurrences.
Reference to
Xenophon.
Date.
B. c. 400, 299.
Colyora.
Sinope,
Heraclea,
Xenophon thinks of forming a settlement
here, but is disappointed.
Xenophon is impeached, and defends
himself.
The army purified.
Trial of the generals.
Truce made with Corylas of Paphlagonia.
Embarkation of the army.
Arrival at.
Cheirisophus returns.
Xenophon offered the sole command,
but declines it in favour of Cheiriso-
phus.
Voyage to.
The army separates into three divisions.
Arcadian division in danger; relieved by
Xenophon.
Port of Calpe. Cheirisophus dies.
Chrysopolis,
Pharnabazus cuts off five hundred of the
Greeks, through the rashness of Neon.
Pharnabazus and his party defeated.
Cleander, harmost of Byzantium, comes
to the Greeks.
The Greeks proceed to.
Anaxibius, the Spartan admiral, lures.
the Greeks out of Asia by promising
them employment and pay.
Byzantium. They accordingly, cross over to Byzan-
v. 6. 15, 17.
v. 7. 1, seqq.
v. 7. 35.
v. S. 1-26.
vi. 1. 1.
vi. 1. 14.
vi. 1. 15.
ib.
vi. 1. 18.
vi. 2. 16.
vi. 2. 16.
July 1.
vi. 3. 5, seqq.
vi. 4. 11.
vi. 4. 24.
vi. 5. 7-32.
vi. 6. 6.
vi. 6. 38.
Aug. 7.
vii. 1. 1.
tium.
vii. 1. 7.
They find themselves deceived, and
threaten to pillage Byzantium.
vii. 1. 16.
Four hundred of the Greeks sold as slaves.
by Aristarchus the successor of Clean-
der.
vii. 2. 6.
Perinthus,
vii. 2. 11.
vii. 2. 23.
Mid-winter,
vii. 6. 24.
vii. 3. 14.
Dec. 5.
Selybria.
Lampsacus,
Arrival at.
Xenophon confers with Seuthes.
The Greeks enter the service of Seuthes,
(in which they remain two months, vii.
6. 1.)
Acts of Seuthes and the Greeks in Thrace,
(pay withheld, vii. 5.2 & 9; paid, vii.7.
55.)
Thibron the Spartan invites them to join]
him in the war in Asia.
Arrival at.
March through Troas to Pergamus.
Attack upon Asidates.
Great spoil taken.
The Greeks join Thibron.
vii. 3. 34.
ƒ vii. 5. 15.
vii. 6. 1.
vii. 8. 1.
vii. 7. 8.
vii. 8. 9.
399, B. C.
vii. 8. 22.'
vii. 8. 24.
Mar. 5.
A COMMENTARY
ON
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON,
DY
WILLIAM FRANCIS AINSWORTH,
1. & A., F. B. G. S., F. G. S., ETC.
A COMMENTARY
ON
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
THE zeal and critical acumen of scholars and travellers in-
numerable, have been devoted to the elucidation of the very re-
markable journey of the Greeks under Cyrus, from Sardes, the
capital of Lydia in Asia Minor, to Babylonia; and the still more
extraordinary and interesting retreat along the river Tigris by
Kurdistan and Armenia to the shores of the Black Sea.
The survey of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris by the expedition
under Colonel Chesney, gave, however, opportunities for investi-
gating this very interesting subject, such as had never previously
presented themselves; and these opportunities may be said to have
received their complement, by the advantages which were derived
from a journey in Kurdistan and Armenia, performed in 1840,
under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society and the
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, by the writer, who,
upon that occasion, followed the track of the gallant little corps,
through the most intricate and difficult portions of their wander-
ings. The result of these researches were first given to the public
in a little book, published in 1844, entitled "Travels in the Track
of the Ten Thousand Greeks."
Since that time, however, further elucidations have rapidly suc-
ceeded one another, by far the most important of which are con-
tained in the great work by Colonel Chesney, "The Expedition
for the Survey of the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris," of which the
two first volumes only are yet published. These volumes, how-
ever, comprise all that refers to the expedition of Cyrus, and con-
tain an immense mass of matter corroborative or corrective of
what has been before published.
The brilliant discoveries of Layard in Assyria, and the not
less valuable and important philological researches of Colonel
Rawlinson, have also, during the lapse of the last ten years,
brought a flood of light to bear upon the past history and con-
266
COMMENTARY ON
dition of the populations that dwelt upon the banks of the Eu-
phrates and the Tigris, which are not without their intimate bear-
ings upon the narrative left to us by the Athenian historian and
commander.
Several classical scholars have also contributed their share of
new and valuable critical inquiries; among the most important of
which is a correction made by Professor Malden, and published in
the Classical Museum, (No. vii. p. 36, et seq.,) of the generally ac-
cepted version of the passage which occurs in the Anabasis, (iv. 6.
4,) and which has been hitherto read as, " After this they marched
seven days' marches, at the rate of five parasangs a day, to the
river Phasis," but which, according to Professor Malden, must be
read as along the river Phasis. There is no real ambiguity, Pro-
fessor Malden avers, in the meaning of rapa in such a context.
The effect which such a correction of seven marches has upon
that portion of the Katabasis which refers to Armenia is consider-
able. The number of marches between the Euphrates and the
Phasis or Araxes, is reduced to seven, or by one-half what was
previously supposed, and this important correction proportion-
ately affects the subsequent portion of the route.
The commentary or exposition now offered to the public is
therefore just as much a commentary on the "Travels in the
Track of the Ten Thousand Greeks," as it is on those works
which preceded it, and on those inquiries and speculations which
have been entertained since. It is by no means, however, sup-
posed to carry the subject out of the domain of further inquiry:
much remains to be done before all the questions connected with
this most perplexing subject can receive a complete and satisfactory
solution.
SARDES.-Leaving his relatives and friends in charge of the
governments of Lydia, Phrygia, and Ionia, Cyrus is described as
commencing his march from Sardes or Sardis in April, displaying,
as Colonel Chesney remarks, admirable judgment in taking the
more circuitous route along the great plains and through the prin-
cipal cities of Asia Minor, in preference to that by which Xerxes
advanced through Cappadocia; since it gave him the support of
his fleet, by which he could receive supplies and reinforcements
from time to time, besides having a fair chance of concealing for
a longer period his bold design.
The capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia was situated a
the foot of Mount Tmolus, in a fine plain watered by the river
Pactolus, of gold-bearing celebrity. It was once a great and flour-
ishing city, and from its wealth and importance was the object of
much cupidity and of many sieges. When taken by Cyrus the
Great, under Cræsus, its last king, who has become proverbial for
his riches, Sardes was one of the most splendid and opulent cities
of the East. After their victory over Antiochus it passed to the
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
267
Romans, under whom it rapidly declined in rank and importance.
In the time of Tiberius it was destroyed by an earthquake, but
was rebuilt by order of the emperor.
The inhabitants of Sardes bore an ill repute among the ancients
for their voluptuous habits of life. Hence, perhaps, the point of
the phrase in the Apocalyptic message to the city,-“Thou hast a
few names, even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments."
(Rev. iii. 4.) The place that Sardes holds in this message, as one
of the "seven churches of Asia," is the source of the peculiar in-
terest with which the Christian reader regards it.
Successive sieges and earthquakes, and the ravages of Saracens
and Turks, have reduced this once flourishing city to a heap of
ruins, presenting, however, many remains of its former splendour.
When visited by W. J. Hamilton in 1836, with the exception of a
few black Yuruk tents, the only habitation was that of a Greek
miller, who had taken advantage of one of the streams which flow
past the Acropolis, to turn the wheel of his mill.
The principal ruin is that of the Acropolis, situated on the top
of a crumbling hill. The ruin is, however, itself made up of an-
cient fragments, the walls and 'gateway of the fortress being, ac-
cording to Hamilton, probably Byzantine, and there being no traces
of walls of Hellenic construction. Two gigantic Ionic columns,
with other huge fragments, mark the site of the temple of Cybele.
There are also remains of a Roman theatre, but the marble seats,
the proscenium, and scena, are all gone: also of a stadium, the
northern side of which has been artificially formed by a wall sup-
ported on arches running along the side of the hill. There are
also remains of two early Christian churches, one of which has
been too hastily concluded by travellers to have been the church
of Sardis to which allusion is made in the Apocalypse; but besides
that the expression can only have referred to the community of
Christians then established, the nature of the structure shows that
its date must have been at least posterior to the overthrow of the
Pagan religion and the destruction of the temples towards the end
of the fourth century. Many other remains are scattered over the
area of the ancient town; amongst which the most remarkable is
the so-called Gerusia, situated near the western limits of the city,
partly built of brick and partly of stone, but of a late period; while
to the west of these two walls are the massive marble fragments of
another building, apparently of much older date.
A countless number of sepulchral hillocks beyond the Hermus,
heighten the desolateness of a spot which the multitudes lying
there once made busy by their living presence and pursuits.*
*The late Captain Newbold called the attention of the Royal Asiatic
Society (sec Journal, vol. xiii. p. 88) to the opening of some of the singular
tumuli, which compose the Necropolis of the Lydian kings, more especially
that of Alyattes. It is probable, he remarked, that their interior will be
268
COMMENTARY ON
MAEANDER. The direction of Cyrus' march appears to have
been parallel to the Cogamus, and having made in three days
twenty-two parasangs, he arrived at the river Maeander, which he
passed on a bridge of seven boats, probably above the junction of
the Lycus. The Maeander was celebrated in classic poetry for its
tortuousness, whence our term-meandering. Ovid, in describing
the Minotaur's labyrinth, compares it with the Maeander.
As soft Maeander's wanton current plays,
When through the Phrygian fields it loosely strays;
Backward and forward rolls the dimpled tide,
Seeming at once two different ways to glide :
While circling streams their former banks survey,
And waters past succeeding waters see;
Now floating to the sea with downward course,
Now pointing upward to its ancient source.
It may be remarked here, that considering the stadium and para-
sang as fragments of the earth's true meridional circumference, as
more particularly developed by Colonel Jervis, the amount admit-
ted in the Travels in the Track of the Ten Thousand Greeks, was
607.62977 English feet for the first, 5468.668 English feet for the
second.
305
The principle upon which this estimate is founded is this: that
the Jewish itinerary measure was the Parsah of 3 Bereh; each
Bereh of 7 Khebel, or 3000 measures. The Parsah, correspond-
ing to the Greek Tapaσayya, or the Persian Farsakh, the Bereh to
the Turkish Beré, and the Khebel, or rope, to the stadium. The
Jewish Bereh was the 24,000th of the earth's true meridional cir-
cumference; the fundamental measure, therefore, the 72,000,000th
of the meridional circumference, which Colonel Jervis having com-
puted to the ellipticity from a comparative summary of the
results of the Lapland, British, French, and Indian measurements,
is 181248051.0764841 or 21.8724876 inches English. Now the
element is to the common element, of all those itinerary measures
alluded to by Eratosthenes, Cleomedes, Posidonius, and other
historians and other writers, whether Egyptian, Jewish, Greek,
Roman, or the earlier Arabian, as 5 to 9,—that is, they were, one
and all, the 40,000,000th, the Jewish the 72,000,000th, of the
earth's meridional circumference; and hence the true length of the
Roman and Greek foot, and cubit, and stadium may be immedi-
ately inferred.
7 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
For the Jewish Parsah being the eight-thousandth part of the
circumference, or 24,000 such measures above stated, was 5468.668
feet English. The Bereh, 1-24,000th of the meridional circumfer-
ence, or 3000 such measures, was 5468.668 feet English. The
Khebel, or stadium =729.15584 feet English (the side,—i. e. the
found to correspond with those singular tombs (supposed those of the Pelo-
pides) in the hills near Burnabat, overlooking the Gulf of Smyrna.

THIE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
269
length and breadth, of the greatest pyramid, or that of Cheops).
One-ninth of this was the Greek and Roman stadium, 607.62977
feet English; the 600th part, the true Greek foot, 12.156 English
inches; the 625th part, the true Roman foot, 11.67 English inches.
The Greek and Roman cubits respectively 18.2239 and 17.4997
English inches.
Colonel Jervis felt satisfied that these data would serve to clear
up many difficulties in the writings of Herodotus, Xenophon,
Strabo, Pliny, Diodorus, Curtius, and others, whose apparent
discrepancies he believed to be due rather to our misapprehen
sion, than to any obscurity or inaccuracy in those authors. For
either we must suppose the earth to have altered in dimension, the
situation of remarkable places to have changed, or the ancients to
have been wholly devoid of intelligence; or we must resort to the
conclusion that the misapprehension of these difficulties is rather
to be sought for in our own want of patient consideration.
Colonel Chesney has proceeded upon a much more latitudina-
rian system. "The modern farsang or barsakh of Persia," he says
in his great work, "The Expedition for the Survey of the Rivers
Euphrates and Tigris," vol. ii. p. 207, "varies according to the
nature of the ground, from three and a half to four English miles
per hour; and being always calculated for mules, or good horses,
ander favourable circumstances, it frequently exceeds four miles.
The ancient parasang appears to have been fixed at thirty stadia,
which at 202.84 yards would give three geographical miles. But
this being also a road measure, it no doubt varied as at present,
and was regulated according to the nature of the country; and for-
tunately we have the means of ascertaining this difference with
considerable precision. A line drawn along the map so as to touch
the river, at short distances, from Thapsacus to the river Araxes,
is about one hundred and five miles, which for the fifty parasangs
of Xenophon, give 2.10 geographical miles each. By the route
followed from Sardis to Thapsacus, it is eight hundred and fifty-
three geographical miles, which will give 2.608 geographical miles
for each of the three hundred and twenty-seven parasangs. Again,
from Thapsacus to the mounds of Muhammad, thirty-six miles
from Babylon, where, for the sake of water, the route constantly
follows and almost touches the river Euphrates, it is four hundred
and twelve geographical miles, thus giving 1.98 geographical miles
for each of the two hundred and eight parasangs, or 2.294 geogra-
phical miles for the mean of both.'
"This scarcely differs from the result obtained by the laborious
and discriminating geographer, Major Rennell, who, without our
present advantages, estimated the parasang at 2.25 miles; which,
in fact, approaches an average of the whole march of Cyrus.
find that the distance from Sardis to Cunaxa, or the mounds of
Muhammad, cannot be much under or over 1265 geographical
We

270
COMMENTARY ON
miles, making 2.364 geographical miles for each of the five hun-
dred and thirty-five parasangs given by Xenophon between those
places."
"From the preceding calculations," continues Colonel Chesney,
"it appears that we are warranted in taking the average value of
the parasang at 2.608 geographical miles throughout the march to
Thapsacus, and at 1.98, or almost two miles, from thence to Cu-
naxa; but subsequently it is less than two geographical miles.
The greater speed in the first part of the march, was the natural
consequence of moving during the most favourable season of the
year, (April and May,) with the additional advantage of roads.
The want of the latter must have been a serious impediment to
the carriages during the next fortnight; for, although the marches
were pressing, the heavy-armed men, with their weapons, would
have been greatly retarded, by the almost insupportable heat of the
summer months; in the subsequent retreat, the mountains, the
rivers, and unknown tracts, as well as the snow on the ground,
must have caused still greater retardations." This is a view of the
subject which I have also been obliged to adopt in the present
commentary.
COLOSSAE. Advancing from the Maeander through Phrygia,
the army made in one day's march eight parasangs, to Colossae,
described as being at that time a large city, rich and well inhabit-
ed. This city had indeed been previously noticed by Herodotus,
(vii. 30,) as a large city of Phrygia on the Lycus, a tributary to
the Macander. Xerxes, on his march to Sardis, B. c. 481, reached
Colossae after leaving Anaua. Colossae had become a place of
comparatively little importance in Strabo's time.
A Christian church was formed here very early, probably by
Epaphras, consisting of Jews and Gentiles, to whom Paul, who
does not appear to have ever visited Colossae in person, addressed
an Epistle from Rome. Not long after, the town was, together with
Laodicea and Hierapolis, destroyed by an earthquake. This, ac
cording to Eusebius, was in the ninth year of Nero; but the
town must have been immediately rebuilt, for in his twelfth year
it continued to be named as a flourishing place. In the middle
ages there arose near it a town called Chonae, and Colossae dis-
appeared. Chonae was the birth-place of Nicetas Choniates, one
of the Byzantine historians.
Arundel (Asia Minor, vol. ii. p. 159, &c.) supposed that the ruins
at the modern Khonos, which corresponds to Chonae, were also
the ruins of Colossae, but Hamilton (Res. &c. i. 508) found exten-
sive ruins of an ancient city about three miles north of Khonos,
which appear from certain hydrographical peculiarities alluded to
by Herodotus and Pliny, and verified by Hamilton, to be undoubt..
edly the site of Colossae.
CELAENAE. From Colossae Cyrus made in three days' march
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
271
twenty parasangs, to Celaenae, a city of Phrygia, large, rich, and
well inhabited, and where was the fortified palace of Xerxes, the
palace of Cyrus, the hunting park, and the cave of Marsyas. He-
rodotus speaks of Celaenae in describing the march of Xerxes to
Sardes. He says (vii. 26) that the sources of the Maeander are
here, and those of a stream not less than the Maeander: it is
named Catarrhactes, and rising in the Agora of Celaenae, flows into
the Maeander. The Cattarrhactes of Herodotus is clearly the
Marsyas of Xenophon. Hamilton, who visited the source at a
place called Decnair or Dinair, describes it as a considerable
stream of water gushing out with great rapidity at the base of a
rocky cliff. It appeared as if it had formerly risen in the centre
of a great cavern, and that the surrounding rocks had illen in
from the cliffs above. In Livy's description (xxxviii. 13) the
Maeander rises in the acropolis of Celaenae, and runs through the
middle of the city; and the Marsyas, which rises not far from the
sources of the Maeander, joins the same river. Leake thinks that
it clearly appears from Strabo that both the rivers (Marsyas and
Maeander) ran through Celaenae, and that they united in the
suburb which afterwards became the new city Apameia. It did
not appear to Hamilton that the cliff above the source of the
Marsyas could be the acropolis of Celaenae, which Alexander con-
sidered to be impregnable, and came to terms with the inhabitants.
He supposes that the acropolis may have been further to the
N. E., a lofty hill about a mile from the ravine of the Marsyas.
The town of Apameia Cibotus, which was built by Antiochus
Soter out of the ruins of Celaenae, was positively stated by Strabo
to lie at the source of the Marsyas. Arundel was the first who
clearly saw that Apameia must be at Dinair; and his conclusions
were confirmed by a Latin inscription which he found record-
ing the erection of a monument by the merchants residing there.
Leake has also collected the ancient testimonies as to Apa-
meia. Hamilton investigated the hydrographic and other fea-
tures of the place most carefully, and obtained several Greek
inscriptions from the same neighbourhood.
PELTAE.-From Celaenae Cyrus made in two days' march ten
parasangs, and arrived at Peltae, a city well inhabited. Peltae, or
rather the Peltenus Campus, has been identified with the plain
now called Baklan uvah, which is watered by the Maeander.
Hamilton (ii. 163) describes himself as much struck with its level
extent, and capabilities for manoeuvring cavalry. It may be, he
says, the plain on which Cyrus reviewed his troops, and celebrated
martial games after leaving Apameia: for although he was
marching to the east, it appears that he did not proceed thither
At page 203, vol. ii. of his Researches, &c., Mr. Hamilton says he is in-
clined to place Peltae either in the great plain to the south of Ishakli, or
at the foot of the mountains two miles on the road from Ishakli to Dinais.
272
COMMENTARY ON
direct; as Xenophon says that he passed through Ceramorum.
Agora, a town on the frontiers of Mysia, twenty-two parasange
from Apameia, which must have been to the N. Ñ. W.
Colonel Chesney (ii. 206) attributes these two retrograde marches
to the necessity of rounding a difficult portion of the Taurus.
་
Hamilton met on this plain burial-grounds with large blocks of
stone, and broken columns, on one of which he found a mutilated
inscription; but a whole month, he says, dedicated to the examina-
tion of the numerous villages and burial-grounds which fill this
extensive plain, and which increase in number as you advance
eastwards, would not be too much to determine the name and sites
of the ancient towns which once flourished here.
CER MON OR CERAMORUM AGORA.-After halting three days to
celebrate the Lupercalian sacrifice, Cyrus advanced twelve para-
sangs to Ceramon Agora, (the market of the Cramians,) the site of
which, according to the back distances from Koniyah, would be
a little east of the actual town of Ushak, but allowing for variation
in the value of the parasang, at Ushak itself.
Pliny having noticed a town called Caranae in Phrygia, Cramer
conjectured that this might be the Ceramon Agora. It has also
been supposed to be the same as the Caris or Carides of Stephanus,
but that name corresponds to the Carina of Pliny, or Caria, as it
perhaps should be read.
Hamilton (ii. 204) describes Ushak as a place of considerable
commerce and traffic in the present day; many of the high roads
of Asia Minor passing through it. He also adds, that to a person
going to Mysia from Apameia, (Celaenae,) and supposing, as Strabo
says, that Mysia extended to Ghiadiz, (Kadi,) Ushak would be the
last town through which he would pass before entering Mysia,
from which it is separated by a mountainous and uninhabited
district.
PLAIN OF CAYSTRUS.-From the market of the Cramians, Cy-
rus made in three days' march 30 parasangs, and arrived at a
well-peopled city, called the Plain of Caystrus. (Caystri Campus.)
It has been previously observed, that the site of the market of
the Cramians has been determined by back distances, owing to the
difficulty entailed by Cyrus having deviated from his course at
Celaenae. Thus the march from Celaenae to Peltae is 10 para-
sangs; from Peltae_to_Ceramon Agora 12 parasangs; and from
Ceramon Agora to the Plain of Caystrus, was 30 parasangs. From
the Plain of Caystrus, Cyrus marched 10 parasangs to Thymbrium,
then 10 to Tyraeum, and then 20 to Iconium, the last city in
Phrygia in the direction of his march; for after leaving Iconium,
he entered Cappadocia. Iconium is Koniyah, a position well
known. Celaenae may also be considered as a well-determined
position. Now the march of Cyrus from Celaenae to Iconium was
92 parasangs. The angle thus obtained drives the site of the mar-
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
273
ket of the Cramians more or less to the N. W. of Ushak, according
to the estimate taken of the parasang, 2.6 geog. miles according to
Chesney, 2.455 geog. miles according to Hamilton, or 3 according
to Colonel Jervis, but I have with others adopted the site of Ushak,
as the most likely.
This question has been made the subject of some critical re-
marks by Mr. Long in the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geo-
graphy, which I willingly give insertion to here.
"Two recent attempts," Mr. Long writes, "have been made to
fix the places between Celaenae and Iconium, one by Mr. Hamil-
ton, (Researches, &c., vol. ii. p. 198,) and another by Mr. Ainsworth
(Travels in the Track of the Ten Thousand, &c., p. 24). The ex-
amination of these two explanations cannot be made here for want
of space. But it is impossible to identify with certainty positions
on a line of road where distances only are given, and we find no
corresponding names to guide us. Mr. Hamilton supposes that
the Caystri Campus may be near the village of Chai Kieui,‘and
near the banks of the Eber Ghieul in the extensive plain between that
village and Polybotum.' Chei Kieui is in about 38° 40′ N. lat."
"Mr. Ainsworth places the Caystri Campus farther west, at a
place called Surmeneh, 'a high and arid upland, as its ancient name
designates,' which is traversed by an insignificant tributary to the
Eber Gül,' Mr. Hamilton's Eber Ghieul. The neighbourhood of
Surmeneh abounds in ancient remains; but Chai Kieui is an insig-
nificant place, without ruins."
"Both Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Ainsworth, however, agree in
fixing the Caystri Campus in the basin of this river, the Eber Ghieul,
and so far the conclusion may be accepted as probable. But the
exact site of the place cannot be determined without further evi-
dence. Cyrus stayed at Caystri Campus five days, and he certainly
would not stay with his troops five days in a high and arid upland. As
the plain was called the Plain of Cayster, we may assume that there
was a river Cayster, where Cyrus halted. One of Mr. Ainsworth's
objections to Mr. Hamilton's conclusion is altogether unfounded.
He says that the plain which Mr. Hamilton chooses as the site of
the Caystri Campus is an extensive plain, but very marshy,
being in one part occupied by a perpetual and large lake, called
Eber Göl, and most unlikely at any season of the year to present
the arid and burnt appearance which could have led the Greeks
to call it Caustron or Caystrus, the burnt or barren plain.' But
the word Caystrus could not mean burnt, and Stephanus is guilty
of originating this mistake. It means no more a burnt plain here
than it does when applied to the plain above Ephesus. Both were
watery places; one we know to be so, and the other we may with
great probability conclude to be."
As it appears that I was misled in the reading of Cayster, I do
not wish to insist upon this special identification in the Track of
VOL. I.
T
274
COMMENTARY ON
the Ten Thousand Greeks." I may however be permitted to ob
serve, that the identification was not solely founded upon the cir-
cumstance of Surmanah being a dry upland. It was also founded
on back distances from Iconium 20 parasangs to Tyriacum, 10 to
Thymbrium, and 10 to the plain of Caystrus, or 120 geographical
miles. Eber Göl, or Ibar Gül, being at a less distance. There is
a stream of water at Surmanah as well as at Chai Kiui, and
Xenophon tells us there was also in Cyrus's time a well-peopled
city. So that it was not because it was an arid plain that it can
be also shown not to have been a fit place for a delay of five days.
I may also add that so marshy is the plain of Bulavadin, that the
road from the N. W. to that town has to be carried in great part
over a raised causeway. Hamilton (ii. 177) describes Surmanah
as "a rich mine of antiquarian treasures," as is also the case with
Afyum Kara Hissar in the same neighbourhood, which he looks
upon as the site of ancient Synnada. The same observing traveller
however makes mention of no ruins at or near Chai Kiui, which
he also identifies with the Holmi of Strabo.
THYMBRIUM.-During a halt of five days on the plain of Cays-
trus, Cyrus received Epyaxa, the queen of Cilicia; whose mysteri-
ous visit and opportune supply of treasure enabled him to appease
the Greeks by giving them three months' arrears of pay.
companied by Epyaxa, he advanced thence, ten parasangs, to
Thymbrium, on the borders of Lycaonia.
Ac-
Estimating the parasang at three geographical miles, I have iden-
tified Thymbrium with the modern Ishakli, reckoning back from
Iconium. Even at the reduced estimate of Hamilton, ten parasangs,
equal upon his scale to 24 or 25 geographic miles, measured from
the site of Ilghun, or from the hot baths, brings us beyond Philo-
melium at Ak-Shahir, and nearly half way between that town and
the fountain of Ulu Bunar Darbund. Hamilton describes that
fountain as only four or five miles from Ak-Shahir, whereas I was
upwards of two hours travelling from the one to the other. Colo-
nel Chesney (ii. 208) places Thymbrium "at or a little south-east-
ward of the present town of Ak-Shahir."
The expression used by Xenophon, ἐνταῦθα ην παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν,
would certainly appear to denote that he passed the fountain of
Midas on the road to Thymbrium, although Spelman translates it
"Here was a fountain near the road, called the fountain of Midas.”
"There seems, therefore," says Hamilton, (ii. 202,) "every reason
for placing Thymbrium at the foot of Sultan Tagh, between the
fountain of Midas and Ak Shehr (Shahir), if indeed it be not an
an older name for Philomelium itself." There certainly seems,
however, taking the reduced estimate of the value of the parasang
adopted by Hamilton and Colonel Chesney, still to remain more
reasons for approximating the site of Thymbrium to the fountain
of Midas than to Ak-Shahir, only that towns have mostly suc-
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
275
ceeded to one another at the same site. The road, it is to be re-
marked upon this assumption of the value of the parasang, pre-
sents few difficulties, and it improves still more on approaching
Iconium. I can understand the parasang covering little plane
surface in the passes of Kurdistan or the snows of Armenia, but I
cannot help feeling, with Colonel Jervis, that to suppose a varying
estimate of that value on the plains of Asia Minor, argues a great
want of intelligence on the part of the ancients, and reduces them
to the semi-barbarous position of the modern Turk and Persian,
who, reckoning by time and not by distance, leave it impossible,
without actual investigation, to determine from such data the
geographical position of places. It is obvious, therefore, in the
instances of Peltae, Ceramon Agora, Caystri Campus, Thymbrium,
and Tyriaeum, where we have only distances to go upon, we must
remain more or less in a state of uncertainty as to their true posi-
tions. The fountain of Midas helps to throw some additional
light upon the positioning of Thymbrium, that of Tyriaeum is
confirmed by Strabo, and Ushak, as representing the market of
the Cramians, remains to the present day a place of considerable
traffic and commerce, and a place of meeting of high roads. These
circumstances must be taken into consideration in determining the
position of the sites noticed by Xenophon between Celaenae and
Iconium, two known positions.
TYRIAEUM.-Cyrus made in two days' march ten parasangs,
and arrived at Tyriaeum, a populous town. Hamilton and Colonel
Chesney, upon the evaluation of distances before alluded to, think
that Tyriaeum is probably represented by Ilghun. I sought for
the site at Arkut Khan, but without wishing to put much stress
upon so indefinite a point. Neither Hamilton nor myself saw
any remains of ancient times at either Arkut Khan or Ilghun.
There is this to be said of Ilghun, that there is beyond that town
a plain much better adapted for the review of the Greek and Bar-
barian forces described by Xenophon, than at Arkut Khan, where
the surface of the soil is broken up by slabs of horizontal lime-
stone. Hamilton also remarks that their identification is confirm-
ed by Strabo's account of the great road from Ephesus to Mazaca;
for he clearly places Tyriaeum between Philomelium and Laodicea,
and near the borders of Lycaonia. Another argument in favour
of this site is, that Strabo states that Holmi was at the commence-
ment of Phrygia Paroreius, which would therefore be at the west-
ern extremity of Sultan Tagh, and he gives the distance from
Holmi to Tyriaeum as rather more than 500 stadia. Now the
distance from the commencement of the Sultan Tagh to Ilghun is
55 miles, and from Chai Kiui, which Hamilton identifies with Hol-
mi, just about 50 miles, or 500 stadia.
ICONIUM.-From Tyriaeum Cyrus made in three days' march
twenty parasangs, and came to Iconium, the last city of Phrygia.
T 2
276
COMMENTARY ON
This, as one of the most ancient and remarkable cities of Asia
Minor, requires little notice at our hands. Pliny calls it urbs cele-
berrima Iconium. Strabo speaks of it as small but well built.
When visited by the apostle Paul in a. D. 45, it is described as
inhabited by a great multitude of Jews and Greeks. (Acts xiv. 1.)
The most remarkable era in the history of Iconium is that of the
Seljukian Turks or Tartars, a branch of whom founded a dynasty
at Koniyah in Karaman, before the rise of the Osmanli Turks.
Modern Koniyah is still a large town, the seat of a pasha, and
of a Greek metropolitan, and it contains many interesting relics.
of olden times. Among the most remarkable of which is the
mosque built by Sultan Aladin, the mausoleum of Hazrit Mavlana,
the founder of the Mavlani darvishes or dervishes, the old Turkish
prison, and the Injami Minareh Jami, "the mosque with the
minarets towering to the stars."
LYCAONIA. From Iconium, Cyrus made in five days' march
thirty parasangs through Lycaonia, which being an enemy's
country, he gave the Greeks leave to plunder it. From hence he
sent the Cilician queen into Cilicia the shortest way. Now as the
next place reached by Cyrus-Dana-is a well-known site, we
have only to mark off thirty parasangs from Iconium and twenty-
five to Dana on the map, and the point of intersection will be the
spot where Cyrus parted with the queen of Cilicia.
This spot may therefore, if Cyrus kept a northern road, have
been at or near the now small town of Kara Bunar," the Black
Spring;" or if gallantry led him to take a southerly route, the part-
ing may have taken place at or near Tchurla or Churla, north of
Karaman, near which Hamilton found many ruins of ancient sites,
notoriously those of Lystra and Derbe, whither Paul and Barna-
bas fled after their expulsion from Iconium. I am most inclined
to the latter view of the case.
From this point Epyaxa returned to her husband Syennesis,
the king of Cilicia, across the Taurus by Kizil Chasmah, Alan
Buzuk, Mazatli, Soli or Pompeiopolis, and onward to Tarsus.
Colonel Chesney remarks upon this incident in the march of
Cyrus, that it may be inferred from what subsequently passed in
Cilicia, that the object of this remarkable mission and the timely
supply of treasure, was to induce Cyrus to take another route, that
Syennesis might not be embroiled with Artaxerxes, by permitting
the march through his territory; and it is not improbable that,
from her peculiar intimacy with the prince, the queen believed she
had been successful. Cyrus, however, availed himself of her re-
turn, to send a body of Greeks under Menon, nominally as a guard
of honour, but in reality to turn the Cilician Gates, the only pass
which was practicable for an army through this part of Taurus.
Two companies, amounting to one hundred heavy-armed men,
were lost in this undertaking, and the rest, arriving before the
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
277
main body of the army, and resenting the loss of their companions
plundered both the city of Tarsus and the palace that stood there,
DANA.-Cyrus, with the rest of his army, moved on through
Cappadocia, and, in four days' march, made five and twenty para-
sangs to Dana, a large and rich city, well inhabited.
Tyana was well known to all antiquity, not only as the residence
of Apollonius and the site of a temple of the Asbamaean Jupiter,
but also as the town nearest to the Cilician Gates. Strabo says
it was also called Eusebia ad Taurum, and that it was built on a
mound raised by Semiramis, or called Semiramis, probably a heap
of Assyrian ruins. Cellarius argued that Aava was a contraction
made by the copyists for Túava, and the correction thus made has
been strengthened by subsequent inquiry.
Thus Hamilton was enabled to identify the ruins at the site now
called Kiz Hissar, "Girls Castle," or Kilis Hissar, "Castle of the
Church," with Tyana, by the existence there of a small lake or
pool which presents the peculiar phenomenon ascribed to the
fountain of Asmabaeus sacred to Jupiter by Ammianus Marcelli-
nus, of never overflowing its banks, and of bubbling up like a
boiling cauldron as described by Philostratus. (Res. ii. 303.) An
identification which is further confirmed by the mound on which
the ruins stand.
The site of Tyana being then determined, the distance from
Iconium, the situation of the town at the entrance of the pass of
Taurus, and its olden celebrity, point it out as the Dana of Xeno-
phon, or as Cellarius more probably opines, that Dana was a mis-
cript for Tyana.
CILICIAN GATES.-Cyrus is described as preparing at Dana to
penetrate into Cilicia; the entrance was broad´enough for a cha-
riot to pass, very steep, and inaccessible to an army if there had
been any opposition; and Syennesis was said to have possessed
himself of the eminences, in order to guard the pass; for which rea-
son, Cyrus stayed one day in the plain. The day after, news was
brought by a messenger that Syennesis had quitted the eminences,
upon information that both Menon's army were in Cilicia, within
the mountains, and also that Tamos was sailing round from Ionia
to Cilicia with the galleys that belonged to the Lacedæmonians and
to Cyrus, who immediately marched up to the mountains without
opposition, and made himself master of the tents, in which the
Cilicians lay to oppose his passage.
The Cilician Gates, called by the Turks in the present day,
Kulak Bughaz, constitute perhaps one of the most remarkable
and picturesque mountain-passes in the world. Colonel Chesney
adds to this, (ii. 210,) that it is one of the longest and most diffi-
cult passes in the world.
The road through the pass ascends more or less across a wild
country from Harakli to Kulu Kushla, a distance of about 28
278
COMMENTARY ON
miles, and up to which point the rivulets are tributary to the Ak
Güli, or white lakes, the outlet of which may be justly suspected to
be a subterranean channel, having a cavernous exit towards the
plain of Adana.
Beyond Kulu Kushla, or "place of winds," the road descends
by a narrow glen into the valley of a tributary to the Sihun or Sa-
rus. This valley is wooded, and bordered by precipitous cliffs.
At a place called Shiftla Khan, some nine or ten miles beyond
Kulu Kushla, two valleys meet to form a third, which is an open,
wooded, pleasant vale, that leads through the very heart of the
Bulghar Tagh.
The road leaves this picturesque valley at a distance of eight or
nine miles, to ascend in a south-westerly direction, an open valley
bearing a small tributary to the Sihun, which is left behind flow-
ing to the south-east, till an upland is reached, where the celebrated
defences of the Egyptians were situated. Immediately beyond
this, a rivulet, flowing in a southerly direction, leads to a pass in
the mountains so narrow as to be just broad enough, as Xenophon
describes it, for a chariot to pass-if disencumbered of fallen rocks.
This pass is the true Kulak Bughaz; high precipitous cliffs tower
up on both sides; on the summit of one of which are the remains
of a castle with round towers, and a tablet, which once bore an in-
scription, is still to be seen on the face of a large mass of detached
rock that lies in the rivulet. Beyond this, two roads lead, one
over hills by Mizarluk, “the place of graves," chiefly sepulchral
grottoes, to Tarsus; the other along open winding wooded vales,
and at first rocky, then low rounded undulating hills, to the great
plain of Adana, which is but slightly elevated above the level of
the waters of the Mediterranean.
PLAINS OF CILICIA.-Cyrus is described by his historian as de-
scending from the mountains into a large and beautiful plain, well
watered, and full of all sorts of trees and vines; abounding in
sesame, panic, millet, wheat, and barley.
The plain of Adana, as it is now called, is still remarkable for
its beauty and fertility. Portions, especially in the upper parts
and around Anazarba, are merely meadow land, or covered with
greensward, with, in the least watered portions, a good deal of
mimosa, and here and there a lonely dark-leaved carob-tree, a
great feature in the scenery. But a considerable portion of the
plain is cultivated, furnishing sesame, panic, millet, wheat, and
barley, as in olden time, as also rice, cotton, and sugar-cane, since
introduced. Near Tarsus, or the valley of the Cydnus, there is a
good deal of wood, and at Adana a few date-trees speak volumes
of a change of climate. The flocks of small bustards and the
numerous gazelles impart another peculiar feature to the plain, as
do also its rocky castle-bearing knolls in another direction.
This plain is described by Xenophon as surrounded by a strong
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
279
and high ridge of hills. It is, indeed, as well as the Bay of Issus,
ør Gulf of Alexandretta, perfectly enclosed by Taurus to the west
and north, Amanus to the east, and Rhosus to the south.
TARSUS.-Cyrus having left the mountains, he advanced through
the plain, and having made five and twenty parasangs in four days'
march, arrived at Tarsus, a large and rich city of Cilicia, where
stood the palace of Syennesis, king of Cilicia; having the river
Cydnus running through the middle of it, which river is two hun-
dred feet in breadth.
Tarsus is a city of such great antiquity that its origin is involved
in fable. While Scripture historians affirm that the sons of Tar-
shish, the great-grandson of Noah, settled on this coast, classic
mythology insists that Tarsus was built by Perseus son of Jupiter
by Danae. Hypacheans, according to Herodotus; a colony of Ar-
gives, according to others; it is certain that it was a city favoured
by the Assyrians.
Grotefend states that after Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, had
reigned twenty-five years, he extended his conquests over Asia
Minor, and took up his abode in the city of Tanakan, a strong
place in Etlak, by which, perhaps, Tarsus in Cilicia is meant,
of the building of which by Sennacherib a fabulous account is
given by Alexander Polyhistor and Abydenus in the Armenian
version of Eusebius. After he had introduced into that place the
worship of Astarte or Nisroch, and received tribute, he reduced the
neighbouring provinces to subjection, and appointed Akharrizadon,
or Assarhaddon, as king over them. This is one of the triumphs
supposed to be alluded to in the celebrated obelisk of Nimrud or
Athur. No traces exist of the statue described by Arrian as com-
memorating the building of this city and Anchiale by Sardanapa-
lus in one day.
No contribution to the history of Tarsus has been so rich in re-
sults as the publication of the "Lares and Penates" of Cilicia from
terra cottas discovered on the spot by Mr. William Burckhardt
Barker. We have among these, evidences of Assyrian mythology,
in the presence of the Assyrian Perseus, Sandon or Hercules,
(Dayyad the Hunter, and the same as Nimrod,) the Assyrian
Bellerophon and Pegasus, and horses of the sun. We have evi-
dences of Egyptian mythology in representations of Isis, Osiris,
Horus, Anubis, and Phre the Hawk-the Egyptian sun. With
these we have, as might be anticipated, a whole host of illustrations
of the mythology of Syria and Phoenicia, of Lesser Asia, Greece,
and Rome. Tarsus was a well-known and distinguished seat of
Greek philosophy and literature, and from the number of its schools.
and learned men, was ranked by the side of Athens and Alexan-
dria. (Strabo, xiv. pp. 673, 674.)
To the Christian, Tarsus derives its greatest interest from being
the birth-place of the apostle Paul. Augustus made Tarsus free.
280
COMMENTARY ON
This seems to have implied the privilege of being governed by its
own laws and magistrates, with freedom from tribute, but did not
confer the jus coloniarum, nor the jus civitatis: and it was not
therefore, as usually supposed, on this account that Paul enjoyed
the privilege of Roman citizenship. Tarsus, indeed, eventually
did become a Roman colony, which gave to the inhabitants this
privilege; but this was not till long after the time of Paul. We
thus find that the Roman tribune at Jerusalem ordered Paul to be
scourged, though he knew he was a native of Tarsus, but desisted
on learning that he was a Roman citizen. (Acts ix. 11; xxi. 39;
xxii. 24, 27.)
In the time of Abulfeda, that is, towards the end of the thir-
teenth and beginning of the fourteenth century, Tarsus was still
large and surrounded by a double wall, and it was chiefly inhabited
by Armenian Christians.
Tarsus has always been a city of considerable commercial im-
portance. Albertus Aquensis speaks of three thousand ships sail-
ing from the port of Tarsus, and even in the present day a much
greater extent might be given to the commerce and the mercantile.
and agricultural resources of the place.
CYDNUS. The river Cydnus which flows through Tarsus, de-
riving its waters from the snows of Taurus at no very great distance
from the city itself, are extremely cold, and bear an evil repute
since the days of Alexander the Great. Malaria prevails however
to a great extent in the city, quite independent of any more im-
mediate contact with its waters.
CASTLE OF NIMRUD. - Tarsus is described by Xenophon as
abandoned by its inhabitants, who, with Syennesis, fled to a fast-
ness upon the mountains, those only excepted who kept the public-
houses. The fastness here alluded to has been identified with the
castle of Nimrud in the adjacent mountains, partly on account of
its antiquity, partly because no other likely place is known. The
castle of Nimrud has not however been visited by any competent
traveller.
SOLI.-The inhabitants of Soli and Issus, who lived near the sea,
did not quit their habitations. Issus will be noticed in due course.
Soli was a colony, according to Pomponius Mela and others, found
ed by the Argives and Rhodians; but according to Diogenes Laer-
tius, by Solon, who founded there a colony of Athenians, who
gradually corrupting their own language, gave origin to the term
Solæcism.
This city was afterwards put under contribution by Alexander
and devastated by Tigranes, and Pompey confined to the same
locality the pirates who troubled the neighbouring seas, and gave
the place his own name-Pompeiopolis.
The ruins of the ancient city still exist near a place now called
Aski Shahir, "the old city," near Mazatli on the coast. They
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
281
have been minutely described by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort in
his Karamania (pp. 246–259, et seq.). Many additions have
been made to these descriptions in Mr. W. B. Barker's work be-
fore alluded to, "Lares and Penates; or, Cilicia and its Governors"
(p. 130 et seq.). A plan and description of the ruins by Captain
Prissick are also to be found, in Dr. Holt Yates' "Modern His-
tory and Condition of Egypt."
RIVER PSARUs.-Cyrus is described as making from Tarsus,
in two days' march, ten parasangs to the river Psarus, which
therefore corresponds to the river of Adana, now called Sihun, or
Saihun, to distinguish it from its neighbour the Pyramus, called
Jihun, or Jaihun, just as the Oxus or Amu of the Turks and
Tartars is called Jihun to distinguish it from the Jaxartes, Sir
Darah, or head valley, of the Turks, the Sihun of the Arabs. Jihun
is the Arabic corruption for the Hebrew Gihon, the name of one
of the rivers of Paradise.
This river is, by my own admeasurements, three hundred and
twenty-five feet wide at Adana. My idea of the distance by road
from Tarsus to Adana corresponds more closely to the evaluation
of 3 geographical miles to the parasang than of 2 miles. Colonel
Chesney (ii. 210) himself says it is rather more than twenty-nine
miles between the two places.
RIVER PYRAMUS.-From the Psarus, Cyrus made, in one day's
march, five parasangs to the river Pyramus, which was a stadium
in width. The distance here between two well-established points
is also at the rate of 3 geographical miles to the parasang. From
whatever point the Greeks crossed the Sihun there would be 15
geographical miles of nearly level plain to reach the Jihun or
Jaihun, as the Pyramus is now called.
"The width given by Xenophon," says "Colonel Chesney, indi-
cates that the passage of the Psarus was effected somewhere about
the place now occupied by the city of Adana, and that of the Pyra-
mus in the vicinity of the present town of Mallus or Misis; and
neither of the rivers being fordable, it may be presumed that they
were, as in the case of the Maeander, crossed on some kind of tem-
porary bridge."
Issi, or Issus. From the river Pyramus Cyrus advanced in
two days' march, a distance of fifteen parasangs, to Issi, the last
city in Cilicia, situate upon the sea-coast, a populous, large, and
rich place.
We are here placed in the dilemma of diminishing the value of
the parasang, over a country presenting no particular difficulties,
or of supposing, as I have done in the "Travels in the Track," &c.,
that Cyrus forded the river in its lower parts, and at a time when
its embouchure was at Kara Tash. This would have taken them
across the plain of Ayas, ancient Campus Alieus, by which Philotas,
282
COMMENTARY ON
as recorded by Arrian, led the horse, on the occasion of the ad
vance of the Macedonians under Alexander the Great, and which
would give forty-five miles between the Pyramus and Issus, whilst
from Misis there is only thirty-three or thirty-four miles. I do
not wish however to lay particular stress upon this view of the
case, especially since all other commentators now agree in varying
the value of the parasang according to the nature of the ground,
and there are on the road from Misis to Issus two ranges of hills
to cross. The first the Jibal an Nur, or mountain of light, presents
a little pass that would present obstacles to chariots; the second
also presents a narrow pass, where is the ancient Cyclopean arch,
called the Iron gate, or the Black gate, and which corresponds to
the Amanian gates with a station, (the latter represented by the ruins
at Matakh,) and a further detour is occasioned by the marshes at the
end of the plain, on which are situated the ruins of Epiphanea,
originally called Oeniandos and Castabala. These two sites are
determined from the distances given in the Antonine Itinerary,
and the Theodosian Tables. The latter place, Epiphanea, 30 M. P.
from Anazarbas, and the same distance from Alexandria ad Issum,
now Iskandarun or Alexandretta.
The positioning of Issus gave much more trouble, and involved
the careful discussion of the historians of Alexander as compared
with Cicero and other accessible authorities. All the circum-
stances of the case pointed however tolerably satisfactorily to a
great extent of ruins scattered over the plain, north of the Dali-
chai, or mad river, as the Pinarus is now called. The only
point not satisfactorily cleared up was the position of the altars of
Alexander. It has been suggested that these may be the ruin
called Jonas' Pillars, a point which Alexander had reached before
he heard that Darius had crossed the Amanus in his rear, and
from whence he returned to engage in the battle of Issus, so fatal
to the Persian hosts. Quintus Curtius said that these altars were
erected on the banks of the Pinarus, but Pliny describes the
Bomitae or altars as between Amanus and Rhosus, which would
point to the locality here suggested. Another difficulty remains
with regard to Nikopolis, which Stephanus says was a name given
to Issus after the great battle fought there by the Macedonians,
but Strabo and Ptolemy both agree in making it a different place.
GATES OF CILICIA AND SYRIA.-From Issus Cyrus proceeded
one day's march, five parasangs, to the Gates of Cilicia and Syria.
"These were two fortresses; of the part within them, towards
Cilicia, Syennesis and a guard of Cilicians had the charge; the
part without, towards Syria, a garrison of the king's soldiers was
reported to occupy. Between the two runs a river called Carsus,
a plethrum in breadth. The whole space between the fortresses
was three stadia; and it was impossible to pass it by force; for the
{
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
283
passage was very narrow, the walls reached down to the sea, and
above were inaccessible rocks. At each of the fortresses were
gates."
Dr. Anthon says the common text' has Képros, but the reading
of the best MSS. is Kapoos. The Rev. J. T. Macmichael has
adopted the correction of Psarus for Pharus, but not that of Kar-
sus for Kersus. There is every reason to believe that this river,
now called Markaz su, corresponds to the Képoias of Ptolemy, and
the Crocodilon flumen of Pliny. It was at the foot of that part
of Amanus called Mons Crocodilus. The French annotators of
Pliny have suggested an identity between a Syriac word analogous
to Kersus, and the Egyptian Kamses, a crocodile, hence Kersus or
Karsus would be the same as the Crocodilon flumen.
The Gates of Cilicia and Syria occur at a point where the Ama-
nus approaches most closely to the sea-shore. Coming from the
north, we have the Markaz su, or Karsus, which flows from a gap
in the rocks, between high perpendicular precipices, past the mo-
dern village of Markaz, and then divides into two branches, one of
which goes nearly directly to the sea; the other, after losing itself
in a marshy lagune, finds its exit into the sea at a distance of about
a mile and a half north of the direct branch. This first or northerly
stream is passed by a bridge, and a little distance farther south
are ruins on the shore of the termination of a wall with a gate.
At a distance of about six hundred yards, corresponding to the
three stadia of Xenophon, are the more perfect ruins of a wall,
which can be traced amid a dense shrubbery, from the mountains
down to the sea-shore, where it terminates in a round tower.
A little beyond to the right, and on the slope of the hills, is a
Saracenic castle, noticed under the same name of Markaz in the
Mecca Itinerary, published by the Geographical Society of Paris.
From this castle the rocks advance directly to the shore, leaving a
narrow pass over which a paved road is now carried, and upon
which stands the ruined gateway called Jonas' Pillars, or Sakal
Tutan, "Beard-catcher," an Oriental expression for a difficult pass.
Colonel Chesney remarks that "the Markaz or Merkez su, anci-
ent Karsus, determines the sites of the so-called gates or fortresses,
which were ereeted to defend the ground; the one being in Cilicia,
and the other in Syria, the river flowing between them."
When we consider the important events of which these gates
were the scene, in the time of Cyrus the younger, as also in that
of Alexander the Great; the mystical name of the river, which
associates it with ancient crocodile worship, and the Axio-Kersian
or Samo-Thracian mysteries, and the ruined edifice correspond-
ing to the Bomitae of Pliny, all domineered over by the castle of
Saracenic times, it would be difficult to imagine a more interesting
mass of ruins, both in a classical and archæological point of view,
284
COMMENTARY ON
grouped together in so small a compass. Nor is the scene so re-
plete with historical associations wanting in picturesque acces-
sories.
MYRIANDRUS.-Cyrus is described as proceeding from the Gates
of Cilicia and Syria, through Syria, one day's march, five parasangs,
to Myriandrus, a city near the sea, inhabited by Phoenicians: this
place was a public mart, and many merchant-vessels lay at anchor
there.
The site of Myriandrus has not yet been satisfactorily deter-
mined. According to the distances given by Xenophon of five
parasangs from the Gates of Cilicia and Syria, it would be, if on
the sea-shore, either some way beyond Alexandretta on the way to
Arsus, or if the sea, as was probably the case, extended further in-
land at that time, and occupied the now pestilent marshes of
Alexandretta, beyond Godefroy de Bouillon's Castle; at the foot
of the hills near Jacob or Joseph's well, where Rennell sought for
the site in question, or a little beyond that, and nearer to the foot
of the pass of Baylan. It is evident that Myriandrus and the
town subsequently named after the Macedonian hero, were not the
same, for Strabo mentions both, and in the following succession:
Rhosus (Arsus), Myriandrus, and Alexandria. The ruins may per-
chance yet be found in the wooded country that lies between Alex-
andretta and Rhosus, at or near the coast, about opposite the
entrance of the pass of Baylan. This is a region which has not
yet been satisfactorily explored.
RIVER CHALUS.-Cyrus proceeded four days' march, a distance
of twenty parasangs, to the river Chalus, which was a plethrum in
breadth, and full of large tame fish, which the Syrians looked upon
as gods, and allowed no one to hurt either them or the pigeons.
This is a long journey, of from 50 to 60 miles, in which several
objects of interest are passed over without an observation. Among
the first of these is the pass between Amanus and Rhosus, the true
Syrian Gates, in which are situated vestiges of the strong town
called Pinara by Pliny and Ptolemy, and by corruption Erana by
Cicero, who describes it as being in the mountain above the region
in which the altars of Alexander were situated-another proof that
the "Bomitae" were at the foot of Amanus and Rhosus, and not,
as Quintus Curtius relates, on the banks of the Pinarus.
Pinara was the Pictanus of the Jerusalem Itinerary, and it is
now represented by the town of Baylan, whose mosque was built,
according to the Mecca Itinerary, by Sultan Selim, and the Khan
by Sultan Sulaiman the Magnificent. There are also remains of
a causeway, of an aqueduct, and of a bridge.
Beyond the Syrian Gates was Pagras or Pangrios, represented
apparently by the castle of Ibn Abu Daud; and at the foot of the
mountains, the great plain watered by three different rivers, the
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
285
Karasu, the Aswad, and the Afrin, corresponding to the Labotas,
the Aenoporas, and Arceuthus of the Romans, and in the centre of
which is the great expanse of the lake of Antioch.
The silence of Xenophon with regard to this mountain-pass,
the rivers and lake of the plain of Antioch, and the rocky region
beyond, now called St. Simon or Shaikh Barakat, has given origin
to various surmises on the part of commentators on the Anabasis.
Rennell has supposed, in consequence of this silence and that of
Strabo, that the lake did not exist at that time; and Forster, in
his Geographical Dissertation, has made this one of the grounds
for supposing that Xenophon kept no journal, or at least no regu-
lar one, of the expedition, but that he drew it up a great many
years afterwards. I think it more likely, from the general charac-
ter of the work, that something occurred, sickness or despondency,
and the latter might naturally have been brought about by the
clandestine departure of Xenias and Pasion, to distract the atten-
tion of our historian or to make him disinclined to write. Con-
trast, for example, the indifference of the present moment, with
the energy displayed and the minuteness of description indulged
in when Xenophon became a leader in the passes of Kurdistan.
A tributary to the river Sajur having been found during the
survey of northern Syria by the Euphrates Expedition, to still
preserve the name of Baluk or Baluklu su, "Fish River," Colonel
Chesney makes Cyrus march in a north-easterly direction, over
a very difficult country, to that insignificant rivulet, to turn almost
back again in a direction south, a little west, to the Chalib or Ku-
wait the river of Aleppo, at the point where a large group of
tells,* or mounds of ruin, give evidence of the existence of a once
prosperous and flourishing community.
I do not, however, see any reason for changing the opinion I
had adopted in common with other geographers, that the Chalib
or Kuwait represents the Chalus of Xenophon. The direct dis-
tance is perhaps not sufficient, but the difficulties of the road pre-
sented by the pass of Baylan, the marshy plain of Antioch, and
the necessity of turning northwards up the valley of the Afrin, to
avoid the rocky deserts of Shaikh Barakat, give in detail a distance
between the Mediterranean and the river Chalib of at least sixty
geographical miles, or of three miles to a parasang.
Notwithstanding a statement of Rauwolf's, that fish were scarce
in the market of Aleppo, I stated as the results of my own observ-
ation in the Travels in the Track, &c., that the Chalib abounded
in fish, and I have since found in Dr. Russell's Natural History of
Aleppo, 1794, vol. ii. p. 207, that not only do fish abound in the
Chalib, but that there is a fountain called Haïlan, a Syriac word
signifying "the powerful," (see my Travels and Researches in
Tel or Tell of the Arabians, Tuppah, vulgo Teppeh, of the Turks,
Thupo in Pali, Stupa in Sanscrit, vulgo Topes in India.
286
COMMENTARY ON
Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, &c. vol. ii. p. 101,) where, as in the
fountain of Birkat al Ibrahim or Abraham, the beloved, at Urfah,
of Mambij ancient Hierapolis, at the tomb of Daniyali Akbar,
"the greater Daniel," (see Rawlinson in Journal Roy. Geo. Soc.
vol. ix. p. 83,) and elsewhere, fish are still, or were till lately, pre-
served unmolested, and therefore more or less reverenced or sacred
in the eyes of the true believers.
Dr. Russell says, "From what I had cursorily remarked in the
markets, or at the tables of the inhabitants, and from the appear-
ance of the Kowick (Kuwait), I hardly expected to find so great a
variety of fish in that river; but, upon examination, it was found
to produce seventeen species, and amongst those, some hitherto
undescribed."
"To the assiduity of the fishermen, which is restrained to no
particular season, and exercised with little discretion, may be
partly ascribed the small size of the fish in general; for at Heylan
(Hailan), and the fountain of fishes, where they are suffered to re-
main unmolested, they grow considerably larger."
It is almost needless to remark, that this superstitious reverence
for fish is a remnant of the Assyrian and Syro-Arabian worship of
fish gods. Berosus (see Cory's Ancient Fragments, p. 22 and 31)
makes Oannes the first and Odakon the last of these. Selden (De
Diis Syris, p. 265) is persuaded that this Odakon is the Philistine
god Dagon. The further resemblance between Dagon and Ater-
gatis or Derketo is so great in other respects, that the same au-
thority accounts for the only important difference between them—
that of sex-by referring to the androgynous nature of many hea-
then gods. The Greeks embodied their worship, as usual, into
their mythology, by a poetic story of the loves of the goddess
Derketa or Derceta.
RIVER DARADAX, or DARDES.-From the villages of Parysatis
on the Chalus, Cyrus advanced, five days' march, a distance of
thirty parasangs, to the sources of the river Dardes, which is a
plethrum in breadth. Here was the palace of Belesys, the governor
of Syria, and a very large and beautiful garden, containing all
that the seasons produce.
The common text has Δαραδακος, but Anthon * gives Δάρδητος
with Dindorf, on good MS. authority. Colonel Chesney's view of this
portion of the progress is, "In advancing first in an easterly di-
rection along the Baluk-su, then southward by the banks of the
same stream, and again eastward, quitting the latter when opposite
*Though Dindorf is an authority, Anthon is none. It would be better to
quote Kühner, who gives Aápdaros, from five MSS.
Nor can Macinschael (p. 283) be called much of an authority. But i
might be said that Dindorf and Kühner concur in reading yάpos: Weiske
Schneider, and Bornemann have the form Zápos.
Kapoos is adopted by Dindorf and Kühner; Weiske, Schneider, and
Bornemann, have the old Képoos. Translator.
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
287
to the fountain of Bab, near the source of the stream called Dhahab
or Dabb, it is about sixty-one miles to the last, the presumed Dara-
dax: and if the windings of the Koweik (Kuwait) be followed in
the carlier part of the march, it would be seventy or eighty miles
from the higher part of the Chalib or Chalus, which, as in the time
of Xenophon, still abounds in fish. The distance (thirty para-
sangs) given by Xenophon between the rivers Chalus and Ďara-
dax, which was accomplished in five marches, agrees with the
nature of the intervening country; for whether the windings of
the upper part of the Koweik were followed, or the stream forded
two or three times in preference, a fifth march would be requisite,
as already mentioned." (ii. p. 213.)
Some difficulties present themselves in accepting this determina-
tion. In the first place, the distance given would accord better
with the idea of Cyrus having crossed the Syrian plains from the
Chalus to the Euphrates, notwithstanding Xenophon's silence
upon the subject. The same silence, or rather passing over all
notice of the river Euphrates until the army came to Thapsacus,
is observed throughout, and may have been an inadvertence, for
the nature of the country would oblige an army to keep along the
banks of the river; and Colonel Chesney, who identifies the foun-
tain of Dhahab with that of Dardes, still makes Cyrus, notwith-
standing the silence of Xenophon upon the subject, join the Eu-
phrates at Balis.
The name of the site-Balis-corresponding to the Barbalissus
or Barbarissus of the Romans, and the ruins existing there, would
point to that place as the site of the palace of the Persian satrap.
Then again, at that point there is a great alluvial plain, which to the
present day abounds in boars and other game, while all beyond, or
westward, is a dry arid upland, a perfect wilderness, which, how-
ever, may be modified somewhat by the waters of the Dhabab.
Lastly, there was a canal, taken from the Euphrates at Balis,
which might be a hundred feet wide at its origin, as described by
Xenophon, and which it is difficult to imagine the fountain of Fay,
as Rennell calls it-al Bab, or Taidiff-could present at its origin.
There is to be added to all this, that the back distance from
Thapsacus (Al Hammam) to Balis corresponds precisely with the
distance given by Xenophon between the palace of Belesis and
Thapsacus, that is, fifteen parasangs or forty-five miles by the bends
of the river. Notwithstanding the points in favour of one and the
other view of the subject, common sense would point to a probable
visit to the fountain of Dhahab, or Dardes, on the way to the pa-
lace of Belesis at Balis. But so common sense would also point
to the identity of Bayas, or Baiae, with Issus, where is a river to
represent the Pinarus, a plain large enough to fight a battle, with-
out being cut up by deep ruts like the plain of Dali-chai, and
where the ships could be moored opposite Cyrus' tent, a proceed-
288
COMMENTARY ON
ing scarcely possible at the mouths of the Dali-chai, only that
other circumstances do not uphold this hypothesis.
THAPSACUS. Having wantonly destroyed the palace and park
of Belesis, Cyrus is described by Xenophon as proceeding, in three
days' march, a distance of fifteen parasangs, to the river Euphrates,
which is there four stadia in breadth, and on which was situ-
ated a large and rich city, named Thapsacus. Colonel Chesney
(ii. 213) describes these as "pressing_marches, following and
constantly touching the Euphrates from Balis," which accords with
the view previously taken of this portion of the march.
The distance here given of forty-five miles, corresponds with the
overland distance from Balis to the ford celebrated among the
Arabs, as that of the Anazah or Badawin. This ford, as such or
as a bridge, was used for the passage alike of Persian, Greek, and
Roman armies, and more lately of Arabs, Tartars, and Turks.
Xerxes, who, according to Herodotus, crossed the Hellespont by
a bridge of boats, in which one was tied to the other, had con-
structed a similar one at Thapsacus, but this was destroyed by
Abrocomas on the approach of Cyrus. Alexander dragged over
the boats necessary for the passage of the river from the Medi-
terranean.
The remains of a paved causeway are still to be observed on
both banks of the river, which is here eight hundred yards, or four
stadia, in width. This causeway is marked in the Augustan and
Theodosian Tables as part of a road carried by Palmyra to Ba-
bylonia, as also northwards to Carrhae, Edessa, and to more re-
mote countries.
A congregation of mounds, well worthy of archæological explor-
ation, are all that remain of the ancient Tiphsah, which was taken
possession of by Solomon, probably in connexion with the series.
of operations (of which the building or fortification of Tadmor
was one) adopted by him for the purpose of drawing the Eastern
trade into his own dominions. Tiphsah became afterwards Thap-
sacus, both signifying the same thing, "the ford." The same
place is called Sura by Pliny and by Ptolemy, and this was its
name in medieval times, for it is called in the Ecclesiastical notices
of the Lower Empire, Flavia firma Sura. It was also, according
to Stephanus, called Turmeda by the Syrians, and Amphipolis
under the successors of Alexander. The ruins are now called Su-
riyah.
Rennell and D'Anville were induced from the supposed exist-
ence of a ford or pass of the Euphrates at Dair, "the monastery,"
and in ignorance of the existence of this ford, to identify Thapsa-
cus with that little Arabic town, which is built upon a vast mound
of ruin—the remains of some site of antiquity. But it is two hun-
dred and eleven miles by the river from Balis to Dair, and to get
over this difficulty, these two distinguished geographers were
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
289
obliged to suppose that Xenophon had, by an oversight, misplaced
the distances of Belesis to Thapsacus, (fifteen parasangs,) and from
Thapsacus to the Araxes-Xenophon's name for the Khabur-
(fifteen parasangs,) and that it should have been fifty parasangs
from Balis to Thapsacus, and fifteen from Thapsacus to the
Araxes. It is satisfactory to find by the true determination of the
position of Thapsacus at fifteen parasangs from Balis, that there
is no necessity whatsoever for this violation of the accuracy of the
historian.
RIVER ARAXES.-Cyrus having with his army forded the Eu-
phrates at Thapsacus, the waters rising no higher than the breast;
he is described by Xenophon as advancing through Syria, nine
days' march, a distance of fifty parasangs, to the river Araxes,
where were a number of villages, stored with corn and wine.
Having crossed the Euphrates, it is manifest that the country
the army was marching in was in reality Mesopotamia, but it was
by no means an uncommon thing for the Romans to describe the
districts in question sometimes as in Syria, at others in Mesopota-
mia. Pliny and Strabo both speak of the country lying between
Thapsacus and the Scenite or nomade Arabs, as Syria.
Wherefore Xenophon called the river Khabur, Araxes, it is diffi-
cult to determine. The name was by no means an uncommon one,
and Strabo, in accordance with the national custom of referring
foreign names to a Greek origin, connects the word with àpácow,
and adds that the Peneus was once called Araxes, on account of its
having separated Ossa from Olympus at the gorge of Tempe.*
This river was, however, known to antiquity generally by other
names, approaching more or less to its present appellation. Thus,
it is described in the Old Testament (2 Kings xxiv. 15; Ezek. 1,
3; iii. 15, 23; x. 15, 20) under the name of Chebar, as a river
of Mesopotamia, upon the banks of which Nebuchadnezzar plant-
ed a colony of Jews, among whom was the prophet Ezekiel.
We
* Rawlinson has shown the prefix Ar, Ara, and Arta, to be of transcend-
ental use in every single branch of Arian Palæography, with the exception of
the Zend. (Journ. of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. x. p. 55, and vol. xi. p.
33, et seq.) Ar, or Har, he says, signifies mountain, as in Arburz, (El Burz,)
Arakadrish, (Aracadres,) Ar Parsin, the mountains of Persia. Bochart long
ago showed (Phaleg i. 1) that the first syllable in Armenia (Armina in the
cuneiform) signified in Semitic "a mountain." Burnouf and Lassen have
traced Arius (Ariya of the cuneiform) to the root signifying "man.
have another form in Arabia, the cuneiform Arabaya. Arta, so much used
as a prefix to names, as in Artakhshatra, (Artaxerxes,) signifies, according to
Rawlinson, a king. There can be little doubt then of the native origin of
the name Aras, the Araxes of the Greeks, although there might be some
doubt if it meant mountain river, or a head or chief river; assuming the
prefix Ar to have somewhat the same power as Syr, Sir, or Sar, used by the
Turks in Syr Darah, (Jaxartes,) as head valley or river; and by the Kurds,
as head mountain or stream indifferently. Araxes has been generally sup-
posed to be a Greek modification of the Armenian Arasch or Eraschs.
VOL. I.
U
290
COMMENTARY ON
Layard says that in the Hebrew text the name is spelt in two dif-
ferent ways. In Kings we have Khabour. In Ezekiel it is written
Kebar. So also in the Septuagint it is written Xoßáp. It is called
Χοβάρ.
Aboras and Abboras by Strabo, Zosimus, Ammianus, Procopius,
and others. Ptolemy writes it Khaboras.
Layard, whilst carrying on his archæological explorations in
Assyria, having been informed by the Arabs that two colossal idols,
similar to those at Nimrud, had been laid bare by the waters of
the Khabur; he repaired to the spot, and was rewarded by the
discovery of a considerable number of monuments of Assyrian
times, of which he says, "the Archaic character of the treatment
and design, the peculiar form of the features, the rude though for-
cible delineation of the muscles, and the simplicity of the details,
certainly convey the impression of greater antiquity than any
monuments hitherto discovered in Assyria Proper."
The Khabur is a large river having its sources in the Karajah
Tagh in northern Mesopotamia, and receiving in its course down
wards tributaries from Kuhrasar (Sinna) and Ras al Ain (Resaina)
from the west; from Masku, Mardin, Dara, Nisibin, (ancient Myg-
donius,) Asnawur, and Chil Agha from the east, besides a rivulet
called Al Hauli or Holi from the marshes of Khatuniyah in the
Sinjar. The main branch of the river is by accident omitted
in the map accompanying Layard's account of his discoveries in
Nineveh and Babylon. (1853.)
At the junction of the Khabur ana dhe Euphrates, we have on
the north the ruins of Carchemish of Scripture, called by the Greeks
Kirkesion, and by the Romans, with whom it was long a frontier
town, Cercusium. The place is called by the Arabs in the presen
day Kirkisiyah, and also from the abundance of ruins, Abu Sarai,
the father of palaces." Layard, who did not visit it, says "Abou
Psera." Al Wakidi, in his History of the Conquest of Mesopotamia
by the Arabs, calls it Karkisha.
To the south are the mounds of Kalneh, supposed by Colonel
Chesney . 52; 117, 118) to be the site of Calneh, or Chalneh,
the fourth of Nimrod's cities. (Gen. x. 10.)
According to the Chaldee version, with which Eusebius and
Jerome agree, this is the same place that was subsequently called
Ctesiphon.
Colonel Rawlinson has however, by the aid of those important
paleographic researches which promise to throw an entirely new
light on Assyro-Babylonian and Chaldean history and geography,
discovered the ideograph for Calueh among the inscribed bricks
of a place called Niffer. (Ann. Report of the Royal Asiatic Society,
vol. xv. p. xix.) He had previously (Jour. of Roy. Asiat. Soc. vol.
x. p. 22) identified, as he also said from the evidence of the bricks,
the same primeval site with the Chaldean ruins of Kalwadha near
Baghdad.
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
291
ARABIA.-Cyrus advanced from the Khabur through Arabia,
having the Euphrates on his right, five days' march through the
desert, a distance of five parasangs.
Rawlinson remarks that in the cuneiform inscriptions the name
of Arabia (Arabaya) is sometimes introduced between those of
Babylon and Assyria, sometimes between Assyria and Egypt; and
he adds, “I think, therefore, we may suppose the title to apply to
the Mesopotamian Desert, and the basin of the Euphrates, which
have always been inhabited by Arab tribes, rather than to the vast
Southern Peninsula. The Jews, in the same way, whose geogra-
phical notions were very limited, designated as Arabia, or the
country of the Arabs, the region immediately joining Palestine, and
stretching southwards to the Red Sea." (Journ. of Roy. Asiatic
Society, vol. xi. p. 38.)
Thus it was that, in accordance with the views entertained at that
cpoch, we find Xenophon describing those regions of Mesopotamia
which lie north-westward of the Khabur, as Syria; and those to
the south, as Arabia. The Athenian historian's description of
the descrt is so concise, and so graphic, as to be familiar to every
one, and, as a consequent penalty, has been often quoted as descrip-
tive of regions which have little in common with the particular
territory in question.
RIVER MASCAS AND CITY OF CORSOTE.-Marching through this
region, Xenophon relates, they came to the river Mascas, the
breadth of which is a plethrum. Here was a large deserted city,
of which the name was Corsote, and which was entirely surround-
ed by the Mascas.
At a distance of sixty-three miles touching the river curves, or
of one hundred miles and upwards by the river's winding, a con-
siderable tract of alluvium is cut off from the main-land, by a
canal, which drawn from the river at a northerly point, empties
itself by three different embouchures to the south. Beyond are
cliffs of marls and gypsum, upon which traces of ruins of older
time are still to be met. The place is called in the present day
Irzah or Izrah, and also by corruption Werdi.
It is not at all improbable from this site being nearly opposite
to Al Kayim, the Agamana of Ptolemy, where the great desert
route from Palestine to Babylon first touches the Euphrates, that
this was one of the cities of bondage, where the captive Israelites
awaited the coming of Ezra, with the glad message that was to
enable them to return to their own country. In this case the
Masca would correspond to the Ahava of Scripture.
The ruins of Corsote of Xenophon would appear to have been
on the plain, being described as entirely surrounded by the Mas-
cas, unless we are to understand, as is more probable, that this
description alludes to the great bend of the river at this point,
and which is described by Balbi, who descended the Euphrates in
U 2
292
COMMENTARY ON
1579, as keeping them from morning to noon in sight of the ruins.
When Balbi, however, speaks of these ruins as of greater extent
than the city of Cairo, and presenting nothing to view but portions
of massy walls and lofty towers, we must conclude that he mis-
took the cliffs and great broken masses of gypsum for fragments
of ruin. Rauwolf, who travelled in 1574, also described the penin-
sula as occupying more than half a day to encompass it.
GATES OF BABYLONIA.-From Corsote Cyrus proceeded, thir-
teen days' march, through the desert, a distance of ninety para-
sangs, still keeping the Euphrates on the right, and arrived at a
place called the Gates.
Colonel Chesney is inclined to think, that as it appears by the
subsequent movements, that the "Gates" were about twenty-four
miles short of the Median Wall, the pass in question may safely
be placed about twenty-seven miles below Hit, or nearly opposite
to the village of Jarrah, from which, by the map, there are about
one hundred and seventy-five or one hundred and seventy-seven
geographical miles to represent the ninety parasangs from Corsote
to the Pylae, which at 1.98 each, give 178.2 geographical miles.
(ii. 214.)
The banks of the Euphrates in this part of the route, and more
particularly in the lower portion, are exceedingly rocky and irre-
gular, till we arrive at the level alluvial plains of Babylonia. It
is difficult among these irregular hills to distinguish one place as
more worthy of being designated as a pass than the other, and I
had hence been induced by that circumstance, and by a consider-
ation of the distance travelled, (and which, by supposing the troops
to have been compelled to keep to the banks of the river, I had
given a much greater length to than Colonel Chesney,) to identify
the Pylae with the pass or descent from the hills upon the plain
of Babylonia itself.
Rennell, it is to be observed, coincides in this view of the subject,
as he conjectures that the term pylae refers to the shutting up of
the river itself between the mountains, which terminate at the
same place on both sides of the river. This termination of the
hilly country at the level alluvial plain of Babylonia constitutes
indeed a very remarkable feature in the physical aspect of these
regions.
The Rev. J. F. Macmichael, in his edition of Xenophon, (Appen-
dix, p. 336,) suggests the conclusion that Pylae was neither city
(as Larcher surmised) nor mountain defile, but the ancient pass
into Babylonia through the Median Wall, at a time when it ex-
tended—as when entire it must have done-to the Euphrates.
There is a great deal of plausibility in this suggestion.
CHARMANDE. On this long march through the desert, the
troops are described as passing over on rafts of skins to an opulent
and extensive city, called Charmande. As no distances are given,
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
293
I was inclined to identify this site with the most important posi
tion on the right bank of the Euphrates, that occurs within the inter-
val between Corsote and the "Gates," viz. the city of Iz or Izaneso-
polis, whose bitumen fountains were visited by Alexander, by
Trajan, by Severus, and by Julian; but Colonel Chesney (ii. 214) is
more inclined to seek for the site at some ruins, which occur on
the right bank opposite to the island of Jibbah or Jubbah. This
Is evidently, at the present moment, a position that is not satisfac-
torily determined.
FIELD OF REVIEW IN BABYLONIA.-Cyrus is described as pro-
ceeding through Babylonia, three days' march, a distance of twelve
parasangs; and at the end of the third day's march, he reviewed
his army, both Greeks and Barbarians, in the plain, about mid-
night; for he expected that with the ensuing dawn the king would
come up with his army to offer him battle.
The spot at which this review took place would, allowing 3
geo. miles to the parasang, be 36 miles beyond the Pylae, 32 miles
south of the Wall of Media, 36 miles north of Cunaxa, and 72
miles north of Babylon. If we allow only 2.5 geo. miles, or place
the Pyle north of the plain of Babylonia, the distances will be
proportionately diminished. We have, however, a means of deter-
mining the positioning of the army of Cyrus on the plain of Baby-
lonia a little more accurately, from the events recorded in the next
day's march.
TRENCH OF ARTAXERXES.-Cyrus proceeded from the field of re-
view on the plain of Babylonia, one day's march, a distance of
three parasangs, with all his forces, as well Greek as Barbarian,
drawn up in order of battle; for he expected that on this day the
king would give him battle; as about the middle of the day's
march, there was a deep trench dug; the breadth of it was five
fathoms, and the width three. This ditch extended up through the
plain, to the distance of twelve parasangs, as far as the Wall of
Media. Here are the canals which are supplied from the river
Tigris; there are four of them, each a plethrum in breadth, and
very deep; boats employed in conveying corn sail along them.
They discharge themselves into the Euphrates, are distant from
each other one parasang, and there are bridges over them. Near
the Euphrates was a narrow passage between the river and the
trench, about twenty feet in breadth. This trench the Great King
had made to serve as a defence, when he heard that Cyrus was
marching against him. By this passage Cyrus and his army made
their way, and got within the trench.
If the trench or ditch, here spoken of, had been a canal drawn
diagonally from the river Tigris, such a canal 36 geo. miles in
length, starting from the N. E. or Tigris end of the Median Wall,
would just touch on the maps attached to the Expedition for the
Survey of the Euphrates and Tigris, the Nahr Isa or Saklawiya
294
COMMENTARY ON
canal at or about the ruins of Sifairah, ancient Sippara. But
there seems no reason to suppose that it was a canal. Xenophon
appears to distinguish this french or ditch from the four canals
derived from the river Tigris which he describes in the same para-
graph. This, however, may be open to doubt. In such a situation
a trench or ditch mignt naturally be supposed to be full of water.
But whichever may be the case, it is not said that it was drawn
from the Tigris, but merely that it extended upwards to the Me-
dian Wall. Now a distance of 36 geo. miles laid down on the
Expedition map from a central portion of the Median Wall, would
carry the trench to the Abu Gharib country, somewhere about
where the Nahr Malka or Malik has its origin. This would place
the field of review in the same region, some seven or eight miles to
the northward, and would lead us to suppose, as would be most
naturally the case, that the four canals were drawn from the great
overflow of the Tigris near Accad, called Al Hur, and from the
Tigris itself between that and Al Ghirarah, in the very line in fact
of Colonel Chesney's proposed line of communication. All the com-
mentators on Xenophon have found great difficulty in admitting
the historian's accuracy in this point, because he differs from other
authorities, as Herodotus, Diodorus, Arrian, Pliny, and Ammianus,
in making the canals flow from the Tigris; all others describing
them as flowing from the Euphrates. But this difficulty loses its
force, when we consider that the alluvial plain between the two
rivers is so level that it merely requires to alter the diagonal direc-
tion of a canal to determine which way its waters shall flow, and
thus the marsh of Al Hur is flooded at one season by the Tigris,
at another by the Euphrates through the Isa canal. Thus also
the Isa, Nahr Malik and other canals flow from the Euphrates to
the Tigris, while the Shat al Hai flows from the Tigris to the
Euphrates. It is probable that, at the time of Artaxerxes, the
usual canals may have also flowed from Euphrates to Tigris, and
that the four canals of Xenophon described as only 24 or 3 miles
from one another, were exceptions to the Nile, and drawn from the
marsh of Accad and the Tigris, above the canals of Babylon itself,
which may have flowed from the Euphrates to the Tigris.
BATTLE-FIELD OF CUNAXA.-As the king made no attempt at
the trench to prevent the passage of Cyrus's army, it was thought
both by Cyrus and the rest that he had given up the intention of
fighting; so that on the day following Cyrus proceeded on his
march with less caution. This was still more the case on the next
day's march; when news came that the Great King was approach-
ing, and the battle so fatal to Cyrus took place.
We have here an account of short desultory and irregular
marches, which would have brought the allies, according to Colo-
nel Chesney, to at or near the mounds of Muhammad, 34 or 36
miles along the river from the Median Wall; but, according to my
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
295
former estimate of the value of the parasang, nearer to the site
of Imsayab or Mussayib about 15 miles direct, but upwards of
20 by the bends of the river north of Babylon. It is evident
that Cyrus deemed himself very near to Babylon, since he had
almost given up any thoughts of resistance on the part of Artax-
erxes.
Xenophon describes the battle fully, but does not mention the
name of the place where it was fought. Plutarch, in his Life of Arta-
xerxes, has alone preserved it, and states that it was 500 stadia from
Babylon. This would make it fifty miles north of Babylon.
Xenophon, however, says that the distance from the field of battle
to Babylon was only 360 stadia, or 36 miles, a distance which
would tally best with that of the before-mentioned mounds of
Muhammad.
MOUND, ON PLAIN OF BABYLONIA.-The night of the battle, the
Greeks pursued the Persians as far as a certain village, where they
halted; for above the village was a hill, upon which the king's
troops had checked their flight. The hill here alluded to appears
to have been one of the numerous artificial mounds, topes, or tells,
sometimes sepulchral, sometimes heaps of ruin, which abound on
the plain of Babylonia. The word used to designate the hill is
sufficiently descriptive, ynλopos, a compound of yn, earth, and Xopoɩ,
hill, mound, or tumulus, "a heap of earth."
It is the more important to establish this fact, as there are no
natural hills on the plain of Babylonia; and therefore the mention
made by Xenophon of a hill at this place, has led the distinguished
traveller, Baillie Fraser, to consider it as furnishing evidence of
the battle having been fought to the north of the Median Wall.
BABYLONIAN VILLAGES.As soon as a retreat had been decided
upon between the Greeks and the Barbarians, and the line of route
to be followed determined by Ariaeus, they started on a long day's
journey to certain villages, the position of which would be in a great
measure determined by a more satisfactory conclusion as to the
site of Cunaxa. Colonel Chesney places these villages on the Abu
Gharib or Nahr Sarsar of Abulfeda, near the extensive mounds
and ruins of Kush or Sindiyah.
The direction of the next march is not given, but it is stated
that the army met with ditches and canals, so full of water, that
they could not cross without bridges; but they made crossings of
the palm-trees which had fallen, and others which they cut down.
There is every reason to believe from this statement that the
Greeks were led into the interior of Babylonia, and Clearchus ap-
pears justly to have suspected that the ditches had been filled with
water purposely, as it was not the season for irrigating the land.
At last they arrived at some villages, where was plenty of corn,
and wine made from dates, and where it would appear they re-
mained twenty-three or twenty-four days.
296
COMMENTARY ON
WALL OF MEDIA. At length, after marching three days, they
arrived at the Wall of Media, as it is called, and passed to the
other side of it. This wall was built of burnt bricks, laid in bitu-
men; it was twenty feet in thickness, and a hundred in height,
and the length of it was said to be twenty parasangs; and it was
not far distant from Babylon.
"Not the least remarkable of the discoveries," says the Rev. J.
F. Macmichael in the Appendix to his Xenophon, "which of late
years have marked the progress of geographical inquiry in this
most interesting-but, till of late, unexplored-region, is the actual
existence at the present time of an ancient wall stretching across
Mesopotamia at the head of the Babylonian plain. Mr. Ross,
who first examined it at its eastern terminus, in 1836, describes it
under the name of Khalu or Sidd Nimrud, (wall or embankment of
Nimrod,) and as a straight wall 25 long paces thick, and from 35
to 40 feet high, running S. W. N. as far as the eye could reach,
to two mounds called Ramelah, (Sifairah, Ainsw. p. 81-2,) on the
Euphrates, some hours above Felujah.-The eastern extremity
was built of the small pebbles of the country, cemented with lime
of great tenacity; and farther inland, his Bedwin guides told him
it was built of brick, and in some places worn down level with
the desert,—and was built by Nimrod to keep off the people of
Nineveh, with whom he had an implacable feud. (Journal of R.
Geog. S. ix. p. 446.) It was further examined by Captain Lynch,
and its eastern extremity determined to be in lat. 34° 3′ 30″, and
long. 21′ 50″ W. of Baghdad. (Ibid. p. 472.)
"The identity of this wall with Xenophon's Wall of Media was
assumed by the explorers tacitly, but with strong ground of pro-
bability. Of the great antiquity of the Sidd Nimrud there can be
no question; record of its origin there is none, except local tra-
dition assigning it to Nimrod. On the other hand, the continued
existence of a wall (corresponding to the Median) from Xeno-
phon's age down to comparatively recent times, is attested by a
chain of scattered notices in later writers. Such a wall is men-
tioned by Eratosthenes, (in the third century B. C., quoted by
Strabo ii. 1, and xi. 14,) as rò rns Zeppaudos diarexioμa, having its
eastern terminus at or near Opis. Again, its western terminus
was noticed (in a state of ruin) by Amm. Marcellinus (363 a. d.)
at Macepracta on the Euphrates, near the head of a canal, which
he distinguishes from the Naha Malcha, (Nahr Malik,) doubtless
the Saklawiyeh, a few miles north of which is the S. W. extremity
of the Sidd Nimrud."
"Their identity is further attested by their occupying the same
general position as a partition-line between the rocky desert of
Arabia and the fertile alluvial plain of Babylonia: the Sidd Nim-
rud, for all practical purposes, distinguishes the Babylonian plain
from the hilly and rocky country. (Ainsw. p. 82, note 2.)—And
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
297
that a like position must be assigned to the Median Wall is strong-
ly indicated by the name it bears, το Μηδιας τεῖχος. For the
Medes under Cyaxares had conquered all Assyria up to Babylonia,
a tract which, in Herodotus, includes the entire canal distinct, (i.
193,) and in Xenophon commences where the desert of Arabia
terminates—at or near a place called Pylae, (i. 5. 5,) where, accord-
ingly, we should look for the western terminus of the Median
Wall."
From a consideration of the different circumstances detailed by
Xenophon of the first retrograde steps taken after the battle of
Cunaxa, I was induced to believe that Tissaphernes, having arrived
with his army and the guides, marched, as Xenophon expresses it,
as if he designed to return home; that he led the Greeks three
days' march, or about thirty-six miles, towards Sifairah, at which
point he turned round, and conducted them through the Wall into
Sitacene, thus leaving them in perplexity with regard to the rela-
tions of that rich and fertile province to the city of Babylon.
(Trav. in the Track, &c., p. 108-9.)
The following is the account given by Colonel Chesney of this
the first portion of the Katabasis, and which is so difficult to un-
derstand. "In taking a northerly direction from the presumed
position of the camp, it would be necessary to cross the Nahr
Malka; and on account of this obstruction, as well as the pre-
sence of an enemy, the distance made would scarcely exceed´ten
miles. Fatigued by the march, and without sustenance, a slight
circumstance was sufficient to cause a tumult, and almost a panic,
among the Greeks. The panic was, however, speedily calmed by
the ingenuity of Clearchus, and at day-break he marched with the
intention of becoming the assailant. This bold manoeuvre led to
a negotiation with the king on equal terms, and guides were in
consequence appointed to conduct the Greeks across the Nahr
Sersar, and its affluents, which intersect this part of the country.
These cuts appear to have been filled with water, but the difficulties
were overcome by cutting down the palm-trees to make bridges,
in which operation Clearchus set the example; and the army
reached the intended halting-place in some villages probably not
more than ten miles from the preceding station.
These were
abundantly provided with corn, vinegar, and wine made from dates-
After spending about twenty-three days in negotiations, having
made engagements to be faithfully conducted homeward, and ob-
tained supplies, the Greeks, the troops of Ariaeus, and those of
the king under Tissaphernes, commenced what seemed a peace-
able march, although certain circumstances attending it gave
rise to suspicion, and some precautions were adopted in conse-
quence by the Greeks. In three days, probably, taking, as in the
preceding march, a westerly direction, in order to round the marshes
and inundations near Akar Kuf, the armies came up to and de
298
COMMENTARY ON
parted from the Median Wall into the interior. This wall, whose
remains are described in Xenophon, was of bricks, and once 100
feet high and 20 feet thick: it is still to be traced, with its towers
and ditch, running south-westward from the Tigris, nearly opposite
Kadisiyeh, to the Euphrates, near Felujah, a distance of forty-
two or forty-three miles."
π
This view of the subject is illustrated by the following note.
"The translation of this passage of Xenophon, apɩKoνTO TρÒÇ TÒ
Μηδίας τεῖχος, καὶ παρῆλθον αὐτου εισω, (Anabasis, lib. ii. cap. iv.,) has
been much discussed and variously rendered. In Allpress's Xeno-
phon, p. 80, the army is made to arrive at, and pass along within,
the Median Wall; which translation is also given in the Anabasis
of Xenophon, by Charles Anthon, L.L. D. William Tegg and Co.
Cheapside (By passing within this wall, Dr. Anthon does not
appear to understand keeping to the south side of it, but passing
through it, for he says in a note, (p. 157 of the 1st edition,) Ains-
worth thinks that this going through the Median Wall, &c. W. F. A.);
by the Rev. Dr. Butcher, Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin; as
well as by Schneider, who, in a note on this passage, condemns
Halbkardt for translating it, 'Kamen sie zur Medischen Mauer,
und setzen nun jenseit derselben ihren Marsch fort.'
Viger, in his Greek Idioms, also quotes an instance from Xeno-
phon, where the verb occurring in the passage in question joined
with a substantive in the genitive case, signifies "departure from
or deflection; and Donnegan's Greek Lexicon gives sow as an ad-
verb, with the signification of "in the interior," "inside," or with-
in, which renderings of the passage are in conformity with the
relative geographical positions of the Median Wall and Sitace,
On the other hand, Hutchinson, in his edition of Xenophon, p. 139,
(Hutchinson's translation is "intráque eum ingressi sunt," p. 145,
Oxford edition, 1745. IV. F. A.,) and Mitford, History of Greece,
vol. iv. p. 189, state that the Greeks came up to and passed through
the Median Wall; and this interpretation has been followed by
Bishop Thirlwall, în his History of Greece, vol. iv. p. 335, ed. Lon-
don, 1847, since he conceives, in accordance with Passow, in his
Greek Lexicon, that when joined with a verb of motion, ɛow must
bear the signification of to the inside, not on the inside. The bishop
of St. David's considers that Schneider's condemnation of Halb-
kardt arises solely from the great difficulty of reconciling his trans-
lation with the geographical position of Sitace, but that the philo-
logical difficulty thus raised by Schneider, is quite as great as the
geographical difficulty of the other. The same opinion appears to
be held by other Grecian scholars; the Right Rev. Dr. Wilson,
Lord Bishop of Cork and Cloyne, and the Rev. Dr. Mac-Donnell,
Senior Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, among the number."
(Vol. ii. p. 219 et seq.)
To this array of authorities I may add that of the Rev. J. F.
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPIIÓN.
299
Macmichael, Head-master of the Grammar School, Burton on Trent,
who says,
"We gather from the narrative, that they commenced
the retreat (after joining Ariaeus) in a northerly direction, (ii. 2. 8,)
and continued it with Tissaphernes-who was journeying home-
wards (wg eiç oɩкov άπɩúν, iv. 8)-far enough in this direction to
pass out of Babylonia; for on the sixth day of the retreat, they
passed within the Median Wall (rupnov tow avrou, iv. 12)-an
expression which can only signify an entry through it into Baby-
lonia. (Cf. 1. iv. 4, 5—vii. 16.) The line of route suggested by
Mr. Ainsworth, viz. back by Pylae, and then for some distance on
the N. side of the Wall, is apparently the only one consistent with
the data, geographical and historical, of the problem." P. 339.
Apart, however, from the respect due to Colonel Chesney's views
of the matter-it remains quite an open question, whether a north-
westerly route, to avoid the Hur or marshes of Akka Kuf, would
not have taken the Greeks to a position so near to the Median
Wall as to be described by them as within that wall, before they
turned to the eastward towards Sitace.
SITACE. From the Wall of Media they procecded, in two days'
march, the distance of eight parasangs; crossing two canals, the
one by a permanent bridge, the other by a temporary one, formed
of seven boats. These canals were supplied from the river Tigris;
and from one to the other of them were cut ditches across the
country, the first of considerable size, and the next smaller; and
at last diminutive drains, such as are cut in Greece through the
panic fields. They then arrived at the Tigris; near which there
was a large and populous city, called Sitace, distant from the
banks of the river only fifteen stadia.
Xenophon, by repeating the circumstance here, that the canals
were derived from the Tigris, lends additional weight to his prior
statement, that at that time the northerly part of the plain of
Babylonia was watered from the Tigris. The Arabs of Balad in-
formed Captain Lynch, that there were anciently two canals, which
ran across from the Tigris to the Euphrates-one from Istabalat,
called Jalilu-i-Darb, near where the Dujail, "Little Tigris," leaves
the Tigris, and one that ran from the Dujail itself, called Bu Khai-
mah. (Journal of R. G. S., vol. ix. p. 474.)
There are also in the same district the remains of several canals
which were drawn in olden time from the river Tigris to flow back
into the same river. Among the most remarkable are the Dujail, or
Dijail, or Little Tigris; the Shat Aidha and the Ishakli. Akbara,
a favourite residence of the Khalifs, was on the Shat Aidha.
Mr. Ross sought for Sitace at Shiriat al Baidha, or the White
River, where there are extensive ruins, consisting of mounds and
embankments, and the dry ditch of a canal extending northwards
some miles, and westwards almost to the colossal ruin of Akka Kuf
ɔr Accad—the only remaining example of an Assyrian or Baby-
300
COMMENTARY ON
lonian ruin not converted by the lapse of time and disintegration
of materials into a tel or mound.
Having been led to reject the identification of the river Physcus
with the modern Athaim, as surmised by Mr. Ross and Captain
Lynch, upon the grounds advanced by Colonel Rawlinson, that if
the Katur or Nahrawan canals existed in the time of Xenophon,
they would represent the Physcus and not the Athaim, I was
further induced, by considering the incompatibility of the distance
between Shiriat al Baidha and Opis at the confluence of the
Athaim, with that reported by Xenophon, to seek for the ruins of
Sitace at or near the site of Akbara. Colonel Chesney has, by
placing Opis at or a little above Kayim or Kaim, and close to the
head of a second or lower branch of the Nahr-wan, called the
Nahr al Risas, and which he identifies with the Physcus, got over
this difficulty.
"In taking the distance backward," says Colonel Chesney, vol.
ii. p. 221, "at the average rate of the march through Asia Minor,
or 2.608 geographical miles per parasang along the Upper Tigris,
(at the favourable season of the year,) from the known point of the
river Zab, there would be 130 geographical miles for the fifty
parasangs to Opis, which places that city a little above Kaim, and
close to the head of the Nahrawan, instead of being, as before sup-
posed, some miles lower down near the river Athaim. Twenty
parasangs, or fifty-two geographical miles, from the latter, the anci-
ent bed of the Tigris, would place Sitace about ten miles north-
west of Baghdad, near Sheriat el Beidha, the presumed site of the
Sitace of Xenophon."
This identification, it will be observed, establishes the correspond-
ence of the old bed of the river Tigris-the Shat Aidha—with the
Tigris of Xenophon.
OPIS.-From the Tigris, the Greeks are described as proceeding
in four days' march, a distance of twenty parasangs, to the river
Physcus, which was a plethrum in breadth, and over which was a
bridge. Here was situate a large town, called Opis.
The discussion of the true positioning of Sitace involved, it has
been seen, a knowledge of the site of Opis, which was situated at
the issue of the Katur, or Nahrawan, from the Tigris.* The Rev.
Mr. Macmichael remarks upon this identification of a river with a
canal, that it is not improbably the third instance in the work of
Xenophon. "Ainsworth," he says in the Appendix, (p. 339,) "fol-
lowing Colonel Rawlinson, who is inclined to identify the Physcus
with the ancient canal, Katur or Nahrawan, (compare the case of
the Daradax and Masca, called moraμcí, 1. iv. 10, n., and v. 4; the
* Colonel Chesney's Al Kayim is situated, it has been observed, on the
Nahr al Risas, a tributary to the Katur or Nahrawan; the ruins of Dura, and
those called now Old Baghdad, are upon the Katur or Nahrawan proper.
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
301
breadth also, (a plethrum,) which is uniformly that of canals, (v. 1;
vii. 15,) somewhat favour the supposition."
Opis was a city of considerable commercial importance at one
time, having, according to the learned Dr. Vincent, risen into emi.
nence upon the decline of the Assyrian cities on the Tigris, and
then again decayed in its turn, as Seleucia, and Apamea, the crea-
tion of the Seleucidae, became conspicuous; hence its positioning
is of great interest to comparative geography generally.
VILLAGES OF PARYSATIS. From Opis the Greeks proceeded
through Media, six days' march through a desert country, a dis-
tance of thirty parasangs, when they arrived at the villages of
Parysatis, the mother of Cyrus and the king.
At 2.608 geographical miles for each of the thirty parasangs, or
78.24 geographical miles, the villages in question would have been
situated, according to Colonel Chesney, (ii. 222,) about three miles
beyond the Lesser Zab-a river concerning the existence of
which Xenophon is as silent as he was regarding the Lake of
Antioch and its tributaries.
The position of these villages, according to the distance stated in
the text, would, says Dr. Anthon, (note to Xenophon, p. 163,) both
in Lynch's and in Rich's maps, fall pretty nearly at the position
marked Tel Kunus in the first, and Tel Geloos in the second.
This is the same identification as in the "Travels in the Track."
It is however over-estimated, being laid down in the maps, in-
stead of as in other cases corrected for the difficulties of road,
which in most cases render my estimate of 3 geo. miles equal to
not more than 2.5 on the map, making them really of the same
value as accorded by Rennell, Colonel Chesney, Hamilton, and
Layard.
CAENAE. From the villages of Parysatis the Greeks advanced
in a march of five days more through the desert, a distance of
twenty parasangs, having the Tigris on their left. At the end of
the first day's march, there was situate on the opposite bank of the
river, a large and opulent city, called Caenae, whence the Barba-
rians brought over, on rafts made of hide, a supply of bread, cheese,
and wine.
Captain Lynch having found some ruins with a canal called
Senn, not far from the embouchure of the Great Zab on the oppo-
site side of the Tigris, I was induced to identify the Caenae of the
Greeks with that spot, puzzled however at the same time to iden-
tify this site with the Scena of Strabo, and which according to the
Amasian geographer was a remarkable city-the capital of the
Scenite Arabs eighteen schaeni or one hundred and eight miles
from Seleucia, and with a canal which was carried thence to the
confines of Babylonia.
Notwithstanding the difficulty of getting a canal through the
hilly ranges south of Kalah Shirgat, still, considering the correc
302
COMMENTARY ON
tion given to the distances by Colonel Chesney, I am inclined to
suppose that the site must be the same as the ruins at the last-
mentioned place, and not exactly, as Colonel Chesney has it, at the
ruins of the Ur of the Persians, which he says are three or four
miles below Shirkat-or Toprak Kalahsi. (ii. p. 222.)
Kalah Shirgat, since the time when I first visited it in company
with Layard, in 1840, has been the scene of many most remark-
able and interesting discoveries in Assyrian Archaeology, made by
that most successful explorer.
Among other monuments of olden time, a cylinder, a splendid
relic, containing 800 lines of beautiful writing, at least 100 years
older than the oldest monument hitherto discovered in Assyria,
was found here. It was, when found, broken into a hundred frag-
ments, and in some parts even reduced to powder; but the whole
has been carefully joined together, and barely a dozen lines lost.
Colonel Rawlinson states (Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, vol.
xv. p. xvi. et seq.) that it contains the bulletins of Tiglath Pile-
ser Ĩ., a king who is mentioned in the annals of Assur-akh-pal,
as a remote ancestor; and as Divanuras, the builder of Calah, must,
Colonel Rawlinson thinks, intervene between the connected series
and this king, and as there is no mention on the cylinder either of
Calah or Nineveh; the Colonel is led to believe that the capital of
the empire at that early period, that is, before the building of
Nineveh, was Kileh Shirgat, as he spells it, itself, and which is
everywhere on the cylinder named Assur, as it is also in the well-
known sitting figure obtained from the same place by Layard, and
now in the British Museum.
This ancient and pre-Ninevite capital of the Assyrian empire
being then named Assur, was also, according to Colonel Rawlinson,
the Allasar of Genesis, of which Arioch was the king. It is also
the Tel Assur of the Targums, which is used for the Mosaic Resen;
and instead, therefore, of Resen being between Nineveh and Calah,
it should be Calah, which was between Nineveh and Resen. "I
consider," adds the Colonel, "these three sites to be now determin-
ately fixed-Nineveh at Nebbi Yunus, Calah at Nimrud, and
Resen at Shirgat."
Notwithstanding such high authority, I cannot help feeling
that there will yet be found no reason for thus forcing the reading
of the Mosaic record. The term Assur has been found at Nimrud
And it is very likely to apply to the coun-
as well as at Shirgat.*
* Ross (Jour. R. G. S. vol. ix. p. 451) calls it Kalah Sherkat. Rich,
(vol. ii. p. 138,) Toprak Kalaa and Kalaat ul Shirgath. Layard, (Nineveh
and its Remains, i. 4; ii. 45, and 51, and Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh
and Babylon, p. 581,) Kalah Sherghat. Chesney, (vol. ii. 222,) Sherkat or
Toprak Kalahsi. Myself, Kaleh Sherkat and Kalah Shirgat. We have all
looked upon it as a modern name, signifying the same, in Turkish, Toprak
Kalah, and in Arabic, Kalah Shirgat, "castle of earth.'
THE ANABASIS OF ALKOPHON.
303
try rather than to the city. If, as I suspect it will still turn out
to be the case, Nimrud is ever identified by satisfactory paleogra-
phic research with Resen, and Kalah Shirgat with Calah, the
Biblical expression will be found to be correct. Colonel Rawlinson
has himself been induced to change his opinions with progressive
inquiry, he having in 1839 identified Calah with Holwan near Sar
Puli Zohab (Journ. of Roy. Geo. Soc. ix. p. 35 et seq.); and in
1849 or 50, identified the same place with Nimrud. (Journ. of Roy.
Asiat. Soc. xii. p. 417.)
In the "Memoir on Cuneiform Inscriptions," published in the
eleventh volume of the Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., Colonel Rawlinson
speaks of Athur-a and Athur-aya as the cuneiform expression for
our Assyria. He then adds in a note, the Arabic geographers
always give the title of Athur to the great ruined capital near the
mouth of the Upper Zab. If so, that place is just as likely to be
the Tel Assur of the Targums as Kalah Shirgat, and consequently,
as far as any identification founded on such data will go-the
same as Resen.
RIVER ZABATUs. Soon after, they arrived at the river Zabatus,
the breadth of which was four plethra. The river Zab is too well
known to detain us long. It is in the present day called Zab Ala.
Thevenot and Tavernier called it Zarb and Zarbe. It is the Lycus
of the older geographers, with the exception of Pliny, who calls it
Zerbis, and Marcellinus, who mispells it Diaba. The Zab is one of
the principal confluents of the Tigris, and at certain seasons of
the year brings down a larger body of water than the main
stream.
There are many tels or mounds of ruin on the south side of the
Zab near its confluence with the Tigris, in the plain of Shumanuk,
or Shomanok, now tenanted by the Tai Arabs, some of which the
indefatigable Layard caused to be excavated by the Jehesh Arabs
under his pay. Among the most remarkable of these is the lofty
mound of Kashaf or Keshaf, an artificial platform of earth and
unbaked bricks resting upon limestone rock, and crowned by the
remains of a deserted fort, the mounds and ruins called Muk-
hamur or Mokhamour, in the pastoral plains between the Kara-
juk hills and the Tigris-the mound of Abu Jerdah-that of Abu
Shitha or Abou Sheetha, and eight others enumerated by Layard,
all indicative of a large and prosperous population in olden times.
Speaking more particularly of the mound called Abu-Shitha,
Layard says, (p. 225,) "Near this ruin, perhaps at its very foot,
must have taken place an event which led to one of the most cele-
brated episodes of ancient history. Here were treacherously
seized Clearchus, Proxenus, Menon, Agias, and Socrates; and
Xenophon, elected to the command of the Greek Auxiliaries, com-
menced the ever-memorable retreat of the Ten Thousand. The camp
304
COMMENTARY ON
of Tissaphernes, dappled with its many-coloured tents, and glitter.
ing with golden arms and silken standards, the gorgeous display of
Persian pomp, probably stood on the Kordereh, (Kur Darah, valley
of Cyrus?) between Abou Sheetha and the Kasr. The Greeks
having taken the lower road to the west of the Karachok range,
through a plain even then as now a desert, turned to the east, and
crossed the spur of the mountain, where we had recently seen the
tents of the Howar, in order to reach the fords of the Zab."
PASS OF THE ZABATUS.— Misfortunes awaited the Greeks at
this point, and active hostilities ensuing upon the passage of the
Zab, that passage was deferred for a short time. The Persians
having been described by Xenophon as taking up a position at
the ford over the Zab, I was induced to identify the place of pass-
age, notwithstanding its distance from the confluence of the Zab
and Tigris, with the ford at Kulak Kupar, which is beyond the
ferry called Kulak Izidi, or the pass of the Yezidees.
"The fact of their leaving the Tigris," says the Rev. Mr. Mac-
michael in the Appendix to the Xenophon, (p. 340,) “and march-
ing up the Zab before crossing it, though not expressly stated, is
sufficiently indicated by the remark that they arrived at the Tigris
near Larissa (iii. 4. 6) after two marches from the ford. It is
also to be added to this, that it seems probable that they crossed
above the junction of the Khazir su or Bumadus, as they are de-
scribed as passing on their way to Larissa, a valley formed by a
torrent."
Colonel Chesney makes the Greeks cross the Zab near its con-
fluence, "probably in boats," (ii. 222). Layard, who has examined
the country about the confluence of the two rivers with great care,
says, "the ford by which the Greeks crossed the great Zab
(Zabates) may, I think, be accurately determined. It is still the
principal ford in this part of the river, and must, from the nature
of the bed of the stream, have been so from the earliest periods.
It is about twenty-five miles from the confluence of the Żab and
Tigris. A march of twenty-five stadia, or nearly three miles, in
the direction of Larissa, would have brought them to the Ghazer
or Burmadus; and this stream was, I have little doubt, the deep
valley formed by the torrent where Mithridates, venturing to
attack the retreating army, was signally defeated." (Discov. in the
Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, p. 60.)
Layard is wrong in saying that "Mr. Ainsworth would take
the Greeks up to the modern ferry, where there could never have
been a ford.” I said distinctly (Trav. in the Track, &c., p. 119)
the actual ferry is at Kelek Izedi, (or Kulak Izidi,) but beyond
this, at Kelek Gopar, (Kulak Kupar,) the river is said to be ford-
able at favourable seasons. This Mr. Rassam and myself ascer-
tained on the spot. As it appears, however, that there is a ford
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
305
lower down the river, and yet above the confluence of the Khazir-
su, it is evidently useless to go higher up the river in search of a
spot for the passage of the Greeks.
LARISSA. Having crossed the Zabatus, the Greeks were only
enabled, owing to the hostile front presented by Mithridates, the
satrap of the new district they had entered upon, to advance some
five and twenty stadia to some villages on the plain. The next
morning they started earlier than usual on account of the ravine,
but the Persians did not attack them till they had crossed the
torrent, and being driven back, the Greeks travelled the rest of the
day without molestation, arriving at the river Tigris, where was a
large deserted city, the name of which was Larissa, and which the
Medes had formerly inhabited.
The identity of the Larissa of Xenophon with the ruins of Nim-
rud, the scene of Layard's most remarkable discoveries, appearing
to be undisputed by those who have written since the publication
of the "Travels in the Track," it only remains to notice some facts
that have sprung out of more recent researches.
The learned Bochart first advanced the supposition that this
Assyrian city was the same as the primeval city, called Resen in the
Bible, and that the Greeks having asked its name, were answered,
Al Resen, the article being prefixed, and from whence they made
Larissa, in an easy transposition. I adopted this presumed identity
as extremely probable, and Colonel Chesney (ii. 223) has done the
same-not as an established fact, but as a presumed identity.
Layard was satisfied with looking upon Nimrud as a quarter of
Nineveh. "That the ruins at Nimroud were within the precincts
of Nineveh," he says in Nineveh and its Remains, (vol. ii. p. 245,)
"if they do not alone mark its site, appears to be proved by Strabo,
and by Ptolemy's statement, that the city was on the Lycus, cor-
roborated by the tradition preserved by the earliest Arab geogra-
phers. Yakut, and others, mention the ruins of Athur, near Sela-
miyah, which gave the name of Assyria to the province; and Ibn
Said expressly states, that they were those of the city of the As-
syrian kings who destroyed Jerusalem. They are still called, as it
has been shown, both Athur and Nimroud.”
Certain cuneiform characters represented in Layard's Nineveh
and its Remains, (vol. ii. p. 228, 229,) were, from their frequent
recurrence both in the sculptures and the bricks, supposed to re-
present the name of Asshur. Dr. Hincks deemed them to repre-
sent either the name, or an abbreviation of the name, of Athur,
the country of Assyria. "It is possible," Layard remarks upon
this, "that Nineveh, or Athur, may be indiscriminately used in
speaking of the country.'
22
Athor, or Athyr, has also been read by Dr. Hincks as the name
of the presiding divinity on the monuments of Assyria, somewhat
VOL. I.
Χ
306
COMMENTARY ON
we suppose, in the same way, only with more religious feeling
mixed up with it, that Britannia represents Great Britain.
In 1846, Colonel Rawlinson, speaking of Nimrud, noticed it as
probably the Rehoboth of Scripture, but he added in a note, "I
have no reason for identifying it with Rehoboth, beyond its evident
antiquity, and the attribution of Resen and Calah to other sites.
(Journal of Roy. Asiat. Soc. vol. x. p. 26.) At this time Colonel
Rawlinson identified Calah with Holwan or Sir Pul-i-Zohab, and
Resen, or Dasen, with Yasin Teppeh in the plain of Shahrizur in
Kurdistan. (See note to p. 23 op. cit.)
In 1849, (Journ. of Roy. Asiat. Soc. vol. xi. p. 10,) Colonel
Rawlinson said, "The Arabic geographers always give the title of
Athur to the great ruined capital near the mouth of the Upper
Zab. The ruins are now usually known by the name of Nimrud.
It would seem highly probable that they represent the Calah of
Genesis, for the Samaritan Pentateuch names this city Lachisa,
which is evidently the same title as the Aapioca of Xenophon, the
Persian being very usually replaced both in Median and Baby-
lonian by a guttural."
In 1850, (Journ. of Roy. Asiat. Soc. vol. xii..) Colonel Rawlin-
son added the discovery of a cuneiform inscription bearing the
uitle Levekh, which he reads Halukh. "Nimrud," says the distin-
guished palaeographist, "the great treasure-house which has
furnished us with all the most remarkable specimens of Assyrian
sculpture, although very probably forming one of that group of
cities, which, in the time of the prophet Jonas, were known by the
common name of Nineveh, has no claim itself, I think, to that
particular appellation. The title by which it is designated on the
bricks and slabs that form its buildings, I read doubtfully as Le-
vekh, and I suspect this to be the original form of the name which
appears as Calah in Genesis, and Halah in Kings and Chron-
icles, and which indeed, as the capital of Calachene, must needs
have occupied some site in the immediate vicinity."
Lastly, in 1853, (Journ. of Roy. Asiat. Soc. vol. xv. p. vi. et seq.,)
Colonel Rawlinson describes the remarkable cylinder before al-
luded to as found at Kilah Shirgat, which establishes that site to
have been the most ancient capital of the Assyrian empire, and to
have been called Assur as well as Nimrud and Nineveh Proper.
This Assur, we have seen, he identifies with the Tel Assur of the
Targums, which is used for the Mosaic Resen; and instead, there-
fore, of Resen being between Nineveh and Calah, it should be Ca-
lah, which was between Nineveh and Resen.
But, notwithstanding such very high authority, the conclusion
thus arrived at does not appear to be perfectly satisfactory. The
discovery of the expression Levekh, and its analogy in the Samari-
tan Lachisa and the Greek Larissa, is very curious and very
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHION.
307
remarkable, but not conclusive. The name Assur, or Athur,
occurs just as frequently in connexion with Nimrud as with hir-
gat, and therefore the same argument of its being the Tel Assur of
the Targums, which is used for the Mosaic Resen, would apply to
the one as well as to the other. It is possible to imagine two cities
like Nineveh and Resen to have been within some twenty miles of
one another, but it is not so easy to imagine that in after times
one was in the province of Adiabene, the other in that of Cala-
chene. This part of the subject will be found discussed at length
in the "Papers of the Syro-Egyptian Society," (vol. i. part ii.).
The whole question indeed regarding Nineveh and Assur ap-
pears to be involved in a great deal of philological confusion. It
is evident that the name of the country came from Assur or Athur,
and we cannot therefore feel surprised at finding the name at Ki-
lah Shirgat, afterwards transposed to Nimrud and to Nineveh,
just as we find the Chaldean priests using it in the present day in
their bibles at Musul or Mausil. It does not appear, therefore,
that any correct data will be derived for naming any of the Assyrian
cities from the presence of this epithet.
Then again, with regard to Nineveh, it may at one time have
designated one place, at another time another place, according to
where the king took up his abode: and again, it may, in the time
of Jonah, have embraced the whole group of cities, as Colonel
Rawlinson remarks, in Assyria Proper. Layard does not dispute
that the different portions of Nineveh, thus comprehensively viewed,
may have had different names. Much light has already been
thrown upon the history of the different Assyrian cities and edi-
fices, as well as upon the dwellers therein, and that is quite suf-
ficient to show that we are as yet only upon the threshold of what
will be eliminated by the labours of our truly zealous and laborious
paleographers and archæologists.
Since the above was written, a letter from Colonel Rawlinson
appears in the Athenæum, No. 1381, making mention of the dis-
covery in the S. E. palace at Nimrud, of a perfect statue of the
god Nebo, with an inscription on the breast, stating that the figure
in question was executed by a certain sculptor of Lakisa or Calah,
and dedicated by him to the Lord Phal-lukha, king of Assyria, and
to his Lady, Sammuramit, Queen of the Palace. In the same in-
scription the territorial name of Sutgan is mentioned in conjunc-
tion with that of the city of Calah, being, Colonel Rawlinson says,
the title given by the Samaritan interpreter for the Hebrew of Re-
hoboth Ir. The Colonel identifies the king and queen here no-
ticed together with the Belochus and Semiramis of the Greek As-
syrian lists. He believes Semiramis to have been the daughter of
the king of Medo-Armenia, to have married Phal-lukha, the king
of Armenia, when she changed her name from Atossa to Semi-
X 2
308
COMMENTARY ON
ramis, and to have reigned with her husband as joint monarch of
Nineveh in the eighth century before Christ.
MESPILA. From Larissa the Greeks are described as proceed-
ing, in one day's journey, six parasangs, to a large unoccupied for-
tress, situated near a city, the name of which was Mespila. Upon
the data here given, I identified the fortress with the ruins at
Yarumjah, and Mespila with Nineveh. Colonel Chesney appears
to coincide in this view of the subject. "That Larissa and Mes-
pila are represented by the ruins of Nimroud and Kouyunjik,"
Layard says, (Nineveh and Babylon, p. 61,) "no one can reason-
ably doubt."
Colonel Rawlinson however says, (Journ. Roy. Asiat. Soc. vol.
xii. p. 419,) “It seems to me very possible, that Xenophon's name
of Mespila may denote Mosul, and not Nineveh." The term Mes-
pila or Meso-pulai, "middle pass or gates," would certainly appear
to apply to the pass of the river between Musul and Kuyunjik or
Nabbi Yunus, and there may have been ruins on both banks, for
a great mound still exists in Musul, not far from the river, but
there is no evidence of such extensive ruins, as are described by
Xenophon as being at Mespila, having existed on the right bank
of the river, whilst we know they do occur on the left. Rennell
has, however, also conjectured Musul to be derived from Mesulae,
a corruption of Meso-pulai. It does not matter much. Xenophon's
name, no doubt, applied to the pass of the Tigris, and therefore to
Musul and Nineveh, and his description of ruins to the latter.
VILLAGES BEYOND MESPILA.--The Greeks proceeded from the
pass of the Tigris, one day's journey, a distance of four parasangs,
to some villages where there was plenty of corn. Fertility is the
characteristic of the plain of Nineveh to the present day, and there
are no want of villages. From the data here given, I identified
the particular villages at which the Greeks encamped with Tel
Kaif, an Assyrian mound with a village or small town at its foot.
Colonel Chesney joins me in this identification. Layard, however,
says, "they probably halted near the modern village of Batnai,
between Tel Kef and Tel Eskof, an ancient site exactly four hours,
by the usual caravan road, from Kouyunjik.” There is no doubt
that Tel Kaif is not above nine geog. miles from Kuyunjik, and Bat-
nai is twelve. But this is allowing the full three geog. miles to the
parasang, and that when the Greeks were harassed throughout the
journey by Tissaphernes. Tel Kaif is evidently also an old As-
syrian site, which is not so certain with respect to Batnai, and I
therefore, considering all the circumstances of the site, prefer the
first identification.
PALACE AND VILLAGES.-The Greeks remained at the villages
on the Assyrian plain the ensuing day, after which they proceeded
through the open country, five days' march, till they came to hills,
beyond which was a kind of palace and several villages round it.
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
309
The first hills that are met with in proceeding northwards from
Assyria to Karduchia, are those which constitute the triple range,
designated as the 'Jibal Abyad by the Arabs, and Cha Spi by the
Kurds, both signifying "white hills," and immediately beyond
them is the castle of Zakhu, with villages around it, like a feudal
castle of olden times. In no part of the journey do the circum-
stances of the case more closely correspond with Xenophon's de-
scriptions, especially of the difficulties met with in passing the
hilly range, and the unforeseen opposition they met with in the
now wooded valleys between the ranges.
Colonel Chesney (ii. 224) and Layard (Nineveh and Babylon,
p. 61) both agree with me in this identification. It is remarkable
that Xenophon does not mention the Khabur, which Dr. Grant
confounded with the Chebar of Scripture-the Khabur of Meso-
potamia-although he must have crossed that river either by a
ford or bridge.
VILLAGE IN THE PLAIN.-There being plenty of provisions at
Zakhu, the Greeks remained there three days, and on the fourth
they went down into the plain. Xenophon neglects here to notice
either the Khabur or its tributary the Hazil, both of which the
army must apparently have crossed. They are reported as having
encamped at the first village they came to, which I have supposed
might correspond with Tel Kubbin, where a mound of ruin marks
an ancient site, but Layard does not think they got beyond the
Hazil su. The first village in the plain in the present day is Bidari,
inhabited by Chaldeans.
FOOT OF THE MOUNTAINS.-The Greeks evidently continued
their march across the plain of Zakhu-the Romaion Ager of
Procopius-till they reached the foot of the hills south of Jizirah.
A superior knowledge of the country had, however, been turned
to account by the Persians in the mean time, and the Greeks, to
their astonishment, found the enemy in possession of the heights
over which they necessarily must pass, whilst the troops of Ariaeus
and Tissaphernes pressed upon the rear.
The scene of this second conflict in the outlying mountains
of Kurdistan I have identified with the low hills which con-
stitute that spur of the Jibal Judi which advances immediately
beyond the plain of Zakhu down to the banks of the Tigris, and
where is the now ruinous castle of Rabahi-the Rabdium of the
Low Empire, Tur Abdin of Al Wakidis' History of the Conquest
of Mesopotamia by the Saracens, and Tur Rabdin of the Jihan
Numa. Colonel Chesney agrees with me in this explanation of mat-
ters, but Layard takes the Greeks (p. 62) all the way to Fynyk or
Finik, a view of the subject that will meet with very little support
from those who will be at the pains to consider the details carefully.
KURDISH PLAIN WITH VILLAGES.-The Greeks having driven
the enemy from the commanding position which they held, they
310
COMMENTARY ON
¡
descended into a plain, in which were many villages, stored with
excellent provisions, lying along the river Tigris. This plain ex-
ists precisely in the position indicated, between the Rabahi spur
of the Jibal Judi and the low eminences which again block up the
plain opposite to Jizirah ibn Umar, the Zozarta of the Chaldeans,
and Bezabde of the Romans, and at the farther or northern end
of which is the Chaldean village of Mansuriyah. There was
formerly a bridge over the Tigris in this plain, the ruins of which
still exist.
The Greeks are described as being much perplexed, for on one
side of them were exceeding high mountains, and on the other a
river of such depth, that when they sounded it, their spears did not
rise above the water.
They were also obliged to retrace their steps to a certain extent.
The Persians having set fire to some of the villages before them,
they had to return in search of provisions to some that were un-
burnt. These villages may have been at the westerly end of the
plain of Zakhu, where are in the present day Kalah Salahsani
or Sayid Bay's castle, Nahrwan, Girgi Pedros or Mar Yiorgio,
(Church of St. George,) Zibarra, Wasit, Perishabur, and other
villages mostly Chaldean. I prefer this view of the case to the
one I first entertained, that they went up the valley of Mar Yu-
hannah. The whole district, however, as Colonel Chesney (ii.
225) justly remarks, included the tract round Jizirah ibn Umar.
Layard (Nineveh and Babylon, p. 62) identifies the villages in
question with those still found around Funduk, but it appears
evident from what follows in chapter i. of the 10th book of the
Katabasis, that the Greeks had not yet fought their way through
the chief pass of the Tigris, and which is met with immediately
beyond Jizirah ibn Umar and the valley of Mar Yuhannah,
or the Dargilah of Layard-Fynyk, ancient Phoenica, command-
ing the pass in question from above. I cannot but attribute
the great discrepancy that occurs here between my identifi-
cations and those admitted by Layard, to the circumstances of
his having travelled from the north, I from the south. Coming
in the first direction, Layard first saw the plains of Assyria
through the gap made by the river stretching before him, as it were
at his feet, from the heights of Funduk, and all other passes were
from that moment looked at as insignificant; coming, on the con-
trary, from the south, the great range of the Jibal Judi seems to
hem in the Tigris immediately beyond Jizirah, like a mighty
wall of rock. There is no mistaking this great physical feature in
he configuration of the country. The pass of the Tigris, where
the Greeks stopped awe-struck at the formidable aspect of the
country before them, was at or near the Bezabde of the Romans.
That town has been from time immemorial the fortress which has
commanded the great pass of the Tigris.
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
311
PASS OF THE TIGRIS.-The Grecks are described in the next book
as having arrived at a spot where the Tigris was quite impassable
from its depth and width, and where there was no passage along
its banks, as the Karduchian mountains hung steep over the
stream, and hence their further progress became a matter of seri-
ous and anxious discussions.
This is the great pass of the Tigris I have just alluded to imme-
diately beyond Jizirah ibn Umar. There cannot be a moment's
question upon the subject. It was a point of such great import-
ance in the retreat, that it is made the scene of discussion of all
the principal routes that presented themselves to get out of the
country, and Xenophon begins another book with the account of
the passage of this remarkable pass, which the Greeks effected
with their characteristic gallantry and expedition, arriving beyond
the summit in certain villages of Karduchians that lay dispersed
in the valleys and recesses of the mountains. It is perhaps scarcely
necessary to say that Colonel Chesney quite coincides with this
view of the matter.
VILLAGES OF KARDUCHIANS.—The pass of the Tigris will be
found minutely described in the Travels in the Track, p. 154. After
the summit of the pass is gained, the line of hills and cliffs gradually
recede from the river, till suddenly, from having a nearly horizontal
stratification, additional beds of rock make their appearance in front
of the cliffs, dipping nearly vertically to the west, and rising in rude
irregular conical summits, in front of what had been hitherto one
continuous wall of rock. The recesses thus left between the hills
are in the present day the seat of villages, as they were in the
time of Xenophon, and the crags in front and in the rear bristle
with the small and rude rock-forts of the Kurds. This place cor-
responds to the Phoenica of Amm. Marcellinus, of the existence
of which Mr. Rich obtained some intelligence; but as I was, I be-
lieve, the first traveller to visit it in modern times, I cannot refrain
from quoting the description given of this remarkable spot in the
Trav. in the Track, &c. p. 154 et seq.
"My surprise and pleasure may be well imagined (after crossing
the before-mentioned wild rocky pass) at finding extending before
me a considerable expanse of well-wooded gardens, which stretch-
ed from the hills down to the water-side, and for about two miles
up the river-course. Nothing could exceed the rich luxuriance of
these groves and orchards; there were open spaces here and
there for maize, melon, gourd, and cucumber, but otherwise the
groves of plum, apricot, and peach appeared almost inaccessible,
from the dense lower growth of fig-trees and pomegranates, them-
selves again half hid beneath clustering vines. Overlooking this
scene of vegetative splendour, and upon the side of the hill, were
the ruins of a castellated building, the battlemented wall and irre-
gularly dispersed towers of which still remain.
This building
312
COMMENTARY ON
covered a considerable space, being six hundred yards in depth, by
eleven hundred in length. Traces of out-works, and of buildings
connected with it, were also quite evident, stretching downward to
the gardens.
"On two mounds, not far distant from each other, and close to
the river, are the ruins of two smaller castles of similar character to
the large one, only with double battlements, and consequently
rising more loftily from the deep green groves, in the midst of
which they are situated.
In a deep and rocky glen at the head of these gardens is situated
the village of Güli or Kuli Shirafi, (so called from its being in a
narrow strait or pass,) many of the houses of which are hewn out
of rock, and some of them out of fallen masses, which often stand
erect at the foot of the cliffs, like great obelisks with a door-way in
front: on the cliffs around are also numerous sepulchral grots, and
the remains of aqueducts.
"To the north of this glen is another of greater dimensions, in
which is the modern village of Fynyk, containing about one hun-
dred houses, many of them excavated. The village is defended by
several Kurd forts, two of which were on the opposite hill-tops,
while other small ones succeeded to one another along the crest
and acclivities down to the village. This pass of the Tigris was
rendered quite impracticable to strangers by the Kurds of these
villages till the time of Rashid Pasha."
It is manifest that it is these villages to which Xenophon al-
ludes when he speaks of such being in rocky recesses. Layard
however looks for these villages at Funduk (p. 62).
Whilst resting during the heat of day in the gardens down by
the river Tigris, Layard was lucky enough to have had informa-
tion brought to him of the existence of sculptures in one of these
ravines-the description appears to apply rather to that of Kuli
Shirafi than to that of Finik or Fynyk proper.
66 We rode," he says,
(p. 54,) “up a narrow and shady ravine, through which leapt a
brawling torrent, watering fruit trees and melon beds. The rocks
on both sides were honey-combed with tombs. The bas-relief is
somewhat above the line of cultivation, and is surrounded by ex-
cavated chambers. It consists of two figures, dressed in loose
vests and trousers, one apparently resting his hand on the
shoulder of the other. There are the remains of an inscription,
but too much weather-worn to be copied with any accuracy. The
costume of the figures, and the forms of the characters as far as
they can be distinguished, prove that the tablet belongs to the
Parthian period. It closely resembles monuments of the same
epoch existing in the mountains of Persia."
What further satisfies me that the glen or ravine which my
informants told me was called Kuli Shirafi is the same as that in
which Layard found the bas-reliefs, is that Layard adds, “ Beneath
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
313
them (the figures) is a long cutting, and tunnel in the rock, pro-
bably an ancient watercourse for irrigation, to record the construc-
tion of which the tablets may have been sculptured."
а
Layard also discovered some sculptures of a similar character in
the valley which leads from Jizirah to Darghilah, the former
stronghold of Badir Khan Bay, or as I have called it from a Chal-
dean church, and the seat of a Chaldean episcopacy, the valley of
Mar Yuhannah. These sculptures were about two miles from the
high road, near a small fort built by Mir Saif-ad-din, the hereditary
chief of Buhtan, in whose name Badir Khan Bay exercised his
authority. There were two tablets, one above the other; the upper
contained a warrior on horseback, the lower a simple figure. Al-
though no traces of inscription remain, the bas-relief may confi-
dently be assigned to the same period, Layard says, as that of
Fynyk.
PASS OF SCRUTINY.-Beyond Finik, or Fynyk, the hills and the
river recede from one another, the latter being closed up amidst
precipitous cliffs, and to avoid this long precipitous bend, the road
is carried over the hills by the village of Finduk or Funduk. As
the Greeks did not start from Finik till after breakfast, more than
seven to eight geographical miles cannot be allowed to the first
day's march thence, which would carry them to the slope of those
heights where are now the remains of Kunakti and other castles,
which defended the approach to Finduk. There is only one pass
in the line of road thus traversed, adapted for the purposes men-
tioned by Xenophon, of examining the men in a file, and scrutiniz-
ing their baggage or impedimenta, and that is the ravine of the
rivulet of Zawiyah, which is deep and narrow, and to which there
is only one descent on either side, the remainder being vertical
cliffs in which are here and there a sepulchral grotto.
PASS OF FINDUK.-On the next day a great storm arose in the
very place to expect such, on the ascent of the highlands of Fin-
duk; but they were obliged to go on, for their provisions failed
them. Beyond the castle of Kunakti, the road enters a narrow
glen, and winds round along similar passes, till turning the face of
a lofty precipice, it advances upon more open and cultivated high-
lands by the village or town of Finduk, down again into the valley
of the Tigris, where are the villages of Kuwarru, Baravan, and
others, inhabited in the present day by Syrian Christians.
Layard gives an amusing account of his passage through Fin-
duk, whose inhabitants, he says, during the rule of Badir Khan Bay
were notorious amongst even the savage tribes of Buhtan, for
their hatred and insolence to Christians. At the time of my visit
Badir Khan had not been subdued, and the dangers of the road
were proportionably greater, but the only annoyance the savage
old chieftain Rasul gave me, (if it can be even so termed,) was to
ask me contemptuously if I was a Christian.
314
COMMENTARY ON
The Greeks were subjected to much annoyance by the Kurds
on this passage, and Xenophon was irritated at Cheirisophus
hastening, as he deemed, too rashly forward; but the rival leader
pointed to the river pass and mountains before him, and urged the
necessity of having hurried forward to secure the position they
were in. That this was on the banks of the Tigris is evidenced
by a prisoner they had taken, promising, under fear of death, to
lead them over the hills, instead of by the river-banks, which are
indeed at this point impassable, except when the waters are low,
besides being commanded by the neighbouring hills.
PASS OF KULAK.-At the point where they had now arrived
then, that is, where the Tigris is hemmed in by the mountains, and
yet there is no short cut over the latter, as at Finduk; the Greeks
were obliged to detach a party to take possession of the heights
before they could attempt to force the passage below. Notwith-
standing these precautions, the Kurds rolled down great stones
upon the Greeks and entailed considerable delay.
The scene of this event appears to have been at the entrance of
the pass, where is a ferry and villages on each side of the river
known as Kulak, as is also the ferry on the Zab-pronounced by
the Kurds, Kelek or Chelek. At this point a rivulet of clear water
flows into the Tigris, by a narrow ravine, which is hemmed in, as
the Tigris is also from this point northwards, by perpendicular
rocks. A road, carried up in part by steps cut in the rock, leads
up the cliff to the ruins of a castle that once commanded this im-
portant position.
To gain this pass, the Greeks had to fight three separate con-
flicts, on as many distinct eminences; after which they arrived at
a number of good houses, and in the midst of abundance of pro-
visions. Wine was so abundant, that they kept it in excavations
under ground, which were plastered over.
On emerging from the hills that hem in the river below Kulak,
there are at the present day no villages close to the river, but there
are several in the interior, and a little farther on the ruins of a
large village, and of a Khan built of stone. Kulak, with its tall
Kurdish castle, stands on the right bank of the river, a little far-
ther on.
The plastered cisterns noticed by Xenophon are still to
be met with in Kurdistan, Armenia, and Syria.
THE CENTRITES.-The next day the Greeks pursued their way
one party as usual ascending the mountains from behind to drive
the enemy away, and leave the passage below free to their com-
rades. By these means they were enabled to force another wooded
and picturesque pass, that is met with north of Kulak, and to
reach the more open country where the Buhtan chai or Centrites
joins the Tigris.
The army did not encamp on the banks of the Centrites, but, as
is described by Xenophon, above the plain, where are some villages
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
315
of Chaldeans in the present day. At the point of junction of the
Tigris and Centrites is the ancient Armenian site of Til, or Till,
(written by Layard, Tilleh,) which was celebrated in history as fa-
voured by Tigranes, and as the burial-place of several of the carly
Armenian pontiffs.
((
Layard having got the Greeks on their first day's march over
the Karduchian hills, as far as Finduk, he says, There now re-
mained about ten parasangs to the plain through which flows the
eastern branch of the Tigris; but the country was difficult, and at
this time of the year (nearly mid-winter) the lower road along the
river was impassable. The Greeks had therefore to force their
way over a series of difficult passes, all stoutly defended by warlike
tribes. They were consequently four days in reaching the Cen-
trites, or eastern Tigris, the united waters of the rivers of Bitlis,
Sert, and Bohtan."
FORD OF THE CENTRITES.-The passage of the river was op-
posed by an united army of Armenians, Mardians, or, as it was
previously read, Mygdonians, and Chaldeans. These mercenaries
were drawn up on high banks, three or four hundred feet from the
river; and the only road that was visible, was one that led up-
ward, apparently a work of art, and the Greeks attempted to cross
the river at this point, but without success. They in consequence
retreated, and when they had encamped on the banks of the river,
they found their previous station occupied by the Kurds.
That day, therefore, and the following night they remained where
they were in great perplexity. But the next morning two young
men came to Xenophon, when he was at breakfast, and told him
they had found a ford. This ford was at a distance of about four
stadia, and the Greeks effected the passage by a series of ingenious
manœuvres which are described in the text.
Layard, who forded the Buhtan chai in the month of September
I believe, (he disembarked at Trebizond on the 31st of August.)
says, "We crossed the lower or eastern ford, which we found wide
and exceedingly rapid, the water, however, not reaching above the
saddle-girths. The villagers raised the luggage, and supported the
horses against the current, which rushing over loose and slippery
stones, affording an uncertain footing, threatened to sweep the
animals down the stream, The spot at which we crossed was
one of peculiar interest. It was here that the Ten Thousand in their
memorable retreat forded this river, called, by Xenophon, the Centrites
(p. 49). The next paragraph but one he says, "The ford was
deep, and its passage disputed by a formidable force of Armenians,
Mygdonians, (Mardians?) and Chaldeans, drawn up on an emi-
nence 300 or 400 feet from the river. In this strait Xenophon
dreamt that he was in chains, and that suddenly his fetters burst
asunder of their own accord. His dream was fulfilled when two
youths casually found a more practicable ford, by which the army
316
COMMENTARY ON
after a skilful stratagem on the part of their commander, safely
reached the opposite bank.
These two paragraphs contradict one another. Layard also
says at page 63, "The stream was rapid, the water reaching
to the breast, and the ford, owing to the unevenness of the bot-
tom and the loose slippery stones, exceeding difficult; such, it
will be remembered, we found to be the case near Tilleh. The
opposite banks were, moreover, defended by the combined forces of
the Armenians, Mygdonians, and Chaldeans. It was impossible to
cross the river at this spot in the face of the enemy. At length a
ford was discovered higher up, and Xenophon, by skilful strategy,
effected the passage.
This must have been at a short distance
from Tilleh, as the river, narrowed between rocky banks, is no
longer fordable higher up.”
This latter statement is founded in error, for Mr. Rassam and
myself forded it a few miles higher up, in the month of September,
when the water was in its deepest part not above three feet, but
generally two.
Supposing the Greeks to have first attempted the ford at Til, it
is evident, according to Layard's own showing, that they crossed
ultimately higher up the river. But the fact is that the point at
which the Greeks passed must be determined by where they first
reached the river-banks. On reaching the plain of the Centrites,
the Tigris makes a great bend to the westward before receiving
the Centrites, and as the course of the Greeks lay northward, I
conceive it very unlikely that they would have turned unneces-
sarily out of their way towards the junction of the two rivers.
Again, at the point where they approached the river, the enemy is
described as occupying high banks from 300 to 400 feet from the
river. This description would correspond with that part of the valley
where the Buhtan chai is first hemmed in by low hills, now called
Janiminiyah. About four miles beyond this there are in the pre-
sent day the ruins of a bridge, over which lay formerly the road
to Radwan. Beyond this again is an artificial causeway carried
up the face of a limestone rock, partly by steps cut out of the rock
tself, and partly by a causeway paved with large blocks of stone.
This is the high-way to Sa'art, and appears to be of remote anti-
quity. Here is also a ford, but as the river is fordable at its em-
bouchure, it is evident there may be many fords between the two.
It is not necessary to presume then that the higher ford was
crossed, although the reference to the artificial causeway carried
up the face of the cliffs, and which remains to the present day, is
very curious; but as it appears almost certain that they did not
approach the river till where it is hemmed in by low hills, and
which is precisely what they would be expected to do from the
route taken and the configuration of the valley, and as they
crossed about four stadia above that point, the place where
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
317
the Greeks forded the river was manifestly beyond the said lov
hills.
PALACE OF ARMENIAN SATRAP.-Having forced the passage o
the Centrites, the Greeks are described as proceeding through
Armenia, over plains and gently sloping hills, a distance of not
less than five parasangs, arriving ultimately at a village of con-
siderable size, which contained a palace for the satrap; upon most
of the houses there were towers, and provisions in great plenty.
This spot, by the distance given, would appear to correspond with
the town now called Sa'art or Se'ert.
THE TELEBOAS.-The Greeks are described as advancing from
the palace of the Armenian satrap, two days' journey, a distance of
ten parasangs, until they passed beyond the sources of the river
Tigris. From hence they advanced, three days' journey, fifteen
parasangs, to the river Teleboas, a stream not large, indeed, but of
much beauty; and there were many villages on its banks. This
part of the country was called Western Armenia.
There is a difficulty about the identification of the Teleboas,
which has been revived by Mr. Layard's going back to the old
view of the case. My ideas, as propounded from an unbiassed
consideration of the facts of the case, are given in the "Travels in
the Track, &c.,” in the following words.
"Had the Greeks marched by the great road from Sa'art to
Bitlis, the distance here given at the onset would take them to
the difficult pass called the Darah i Tasul, when they would leave
behind them the minor tributaries to the Kharzan su, (anc. Arsa-
nius,) but only to arrive, after another ascent and descent, at the
river Bakiyah or of Bitlis, the greatest of the easterly tributaries
to the Tigris. So that Xenophon could hardly be expected to
have made the mistake regarding the passing the sources of the
Tigris, besides that the distance given from his passing the head-
waters of the Tigris, to the river Teleboas, much exceeds the
distance of the Darah-i-Tasul from the Bakiyah river. Lastly,
the Teleboas was a small river with many villages on its banks,
the Bakiyah is not large, but is so goodly a stream, that the his-
torian would not have gone out of his way to describe it as small,
nor is it a district in which (except at Bitlis) many villages pro-
bably ever existed. All these circumstances taken into consider-
ation leave no doubt that the Greeks ascended directly towards
the great chain of the Ali Tagh, the ancient Niphates, in a direc-
tion nearly north; by which proceeding, a journey of thirty miles
would have carried them beyond the head-waters of the tributaries
to the Tigris, in those districts, and another forty-five miles would
have brought them into the valley of the Kara-su, recognised by
many as the Teleboas of our author, and situate in the district of
Moxoene, the present Mush,-apparently from the most remote
times the seat of numerous towns and villages, and having a large
population. That this is the only version that can be given to this
318
COMMENTARY ON
portion of the narrative, is further corroborated by the fact that
from the Teleboas they proceeded through a plain which would
not apply itself to the river Bakiyeh, (nor to the river of Bitlis,)
both of which are enclosed in deep and wooded mountain valleys."
Colonel Chesney's view of the subject is as follows.
"It is con-
sidered to be a journey of thirty-eight hours from Se'rt to Mush
by the shortest route, (see Colonel Sheil's Journey from Tabriz
through Kurdistan, Jour. of Roy. Geo. Soc. vol. viii. p. 77,) but
as the Greeks approached the source of the Tigris, theirs must
have been rather longer. About twenty hours would be consumed
on their march to the high ground in question; and about twenty
hours more in reaching the supposed Teleboas or Kara-su at the
village of Arisban near Mush."
This is the most satisfactory explanation of all, because by
crossing the Niphates to Mush instead of to the valley of the Ka-
ra su at the foot of the Nimrud Tagh, the Greeks would have had the
advantage of the high-way from Hazu to Mush. It may also be
observed here, that had the Greeks intended keeping to the country
of the Karduchians, and passing the mountains by Bitlis, they
need not have fought their way over the Centrites; and Xenophon,
when he speaks of passing above Tigris, was, there is every reason
to believe, well enough aware that he was crossing the great water-
shed. The historian also distinguishes the country they had ad-
vanced into as a different region of Armenia, under its own satrap.
In the face of all these facts, Layard says, "Six marches, of five
parasangs each, brought them to the small river Teleboas. I am
convinced that this river cannot be identified with the Kara su,
which would be at least between forty and fifty parasangs, or from
eight to ten days' march, from Tilleh, supposing Xenophon to have
made the smallest possible deviation to the west." (This is sup-
posing the Greeks to have started from Tilleh, which is not pro-
bable, and then to have travelled to the Kara su by way of Bitlis,
which is left out of the consideration.) "I believe," continues
Layard, "the Teleboas to have been the river of Bitlis. After cross-
ing the low country of Kharzan, well described by Xenophon as
a plain varied by hills of an easy ascent,' the Greeks must neces-
sarily have turned slightly to the eastward to reach the Bitlis val-
ley, as inaccessible mountains stopped all further progress." This
is not the case; Colonel Sheil, as before quoted, describes a road
from Sa'art of thirty-eight hours to Mush direct, which does not
pass through Bitlis: and the Colonel adds, "this must be the road
which Macdonald Kinneir supposes the Ten Thousand to have
taken after they crossed the river, which he calls the Khabur, at
Se'rt." (Op. cit. p. 77.) Viscount Pollington passed through the
Niphates on his journey from Erzrum to Aleppo in 1838; and Mr.
Consul Brant did the same on his journey from Kharput by Mush
to Bitlis. This was by the valley of the Kolb su, (Handle water,)
but Mr. Brant says there was another road crossing the mountains
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
319
immediately south of Mush. (See Journ. of Roy. Geog. Soc. vol.
n. p. 445 et seq. and p. 352 et seq.) Either of those roads would
have been preferable to the mountain route through Kurdistan by
Bitlis, to the Greeks.
Mr. Layard remarks, that the text of Xenophon describes the
Greeks as coming to, not crossing, the Teleboas. This would ap-
ply itself alike to the origin of the Kara-su at the foot of the Nim-
rud Tagh-to the rivulet of Mush or Ak su-the White Water—a
tributary to the Kara-su, or to the rivulet at Kizil Aghaz on the
north side of the Kolb Tagh. It would scarcely apply to the river
of Bitlis, with which they would have had to keep company some
time. Beyond either of the above rivers there are plains, not so
at the head of the Bitlis river, and all these rivers are beyond the
water-shed of the Tigris, which is not the case with the river of
Bitlis.
PALACE OF TIRI BAZUS.-The Greeks proceeded from the Tele-
boas three days' march, a distance of five parasangs, through a
plain, till they came to a palace, with several villages around it,
stored with abundance of provisions. The direction followed by
the Greeks, after reaching the plains of Armenia, must be chiefly
judged of by the time spent before they crossed the Euphrates.
Had they pursued a direct northerly course, they could have
reached the river in a day's march, but at a point where it is scarce-
'y fordable. Probably they were informed of this fact, and hence
led to pursue a north-easterly course to where the river was suf-
ficiently fordable, and which was not attained till the sources of
the river are described as being not far off.
The palace of Tiribazus and surrounding villages may, from the
distance given, be at or near the sites of Perak or Lis, north of
Lake Nazuk, but this, in the absence of corroborative information,
is naturally a merely speculative suggestion.
The plain of Mush attains an average elevation, from my own
observations, of 4200 ft. above the sea, which is some 1800
ft. below that of Arzrum, vulgo Erzrum, Erzerum, and Erzeroom.*
But between the two, or the valleys of the western Euphrates and
that of the Murad su, the generality of the valleys and uplands
which attain their culminating point in the Bin gül Tagh-the
mountain of a thousand lakes-the Abus of the Romans-and on
which are patches of perpetual snow, arc much higher.
The knowledge which we now possess of the great elevation of
these Armenian uplands explains the extreme severity of the win-
ters, which has been the subject of much controversy; so much so,
that Tournefort, the traveller and botanist, suggested that it might
be owing to so unnatural a cause as the impregnation of the soil
* Oriental manuscripts leave no doubt as to the name of the present
capital of Armenia being Arzrum, vulgarly pronounced Erzerum. The im-
portance of the prefix justify us in writing the word as it is spelt not as it
is pronounced.
320
COMMENTARY ON
with sal-ammoniac. Positive elevation, in which the immediate re-
sults of a lower temperature are increased by a continental climate,
and a long continuity of open woodless tracts, appear to be the
main causes of the phenomena in question.
The Hon. Mr. Curzon, who spent the winter of 1842-43 at Ar-
zrum, speaking of the intense cold experienced at that city, the
present capital of Armenia, says, "During great part of the year,
and naturally in the winter, the cold was so severe that any one
standing still for even a very short time, was frozen to death.
Dead frozen bodies were frequently brought into the city; and it is
common in the summer, on the melting of the snow, to find nu-
merous corpses of men and bodies of horses, who had perished in the
preceding winter. So usual an event is this, that there is a custom,
or law, in the mountains of Armenia, that every summer the vil-
lagers go out to the more dangerous passes and bury the dead
whom they are sure to find." (Armenia, &c. p. 162.) This will
give some idea of what the Greeks had to suffer during a winter
journey across the uplands of Armenia.
FORD OF THE EUPHRATES.—From these villages an attack was
made upon Tiribazus, who held a pass that lay on their way, after
which the whole body set forward through deep snow, and tra-
velled three days' journey, through a desert tract of country, a dis-
tance of fifteen parasangs, to the river Euphrates, which they
passed without being wet higher than the middle.
"The sources
of the river were said to be not far off.”
Rennell and Kinneir had both remarked that this distance is
too great for troops marching through deep snow.
All the proba-
bilities of the case are, however, that the Greeks crossed the Murad
su above its confluence with the Char Buhar su, and the river of
Khanus or Kalah su, as beyond those points there would be so
much the less water.
Layard having taken the Greeks through Karduchia to Bitlis,
says,
"the high road from Bitlis to Northern Armenia would lead
in exactly thirty hours, or six marches, to the Euphrates, which it
crosses near Karaghal. I believe, therefore, that, after issuing
from the valley of Bitlis, Xenophon turned to the westward, leav-
ing the lake of Wan a little to the right, though completely con-
cealed from him by a range of low hills. Skirting the western
foot of the Nimroud Dagh range, he passed through a plain thickly
inhabited, abounding in well-provisioned villages, and crossed here
by ranges of hills. The country still tallies precisely with Xeno-
phon's description." The upper valley of the Kara-su here alluded
to, certainly abounds in villages, but I saw no ranges of hills actu-
ally crossing it. It is, however, commanded by low hills where it
takes a westerly turn.
Colonel Chesney (ii. 229) says, “Agreeably to the intention of
fording the great rivers towards their sources, (previously expressed,
Anab. iv. 1,) the Greeks would necessarily proceed from the Tele-
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
321
boas in a north-eastern direction, through a very mountainous
tract, till they could cross the Murad Chai: this could not have
been the case before they reached 39° 10′ north latitude, or some-
where about seventy miles from the Kara su, which, under existing
circumstances, would require the seven marches given by Xeno-
phon.
This would identify the place where the Greeks forded the Mu-
rad su with a position not far beyond the junction of the river of
Khanus or the Kalah-su; as would indeed be deduced from the
general facts of the case.
TRIBUTARIES TO THE EUPHRATES.-From the Euphrates they
advanced three days' march, through much snow and a level plain,
a distance of fifteen parasangs: the third day's march was ex-
tremely troublesome, as the north wind blew full in their faces.
The depth of the snow was a fathom; so that many of the bag-
gage-cattle and slaves perished, with about thirty of the soldiers.
There was plenty of wood at the encampment, which would indi-
cate that they had reached the banks of a river, as it is almost
only in such situations that wood is found in this part of Armenia.
The valley most probably of one of the tributaries to the river of
Khanus, or, if farther east, a tributary to the Murad su, on the
plain of Arishkart. If in a westerly direction, the distances would
lead them to the upper valley of the Kalah su or river of Khanus.
In all these instances a northerly wind would still have blown
more or less in their faces.
VILLAGES IN KHANUS DISTRICT.-From thence they made one
day's irregular march through the snow, the men affected with
bulimia, snow-blindness, and mortification of the toes. Five or
six geographic miles are as much as can be allowed for such a
march and at dark they arrived at a village with a rampart.
The satrap residing a parasang off, very possibly at Khanus Ka-
lahsı, which is apart from the villages. A Thermal spring, it is
to be noted, was met with on this day's march. Xenophon with
the rear did not get up to the villages till the next day. The de-
scription of the houses of the Armenians corresponds with what is
observed in the present day, they are in part subterranean, and
the live stock herd with the people during these severe winters.
As these Armenians had laid in their stores for the winter, the
Greeks found plenty of provisions, including barley-wine, and even
grape-wine, in these villages.
Professor Malden rather sharply criticises this identification of
Khanus with the villages in question, adopted by Rennell also long
previously, but on different grounds. "There is absolutely nothing,"
he says,
"according to Mr. Ainsworth's notion of the route, but
the existence of villages round the modern castle of Khanus, to
identify that district with the group of villages where the Greeks
rested a week; for Mr. Ainsworth goes beyond his author, when
VOL. I.
Y
822
COMMENTARY ON
he speaks of the palace of the satrap,' and would fain suppose the
modern castle to be on the same site."-The impression I received
and still retain, however, is that the women and girls at the foun-
tain, when the Greeks told them that they were going to the satrap,
answered by informing them, that he was about a parasang off,
meaning thereby, not that he and his army were hovering at that
distance, but that his residence was there; and having read of the
palace of the satrap Orontes and of that of Tiribazus a few pages
before, I pictured to myself a palace or castle for the satrap of the
Khanus district, more especially since the chief of that district
dwells in a feudal castle to the present day.
In identifications like these, the traveller often differs from the
cabinet geographer or scholar, inasmuch as his identifications are
not only founded upon what exists, but that he has also in his
mind at the same time what he does not enter into at length, a
mass of negative matter as to what does not exist. The mere
bare results thus presented often do not satisfy the critic upon the
grounds given. When he doubts or condemns an identification,
however, upon such grounds he does not take sufficiently into
consideration, that the territory perhaps presents no other re-
sources. Thus, for example, in the present instance, it is quite
possible that the Greeks held on a due northerly course. I by no
means wish to insist upon the point that they did not do so, as
the north wind blew in their faces, and they would, in such a case,
reach the upper and watered valleys of the Tag Tagh.
But what has been omitted to be explained in the "Travels in
the Track," is that these upper valleys of the Bin Gül Tagh, and
Tag Tagh, are utterly unproductive, except of a little short grass,
and a narrow fringe or belt of low wood on the banks of the rivu-
lets. They are neither cultivated nor inhabited.
It seems much more likely, therefore, that the Greeks found
villages and cultivation, and heard of a satrap's residence, where
there are in the present day villages and a chieftain's residence,
than that they found such higher up the country, where there are
none such nor traces of such to be met with, nor a possible culti-
vation to induce the natives to settle at such a point.
THE ARAS.-After stopping eight days at these villages, the
Greeks started under guidance of a native, who, leading them three
days' marches without coming to any villages, so irritated Cheiri-
sophus that he struck him, which was the occasion of his running
away in the night. From what follows in the account of their
journey, it appears that during these three days the Greeks turned
the Tag Tagh, an easterly spur of the Bin Gül Tagh, and reached
the tributaries of the Aras. This they would do travelling from
fifteen to twenty geographic miles in the three days. The Bin
Gül Tagh, one of the remarkable mountains of Central Armenia,
gives birth to the south, to tributaries to the Murad su, to the west
:
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
323
and north-west, to the tributaries to the Western Euphrates, and
to the north and north-east, to tributaries to the Aras.
River Phasin or ARAXES.-After losing the guide, the Greeks
are described as proceeding seven days' journey, five parasangs
each day, along the river Phasis. I am indebted for this important
correction of all previous versions to Professor Malden, who has
published it in the 7th number of the Classical Museum, April,
1845, p. 36 et seq. There is, the Professor states, no real ambiguity
in the meaning of the word wapá in such a context. The meaning
is the same as in v. 10. 1, ἔπλεον ἡμέρας δύο παρα την γῆν, “ they
sailed two days along the coast."
This being admitted, then, it will be observed that Xenophon,
who mistook the Aras for the Colchian Phasis, describes it as only
a plethrum, or a hundred feet, broad, where they joined it. This
would show that it was not far from its sources.
With such an
indefinite point to start from, and a very uncertain value of the
parasang in a journey through snow, it is difficult to measure off
35 parasangs on the map. Allowing, however, two geog. miles to
the parasang, the utmost that can be done under the circumstances,
70 miles laid down on the map to illustrate the routes by Mr. Ains-
worth, Mr. Suter, Mr. Brant, and Lord Pollington, published in
the 10th volume of the Journ. of the Roy. Geog. Soc., would carry
the Greeks to the junction of the Karu su, or river of Oran, with
the Aras.
Professor Malden has conjectured, that having mistaken the
Araxes for the Phasis, they followed the course of the stream, in
the hope that it would lead them towards the Euxine, till, seeing
that it continued to flow eastward, they resolved to try a somewhat
more direct line. Now, nothing would have so aroused the Greeks
to a sense of the mistake they were labouring under so much as
coming to a large river flowing into the Aras from the north, at
the very same time that the supposed Phasis took a bend rather
to the south of east. Nothing would be left for them in their de-
spair but (having crossed the Aras at its head) to turn away from
it and follow the course of the new river they had come to north-
wards towards its sources. The distances granted are, however,
very great, and the very same reflections may have forced them-
selves upon them at the very first stream they came to which
flowed from the north-the river of Hassan Kalah. This would
give a distance of fifty miles direct, and upwards of seventy miles
by river from the point at which Mr. Brant and myself crossed the
Aras. That river is already at that point fifty to sixty yards in
width, the current rapid, the water reaching above the horse's
girths. See Brant's Journal (Journ. of Roy. Geog. Soc. vol. x.
344). If the Greeks passed it to the westward of this, then (which
is not likely, as the Bin Gül Tagh presented an impediment to so
2
P
324
COMMENTARY ON
doing) the chances of their not having got beyond the junction of
the Hassan Kalah tributary, is still further increased.
Colonel Chesney's view of this portion of the retreat is as fol-
lows (ii. 229):
“From hence, (the Murad su,) in a north-western direction, to
a point where the river Aras, or Phasis of Xenophon, is generally
fordable, namely, at the junction of the Hassan Kalah su and the
Bin Gül su, near Kupri Kiui, (Bridge village,) it cannot be less
than from seventy to eighty miles; since the shorter distance from
the latter point to the upper part of the Murad su, near Kara Ki-
lisa, (Black or ruined Church,) is sixty-six miles.”
"It has just been seen, that the distance in question occupied
thirteen marches, or, including four days not particularly men-
tioned, about sixty-nine parasangs. But, as it is to be observed
that these were intended to be road distances answering to one
hour, it may fairly be presumed, that an army could not accom-
plish much more than about one mile in each, especially through
snow so deep that the whole of the specified time must have been
consumed between the rivers Euphrates and Araxes; even the
pressing marches through Mesopotamia were less than two miles
per hour.
We are told, that it even became necessary to tie bags
stuffed with hay to the horses' feet to prevent their sinking." It
is obvious, that if we admit such a judicious estimate of the value
of the parasang, under the described circumstances, that the diffi-
culties of explaining the marches between the Euphrates and the
Black Sea will be considerably diminished, and that the Greeks,
notwithstanding their seven days' journey along the Aras, as estab-
lished by Professor Malden, may in reality have only travelled
some thirty-five miles along that river, and not beyond the first
westerly-not northerly-affluent, the river of Hassan Kalahsi.
The point at which that river joins the Aras is thirty miles by map
from where Mr. Brant and myself crossed the Aras, but it woul3
be a good thirty-five or more by the river.
PASS OF THE TAOCHI.-Quitting, it is to be supposed, the Aras,
the Greeks advanced two days' journey, ten parasangs; when on
the pass that led over the mountains into the plain, the Chalybes,
Taochi, and Phasians were drawn up to oppose their progress.
As soon as they had gained this pass, and had sacrificed and erect-
ed a trophy, they went down into the plain before them, and
arrived at a number of villages stored with abundance of excellent
provisions. These villages would apparently be situated in the
valley of Kara Oran or Kara Osman, which is watered by the
*It is to be supposed that these ten miles were performed over the rocky
districts between Kupri Kiui and Khorasan. Hamilton describes the road
as, after leaving Kupri Kiui, being soon confined to a narrow pass between
high hills on the left and the river on the right. (i. p. 185.)
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHION.
325
Kara su. Kara Oran ought possibly to be read Kara Wiran, "Black
Ruin."
MOUNTAIN STRONG-HOLD OF THE TAOCHIANS. From hence
they marched five days' journey, thirty parasangs, to the country
of the Taochi, where provisions beginning to fail them, they at-
tacked one of the fastnesses, which is described as containing no
houses, but defended by high rocks, down which the Taochians
folled great stones.
Supposing the country of the Taochians to correspond to that
which is in part occupied by the Suwanli or Sughanli Tagh, if the
parasang did not amount to more than a mile, in a difficult and
hostile country, this journey would have only conducted the
Greeks to the head waters of the river of Bardes. The forest range
of the Suwanli Tagh is described by Hamilton as constituting an
important and interesting feature in the geography of that part of
the country, being the only district in which forests of any extent
are to be found for many miles round, and its passage by Bardes
and Gushlah is full of natural obstacles.
It is to be observed that traces of the name of Taochi are sup-
posed to be found in the Tauk or Taok of the Turks, and Tuchi or
Taoutchie of the Georgian districts. These people and those of
the little Kabarda are said by Captain Stoltzman, as quoted by
Colonel Chesney, to still retire occasionally into wattled enclo-
sures.
COUNTRY OF THE CHALYBES. Hence they advanced, seven
days' journey, a distance of fifty parasangs, through the country of
the Chalybes, who had their dwellings in strong places, in which
they had also laid up their provisions, so that the Greeks could
get nothing from that country, but lived upon the cattle which
they had taken from the Taochi.
The distance from the head waters of the river of Bardes to the
main tributary to the Arpa chai, is as the crow flies some forty
miles, but by following the road to Kars, as the great road does in
the present day, and crossing the mountains from Kars to the
Arpa chai at Kizil Chak Chak, it would be upwards of fifty miles
-à fair allowance for the fifty parasangs under the circumstances
described in the text.
RIVER HARPASUS.-The Greeks next arrived at the river Har-
pasus, the breadth of which was four plethra. Supposing the
modern Arpa chai to represent the Harpasus, we have shown, that
the point where the Greeks would be expected to touch that river,
by the distances given, would be at or where the present high road
from Arzrum and Kars to Ardahan and Ahkiskah crosses it at
Kizil Chak Chak. It must be already a goodly river at such a
place, but there are no data for giving it a width of four hundred
feet. So much obscurity indeed pervades this part of the route,
that I am much inclined to doubt the correctness of the identifica-
326
COMMENTARY ON
tion of the Harpasus of Xenophon with the modern Arpa chai,
and with Colonel Chesney and Layard to consider that the histo-
rian applied that name to the river now called the Juruk su or
Tchoruk su, and which was called in later times the Apsarus and
Acampsis. The Juruk in the lower part of its course would pre-
sent a width fully of four hundred feet.
COUNTRY OF THE SCYTHINI.-Hence they proceeded through
the territory of the Scythini, four days' journey, making twenty
parasangs, over a level tract, until they came to some villages, in
which they halted three days, and collected provisions.
The distance here given, allowing about 1 mile for the para-
sang, would carry the Greeks up the valley of the Arpa chai across
the watershed of that river, and down the valley of the river of
Olti, a tributary to the Juruk su, to about the site of Olti itself.
Or it is possible that they may have crossed the country that in-
tervenes between the river of Olti and the Araxes in a more direct
line to the Juruk su, nearly touching Hamilton's route, at the head
waters of the rivers of Narman, Liesgaff, Turtum, and Yani Kiui,
a line of country which Hamilton's, and still more lately Mr.
Curzon's, descriptions show to be wooded, rocky, precipitous, and
most difficult.
CITY OF GYMNIAS.-From this place they advanced four days'
journey, twenty parasangs, to a large, rich, and populous city, called
Gymnias, from which the governor of the country sent the Greeks
a guide, to conduct them through a region at war with the people.
The distance given of twenty parasangs, allowing 1 mile per
parasang, would carry the Greeks along the valley of the Olti river
and up that of the Juruk su to Ispir or Ispira, a town of great
antiquity, described at length by Hamilton in his Researches (vol.
i. p. 219 et seq.).
It is to be observed also, that supposing Mount Theches to cor-
respond to Tekiya Tagh, it is about sixty miles thence to Ispir,
following the valley of the Juruk su; this in five days would give
an average of twelve miles a day, which the Greeks may well be
supposed to have got over in a route that did not present so many
difficulties as usual.
It is evident, however, that it will require further corroborative
testimony before Gymnias can be admitted to be the same as the
modern Ispir.
MOUNT THECHES.—On the fifth day from Gymnias, distances
not given, they came to a mountain, the name of which was The-
ches, and whence, to their great delight, the Greeks saw the sea.
The distance allowed between Mount Theches and the country
of the Macrones, which in such a country did not much exceed
twenty miles, places Mount Theches between the Juruk su, the
river of Baiburt, and the Kurash Tagh. It is in the present day
called Takiya Tagh, which may be a corruption of Theches, or
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
327
Theches of it, or it may simply mean the mountain of the monas-
tery. This is the name also given to it by Hamilton, who adds a
sketch of a remarkable mountain castle near Takiya. Mr. Vivien
de St. Martin calls the mountain in his map Hak Mesdjidy Tagh.
This name, like that of Takiya, refers to some holy edifice ex-
isting at the spot, and indicates that tradition has preserved the
character imputed to the mountain by Xenophon down to existing
times.
COUNTRY OF THE MACRONES. - From Mount Theches the
Greeks advanced three days' journey, a distance of ten parasangs,
through the country of the Macrones. On the first day they came
to a river which divided the territory of the Macrones from that of
the Scythini. On their right they had an eminence extremely
difficult of access, and on their left another river, into which the
boundary river which they had to cross emptied itself.
Allowing 13 geo. miles to the parasang in this difficult country,
the country of the Macrones would correspond to the mountain
land that lies between Gumush Khana or the silver mines, and the
Kara Darah su, the Hyssus of Arrian's Periplus. This mountain
is called Korash Tagh in Brant's map of 1836. The river to which
they came would appear to correspond with the river beyond
Kalah Kiui, or castle village, one of the head tributaries of the
Kharshut river, or river of Gumush Khana, into which the river of
Kalah Kiui itself flows from the left. As the Greeks crossed the
boundary river above its junction with the river to the left, this
very fact of its being in such a direction shows that it must have
been a stream flowing westward, and not eastward. Had it had
an easterly flow, and yet been to the left hand, it must have joined
the boundary river before the Greeks crossed it.
COUNTRY OF THE COLCHIANS.-The Macrones conducted the
Greeks through their country for three days, until they brought
them to the confines of the Colchians. At this point there was a
range of hills high, but accessible, and upon them the Colchians
were drawn up in array. Having passed the summit, the Greeks
encamped in a number of villages containing abundance of pro-
visions.
These villages, from the distance travelled the next day to Trebi-
zond, manifestly correspond with the Greek villages which occupy
at the present day the head of the valley, whence a very precipitous
road leads down from the Kohat or Kolat Tagh (quære Kulak
Tagh, mountain of the pass) of Brant's map, (Journ. of Roy. Geo.
Soc. vol. vi.,) and the Kara Kaban of Hamilton, and which appears
to have been the range on which the Colchians had posted them-
selves.
The rivulet in question is called Surmel in Hamilton's map,
where one of the villages is marked as Jivislik. (Kara Kapan and
Djevisak of St. Martin's map.). It is recorded in my own notes
328
COMMENTARY ON
as Muhurji--wooded valley with Greek villages, and a bridge over
rivulet, at the foot of the Kara Kapan.
TREBIZOND. From the villages of the Colchians, the Greeks
proceeded two days' march, seven parasangs, and arrived at Trebi-
zond, a Greek city of large population, on the Euxine Sea; a
colony of Sinope, but lying in the territory of the Colchiars.
Here they stayed thirty days, encamping in the villages of the
Colchians.
It is obvious that, in sketching out a possible line of travel
through the countries of the Taochians, Chalybes, Scythians, Ma-
cronians, and Colchians, a region as yet little investigated, that
other explanations might be admitted. One of these is, that the
Greeks took a more central line, between the Aras and the Juruk
su. This is not at all improbable. Hamilton explored this country
from Bardes to Ispira, and found it so mountainous and difficult,
as to fully account for a very great lapse of time in traversing it
in almost a direct line. The difficulty that would remain to ac-
count for here, would be the account given of the Greeks having
arrived at the Harpasus where it was four plethra in breadth.
But may not this have been the Bardes su or the river of Narman,
or some other river, not yet correctly delineated on the maps in the
interval between the Juruk su, the Aras, the Olti river, and the
river of Kars? Colonel Chesney is with a still greater degree of
probability inclined to identify the Harpasus with the Juruk su
or Tchoruk su-variously designated as the Apsarus and Acampsis
by the Romans.
Upon the subject of the prolonged marches made by the Greeks
between the Aras and the Euxine, Colonel Chesney offers the fol-
lowing general explanations.
“On the second day after crossing the latter river, (the Araxes,)
which Colonel Chesney supposes to have been crossed, as previously
observed, near Kupri Kiui, the Greeks discovered the inhabitants of
the surrounding countries, namely, the Chalybeans, the Taochians,
and the Phasians, assembled to dispute their passage, and occupy-
ing strong ground, probably between the territory of the two
last.
Here, as when difficulties of the same kind previously occurred,
the eminences were gained by an attack made in the flank by
volunteers; and the disheartened defenders having fled with loss,
the Greeks got possession of some well-stored villages in advance.
During the succeeding five marches of thirty parasangs, made
through the territory of the Taochians, provisions were scarce, it
being the custom of the country people to place their supplies in
secret fastnesses, probably wattled enclosures, such as those still in
use in the Little Kabarda, and district of Tuchi. One of these in-
trenchments, containing a number of oxen, asses, and sheep, was,
however, taken after a prolonged resistance; during which the
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
329
women chose to perish rather than fall into the power of the
Greeks.
The latter now proceeded a distance of fifty parasangs through
the territory of the Chalybeans to the river Harpasus, which they
accomplished in seven marches; notwithstanding the difficulties
caused by the most warlike and the most troublesome people
hitherto encountered. The system of hostilities pursued chiefly
consisted in constantly harassing the rear; but when pressed in
turn, they retreated to fastnesses in which their provisions were
secured so that the Greeks would have been starved by their
systematic and persevering opposition, had it not been for the
supply of cattle taken from the Taochians.
The difficulties experienced by Rennell, Ainsworth, and other
commentators in following this part of the retreat of the Ten Thou-
sand, will be greatly lessened if it be borne in mind, that the daily
marches, through deep snow in January, the army being also
harassed by the Chalybeans, must have been very short. From
the supposed crossing-place on the Aras, keeping a little way
northward of the direct line, it is about 110 miles to the Tchoruk
su (Juruk su) or Acampsis, near Kara Aghatch, which would
coincide with the fourteen marches given by Xenophon, as docs
also the position of the river in question with the Harpasus; the
last seven marches being, as we are informed, through the country
of the Chalybeans, the Chaldeans of Strabo (xii. 549).
This probably was the southern part of the district of Tchildir;
for the Chaldeans, as a separate people, occupied a tract next to
the Colchians, which was, however, afterwards extended to Pontus,
and formed a considerable kingdom under Mithridates.
Quitting the river Harpasus, twenty parasangs, made in four
marches, brought the Greeks to a halting-place at some villages,
possibly near the present town of Baiburt, in which they remained
three days to obtain provisions. From hence, apparently proceed-
ing towards the western pass through the great northern chain,
they made twenty parasangs in three additional marches, to the
rich and well-inhabited city of Gymnias. Possibly this place may
now be represented by the small town of Gemeri on the Kara su,
an affluent of the river Frat; in which case the distance thither,
being about 60 miles, would occupy seven or eight marches along
the slope of the Paryadres, a branch of the Taurus, or, as it is
stated, through the country of the Scythinians. This appears to be
the only trace of that ephemeral power, which commenced with
the Sacae or Scythians, on the banks of the Araxes; from whence
the people extended their name and authority over Imiretia, Col-
chis, Georgia, the Caucasus, Media, Persia, and even Palestine ;
according to Herodotus, the same people ruled Asia during twenty-
eight years.
On leaving Gymnias, the guide furnished by the satrap of the
330
COMMENTARY ON
district delighted the Greeks by saying that he would forfeit his
head if he did not show them the sea in five marches; and ac-
cordingly on the fifth day, in ascending the holy mountain of The-
ches, the Greeks gave a tremendous shout of surprise and delight,
on finding his promise realized. The mountain alluded to may be
the present Gaur Tagh; (from the summit of which Colonel Ches-
ney saw the sea in 1831 ;) and from thence to Tarabuzun, although
the direct distance is not great, the journey occupied five days with
good horses. This was owing to the necessity of passing along
what in reality is more a winding chasm than a mountain valley
in the ordinary acceptation of the word; and it is scarcely necessary
to observe, that the marches through the mountains of Kurdistan
and Armenia often must have presented difficulties and caused
delays susceptible of the same kind of explanation.
Gaur Tagh is not, however, the only mountain in this part of the
country from which the Euxine may be seen, for the guide inform-
ed the author that it was visible from three other peaks, namely,
the Zigani mountain, two hours N. W. of Godol; again, with a
more extensive view, from Fililein, two hours on the other side of
Godol towards Gumish Khanah; and, lastly, at the higher peak of
Karagul, three hours southward of the latter.
The name of the first, "Infidel mountain," and its position with
respect to Tarabazun, claim for it the honour of representing the
holy Theches; the localities also appear to correspond to the de-
scription. Xenophon tells us that in the first day they came to a
river separating the Macronians from the Scythinians; and on this,
which disembogued into another river, the Macronians were drawn
up to dispute the passage. A negotiation, followed by a treaty,
produced, however, friendship with that people.
Eleven or twelve miles N. N. W. of Gaur Tagh (visible from
thence) is the village of Damajula, which is situated near the
meeting of four valleys and two rivers. One of the latter coming
from the N. W. has remarkably steep banks, rising fifteen or
twenty feet, with hills above, of difficult ascent on the eastern side,
and a chain of more accessible shoulders on the opposite; both are
covered with firs, and silver poplars of small size. This valley
would have been met during the first day's march from Gaur
Tagh, and troops posted on the opposite sides would be with-
in speaking distance, although they must have been complete-
ly separated by the difficult nature of the ravine. Peace being
concluded, the Greeks were conducted by this people during the
succeeding three marches through the remainder of their territory;
no doubt following the valleys of Damoulee and Godol, till at the
termination of the latter, and about thirty-one miles from Dama-
jula, they entered that of Gumush Khanah, a little northward of
the town of this name.
The great and deep valley in question runs northward from
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
331
thence along the foot of the Colchian mountains for about twelve
miles, where an abutment of the latter, called Karakaban, crosses
it near Zigani, at an elevation of 5300 feet, and the pass thus
formed was occupied in force by the Colchians.
Being in a state of hostility with the latter, the Macronians re-
turned to their own country, a distance of about forty-three miles,
which would correspond with the three marches made in a more
favourable season (February) than the preceding part of the march.
It is difficult to imagine a stronger barrier or a more formidable
position than that which here presented itself, to exercise the ta-
lent and display the unshaken intrepidity of the Grecian chief.
Owing to the nature of the ground, as well as the numbers by
which it was occupied, the Greeks, even could they have passed
the latter unbroken, would have been out-flanked had they attack-
ed in líne. But Xenophon, without hesitation, turned this circum-
stance to his own advantage, by a master-piece of tactics hitherto
unequalled.
The Greeks were formed in eleven columns, three of which,
each consisting of 600 targeteers and archers, occupied the flanks
and centre; these ascended the hill at such distances from one
another that Xenophon not only outstretched the flanks of the
Colchians, but was also prepared to attack them in rear, if, con-
trary to expectation, they had stood the shock and maintained
their ground. At first the Colchians advanced, but before they
closed with the Greek columns, they opened right and left, and
eventually fled in disorder, abandoning the well-stored villages in
their rear.
After three days' halt, suffering from the quantity and nature of
the honey, which, from the abundance of the azalea pontica, the
rhododendron ponticum, and the hellebore, in this fine country,
affects the brain for a time, the Greeks, in two marches of seven
parasangs, reached the villages near Tarabuzun (Trebizond).
(Vol. ii. p. 230 et seq.)
Colonel Chesney's explanation gains a manifest advantage in
simplicity of detail over mine, by his not taking the Greeks out
the way to reach the Arpa chai, Hamilton's Harpasus, but it
loses it again by going out of the way to the westward to the
Gaur Tagh, because the Colonel saw the sea from that point. It
is evident that there must be many heights of the mountains east
as well as west of the river of Gumush Khanah, from whence the
sea can be discerned. In this part of the retreat, where probably
the points will never be all definitively settled, that explanation
which presents the greatest degree of simplicity, and at the same
time meets most closely all the exigencies of the case, will be the
one which will ultimately meet with the most general acceptance.
M. Vivien de Saint Martin, in his admirable Histoire des Decou-
vertes Geographiques, (tome ii. p. 324,) after identifying Gymnias
1
332
COMMENTARY ON
with a village called Djinnis, situated near the left bank of the Eu-
phrates, about six leagues from Arzrum to the westward, says:
"The body of the Greeks having left Gymnias or Djinnis, on
the Upper Euphrates, must have ascended the Kop Tagh, de-
scended the Massa Deressi (Marsah Darahsi) or river of Baiburt,
then re-ascended up the course of the river of Balakhor (Balak
Hur, "Fish stream?") to the Takiya Tagh, where the name of
Theches is still preserved. From thence they descended to the
upper valley of the Balak Hur, which led them to the precipitous
chain of the Kolat Tagh, evidently the same as the mountain of
the Colchians of Xenophon; this chain separates the two water-
sheds, which pour their waters to the south in the Upper Tchoruk
or river of Ispir, to the north directly to the Black Sea, towards
the coast of Trebizond. The divers circumstances of the narrative
do not appear to us to leave the least doubt upon this itinerary, of
which nature has marked the features in an ineffaceable manner
in this country of deeply contrasted configurations."
It is scarcely necessary, but for fear of misconception it may be
as well to remark that this identification of the Kolat Tagh with
the mountain of the Colchians, upon the strength of the name, will
not be received by scholars in this country.
Professor Malden, after recurring to the mistake made by Major
Rennell, Kinneir, and myself, in supposing that the Greeks marched
seven days after the guide ran away from them before they reached
the Phasis; adds,
"Rennell, however, has probably fallen into a further mistake
in thinking that the Greeks did not cross the Harpasus; for this
seems to be his opinion. He supposes that they came to the river
between its conflux with the Araxes and the conflux of the river of
Kars with the other streams that form it, and then turned back
from it towards the west; so that their subsequent marches for
four days were still between the Harpasus and the Phasis or
Araxes; and he is inclined to identify the city of Gymnias with a
modern town on the latter river. Xenophon certainly does not
say distinctly that they crossed the Harpasus, but his language
implies it. He says, 'After this the Greeks arrived at the river
Harpasus, which was four hundred feet broad. Thence they
marched through the country of the Scythini,' &c. (iv. 7. 18). He
does not say that they did not cross it, and the notice of the breadth
of the river is not much to the purpose unless they did cross it;
and besides, he uses the very same language with respect to rivers
which were certainly crossed. (See i. 4, §§ 9 and 19; and iv. 4, §§
3 and 7.)
66
But, if they crossed it, it was probably the branch called the
river of Kars which they crossed, not the stream below the junc-
tion of this branch with those to the east of it; otherwise, we
should have them still persevering in their mistaken easterly course;
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
333
and they would have had to cross the eastern branch on their way
back towards the west. In crossing the river of Kars they would
be going northward; and if they then turned westward, they would
fall in with no considerable river till they came to the Apsarus or
Shoruk, (Juruk,) which accords with Xenophon's narrative; the
Shoruk being identified with the river of the Macrones.
"After examining all the circumstances of the story, if we sup-
pose the Greeks to have crossed the Phasis at the point which
Rennell indicates, near the modern bridge of Koban Kupri, (same
as Kupri Kiui,) or perhaps even nearer to its source; and then,
in consequence of their confusion between the two rivers Phasis,
to have turned eastward, and marched seven days along its north-
ern bank, and even when they left the river to have inclined but
little towards the north, and to have reached the Harpasus about
the junction of the river of Kars with the other branches, thus
traversing the diagonal of the space between the Araxes and
the Arpa-su, we assign them a march, which in winter, through
an unknown country, and in the presence of an active enemy,
might well occupy the time given for it. The time is twenty-one
days; and the distance from point to point in a straight line, if the
Greeks had not kept to the river-side for the first seven days, would
be about 120 miles. If we admit, therefore, a very reasonable ac-
count of deviation from the direct course, and allow that the length
of the days' marches has either been over-rated by Xenophon, or
exaggerated by errors of the transcribers, the difficulties seem to
be removed.
"The problem which remains is to fix the position of the city of
Gymnias north of the river of Kars." (The Classical Museum,
No. vii. p. 41 et seq.)
The most superficial glance at the map published by the Roy.
Geog. Soc. to illustrate routes of Mr. Ainsworth, Mr. Brant, Mr.
Suter, and Lord Pollington, in the tenth volume of their Journal,
would satisfy Professor Malden that it was along the Bin Gül su
or Upper Aras, that the Greeks would have performed their seven
days' journey, and not on the Kalah su, which they joined at Ku-
pri Kiui, where I suppose them to have terminated their seven
days' march, having Professor Malden's correction in mind. I
quite agree, however, with the Professor, that the correct determin-
ation of the position of Gymnias will do much towards elucidating
this most abstruse part of the narrative, and the determination
may yet be expected, from the constant progress that geographical
and archæological research are making in the East.
The question has, indeed, been much narrowed in its compass
already, from the day when Rennell conceived that the Greeks,
having lost their way, wandered up and down after crossing the
Araxes. A more intimate acquaintance with the physical charac-
334
COMMENTARY ON
ters of northern Armenia has shown it to be a country peculiarly
difficult to travel in-a constant succession of hills and valleys-
precipices and ravines-rocky ledges and foaming torrents.
Mr. Curzon, who has given a very picturesque account of some
of the difficulties to be met with in travelling from Arzrum to
Trebizond, in his little work on Armenia, mentions having met
a rich Persian merchant on the 2nd of January, at a hovel called
Khaderach Khan, who had been eighteen days on the road from
Trebizond, which was thirty-two hours of Tartar posting. At the
pass of Husha-Bunar he also came upon a party of Persians, seated
on the ledge of a precipice, looking despairingly at a number of
their baggage-horses which had tumbled over, and were wallowing
in the snow many hundred feet below. At the Zigana Tagh, a
whole caravan had been overwhelmed in an avalanche. When
these difficulties come to be better appreciated, it will be easy to
understand how the Greeks should, in the depth of winter and the
natives in open hostility to them, have spent so much time in this
part of the country.
"We have not," says Layard, "I conceive, sufficient data in
Xenophon's narrative to identify with any degree of certainty his
route after crossing the Euphrates. We know that about twenty
parasangs from that river, the Greeks encamped near a hot spring,
and this spring might be recognised in one of the many which
abound in the country. It is most probable that the Greeks took
the road still used by caravans through the plains of Hinnis (Kha-
nus) and Hassan-Kalah, as offering the fewest difficulties. But
what rivers are we to identify with the Phasis and Harpasus, the
distance between the Euphrates and Phasis being seventy para-
sangs, and between the Phasis and Harpasus ninety-five, and the
Harpasus being the larger of the two rivers? I cannot admit thai
the Greeks turned to the west and passed near the site of the mo-
dern Erzeroom. There are no rivers in that direction to answer
the description of Xenophon. Moreover, the Greeks came to the
high mountain, and beheld the sea for the first time, at the dis-
tance of thirty-two parasangs from Trebizond. Had they taken
either of the three modern roads from Erzeroom to the coast, and
there are no others, they must have seen the Euxine in the im-
mediate vicinity of Trebizond, certainly not more than six or eight
parasangs from that city. I am, on the whole, inclined to believe,
that either the Greeks took a very tortuous course after leaving the
Euphrates, making daily but little actual progress towards the
great end of their arduous journey, the sea-coast, or that there is
a considerable error in the amount of parasangs given by Xeno-
phon; that the Harpasus must be the Tcherouk, (Juruk,) and the
Phasis, either the Araxes or the Kur; and that Mount Theches,
the holy mountain, from which the Greeks beheld the sea, was be
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
335
tween Batun and Trebizond, the army having followed the valley
of the Tcherouk, but leaving it before reaching the site of the mo-
dern port on the Black Sea." (Nineveh and Babylon, p. 65.)
This is, at all events, an uncompromising statement of the ob-
scurities that envelope this part of the retreat, if it is not a lucid re-
cord of the details. Colonel Chesney having seen the sea with his
own eyes from the Gaur or Jawur Tagh, is an answer to one objec-
tion-that it could certainly not be seen at a greater distance than
six or seven parasangs from Trebizond. With regard to other diffi-
culties, Layard would throw the whole subject back again to the
dark period that preceded the investigations of Rennell and Kin-
neir. I have endeavoured to show what has been added to those
able and conscientious researches, and the patience and zeal of
future inquirers will, most assuredly, sift what is good from all
these statements, will expunge that which will not stand the test
of time, and will arrive ultimately at some clear and satisfactory
conclusions regarding these very remarkable Armenian wanderings.
CERASUS. The Greeks recruited themselves at Trebizond, till
the supplies furnished by the surrounding country were nearly ex-
hausted, and then, only a portion of the necessary shipping having
been obtained, they embarked their women and children, with the
sick and the aged, under the two oldest generals, Philesius and
Sophaenetus, while the remainder proceeded by land; and in three
marches they reached the Greek city Cerasus, or, more correctly,
Kerasus. Hamilton has shown that the ancient Kerasus does not
correspond with the modern Kirasunt, but that the site must be
sought for at the rivulet of Kirasun Darah su, about eight miles
from Cape Yurus, and not quite forty from Trebizond. Consider-
ing the difficulties of the country, it is not likely, Colonel Ches-
ney remarks, that a greater distance could have been accomplished
in three days.
THE MOSSYNOECI.-The territory of the Mossynoeci or Moschi,
in which the Greeks became engaged in a struggle that had nearly
been disastrous to them, appears to have stretched from a little dis-
tance westward of Trebizond, to the district of Pharnacia, or up-
wards of seventy miles along the coast. The fort or citadel of
these fierce people appears to have been in the neighbourhood of
Cerasus. These Mossynoeci-the Mossyni of Pliny and of Pom-
ponius Mela—and who are said to derive their name from the
wooden turrets or the trees they dwelt in, are described as being
the most barbarous people the Greeks met with during the whole
of their journey.
THE CHALYBES.-The Greeks were eight days travelling through
the territory of the Mossynoeci, after which they came to that of
the Chalybes. These were subject to the Mossynoecians, and far
from being numerous, they lived by the manufacture of iron, and
were mixed with the Tibarenians. Hamilton found the poor na-
336
COMMENTARY ON
tives of the coast occupied in the present day in extracting iron
from the superficial soil, not exactly at this spot, but to the west
of Cotyora, and between the ruins of Polemonium and the Ther-
modon, directly south of Uniyah Kalah, ancient Oenoe.
COTYORA.-Marching through the country of the Tibareni,
which is described as being more campaign, and the towns near
the sea not so strong, the Greeks came to Cotyora, a Greek city,
and a colony of Sinopians, situated in the territory of the Tibare-
nians. Cotyora was replaced by Pharmacia, which was built, ac-
cording to Strabo, out of its spoils, and hence, in the time of Ar-
rian, was already a mere village.
Hamilton has identified the site with a place called Ordu or
Urdu, where are some remains of an ancient port, and Colonel
Chesney has accepted the identification. There are some diffi-
culties in the way of this identification with the distances given by
Arrian in the Periplus of the Euxine Sea, which led me to prefer
the site of Parshambah. It is, however, by no means a point to
be insisted upon.
SINOPE. After discussing the question of forming a Greek set-
tlement on the Euxine, as well as the relative advantages of a
homeward voyage by sea, and a march thither by land, the Greeks
adopted the former course; and the Cotyorians having provided
the necessary shipping to get rid of their uninvited guests, a fair
wind carried the Greeks rapidly along the coast of Paphlagonia,
when passing in succession the rivers Thermodon (Thirmah su),
Iris (Yashil Irmak), and Halys (Kizil Irmak), they landed at
Harmene or Armene, a port five miles from the flourishing city of
Sinope, once a Milesian colony. The site of this port and city is
too well known to require further illustration.
HERACLEA. After electing Cheirisophus commander-in-chief,
the Greeks sailed from Sinope along the coast of Paphlagonia and
Bithynia, to Heraclea, where the army disembarked at the close of
the second day's sail. Xenophon makes the Greeks pass the rivers
Thermodon and Halys on this journey, by mistake; instead of on
that from Cotyora to Sinope.
The Greeks came to an anchor near to the peninsula of the
Acherusians-the site of one of Hercules' fabled exploits. The
modern town of Harakli occupies only the south-west corner of the
space covered by the ancient city. The Lycus noticed by Xeno-
phon is called the Kilij su or Sword river, significative of the same
thing-its sudden wolf-like or destructive risings.
CALPE.-The Greeks, in their apparent great anxiety for booty
-an anxiety which attained its acme as they were getting near
home, divided into three bodies. The Arcadians and the Achae-
ans, mustering about 4500 heavy-armed men, proceeded by sea to
Calpe, while the other heavy-armed men and the Thracian targe-
teers, who amounted to about 2100 men under Cheirisophus, marched
THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
337
along the coast to Thrace; Xenophon himself, at the head of 1700
heavy-armed men, 300 targeteers, and 40 horsemen, marching, ac-
cording to Colonel Chesney, towards Calpe in a direct line. I
read it, however, through the middle of the country, a phrase which
is twice repeated in the account of the journey, and as the district
that lies between the shore and the plains of Tuz-cha and Saban-
cha, is occupied by the Yailah Tagh, a densely wooded range of hills,
totally impassable to a body of troops, there remained no alternative
but to keep to the shore or to take to the middle of the country.
My idea, as expressed in the "Travels in the Track," and which I
am still inclined to hold by, is, that Xenophon, in the pursuit of
booty, crossed the Yailah Tagh-ancient Mons Hypius, and descend-
ed upon the fertile plain of Prusa ad Hypium, but on nearing of the
the straits in which his comrades were placed at Calpe, he re-
turned thither through the westerly prolongation of the same hills.
The promontory of Calpe enjoyed in those times the same name as
that of Gibraltar. It is now called Kirpah or Kafkan Adasi.
CHRYSOPOLIS.-After a long stay and no small disasters entailed
by the restlessness of the Greeks at Calpe, they started from that
place, marching through Bithynia, or Asiatic Thrace, as it was also
called, six days' march, to Chrysopolis-the Golden city, the mo-
dern Uskudar or Scutari, opposite to Constantinople. The dis-
tance travelled upon this occasion by road of some eighty miles in
six days, gives an average of thirteen miles a day, showing that
eight, ten, and twelve were as often assumed ordinary day's jour-
neys, under circumstances of greater difficulties, according to the
exigencies of the case, and may indeed have been still less. The
retreat of the Ten Thousand may in reality be said to end at this
point, for the kind of business which they became engaged in after
crossing the Bosphorus, has nothing to do with that on which they
were originally taken from their homes by the ambition of Cyrus.
The Ten Thousand in European THRACE.-From Chrysopolis
the Greeks crossed over to Byzantium, where they were but scur-
vily treated by the Lacedaemonian admiral Anaxibius, and hence
obliged to quarter in some Thracian villages. Xenophon sailed in
the mean time to Cyzicus, (now Baal Kiz,) from whence he re-
turned to his comrades, and led them all, except such as remained
with Neon and such as had disbanded on finding themselves in
Europe, to Perinthus, now Harakli. From this point they were
induced by large promises to assist Seuthes, son of Maesades, to
recover his patrimony as one of the independent kings of Thrace.
In execution of this compact they marched into the country called
the Delta of the Thracians, above Byzantium, that of the Melino-
phagi, who dwelt in the eastern part of the Kutchuk Balkhan,
(Little Balkhan,) and they arrived at Salmydissus or Kalmydissus,
now Midiyah, on the Euxine. After they had subdued the in-
VOL. I.
Z
338
COMMENTARY ON THE ANABASIS OF XENOPHON.
habitants, who lived chiefly by the plunder of wrecks, they re-
turned and encamped on a plain above Selymbria.
The Greeks arrive at PERGAMUS.-At this point the Greeks
parted from Seuthes, who had failed to fulfil his promises made to
them, and crossing the Propontis, they repaired to Lampsacus, a
well-known port on the Hellespont, now called Lamsaki. From
hence they marched through Troas, and passing over the celebrated
Mount Ida, they came first to Antandrus, now Antandros, near
Adramiti. Hence they continued their march along the coast of
the Lydian sea, to the plain of Thebes. It is known, from Herod-
otus and Livy, that the plain of Adramyttium was so called.
Thence they passed through Adramyttium or Atramyttium Cer-
tonium, which is believed to be the Karene of Herodotus, and
Atarne, an Aeolian city-the Atarneus of Strabo, from whence
they reached Pergamus, where the narrative of the historian finally
ceases.
The whole of the way, both of the Expedition and of the Re-
treat, is said to have comprised two hundred and fifteen days'
march, of eleven hundred and fifty-five parasangs, and of thirty
thousand six hundred and fifty stadia; and the time employed in
both, was a year and three months.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX
TO THE ANABASIS.
ABYDUS, i. 1. 9. A city of Mysia on the Hellespont, nearly op-
posite Sestus on the European shore. Aidos or Avido, a modern
village on the Hellespont, may be the site of Abydus, though the
conclusion from a name alone is not admitted by some critics.
Acherusian Chersonese, vi. 2. 2: the scene, as it is said, of Her-
cules's twelfth labour, to bring up the dog Cerberus from Acheron.
It ran out into the Black Sea, near Heraclea, now Harakli. Ainsw.
p. 215.
Æolia, v. 6. 24. A district on the west coast of Asia Minor,
which is included by Strabo in the larger division of Mysia.
Antandrus, vii. 8. 7. A city on the coast of Troas, now Antan-
dros.
Apollonia, vii. 8. 15. A town of Mysia, on an eminence east of
Pergamus, on the way to Sardis. Strabo, xiii. p. 625. It seems to
have been near the borders of Lydia. The exact site does not ap-
pear to be determined.
Arabia, i. 5. 1; vii. 8. 25. The term Arabia is used by Xenophon
to designate those parts of Mesopotamia which lie south of the river
Khabur, the same as are described by Strabo, (i. 2, p. 65; xvi. 1, p.
351,) as inhabited by the Arabes Scenitae or Nomade Arabs, and
which are in the present day chiefly occupied by the Shamar
Arabs.
Araxes, i. 4. 19. There is every reason to believe that what
Xenophon calls the Araxes, (a river of Mesopotamia running into
the Euphrates,) is the same river that is called Chaboras by Ptolemy
and Pliny, Aborras by Strabo, Zosimus, Ammianus Marcellinus,
and other writers: and by the Arabs, the Khabur. A contributor
to the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, art. Chaboras,
has however thought fit to question this identification.
Armenia, Orontes the satrap of, iii. 5. 17; contains the sources
of the Tigris and Euphrates, iv. 1. 3; divided by the river Centrites
from the country of the Carduchi, iv. 3. 1; its mountains, iv. 3. 20;
traversed by the Greeks, iv. 4. 1; Western Armenia, Tiribazus sa-
trap of, iv. 4. 4; their boys act as cup-bearers, iv. 5. 33; their horses
described, iv. 5. 36.
z 2
340
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX
Atarneus, a city of Mysia, opposite to Lesbos, and a strong place
The site is generally fixed at Dikheli or Dikhali Kiui. Cramer's Asia
Minor, vol. i. p. 133.
Atramyttium or Adramyttium, a town situated at the head of the
bay, called from it Sinus Adramyttenus, on the river Caicus, in My-
sia, on the road from the Hellespont to Pergamus. Now Adra-
hytti. Ainsw. p. 230, 248.
Babylon, its distance from Cunaxa, where the battle was fought,
ii. 2. 6; its distance from Cotyora in Pontus, v. 5. 4.
Babylonia, i. 7. 1; ii. 2. 13.
Bisanthe, vii. 2. 38; 5. 8; a city on the Propontis, north-west of
Perinthus. At a later period its name was changed into Rhaedestum
or Rhaedestus, whence its present name, Rodosto. Krüger ad vii. 2. 38.
Bithynia, Pharnabazus satrap of it, vii. S. 25.
Byzantium, on the Bosporus, now Constantinople; the Greeks force
an entrance into it, vii. 1. 16; belonged to the Athenians before the
Peloponnesian war, vii. 1. 27.
Caenae, ii. 4. 28. A large city of Mesopotamia on the Tigris.
Supposed by Mannert, Rennell, and others to be represented by the
ruins at Senn, but determined by Colonel Chesney and Colonel Řaw-
linson to be represented by the ruins at or near Kalah Shirgat or
Kileh Shirgat.
Caicus, Plain of, vii. S. 8, 18. The Caicus is a river of Mysia and
Lydia, flowing past Pergamus into the sea opposite Lesbos; it is
now called the Krimakli. Ainsw. p. 230.
Calpe, Harbour of, in Bithynia, described, vi. 4. 1, 2. See also vi.
2. 13, 17; vi. 3. 2. It is now called Kirpah Liman, and the mountain
Kaifkan Tagh, the chief headland or promontory Kaifkan Adasi, and
a lesser promontory Yalanji Kaifkan, or the lying or deceitful Kaif-
kan.
Cappadocia, i. 2. 20; vii. 8. 25.
Carduchi or Karduchi, now the Kurds. A people inhabiting
the mountains of Kurdistan, the ancient Gordene or Gordiaeus
Mons, the banks of the Tigris, and more particularly the country bor-
dering on Armenia and Assyria: independent, hardy, and warlike
mountaineers, iii. 5. 16; v. 5. 17; vii. 8. 25; the Greeks ascend their
hills, iii. 5. 17; iv. 1. 2; attempt in vain to be friendly with them,
iv. 1. 8, 9; are harassed by them, iv. i. 16; 3. 7.
Carsus or Karsus, Cersus or Kersus, a river of Cilicia, i. 4. 4. The
Andricus of Pliny, now Markatz su, at the Gates of Cilicia and
Syria, i. 4. 4. Ainsw.
p. 58.
Castolus, Plain of, i. 1. 2; 9. 7. Stephanus says that Castolus
was a city of Lydia. See note on i. 1. 2.
{
Caystrus, Plain of, i. 2. 11. Supposed to be the plain of Bulavadin,
in the lower part of which is the lake called Ibar Gül. Hamilton
thinks at or near the village called Chai Kiui or river village." It
has been placed higher up, near Surmanah. Koch and Long have
dissented from the latter identification. See Kühner ad i. 2. 11.
Celaenae, a large city of Phrygia, i. 27. Xerxes built its citadel,
TO THE ANABASIS.
i. 2. 9. Cyrus had a palace there.
Deenair. Leake's Tour, p. 158.
vol. i. p. 499, 505.
341
The site is now called Dinair or
Cramer, vol. ii. p. 50. Hamilton,
Centrites, a river dividing the country of the Carduchi from Ar-
menia, iv. 3. 1; the Greeks cross it, iv. 3. 15. Now the Buhtan Chai.
Ains. Travels, vol. ii. p. 356. Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, p.
49, 63.
This place
Ceramon Agora, or Ceramorum Forum, i. 2. 10.
appears to be represented by the modern Ushak, still a place of con-
siderable traffic and commerce. Hamilton, ii. 204. Hutchinson
supposes it to be the same with Ceranæ, mentioned by Plin. H N.
v. 41.
Cerasus, a Greek city on the coast of Colchis, founded by the
people of Sinope, v. 3. 2; 5. 10; 7. 13. The site of this place was
not at the modern Kirasunt, but in a valley bearing the same name
of Kirasun Darah su, or river of the valley of Kerasus. Hamilton, i.
250. Eustathius, ad Dionys. Perieg. v. 437, says that the place was
so named from the abundance of repάooi, cherry trees, that grew
there. Hence it is supposed Lucullus first introduced the cherry
tree into Europe. Plin. H. N. xv. 5. 3; 5. 10; 7. 13.
Cersus, see Carsus.
Certonium, a city of Mysia, vii. 8. 8. It is not mentioned in any
other author: see Cramer, Asia Minor, vol. i. p. 133, who favours
the suggestion of Hutchinson, that we should perhaps read Kapivns
the name of a town mentioned by Herodotus. It has been conjec-
tured that it may be the Cytonium of Theopompus (Steph. s. v.
KUTúviov): there being now a place named Kidonia, near the sup-
posed situation of Certonium. But Cytonium was between Mysia and
Lydia; and Xenophon's Certonium is in Mysia. Carine or Carene
may have stood on the river Caresos, mentioned by Homer, Il. xii.
20.
Chalcedon, on the Bosporus, opposite Byzantium, vii. 1. 20; 2.
24, 26. Now Kadi Kiui. Ains. i. 14.
Chalcedonia, vi. 6. 38.
Chaldaeans, iv. 3. 4; v. 5. 17; vii. S. 25. Now Khaldis and Nes-
torian mountaineers.
Chalus, a river of Syria, i. 4. 9. Identified by Colonel Chesney
with the Baluklu su, or Fish river, a tributary to the Sajur, but more
probably the Chalib or Kuwait, the river of Aleppo. Ainsw. p. 63.
Chalybes, a people on the shore of the Euxine, bordering on Ar-
menia, iv. 5. 34; vii. S. 25; serve under Tiribazus, iv. 4. 18; meet
the Greeks, iv. 6. 5; their bravery, and armour, vi. 7. 15; subject
to the Mossynoeci, v. 5. 1. Strabo makes the Chalybes the same
as the Chaldaei. Ainsw. p. 184.
Charmanda, a large city on the Euphrates, i. 5. 10. Formerly
identified with Hit, but Colonel Chesney thinks that the site is re-
presented by ruins opposite to the island of Jibbah or Jubbah. (Ex-
ped. to survey the rivers Euph. and Tigris, vol. ii. p. 214.)
Chersonesus opposite Abydus, or the Thracian Chersonesus, i. 1.
9; ii. 6. 2, 24; its beauty and fertility, v. 6. 25; vii. 1. 13.
Chersonesus, Acherusian. See Acherusian Chersonesus.
342
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX
Chrysopolis, a city near Chalcedon, vi. 1. 1; 6. 38. Now Uskudar
or Scutari. Ainsw. p. 222.
Cilicia, difficulty of entering it, i. 2. 21; situation and nature of the
country, i. 2. 22; its Gates, i. 4. 4.
Coetae, vii. 8. 25. Perhaps a corruption of Taochi: see Dindorf
ad loc.
Colchians, iv. S. 23; vii. 8. 25; oppose the Greeks, but are de
feated, iv. 8. 9, 18; Greeks suffer from the Colchian honey, iv. 8.
20; their deputies stoned, v. 7. 2.
Colossae, a large city of Phrygia Major, i. 2. 6. Supposed by
Arundel (ii. 159) to be represented by ruins at the modern Chonos
or Khonos, but identified by Hamilton with ruins about three miles
north of that site (i. 508.)
Comania, vii. 8. 15.
It seems to have been a fortress not far
from Pergamus. Zeune ad loc.
Corsote, a deserted city on the river, or canal, Mascas, i. 5. 4.
Supposed to be represented by ruins at a site now called Irzah or
Werdi. Ainsw. p. 79.
Cotyora, a Greek city, and colony of the Sinopians, situated on
the Euxine in the territory of the Tibareni, v. 5. 3, 4. Cramer (i.
278) places it at Buyuk Kalah, "Great Castle," near Cape Vona or
Bona. Kinneir and Hamilton think it lay nearer to Urdu or
Ordou.
Cydnus, flows through the midst of Tarsus, i. 2. 23. Now called
Tarsus chai.
Cyzicus, a city of Mysia on the Propontis, vii. 2. 5. This cele-
brated city is now represented by the ruins of Bal Kiz, of which a
description is given by Hamilton, ii. 103,) and Leake, p. 271.
Dana, a city of Cappadocia, i. 2. 20. The same as the Tyana of
Strabo, xiii. p. 371. Now represented by the ruins of Kiz Hissar.
Dardes, a river described as a plethrum in breadth at its sources,
i. 4. 10. In most of the old editions it is called the Daradax. Iden-
tified formerly with the canal at Balis, but supposed by Colonel
Chesney to be the same as the fountain of Al Bab, near the source
of the stream called Dhahab or Dabb (ii. 213).
Delta of Thrace, was between Byzantium and Salmydessus, vii. 1.
33; 5. 1. Gryllus de Bosporo Thracio (see Schneider ad vii. 5. 1)
places it at the angular point Derkon, in which opinion D'Anville
agrees with him. Rennell, p. 268, thinks it the angular space run-
ning out into the Euxine near Byzantium.
Dolopes, of Epirus, i. 2. 6.
Drilae, v. 2. 1.
Arrian, Peripl. p. 123, ed. Blanc., suggests that
this people may have been a tribe of the Sanni or Macrones. See
Ainsw. p. 189, and Cramer, Asia Min. i. p. 287, who refers to Steph.
Byz. v. Δουλάι.
Ecbatana, the capital of Media, ii. 4. 25; iii. 5. 15. The Ecba-
tana or Agbatana, "Treasure city," of Media is supposed to be re-
presented by Hamadan, the Ecbatana of Assyria by Amadiyah, the
Ecbatana of Babylonia by Kirkuk, and the Ecbatana of Atropatene
TO THE ANABASIS.
343
by Takhti Sulaiman.
on Mount Carmel.
Ephesus, ii. 2. 6. The ruins of Ephesus have been described by
Spon and Wheler, Chishull and Chandler, Arundel, Hamilton, Fel-
lows, and others. The site of these ruins is now called Ayasaluk.
Euphrates, its breadth, i. 4. 11. Cyrus crosses it, i. 4. 17, 18. The
Greeks re-cross it, not far from its source, iv. 5. 2.
There were also Ecbatanas at Persepolis and
Ganus, a city of Thrace, on the Propontis, to the south of Bisanthe,
vii. 5. 8.
Gates of Cilicia and Syria, i. 4. 4. See note ad loc.
Gates, Babylonian, i. 5. 5; placed by Colonel Chesney 24 miles
short of the Median Wall, nearly opposite the village of Jarrah (ii.
214); by others at the termination of the hilly country on the plains
of Babylonia. See note ad loc.
Gymnias, a large city of the Scythini, iv. 7. 19. Identified former-
ly conjecturally with Arzrum, now with Ispir or Ispira. Identified by
Colonel Chesney with the little town of Gemeri on the Kara su, (ii.
p. 230); by M. Vivien de Saint Martin, Hist. des Decouvertes Geogra
phiques, (tome ii. p. 324,) with Djinnis, a village on the left bank of
the Upper Euphrates, about six leagues from Arzrum.
Halisarne, a town near Pergamus, vii. 8. 17. It is mentioned by
Xen. Hell. iii. 1. 4; Plin. H. N. v. 32; and Steph. Byz.
Halys, river of Paphlagonia, y. 6. 9; vi. 2. 1. Now called the
Kizil Irmak, or Red River. See Jasonian Shore.
Harmene, a port near Sinope, vi. 1. 15. Strabo, xii. p. 545; Ar-
rian, Peripl. p. 127.
Harpasus, river so called, iv. 7. 18. Rennell (p. 225) and Hamil-
ton (i. 197) have identified this river with the Arpa chai, a branch
or tributary to the Aras or Araxes, but Colonel Chesney (ii. 230)
and Layard (Nin. and Baby. p. 65) have identified it with the
Juruk or Tchoruk su, he Apsarus of the Romans.
Heraclea, a Greek city of Pontus, originally a colony from Me-
gara, in the territory of the Mariandyni, vi. 2. 1; its distance from
Byzantium, vi. 4. 2; much frequented by ships, v. 6. 10. It is now
called Harakli. (Ains. Trav. i. 38.) For its history, see Justin, B. xvi.
Heracleotis, the territory of Heraclea, vi. 2. 19.
Hesperitae, vii. 8. 25.
Hyrcanians, vii. 8. 15.
Iconium, an ancient city of Phrygia, i. 2. 19. Now Koniyah, the
capital of Karaman, seat of a pasha and of a Greek metropolitan.
Ida, mountain of Troas, vii. 8. 7. Now Karajah Tagh.
Iris, a river of Paphlagonia, v. 6. 9; vi. 2. 1.
Irmak, or Green River.
Now the Yashil
""
Issi, or Issus, a large city on the coast of Cilicia, i. 2. 24; 4. 1.
Has been identified with ruins on the Dali chai, "mad or swift river,
supposed to be the Pinarus. It was in later times called Nicopolis.
See Steph. Byz., and Cramer's Asia Minor, vol. ii. p. 359.
Isthmus of Corinth, ii. 6. 3.
344
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX
Jasonian Shore, vi. 2. 1. Krüger supposes the passage in whic..
this is mentioned, from παραπλέοντες to τοῦτον δὲ, to be an interpo
lation, because the rivers named in connexion with it, the Ther-
modon, Iris, and Halys, do not run into the Euxine on that side of
Sinope, but on the other, to the east of it. Koch thinks it is a mis-
take of Xenophon himself: see Kühner ad loc. See Ainsw. p. 213;
Rennell, p. 261.
Lampsacus, vii. S. 1, 6. A city of Mysia, on the Hellespont, now
Lamsaki. Cramer's Asia Minor, vol. i. p. 65.
Larissa, a large city on the Tigris, iii. 4. 7. Identified by most
recent inquirers, as in the Trav. in the Track, by Colonel Chesney,
Colonel Rawlinson, and Layard, with the great Assyrian ruin now
called Nimrud or Athur. Koch, it appears, differs from this view of
the subject; see Kühner ad loc. Bochart thought it the same as the
Resen of Gen. x. 12.
Lotophagi, iii. 2. 25.
Lycaonia, a country of Asia Minor, laid waste by Cyrus, i. 2. 19.
Not subject to the king of Persia, iii. 2. 23. Mithridates satrap of
it, vii. 8. 25.
Lyceum, at Athens, vii. S. 1. See note ad loc.
Lycus, a river running into the Black Sea near Heraclea, vi. 2.
3. It is now called Kilij su, or Sword river. See Cramer's Asia
Min. vol. i. p. 203.
Lydia, vii. 8. 20.
Macrones, a people at the extremity of Cappadocia, on the con-
fines of Colchis and Armenia, iv. 8. 1; v. 5. 18; vii. 8. 25. In later
times they were called Sanni or Tsani, according to Eustath. ad
Dionys. v. 766. See also Strabo, xii. p. 825. Yet Pliny, H. N. vi.
4, keeps the Macrones and Sanni distinct. Ainsw. p. 189.
Maeander, in Lydia, i. 2. 5, 6. Now Mandarah or Mendereh su.
Mardi, a people on the borders of Media, iv. 4. 3. Some read
Mardonii.
Mariandyni, a people of Bithynia or Paphlagonia, in whose ter-
ritory Heraclea stood, vi. 2. 1.
Marsyas, a river of Lydia, running into the Maeander, i. 2. S.
Mascas, a river or canal of Mesopotamia, joining the Euphrates,
i. 5. 4.
-Media, Greeks return through it, ii. 4. 27; iii. 5. 15. Beauty of
the women of Media, iii. 2. 25. Sovereignty over the country ob-
tained by the Persians, iii. 4. 8, 11.
Media, Wall of, i. 7. 15. ii. 4. 12. It appears to have stretched
across the narrow space between the Tigris and Euphrates, from
the site of the ancient Opis to the Sipphara of Ptolemy, the ruins of
which are now called Sifairah. Ainsw. p. 107, seqq.
Melanditæ, a people of Thrace, vii. 2. 32.
Melinophagi, a people of Thrace near Salmydessus, vii. 5. 12.
Mespila, or Meso-pulai, middle gates or pass, a city of Media
taken by the Persians, iii. 4. 10-12. Identified by Rennell with
Nineveh, by Colone! Rawlinson with Musul or Mausil. It may have
TO THE ANABASIS.
345
comprised both or portions of both, that is to say, so much of each city
as lay near the river pass, and which at all times have been parts
of the same city, as Southwark to London or London to Southwark.
The fortress or castle, which Xenophon mentions as being near it, is
now called Yarum-jah;
Miletus, in Ionia, near the mouth of the Maeander; besieged, i.
1.7; 4. 2. Why it did not revolt to Cyrus, i. 9. 9.
Mountain, Sacred, iv. 7. 21.
another, vii. 1. 14; 3. 3.
Mossynoeci, a people on the shores of the Euxine, near Cerasus,
between the Tibareni and Drilæ, v. 4. 2; v. 5.1. Were not subject
to the Persians, vii. 8. 25.
Myriandrus, a city near the sea, inhabited by Phoenicians, i. 4. 6.
It was a place of trade and a harbour, not far from the present port
of Iskandarun or Alexandretta, nearer to and more in front of the
pass of Bailan between Amanus and Rhosus, but the actual site has
not been determined.
Mysia, vii. 8. 8. The Mysians ravage the province of Cyrus, i.
6. 7; Cyrus makes war upon them, i. 9. 14; not subject to the king
of Persia, iii. 2. 23. Dance of a Mysian, vi. 1.9; stratagem of a
Mysian, v. 2. 29.
Neontichos, a town and harbour of Thrace, between Ganus and
Selybria. Scylax, Peripl. p. 28, ed. Huds.
Odrysae, a people of European Thrace, vii. 2. 32; 3. 16; 4. 21;
5. 1, 15.
Olympia, v. 3. 7; v. 3. 11.
Olynthians, i. 2. 6.
Ophrynium, a town of Troas, near Dardanus, vii. 8. 5.
Opis, a large city on the river Physcus, ii. 4. 25. Formerly sup-
posed to be represented by ruins at the embouchure of the river
Athaim or Adhem into the Tigris, now with the ruins of Aski Baghdad
or Old Baghdad, where the ancient canal called Katur or Nahrwan
takes its departure from the Tigris, or, according to Colonel Ches-
ney, with ruins at Kayim or Kaim on the Nahr al Risas, a southerly
cross-cut to the Nahrican.
Paphlagonia described, v. 6. 6; Corylas satrap of it, vii. S. 25;
Paphlagonian helmets, v. 2. 22; 4. 13.
Parium, a town on the Propontis, between Cyzicus and the Hel-
lespont, vii. 2. 7; 2. 25; 3. 20; 3. 16.
Parthenium, a town of Mysia near Pergamus, vii. 8. 15, 21. Plin.
H. N. v. 30.
Peltae, a town of Phrygia, i. 2. 10. The plain near Peltae on which
Cyrus reviewed his troops may either be represented by the Baklan
Uvah on the great plain to the south of Ishakli, or at the foot of the
mountains two miles on the road from Ishakli to Dinair. (Hamil-
ton, ii. 163 and 203.)
Pergamus, a celebrated city of Mysia, near the Caicus, vii. 8. 8,
23. Now called Bergma, or Bergamo. Cramer's Asia Minor, i. p. 136.
346
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX
Perinthus, a city of Thrace on the Propontis, west of Byzantium
ii. 6. 2; vii. 2. 8, 11, 28; 4. 2. In later times it was called Hera-
clea, and is now Harakli.
Persians, the beauty of their women, iii. 2. 25; their bows large,
iii. 4. 17; their cavalry of little use in the night, iii. 4. 35; Persian
dance, vi. 1. 10.
Phasis, iv. 6. 4. Not the Phasis of Colchis, which runs into the
Euxine, but a river of Armenia, flowing into the Caspian, called by
other writers the Araxes. Rennell, p. 230. "Xenophon seems to
have confounded this river with the Phasis of Colchis." Kühner,
ad loc. The plain through which the upper portion of the Aras or
Araxes flows, is still called Pasin. (See map to illustrate routes of
Mr. Ainsworth, Mr. Brant, Mr. Suter, and Lord Pollington, in the
10th volume of the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society.)
Phoenicia, vii. 8. 25.
Pholoe, v. 3. 10, a woody mountain range between Arcadia and
Elis, now Mauro Bouni. Cramer's Ancient Greece, iii.
Phrygia, v. 6. 24; vii. S. 25.
p. 92.
Physcus, a river or canal connected with the Tigris, ii. 4. 25.
Identified by Captain Lynch and Mr. Ross with the river Athaim or
Adhem. (Journ. R. G. S. vol. ix. 472, 448.) By Colonel Rawlinson,
with the Katur or Nahrwan. (Journ. R. G. S. vol. x. 93-97.) By
Colonel Chesney, (ii. 221,) with the Nahr al Risas, a tributary to the
Nahrioan.
Pisidians, the inhabitants of a mountainous district to the north
of Pamphylia, perpetual enemies to the Persians, ii. 5. 13; iii. 2. 23.
Cyrus pretends that he is going to attack them, i. 2.1; had formerly
been at war with them, i. 9. 14.
Pontus, the country on the shores of the Euxine, v. 6. 15, 16.
Pontus Euxinus, iv. 8. 22.
Psarus, or Sarus, a considerable river of Cilicia, running into the
Mediterranean, i. 4. 1. It is now called the Sihun or Saihun. Ainsw.
p. 51.
Pyramus, a large river of Cilicia, flowing into the Sinus Issicus,
i. 4. 1. Now the Jihun or Jaihun. Ainsw. p. 52.
Sacred Mountain. See Mountain.
Salmydessus, a city of Thrace on the Euxine, vii. 5. 12. It is now
called Midiyah. Rennell, p. 267.
Sardis, or Sardes, the chief city of Lydia, and of Cyrus's govern-
ment, P. 2. 2; iii. 1. 8.
Scillus, a town of Elis, not far from Olympia, assigned by the
Lacedæmonians to Xenophon for a residence during his exile, v. 3.
7. See Krüger de Xen. Vitâ, p. 20; Schneider, Epimetrum de
Scilluntio Agro.
Scythini, a people near the Euxine, bordering on the Macrones,
iv. 7. 18. Rennell, p. 243; Ainsw. p. 228.
Selinus. Xenophon speaks of two rivers of this name, one flow-
ing by the temple of Diana at Ephesus, another near Olympia, on
which he erected a temple to Diana, v. 3. 8.
Selybria, or Selymbria, a city of Thrace on the Propontis, between
TO THE ANABASIS.
347
Byzantium and Perinthus, vii. 2. 8; 5. 15. Now called Silivri, Ainsw.
p. 227.
Sinope, a Greek city in Paphlagonia, on the Euxine, originally a
colony from Miletus, vi. 1. 15; a deputy from it to the Greeks, v. 5.
12. Now called Sinub. Ainsw. p. 211.
Sittace, a large city of Babylonia on the Tigris, iii. 4. 13. Form-
erly identified with the ruins of Akbara, a city of the Khalifs; but
since with those at Shiriat al Baida.
Soli, a city on the coast of Cilicia, i. 2. 24. Afterwards Pompei-
opolis. Pompon. i. xiii.; Ptol. v. viii.; Dio Cassius, xxxvi. 18.
Now Ashi Shahir, "old city," near Mazatlu.
Susa, the winter residence of the Persian kings, on the river
Choaspes, ii. 4. 25; iii. 5. 15. Now Sus on the Kirkhah or Choaspes.
The Shushan of Scripture is now Susan on the Karun or Eulaeus.
Rawlinson, Journ. R. G. S. (vol. ix. p. 85); Long, ditto (iii. 257);
Layard, ditto (xii. 102).
Syria, i. 4. 6; Syrians regard certain fish, and doves, as gods,
i. 4. 9.
Syrian Gates. See Gates.
Taochi, a people between Armenia and the Euxine; some of them
serve under Tiribazus, iv. 4. 18; they oppose the passage of the
Greeks, iv. 6. 5; the Greeks take one of their fortresses, iv. 7. 2;
they are not subject to the king of Persia, v. 5. 17.
Tarsus, a large and rich city of Cilicia on the river Cydnus, i. 2.
23; plundered by the soldiers of Menon, i. 2. 26. It still retains
its ancient name.
Teleboas, a small river in Western Armenia, iv. 4. 3. Identified
by Layard (Nin. and Baby. p. 64) with the river of Bitlis; by most
other recent commentators, with the head-waters of the Kara su, in
Mush or Moxoene.
Teuthrania, a town and district in Mysia, ii. 1. 3; vii. 8. 17.
Thapsacus, a city of Syria on the Euphrates, at which Cyrus
crosses that river, i. 4. 11. Afterwards Amphipolis (Pliny, H. N.
V. 21); also Turmeda (Steph. Byz.); Tiphsah (1 Kings iv. 24).
Now designated as the ford of the Badawin at Al Hammam near
Suriyah, ancient Sura or Sure of Ptolemy. Sura in Pliny, and
Ura (ib.).
Thebe, plain of, in Lydia, according to the common reading in
vii. 8. 7. But some copies have 'Aoias: Krüger. Kühner would
read Μυσίας. The Thebe meant is probably that at the foot of
Mount Placos in Mysia, and hence called Hypoplacia. See Cra-
mer's Asia Minor, i. p. 129.
Theches, the mountain from which the Greeks had their first
view of the Euxine, iv. 7. 21. Colonel Chesney (ii. 230) identifies
Theches with the Gaur or Jawur Tagh, "Infidel Mountain." It
has been more generally identified with the Takiyah Tagh or "Monas-
tery Mountain," the Hak Masjidi Tagh of Vivien de St. Martin.
Thermodon, a river of Paphlagonia, running into the Euxine, v
6. 9; vi. 2. 1. See Jasonian Shore.
348
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Thrace, Asiatic, vi. 4. 1. The people of it attack the Arcadians,
vi. 3. 4.
Thrace, European, vii. 1. 5; a Thracian dance, vi. 1. 5; banquet,
vii. 3. 16; dress, vii. 4. 4; Thracian mountaineers, vii. 4. 11; their
mode of flight, vii. 4. 17.
Thracian Area or Square, a place in Byzantium, vii. 1. 24. Pre-
bably the At Maidan.
Thymbrium, a town of Phrygia, i. 2. 13. Probably represented in
the present day by Ak Shahir, "the white city," if not situated be-
tween that town and Ulu Bunar, the supposed fountain of Midas;
but this is unlikely.
Thynians, or Bithynians, a people of European Thrace, vii. 2.
22; vii. 4. 1, 14, 18.
Tibareni, a people of Asia, bordering on the Chalybes, v. 5. 2;
vii. 8. 25.
Tigris, canals from it communicating with the Euphrates, i. 7. 15;
ii. 4. 13; the Greeks cross it by a bridge, ii. 4. 24; they recross it
near its source, iv. 4. 3.
Tralles, a fortified town of Lydia on the Maeander, i. 4. 8. Some
ruins of it still remain. Ainsw. p. 61.
Tranipsæ, a people of Thrace, vii. 2. 32.
Trapezus, Trebisond, on the Pontus, a Greek city in the territory
of the Colchians, iv. 8. 22. It paid tribute to Sinope, of which it
was a colony, v. 5. 10.
Troas, v. 6. 24; vii. 8. 7.
Tyriæum, a town of Phrygia, i. 2. 14. Formerly identified with
Arkut Khan, but most probably represented by Ilghun. Hamilton
(ii. 200). Colonel Chesney (ii. 208).
Zabatus, or Zapatas, a river of Assyria, running into the Tigris,
ii. 5. 1; iii. 3. 6. Zerab of the Chaldeans and Hebrews, corrupted
into Zarb and Zab. The Lycus of Herodotus, Polybius, Strabo,
and Ptolemy. Diabǝ of Amm. Marcellinus. Now Zab ala.
!
XENOPHON'S
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
BOOK I.-CHAPTER I.
The two charges on which Socrates was condemned to death by the Athe-
nians, sect. 1. The first charge refuted by several arguments: for So-
crates used to sacrifice to the gods, 2; he practised divination, and his
damon was no new god, 2-5; he recommended that the gods should be
consulted by man in perplexing circumstances, 6-9; he was guilty of no
impiety, he avoided vain speculations respecting the gods, and said that
the business of philosophy was the study of virtue, 10-17; his life was
in accordance with the precepts of morality, 18-20.
1. I HAVE often wondered by what arguments the accusers 1
of Socrates persuaded the Athenians that he deserved death
from the state; for the indictment against him was to this
effect: SOCRATES OFFENDS AGAINST THE LAWS IN NOT
PAYING RESPECT 2 TO THOSE GODS WHOM THE CITY RE-
SPECTS, AND INTRODUCING OTHER NEW DEITIES; HE ALSO
OFFENDS AGAINST THE LAWS IN CORRUPTING THE YOUTH.
2 In the first place, that he did not respect the gods whom
Plato, in his Apology of Socrates, mentions his accusers by
name: Meletus, a bad author of tragedies and songs (see Aristoph.
Ran. 1302, and the Scholiast); Anytus, who was a tanner or currier,
as appears from Xen. Apol. sect. 29, illustrated by the industry of
Bornemann, p. 72, ed. 1824, and p. 350, ed. 1829; and Lyco, an ora-
tor, to whom allusion seems to be made in Aristoph. Vesp. 1301.
Kühner.
2 Οὐ νομίζων.] Νομίζειν θεοὺς is deos more publico (τῷ νόμῳ) receptos
colere. *
**Hence oi vεvoμioμévoi Deol are the gods publicly ac-
knowledged and worshipped. Kühner.
350
[B. 1.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
the city respects, what proof did they bring? For he was
seen frequently sacrificing at home, and frequently on the
public altars of the city; nor was it unknown that he used
divination; as it was a common subject of talk, that "Socrates
used to say that the divinity instructed him ;" and it was
from this circumstance, indeed, that they seem chiefly to have
derived the charge of introducing new deities. 3. He bow-
ever introduced nothing newer than those who, practising
divination, consult auguries, voices,¹ omens, and sacrifices; for
they do not imagine that birds, or people who meet them,
know what is advantageous for those seeking presages, but
that the gods, by their means, signify what will be so; and
such was the opinion that Socrates entertained. 4. Most
people say that they are diverted from an object, or prompted
to it, by birds, or by the people who meet them; but Socrates
spoke as he thought, for he said it was the divinity that was
his monitor. He also told many of his friends to do certain
things, and not to do others, intimating that the divinity had
forewarned him; and advantage attended those who obey-
ed his suggestions, but repentance, those who disregarded
them.
5. Yet who would not acknowledge that Socrates wished to
appear to his friends neither a fool nor a boaster? But he
would have seemed to be both, if, after saying that intima-
tions were given him by a god, he had then been proved
guilty of falsehood. It is manifest, therefore, that he would
have uttered no predictions, if he had not trusted that they
would prove true. But who, in such matters, would trust to
any one but a god? And how could he, who trusted the gods,
think that there were no gods?
2
¹ Þýμais.] Þýμn, an omen taken from the voices of men. See
Cicero de Div. i. 45. 102; where it is said that the Pythagoreans ob-
served not only the voices of the gods, but also those of men, and
called the signs from them omina. See Eustath. ad II. ', p. 799;
Xen. Apol. 12; Bornemann ad Apol. 18, p. 51, ed. 1824; Herbst
on Sympos. iv. 48, and on this passage. Kühner.
2 Πῶς οὐκ εἶναι θεοὺς ἐνόμιζεν ;] Xenophon here goes out of his
line of argument, and introduces a new point, which is not given
in the charge against Socrates as it stands in sect. 1. He there says
that Socrates was accused of introducing new gods, not of denying
that there were gods. Plato, in his Apology, p. 36, C., has made a
far more accurate distinction between these two points of accusa-
tion. Kühner. It is observable, that if eva were omitted, the ques
7
cí. 1.]
ON CONSULTING THE GODS.
351
6. He also acted towards his friends according to his con-
victions, for he recommended them to perform affairs of ne-
cessary consequence in such a manner as he thought that
they would be best managed; but concerning those of which
it was doubtful how they would terminate, he sent them to
take auguries whether they should be done or not. 7. Those
who would govern families or cities well, he said, had need of
divination; for to become skilful in architecture, or working in
brass, or agriculture, or in commanding men, or to become a
critic in any such arts,2 or a good reasoner, or a skilful regu-
lator of a household, or a well-qualified general, he considered
as wholly matters of learning, and left to the choice of the
human understanding; 8. but he said that the gods reserved
to themselves the most important particulars attending such
matters, of which nothing was apparent to men; for neither
was it certain to him who had sown his field well, who should
reap the fruit of it; nor certain to him who had built a house
well, who should inhabit it; nor certain to him who was skilled
in generalship, whether it would be for his advantage to act
as a general; nor certain to him who was versed in political
affairs, whether it would be for his profit to be at the head of
the state; nor certain to him who had married a beautiful wife
in hopes of happiness, whether he should not incur misery by
her means; nor certain to him who had acquired powerful
connexions in the state, whether he might not be banished by
them: 9. and those who thought that none of these things
depended on the gods, but that all were dependent on the
human understanding, he pronounced to be insane; as he also
pronounced those to be insane who had recourse to omens re-
specting matters which the gods had granted to men to dis
cover by the exercise of their faculties; as if, for instance, a
man should inquire whether it would be better to take for the
driver of his chariot, one who knows how to drive, or one
who does not know; or whether it would be better to place
tion would be in accordance with the accusation: "How could he,
who trusted in the gods, not pay respect to the gods?'
¹ Tà ȧvaykaĩa.] Things of which the event is certain, because
necessary, as Ernesti interprets. Schneider.
2 Τῶν τοιούτων ἔργων ἐξεταστικόν.] Εξεταστικός appears to signify
one who can point out the merits and defects in works, though he
himself could not execute anything better than what he criticises;
a man of theory, not of practice. Weiske.
352
B. I.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
over his ship one who knows how to steer it, or one who does
not know; or if men should ask respecting matters which
they may learn by counting, or measuring, or weighing; for
those who inquired of the gods concerning such matters he
thought guilty of impiety, and said that it was the duty of
men to learn whatever the gods had enabled them to do by
learning, and to try to ascertain from the gods by augury
whatever was obscure to men; as the gods always afford in-
formation to those to whom they are rendered propitious.
10. He was constantly in public, for he went in the morning
to the places for walking and the gymnasia; at the time when
the market was full he was to be seen there; and the rest of
the day he was where he was likely to meet the greatest
number of people; he was generally engaged in discourse,
and all who pleased were at liberty to hear him; 11. yet no
one ever either saw Socrates doing, or heard him saying, any-
thing impious or profane; for he did not dispute about the
nature of things as most other philosophers disputed,2 specu-
lating how that which is called by sophists the world was
produced, and by what necessary laws everything in the hea-
vens is effected, but endeavoured to show that those who chose
such objects of contemplation were foolish; 12. and used in
the first place to inquire of them whether they thought that
they already knew sufficient of human affairs, and therefore
proceeded to such subjects of meditation, or whether, when
they neglected human affairs entirely, and speculated on celes-
tial matters, they thought that they were doing what became
them. 13. He wondered, too, that it was not apparent to
them that it is impossible for man to satisfy himself on such
points, since even those who pride themselves most on dis-
cussing them, do not hold the same opinions one with another,
1 Πληθούσης ἀγορᾶς.] See note on Anab. i. 8. 1.
2 That Socrates used at times to discuss physical subjects, appears
from Xenophon himself, (see c. 4. and Symp. vi. 6,) as well as from
Plato's Apology and Phædo, c. 46, and Diog. Laert. ii. 45; but he
pursued a different method from that of other philosophers in such
discussions; for, abstaining from subtle and useless inquiries as to
the origin of things, the courses of the heavenly bodies, and other
obscure topics, he directed his inquiries to the consideration of the
divine power, the nature of man, the connexion of the human with
the divine nature, and the government of the world by divine
influence. Kühner.
CH. 1.]
ON THE PHILOSOPHERS.
353
but are, compared with each other, like madmen; 14. for of mad-
men some have no fear of what is to be feared, and others fear
what is not to be feared; some think it no shame to say or do
anything whatever before men, and others think that they
ought not to go among men at all; some pay no respect to
temple, or altar, or anything dedicated to the gods, and others
worship stones, and common stocks, and beasts: so of those
who speculate on the nature of the universe, some imagine
that all that exists is one, others that there are worlds infinite
in number; some that all things are in perpetual motion,
others that nothing is ever moved; some that all things are
generated and decay, and others that nothing is either gener-
ated or decays.
15. He would ask, also, concerning such philosophers,
whether, as those who have learned arts practised by men,
expect that they will be able to carry into effect what they
have learned, either for themselves, or for any one else whom
they may wish, so those who inquire into celestial things,
imagine that, when they have discovered by what laws every-
thing is effected, they will be able to produce, whenever they
please, wind, rain, changes of the seasons, and whatever else
of that sort they may desire, or whether they have no such
expectation, but are content merely to know how everything
of that nature is generated. 16. Such were the observations
which he made about those who busied themselves in such
speculations; but for himself, he would hold discourse, from
time to time, on what concerned mankind, considering what
was pious, what impious; what was becoming, what unbe-
coming; what was just, what unjust; what was sanity,
what insanity; what was fortitude, what cowardice; what a
state was, and what the character of a statesman; what was
the nature of government over men, and the qualities of one
skilled in governing them; and touching on other subjects,
with which he thought that those who were acquainted were
men of worth and estimation, but that those who were ignor
ant of them might justly be deemed no better than slaves.
17. As to those matters, then, on which Socrates gave no
intimation what his sentiments were, it is not at all wonderful
that his judges should have decided erroneously concerning
him; but is it not wonderful that they should have taken no
account of such things as all men knew? 18. For when he
VOL I.
2 s
354
| B. 1.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
was a member of the senate, and had taken the senator's oath,
in which it was expressed that he would vote in accordance
with the laws, he, being president in the assembly of the
people when they were eager to put to death Thrasyllus,
Erasinides, and all the nine generals, by a single vote con-
trary to the law, refused,¹ though the multitude were en-
raged at him, and many of those in power uttered threats
against him, to put the question to the vote, but considered it
of more importance to observe his oath than to gratify the
people contrary to what was right, or to seek safety against
those who menaced him; 19. for he thought that the gods
paid regard to men, not in the way in which some people
suppose, who imagine that the gods know some things and do
not know others, but he considered that the gods know all
things, both what is said, what is done, and what is medi-
tated in silence, and are present everywhere, and give ad-
monitions to men concerning everything human.
20. I wonder, therefore, how the Athenians were ever per-
suaded that Socrates had not right sentiments concerning the
gods; a man who never said or did anything impious towards
the gods, but spoke and acted in such a manner with respect
to them, that any other who had spoken and acted in the same
manner, would have been, and have been considered, emi-
nently pious.
CHAPTER II.
Reply to the other charge against Socrates. He did not corrupt the youth, for
his whole teaching dissuaded them from vice, and encouraged them to tem-
perance and virtue of every kind, sect. 1-8. He exhorted them to obey
the laws, 9-11. If Critias and Alcibiades, who listened to his discourses,
became corrupt, the fault was not his, 12-28; he endeavoured to reclaim
them, till they deserted him; and others, who resigned themselves wholly
to his instructions, became virtuous and honourable men, 28-48. Other
frivolous assertions refuted, 49-60. His benevolence, disinterestedness,
and general merits, 61-64.
1. Ir also seems wonderful to me, that any should have
been persuaded that Socrates corrupted the youth; Socrates,
who, in addition to what has been said of him, was not only
¹ See Xen. Hell. i. 7, especially sect. 15.
CH. 2.]
PRINCIPLES AND HABITS OF SOCRATES.
355
the most rigid of all men in the government of his passions
and appetites, but also most able to withstand cold, heat, and
every kind of labour; and, besides, so inured to frugality, that,
though he possessed very little, he very easily made it a suffi-
ciency. 2. How, then, being of such a character himself,
could he have rendered others impious, or lawless, or luxuri-
ous, or incontinent, or too effeminate to endure labour? On
the contrary, he restrained many of them from such vices,
leading them to love virtue, and giving them hopes, that if
they would take care of themselves, they would become hon-
ourable and worthy characters. 3. Not indeed that he ever
professed to be an instructor in that way, but, by showing
that he was himself such a character, he made those in his
society hope that, by imitating him, they would become such
as he was.
4. Of the body he was not neglectful, nor did he commend
those who were. He did not approve that a person should
eat to excess, and then use immoderate exercise, but recom-
mended that he should work off, by a proper degree of exer-
cise, as much as the appetite received with pleasure; for such a
habit, he said, was peculiarly conducive to health, and did not
prevent attention to the mind. 5. He was not, however, fine
or ostentatious in his clothes or sandals, or in any of his
habits of life; yet he did not make those about him lovers of
money,¹ for he checked them in this as well as other passions,
and asked no remuneration from those who desired his com-
pany. 6. By refraining from such demand, he thought that
he consulted his liberty, and called those who took money for
their discourses their own enslavers, since they must of neces-
sity hold discussions with those from whom they received
pay. 7. He expressed wonder, too, that any one who pro-
fessed to teach virtue, should demand money, and not think
that he gained the greatest profit in securing a good friend,
but fear that he whom he had made an honourable and
worthy character would not retain the greatest gratitude
towards his greatest benefactor. 8. Socrates, indeed, never
expressed so much to any one; yet he believed that those of
his associates who imbibed what he approved, would be always
good friends both to himself and to each other. How then
Though he was not extravagant, he was not avaricious; nor
had his conversation a tendency to make others avaricious.
2 A 2
356
[B. I.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
could a man of such a character corrupt the young, unless,
indeed, the study of virtue be corruption?
""
9. "But assuredly," said the accuser, "he caused those who
conversed with him to despise the established laws, by saying
how foolish it was to elect the magistrates of a state by beans,¹
when nobody would be willing to take a pilot elected by
beans, or an architect, or a flute-player,2 or a person in any
other profession, which, if erroneously exercised, would cause
far less harm than errors in the administration of a state;
and declared that "such remarks excited the young to con-
temn the established form of government, and disposed them
to acts of violence." 10. But I think that young men who
exercise their understanding, and expect to become capable
of teaching their fellow-citizens what is for their interest,
grow by no means addicted to violence, knowing that on
violence attend enmity and danger, but that, by persuasion,
the same results are attained without peril, and with good-
will; for those who are compelled by us, hate us as if despoiled
of something, while those who are persuaded by us, love us
as if they had received a favour. It is not the part, there-
fore, of those who cultivate the intellect to use violence; for
to adopt such a course belongs to those who possess brute
force without intellect. 11. Besides, he who would venture
to use force, had need of no small number of allies, but he
who can succeed with persuasion, has need of none, for,
though left alone, he would think himself still able to persuade;
and it by no means belongs to such men to shed blood, for
who would wish to put another man to death rather than to
have him as a living subject persuaded to obey?
<<
12. But," said the accuser, "Critias and Alcibiades, after
having been associates of Socrates, inflicted a great number
of evils on the state; for Critias was the most avaricious and
violent of all that composed the oligarchy, and Alcibiades
was the most intemperate, insolent, and turbulent of all those
in the democracy. 13. For whatever evil they did the state,
I shall make no apology; but as to their intimacy with
""
''Аñò кváμoν.] Black and white beans were used in voting for
the magistrates at Athens.
2 Mnd avλnrý.] These words, which occur in the texts of Weiske,
Schneider, and all others that I have seen, are omitted by Kühner;
perhaps inadvertently.
CH. 2.]
CRITIAS AND ALCIBIADES.
357
Socrates, I will state how it took place. 14. These two men
were by nature the most ambitious of all the Athenians, and
wished that everything should be done by their means, and that
they themselves should become the most celebrated of all men.
But they knew that Socrates lived with the utmost content-
ment on very small means, that he was most abstinent from
every kind of pleasure, and that he swayed those with whom
he conversed just as he pleased by his arguments; 15. and,
seeing such to be the case, and being such characters as they
have just been stated to be, whether will any one say that
they sought his society from a desire to lead such a life as
Socrates led, and to practise such temperance as he practised,
or from an expectation that, if they associated with him, they
would become eminently able to speak and act? 16. I myself,
indeed, am of opinion, that if a god had given them their
choice, whether they would live their whole lives as they
saw Socrates living, or die, they would have chosen rather to
die; and they showed this disposition by what they did; for
as soon as they considered themselves superior to their asso-
ciates, they at once started away from Socrates, and engaged
in political life, to qualify themselves for which they had
sought the society of Socrates.
1
17. Perhaps some one may observe on this point, that
Socrates should not have taught his followers politics before
he taught them self-control. To this remark I make no reply
at present; but I see that all teachers make themselves
examples to their pupils how far they practise what they
teach, and stimulate them by precepts; 1s. and I know that
Socrates made himself an example to those who associated
with him as a man of honourable and excellent character,
and that he discoursed admirably concerning virtue and other
things that concern mankind. I know, too, that those men
exercised self-control as long as they conversed with Socrates,
not from fear lest they should be fined or beaten by him, but
from a persuasion at the time that it was best to observe such
conduct.
19. Perhaps, however, many of those who profess to be
philosophers, may say that a man once just, can never become
unjust, or once modest, immodest; and that, with regard to
1 Xenophon leaves this point for the present, intending to reply
to it in iv. 3. Kühner.
358
[B. I.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
any other qualification, (among such as can be taught,) he
who has once learned it can never become ignorant of it.
But regarding such points I am not of that opinion; for I see
that as those who do not exercise the body, cannot perform
what is proper to the body, so those who do not exercise the
mind, cannot perform what is proper to the mind; for they
can neither do that which they ought to do, nor refrain from
that from which they ought to refrain. 20. For which reason
fathers keep their sons, though they be of a virtuous disposi-
tion, from the society of bad men, in the belief that associa-
tion with the good is an exercise of virtue, but that association
with the bad is the destruction of it. One of the poets also
bears testimony to this truth, who says,
Εσθλῶν μὲν γὰρ ἄπ᾽ ἐσθλὰ διδάξεαι· ἣν δὲ κακοῖσι
Συμμίσγῃς, ἀπολεῖς καὶ τὸν ἐόντα νόον.
From good men you will learn what is good; but if you associate
with the bad, you will lose the understanding which is in you.¹
And another, who observes,
Αὐτὰρ ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς τότε μὲν κακὸς, ἄλλοτε δ᾽ ἐσθλός.
A good man is at one time good, and at another bad.
21. I also concur with them; for I see that as people forget
metrical compositions when they do not practise the repetition
of them, so forgetfulness of precepts of instruction is produced
in those who neglect them. But where a person forgets
moral admonitions, he forgets also what the mind felt when it
had a desire for self-government; and, when he forgets this,
it is not at all wonderful that he forgets self-government also.
22. I see, too, that those who are given up to a fondness for
drinking, and those who have fallen in love, are less able to
attend to what they ought to do, and to refrain from what
they ought not to do; for many, who can be frugal in their
expenses before they fall in love, are, after falling in love,
unable to continue so; and, when they have exhausted their
resources, they no longer abstain from means of gain from
which they previously shrunk as thinking them dishonourable.
23. How is it impossible, then, that he who has once had a
¹ This distich is taken from Theognis, v. 35, 36. That Socrates
was fond of quoting it, appears also from Xen. Symp. ii. 4, and
Plato, Menon, p. 95, D. Whence the following verse is taken is
unknown. Kühner.
1
CH. 2.
BLAMELESSNESS OF SOCRATES.
359
control over himself, may afterwards cease to maintain it, and
that he who was once able to observe justice, may subsequently
become unable? To me everything honourable and good
seems to be maintained by exercise, and self-control not the
least; for sensual desires, generated in the same body with
the soul, are constantly exciting it to abandon self-control,
and to gratify themselves and the body as soon as possible.
24. Critias and Alcibiades, then, as long as they associated
with Socrates, were able, with the assistance of his example, to
maintain a mastery over their immoral inclinations; but,
when they were separated from him, Critias, fleeing to Thes-
saly, formed connexions there with men who practised dis-
honesty rather than justice; and Alcibiades also, being sought
by many women, even of high rank, for his beauty, and being
corrupted by many men, who were well able to seduce him by
their flattery, on account of his influence in the city and
among the allies, and being also honoured by the people, and
easily obtaining the pre-eminence among them, became like
the wrestlers in the gymnastic games, who, when they are
fairly superior to others, neglect their exercise; so he grew
neglectful of self-control. 25. When such was their for-
tune, and when they were proud of their birth, elated with
their wealth, puffed up with their power, corrupted by many
associates, demoralized by all these means, and long absent
from Socrates, what wonder is it if they became headstrong?
26. And then, if they did anything wrong, does the accuser
blame Socrates for it? and does Socrates seem to the accuser
deserving of no praise, for having, when they were young, and
when it is likely that they were most inconsiderate and in-
tractable, rendered them discreet? 27. Yet other affairs are
not judged of in such a way; for what flute-player, or what
teacher of the harp, or what other instructor, if he produces
competent pupils, and if they, attaching themselves to other
masters, become less skilful, is blamed for their deterioration?
Or what father, if his son, while he associated with one man,
should be virtuous, but afterwards, on uniting himself to
some other person, should become vicious, would blame the
former of the two? would he not rather, the more corrupt
his son became with the second, bestow the greater praise on
the first? Not even parents themselves, when they have their
sons in their society, are blamed if their sons do anything
360
[B. I.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
wrong, provided they themselves are correct in their conduct.
28. In the same manner it would be right to judge of Socrates;
if he had done anything immoral, he would justly be thought
to be a bad man; but if he constantly observed morality, how
can he reasonably bear the blame of vice which was not in
him?
29. Or even if he himself did nothing wrong, but com-
mended others when he saw them doing wrong, he would
justly be censured. When he perceived, however, that Critias
was enamoured of Euthydemus, and was seeking to have the
enjoyment of his society, like those who abuse the persons of
others for licentious purposes, he dissuaded him from his in-
tention, by saying that it was illiberal, and unbecoming a man
of honour and proper feeling, to offer supplications to the ob-
ject of his affections, with whom he wished to be held in high
esteem, beseeching and entreating him, like a beggar, to grant
a favour, especially when such favour was for no good end.
30. But as Critias paid no regard to such remonstrances, and
was not diverted from his pursuit, it is said that Socrates, in
the presence of many others as well as of Euthydemus, observed
that "Critias seemed to him to have some feeling like that of
a pig, as he wished to rub against Euthydemus as swine
against stones." 31. Critias, in consequence, conceived such
a hatred to Socrates, that when he was one of the Thirty
Tyrants, and was appointed a law-maker with Charicles, he
remembered the circumstance to his disadvantage, and insert-
ed in his laws that "none should teach the art of disputa-
tion," intending an insult to Socrates, yet not knowing how
to affect him in particular, but laying to his charge what was
imputed to the philosophers by the multitude,2 and calumni-
ating him to the people; at least such is my opinion; for I
myself never heard this from Socrates, nor do I remember
having known any one say that he heard it from him.
32.
I See Hellen. ii. 3. 2. Of the Thirty, Charicles alone is here
named, besides Critias the chief of them, because, by conspiring
with Critias and a few of the others, he afterwards acquired great
authority and power in the state. Kühner. The law here mentioned
was abrogated after the expulsion of the Thirty Tyrants. See
Potter's Antiquities of Greece, vol. i. c. 25.
2 The common charge brought by the multitude against the phi-
losophers and sophists, was, that they endeavoured to "make the
worse appear the better reason: τὸν ἥττω λόγον κρείττω ποιεῖν.
رهج
CH. 2.]
ENMITY TOWARDS SOCRATES.
361
But Critias showed that such was the case; for when the
Thirty had put to death many of the citizens, and those not
of the inferior class, and had encouraged many to acts of injus-
tice,¹ Socrates happened to observe, that "it seemed surprising
to him if a man, becoming herdsman of a number of cattle, and
rendering the cattle fewer and in worse condition, should not
confess that he was a bad herdsman, and still more surprising
if a man, becoming governor of a city, and rendering the peo-
ple fewer and in worse condition, should not feel ashamed, and
be conscious of being a bad governor of the city." 33. This
remark being repeated to the Thirty, Critias and Charicles
summoned Socrates before them, showed him the law, and
forbade him to hold discourse with the youth. Socrates in-
quired of them, if he might be permitted to ask a question as to
any point in the prohibitions that might not be understood by
him. They gave him permission. 34. "Then," said he, "I am
prepared to obey the laws; but that I may not unconsciously
transgress through ignorance, I wish to ascertain exactly
from you, whether it is because you think that the art of
reasoning is an auxiliary to what is rightly spoken,2 or to
what is not rightly spoken, that you give command to abstain
from it; for if it be an adjunct to what is rightly spoken, it
is plain that we have to abstain from speaking rightly; but if
to what is not rightly spoken, it is plain that we ought to en-
deavour to speak rightly.' 35. Charicles, falling into a
passion with him, said, "Since, Socrates, you are ignorant of
this particular, we give you an order more easy to be under-
stood, not to discourse at all with the young."
"That it may
not be doubtful, then," said Socrates, "whether I do anything
contrary to what is enjoined, define for me till what age I
must consider men to be young." "As long," replied Chari-
cles, "as they are not allowed to fill the office of senator, as
not being yet come to maturity of understanding; and do not
¹ See Plato's Apology of Socrates, c. 20: Oia di rai äλoig ikɛīvoi
πολλοῖς πολλὰ προσέταττον, βουλόμενοι ὡς πλείστους ἀναπλῆσαι αἰτιων.
2 Σὺν τοῖς ὀρθῶς λεγομένοις εἶναι.] That is, "that the art of
speaking supports what is rightly said; for σύν τινι εἶναι signifes
alicui auxilio esse. See my Gr. Gr. vol. ii. § 601. Kühner. Schneider
took our for iv, giving the passage the meaning of inter illa quæ
rectè dicuntur, which is, as Weiske says, a forced sense of ov, but
which, it must be confessed, suits very well with the sequel of the
question put by Socrates.
362
[B. I.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
discourse with such as are under thirty years of age." 36. "And
if I wish to buy anything," said Socrates, "and a person under
thirty years of age has it for sale, may I not ask him at what
price he sells it?" "Yes, such questions as these," replied.
Charicles, "but you are accustomed to ask most of your ques-
tions about things, when you know very well how they stand;
such questions, therefore, do not ask."
"If then any young
man,” said he, "should ask me such a question as 'where does
Charicles live?' or 'where is Critias?' may I not answer
him, if I know ?" "Yes, you may answer such questions,”
said Charicles. 37. "But," added Critias, "it will be necessary
for you to abstain from speaking of those shoemakers,¹ and
carpenters, and smiths; indeed I think that they must now be
worn out, from being so often in your mouth.” "I must
therefore," said Socrates, "abstain from the illustrations that
I attach to the mention of those people, illustrations on jus-
tice, piety, and other such subjects. "Yes, by Jupiter,"
retorted Charicles, "and you must abstain from illustrations
caken from herdsmen; for, if you do not, take care lest you
yourself make the cattle fewer." 2 38. Hence it was evident
that they were angry with Socrates on account of his remark
about the cattle having been reported to them.
39.
What sort of intercourse Critias had with Socrates, and
how they stood towards each other, has now been stated.
But I would say that no regular training is derived by any
one from a teacher who does not please him; and Critias and
Alcibiades did not associate with Socrates, while their associ-
ation with him lasted, as being an instructor that pleased them,
but they were, from the very first, eager to be at the head of
the state, for, while they still attended Socrates, they sought
to converse with none more than with those who were most
1 Απέχεσθαι τῶν σκυτέων, κ. τ. λ.] A brief mode of expression
for "to abstain from drawing illustrations from those shoemakers,'
&c. Socrates, in his conversation, was accustomed to illustrate
or support his precepts and opinions by examples taken from full-
ers, leather-cutters, potters, and other artisans; a mode of lectur-
ing quite the reverse of that of the sophists, who sought to dazzle
or delight the minds of their hearers, by the splendour and magnifi-
cence of their illustrations, and the grandiloquence of their speeches,
and derided the method of Socrates as common, trite, and mean
See b. iv. 4. 5; Plato, Symp. p. 221, E; Gorg. 491, A. ´ Kühner.
2 By losing your own life.
CH. 2.]
WHAT A LAW IS.
41.
363
engaged in affairs of government. 40. Alcibiades, it is said,
before he was twenty years of age, held the following dis-
course with Pericles, who was his guardian, and chief ruler of
the state, about laws. "Tell me," said he, “Pericles, can
you teach me what a law is." "Certainly," replied Pericles.
"Teach me then, in the name of the gods," said Alcibiades,
"for I, hearing some persons praised as being obedient to the
laws, consider that no one can fairly obtain such praise who
does not know what a law is." 42. "You desire no very
difficult matter, Alcibiades," said Pericles, "when you wish
to know what a law is; for all those regulations are laws,
which the people, on meeting together and approving them,
have enacted, directing what we should do and what we should
not do.” “And whether do they direct that we should do good
things, or that we should do bad things?" " Good, by Jupiter,
my child," said he, "but bad by no means." 43. "And if it
should not be the whole people, but a few, as where there is
an oligarchy, that should meet together, and enact what we
are to do, what are such enactments?" " Everything," replied
Pericles, "which the supreme power in the state,.on determin-
ing what the people ought to do, has enacted, is called a law."
"And if a tyrant, holding rule over the state, prescribes to
the citizens what they must do, is such prescription called a
law." "Whatever a tyrant in authority prescribes," returned
Pericles, "is also called a law." 44. "What then, Pericles,"
asked Alcibiades, "is force and lawlessness? Is it not when
the stronger obliges the weaker, not by persuasion, but by
compulsion, to do what he pleases?" "So it appears to me,
replied Pericles. "Whatever then a tyrant compels the
people to do, by enacting it without gaining their consent, is
that an act of lawlessness?" " Yes," said Pericles, "it appears
to me that it is, for I retract my admission that what a tyrant
prescribes to the people without persuading them, is a law."
"But what the few enact, not from gaining the consent of
the many, but from having superior power, should we say that
that is force, or that it is not?” Everything," said Peri-
cles, “which one man obliges another to do without gaining
45.
CC
1
¹ 'Avari‡epai.] A metaphorical expression from the game of
πεττοὶ οι calculi, in which ἀναθεῖναι πεττοὺς is to replace or re-
arrange the calculi, after discovering that one or more of them are
misplaced. Kühner. See Suidas sub voce avadiodai.
364
[B. I.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
47.
his consent, whether he enact it in writing or not, seems to
me to be force rather than law." "Whatever, then, the whole
people, when they are stronger than the wealthier class, enact
without their consent, would be an act of force rather than a
law?" 46. "Certainly, Alcibiades," said Pericles; "and I,
when I was of your age, was very acute at such disquisitions ;
for we used to meditate and argue about such subjects as
you now appear to meditate." "Would therefore," said Alci-
biades, "that I had conversed with you, Pericles, at the time
when you were most acute in discussing such topics!"
When Alcibiades and Critias, therefore, began to think them-
selves superior to those who were then governing the state,
they no longer attended Socrates, (for he was not agreeable
to them in other respects, and they were offended, if they
went to him at all, at being reproved for any error that they
had committed,) but devoted themselves to political employ-
ments, with a view to which they had at first associated with
Socrates. 48. But Crito was also an attendant on Socrates,
as well as Cherephon, Chærecrates, Hermocrates, Simmias,
Cebes, and Phædondes, who, with others that attended him,
did not seek his society that they might be fitted for popular
orators or forensic pleaders, but that, becoming honourable
and good men, they might conduct themselves irreproachably
towards their families, connexions, dependants, and friends,
as well as towards their country and their fellow-citizens;
and no one of all these, whether in youth or at a more
advanced age, either was guilty, or was accused, of any
crime.
1
49. "But Socrates," said the accuser, "taught children to
show contempt for their parents, persuading his followers that
he rendered them wiser than their fathers, and observing that a
son was allowed by the law to confine his father on convicting
him of being deranged, using that circumstance as an argu-
ment that it was lawful for the more ignorant to be confined
by the wiser." 50. But what Socrates said was, that he
1 Пρоπηλαкílεiv.] See Apolog. sect. 20, and Aristoph. Nub. 1407,
where Phidippides is introduced, as a disciple of Socrates, beating
his father with a stick, and proving that he was right in doing so.
Προπηλακίζειν
Пρоπηλαкíε is properly stercore aliquem inquinare; treatment to
which they were subjected who were punished with arquía: but it
was at length applied to every kind of insult. See Bremi ad
Demosth. de Cor. p. 229. Kühner.
•
CH. 2.] IIS CONDUCT TOWARDS THE YOUTH.
365
thought he who confined another for ignorance, might justly
be himself confmed by those who knew what he did not know;
and, with a view to such cases, he used to consider in what
respect ignorance differed from madness, and expressed his
opinion that madmen might be confined with advantage to
themselves and their friends, but that those who did not know
what they ought to know, might reasonably learn from those
who did know.
52.
51. "But Socrates," proceeded the accuser, "not only
caused parents, but other relations, to be held in contempt by
his followers, saying that relatives, as relatives, were of no
profit to people who were sick, or to people going to law, but
that physicians aided the one, and lawyers the other."
The accuser asserted, too, that Socrates said concerning
friends that "it was of no profit that they were well-disposed,
unless they were able also to assist; and that he insisted that
those only were deserving of honour who knew what was for
the advantage of others and could make it intelligible to
them; and that by thus persuading the young that he himself
was the wisest of mankind, and most capable of making others
wise, he so disposed his pupils towards him, that other people
were of no account with them in comparison with himself."
53. I am aware, indeed, that he did express himself concern-
ing parents and other relatives, and concerning friends, in
such a manner as this; and used to say, besides, that when
the soul has departed, in which alone intelligence exists, men
take away the body of their dearest friend, and put it out of
sight as soon as possible. 54. He was accustomed to say, also,
that every man, while he is alive, removes of himself from
his own body, which he loves most of all things, and allows
others to remove from it, everything that is useless and un-
profitable; since men themselves take off portions of their nails,
and hair, and callous parts, and resign themselves to surgeons
to cut and burn them with labour and pain, and think it their
duty even to pay them money for their operations; and the
saliva from the mouth, he said, men spit away as far as pos-
sible, because, while it is in the mouth, it profits them nothing,
but is far more likely to harm them. 55. But such observa-
tions Socrates uttered, not to teach any one of his followers
to bury his father alive, or to cut himself to pieces, but, by
showing that what is senseless is worthless, he exhorted each to
366
B. L
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
study to become as intelligent and useful as possible, so that,
whether he wished to be honoured by his father, by his
brother, or by any one else, he might not be neglectful of
himself through trusting to his relationship, but might endea-
vour to be serviceable to those by whom he desired to be
respected.
56. The accuser also said that Socrates, selecting the worst
passages of the most celebrated poets, and using them as
arguments, taught those who kept him company to be un-
principled and tyrannical. The verse of Hesiod, for example,
Εργον δ᾽ οὐδὲν ὄνειδος, ἀεργίη δὲ ὄνειδος,
Work is no disgrace, but idleness is a disgrace,¹
they say that he used to explain as intimating that the poet
bids us abstain from no kind of work, dishonest or dishonour-
able, but to do such work for the sake of profit. 57. But
when Socrates maintained that to be busy was useful and
beneficial for a man, and that to be unemployed was noxious
and ill for him, that to work was a good, and to be idle an
evil, he at the same time observed that those only who do
something good really work, and are useful workmen, but
those who gamble, or do anything bad and pernicious, he
called idle; and in this view the sentiment of the poet will
be unobjectionable,
Work is no disgrace, but idleness is a disgrace.
2
58. That passage of Homer, too, the accuser stated that he
often used to quote, in which it is said that Ulysses,
Whatever king or eminent hero he found,
Stood beside him, and detained him with gentle words:
"Illustrious chief, it is not fit that you should shrink back as a
coward;
Sit down yourself, and make the rest of the people sit down."
But whatever man of the people he noticed, and found clamouring,
He struck him with his staff, and rebuked him with words:
"Worthless fellow, sit down in peace, and hear the exhortations
of others,
1 Not toil, but sloth, shall ignominious be.-Elton.
The enemies of Socrates insinuated that he joined ovdiv, not with
its proper substantive övados, but with pyov, making the sense to
be
no work is disgraceful.
2 Compare iii. 9. 9.
""
CH. 2.
HIS PHILANTHROPY.
367
Who are much better than you; for you are unwarlike and power-
less,
Neither to be numbered in the field nor in the council." !
60.
59. And he said that he used to explain it as if the poet re-
commended that plebeians and poor people should be beaten.
Socrates, however, said no such thing, (for he would thus
have given an opinion that he himself ought to be beaten,)
but what he did say was, that those who benefited others
neither by word nor deed, and who were incapable of serving
the army, or the state, or the common people, if they should
ever be called upon to serve, should, especially if, in addition
to their incapacity, they were of an insolent spirit, be curbed
in every way, even though they might be ever so rich.
But, contrary to the charge of the accuser, Socrates was
evidently a friend to the common people, and of a liberal dis-
position; for though he received numbers of persons desirous
to hear him discourse, as well citizens as foreigners, he never
required payment for his communications from any one, but
imparted to every one in abundance from his stores, of which
some receiving fragments from him for nothing, sold them
at a great price to others, and were not, like him, friends to
the common people, for they declined to converse with such as
had not money to give them. 61. But Socrates, in the eyes of
other men, conferred glory on the city, far more than Lichas,
who was celebrated in this respect, on that of the Lacedæ-
monians; for Lichas indeed entertained the strangers that
visited Lacedæmon at the Gymnopædiæ,3 but Socrates, through
1 Il. ii. 188, seqz.
·
Each prince of name, or chief in arms approv'd,
He fir'd with praise, or with persuasion mov'd;
Warriors like you, with strength and wisdom blest,
By brave examples should confirm the rest.
But if a clamorous, vile plebeian rose,
Him with reproof he check'd, or tam'd with blows:
Be still, thou slave, and to thy betters yield,
Unknown alike in council and in field.-Pope.
2 Xenophon alludes to other hearers of Socrates, but especially
to Aristippus, who was the first of the Socratic philosophers that
taught for hire. Ruhnken. See Diog. Laert. ii. 65.
3 A festival at Sparta, which lasted for several days during the
month of Hecatombæon, and in which dances were performed by
youths in honour of Apollo, Diana, and Latona. It was partly in-
tended to celebrate the victory of the Spartans over the Argives at
368
[B. I.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
the whole course of his life, freely imparted whatever he had
to bestow, and thus benefited in the highest degree all who
were willing to receive from him, making those who asso-
ciated with him better before he let them go.
62. To me, therefore, Socrates, being a man of such a
character, appeared to be worthy of honour rather than of
death; and any one, considering his case according to the
laws, would find such to be the fact; for, by the laws, death
is the punishment for a man if he be found stealing, or strip-
ping people of their clothes, or cutting purses, or house-
breaking, or kidnapping, or sacrilege, of which crimes So-
crates was the most innocent of all men. 63. Nor was he ever
the cause of any war ending unfortunately for the state, or
of any sedition or treachery; nor did he ever, in his private
transactions, either deprive any man of what was for his good,
or involve him in evil; nor did he ever lie under suspicior
of
any of the crimes which I have mentioned.
64. How then could he have been guilty of the charges
brought against him? a man who, instead of not acknowledg-
ing the gods, as was stated in the indictment, evidently paid
respect to the gods more than other men; and instead of cor-
rupting the youth, as the accuser laid to his charge, plainly
led such of his associates as had vicious inclinations, to cease
from indulging them, and exhorted them to cherish a love of
that most honourable and excellent virtue, by which men
successfully govern states and families. How then, pursuing
such a course of conduct, was he not deserving of great
honour from the city?
CHAPTER III.
Confirmation of the character of Socrates given in the preceding chapters.
He worshipped the gods, and exhorted others to worship them, sect. 1.
His notions how the gods were to be supplicated, 2. His judgment as to
what was acceptable to them in a sacrifice, 3. His regard for omens, 4.
His observance of temperance, and recommendation of it to others, 5-15.
1. BUT to show how he appeared to improve those whe
associated with him, partly by showing them what his
Thyrea. See Smith's Dictionary of Gr. and Rom. Ant. art.
Γυμνοπαιδία.
CH. 3.]
IIS RESPECT FOR THE GODS.
369
character was, and partly by his conversation, I shall record
whatever I can remember of him relating to these points.
As to what had reference to the gods, then, he evidently
acted and spoke in conformity with the answer which the
priestess of Apollo gives to those who inquire how they ought
to proceed with regard to a sacrifice, to the worship of their
ancestors, or to any such matter; for the priestess replies that
they will act piously, if they act in agreement with the law of
their country; and Socrates both acted in this manner him-
self, and exhorted others to act similarly; and such as acted
in any other way he regarded as doing what was not to the
purpose,¹ and guilty of folly.
2. To the gods he simply prayed that they would give him
good things, as believing that the gods knew best what things
are good; and those who prayed for gold, or silver, or
dominion, or anything of that kind, he considered to utter
no other sort of requests than if they were to pray that they
might play at dice, or fight, or do anything else of which it
is quite uncertain what the result will be.
3. When he offered small sacrifices from his small means,
he thought that he was not at all inferior in merit to those
who offered numerous and great sacrifices from ample and
abundant means; for he said that it would not become the
gods to delight in large rather than in small sacrifices; since,
if such were the case, the offerings of the bad would often-
times be more acceptable to them than those of the good; nor
would life be of any account in the eyes of men, if oblations
from the bad were better received by the gods than oblations
from the good; but he thought that the gods had most plea-
sure in the offerings of the most pious. He also used to quote,
with approbation, the verse,
Κάδ' δύναμιν δ' ἔρδειν ἵερ' ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι,
Perform sacrifices to the gods according to your ability,
and used to say that it was a good exhortation to men, with
regard to friends, and guests, and all other relations of life,
to perform according to their ability.
4. If anything appeared to be intimated to him from the
gods, he could no more have been persuaded to act contrary
1
Пeppуove.] Doing what was superfluous; not adhering, as
they ought, to what was prescribed by law.
VOL. I.
27
370
[B. I.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
to such intimation, than any one could have persuaded him
to take for his guide on a journey a blind man, or one who
did not know the way, instead of one who could see, and did
know it; and he condemned the folly of others, who act con-
trary to what is signified by the gods, through anxiety to
avoid the ill opinion of men. As for himself, he undervalued
everything human, in comparison with counsel from the
gods.1
5. He disciplined his mind and body by such a course of
life, that he who should adopt a similar one, would, if no
supernatural influence prevented, live in good spirits and un-
interrupted health; nor would he ever be in want of the
necessary expenses for it. So frugal was he, that I do not
know whether any one could earn so little by the labour of
his hands, as not to procure sufficient to have satisfied So-
crates. He took only so much food as he could eat with a
keen relish; and, to this end, he came to his meals2 so dis-
posed that the appetite for his meat was the sauce to it.
Every kind of drink was agreeable to him, because he never
drank unless he was thirsty. 6. If he ever complied with an
invitation to go to a feast, he very easily guarded, what is
extremely difficult to most men, against loading his stomach
to excess. Those who were unable to do so, he advised to be
cautious of taking anything that would stimulate them to eat
when they were not hungry, and to drink when they were
not thirsty; for he said that those were the things that dis-
ordered the stomach, the head, and the mind; 7. and he used
to say, in jest, that he thought Circe transformed men into
swine, by entertaining them with abundance of such luxuries,
but that Ulysses, through the admonition of Mercury, and
through being himself temperate, and forbearing to partake of
such delicacies to excess, was in consequence not changed into
a swine.
1 Schneider thinks that some clause is wanting here, to connect
this paragraph with what follows. Kühner supposes that Xeno-
phon, in passing from the duties of men towards the gods to their
duties towards themselves and their fellow-creatures, hardly thought
any connecting observation necessary.
66
2 Ἐπὶ τούτῳ οὕτω παρεσκευασμένος ήει.] Kühner prefers ἐπὶ τούτῳ,
on this account, with this view," understanding ri oror with yes.
Schneider has ἐπὶ τοῦτον, from a conjecture of Reiske. Ἐπὶ τούτῳ
is supported by alınost all the manuscripts
cu. 3.]
EXHORTATIONS TO SELF-CONTROL.
371
s. Such jests he would utter on these subjects, but with an
earnest meaning. As to love, his counsel was to abstain
rigidly from familiarity with beautiful persons; for he ob-
served that it was not easy to be in communication with such
persons, and observe continence. Hearing, on one occasion,
that Critobulus, the son of Criton, had kissed the son of Alci-
biades,¹ a handsome youth, he asked Xenophon, in the pre-
sence of Critobulus, saying, "Tell me, Xenophon, did you not
think that Critobulus was one of the modest rather than the
forward, one of the thoughtful rather than of the thoughtless
and inconsiderate?" 9. "Certainly," replied Xenophon. "You
must now, then, think him extremely headstrong and daring;
one who would even spring upon drawn swords, and leap into
the fire." 10. "And what," said Xenophon, "have you seen him
doing, that you form so unfavourable an opinion of him?
Why, has he not dared," rejoined Socrates, "to kiss the son
of Alcibiades, a youth extremely handsome, and in the flower
of his age?" "If such a deed," returned Xenophon, "is one
of daring and peril, I think that even I could undergo such
peril." 11. Unhappy man!" exclaimed Socrates, "and what
do you think that you incur by kissing a handsome person?
Do you not expect to become at once a slave instead of a free-
man? To spend much money upon hurtful pleasures? To
have too much occupation to attend to anything honourable
and profitable? And to be compelled to pursue what not
even a madman would pursue?" 12. "By Hercules," said
Xenophon, "what extraordinary power you represent to be
in a kiss! "Do you wonder at this?" rejoined Socrates;
are you not aware that the Tarantula,2 an insect not as large
66
66
66
The various opinions of critics on this passage have been con-
sidered by Cobet, Prosop. p. 59-69, who conjectures that we
should read Toy Toỡ 'Ažiójov viór, "the son of Axiochus," named
Clinias. Kühner.
2
Paλáyyia.] Insects similar in form to scorpions or spiders, of
which the most venomous and destructive are found in Italy, and
are called Tarantule, from Tarentum. Concerning the madness said
to be caused by their bite, sensible men entertain doubts in the
present day. Weiske. The comparison of it to the half obolus
shows at once the shape and smallness of the insect. Schneider.
Kircher, in his Musurgia, Sir Thomas Brown, l'ulg. Err. b. iii. c. 28,
and Boyle, in his treatise on Languid and Unheeded Motions, express
belief in the effects ascribed to the bite of the Tarantula. Opinions
unfavourable to the truth of the accounts respecting it, may be
24 2
372
[B. I.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
es half an obolus, by just touching a part of the body with its
mouth, wears men down with pain, and deprives them of
their senses ?" "Yes, indeed," said Xenophon, “but the
Tarantula infuses something at the bitten part?" 13. "And do
you not think, foolish man," rejoined Socrates, "that beauti-
ful persons infuse something when they kiss, something which
you do not see? Do you not know that the animal, which
they call a handsome and beautiful object, is so much more
formidable than the Tarantula, as those insects instil something
when they touch the body, but this creature, without even
touching, but if a person only looks at it, though from a very
great distance, instils something of such potency, as to drive
people mad? Perhaps indeed Cupids are called archers for
no other reason but because the beautiful wound from a dis-
tance. But I advise you, Xenophon, whenever you see any
handsome person, to flee without looking behind you; and I
recommend to you, Critobulus, to absent yourself from hence
for a year, for perhaps you may in that time, though hardly
indeed, be cured of your wound.”
14. Thus he thought that those should act with regard to
objects of love who were not secure against the attractions of
such objects; objects of such a nature, that if the body did not
at all desire them, the mind would not contemplate them,
and which, if the body did desire them, should cause us no
trouble. For himself, he was evidently so disciplined with
respect to such matters, that he could more easily keep aloof
from the fairest and most blooming objects than others from
the most deformed and unattractive.
15. Such was the state of his feelings in regard to eating,
drinking, and amorous gratification; and he believed that he
himself, with self-restraint, would have no less pleasure from
them, than those who took great trouble to pursue such grati-
fications, and that he would suffer far less anxiety.
found in the Philosophical Transactions for 1672 and 1770, and in
Swinburne's Travels in the Two Sicilies. The popular opinion re-
garding it is now generally supposed to have arisen from impostures
of the lower class of people; no instance of any respectable person
having died of the bite of the insect, or having been made to dance
by it, being known
CH. 4.]
DIALOGUE WITII ARISTODEMUS.
373
CHAPTER IV.
Socrates not only exhorted men to practise virtue, but led them to the prac-
tice of it; his dialogue with Aristodemus, sect. 1, 2. Things formed for
a purpose, must be the production, not of chance, but of reason, 3, 4. The
human frame is a structure of great excellence, and admirably fitted for
its purposes; and we must therefore suppose that man is the object of
divine forethought, 5-7. The order of things throughout the universe
shows that it is under the providence of a superior nature, 8, 9. The supe-
riority of man over the inferior animals proves that he is more immedi-
ately under the care of the higher powers, 10-14. The gods also give
instruction to man as to his conduct, 15. That they care for man both in-
dividually and collectively is evident from various considerations, 15, 16.
As the mind governs the body, so the providence of the gods governs
the world, 17. If men therefore worship the gods rightly, they may feel
persuaded that the gods will be ready to aid them, 18, 19.
2
1
1. BUT if any suppose that Socrates, as some write and
speak of him on conjecture, was excellently qualified to ex-
hort men to virtue, but incapable of leading them forward in
it, let them consider not only what he said in refutation, by
questioning, of those who thought that they knew everything,
(refutations intended to check the progress of those disput-
ants,) but what he used to say in his daily intercourse with
his associates, and then for an opinion whether he was capa-
ble of making those who conversed with him better. 2. I
will first mention what I myself once heard him advance in a
dialogue with Aristodemus, surnamed The Little,3 concerning
the gods; for having heard that Aristodemus neither sacri-
ficed to the gods, nor prayed to them, nor attended to augu-
ries, but ridiculed those who regarded such matters, he said
to him, "Tell me, Aristodemus, do you admire any men
for their genius ?" "I do," replied he. "Tell us their
names, then," said Socrates. 3. "In epic poetry I most admire
1 Tekμaιpóμεvoi.] Forming conjectures from those men, who, after
being under the instruction of Socrates, fell into vice. Weiske.
τα
2 Kolaorηpiov EVERα.] I have been obliged to paraphrase this ex-
pression. Koláčw was often used in the signification of "to restrain,
check, or keep within bounds," like the Latin castigare, as Liddell
and Scott observe. "Xenophon seems to allude to the diáλoyoi
pioTiKol of Plato and the other disciples of Socrates, in which So-
crates refutes the subtleties of the sophists." Schneider.
3 An Athenian whom Plato names in his Symposium, a constant
auditor of Socrates, and a man of much austerity. Schneider.
374
[B. I.
MEMORABILLA OF SOCRATES.
Homer, in dithyrambic Melanippides,' in tragedy Sophocles,
in statuary Polycletus, in painting Zeuxis." 4. " And whether
do those who form images without sense and motion, or those
who form animals endowed with sense and vital energy, ap-
pear to you the more worthy of admiration?” "Those who
form animals, by Jupiter, for they are not produced by chance,
but by understanding." "And regarding things of which it
is uncertain for what purpose they exist, and those evidently
existing for some useful purpose, which of the two would you
say were the productions of chance, and which of intelli-
gence?"
"Doubtless those which exist for some useful pur-
pose must be the productions of intelligence." 5. "Does not
he, then," proceeded Socrates, "who made men at first, ap-
pear to you to have given them, for some useful purpose, those
parts by which they perceive different objects, the eyes to see
what is to be seen, the ears to hear what is to be heard?
What would be the use of smells, if no nostrils had been as-
signed us? What perception would there have been of sweet
and sour, and of all that is pleasant to the mouth, if a tongue
had not been formed in it to have a sense of them? c. In ad-
dition to these things, does it not scem to you like the work
of forethought, to guard the eye, since it is tender, with eye-
lids, like doors, which, when it is necessary to use the sight,
are set open, but in sleep are closed? To make the eyelashes
grow as a screen, that winds may not injure it? To make a cop-
ing on the parts above the eyes with the eye-brows, that the
perspiration from the head may not annoy them? To provide
that the ears may receive all kinds of sounds, yet never be ob-
structed? and that the front teeth in all animals may be
adapted to cut, and the back teeth to receive food from them.
and grind it? To place the mouth, through which animals
take in what they desire, near the eyes and the nose? and
since what passes off from the stomach is offensive, to turn the
channels of it away, and remove them as far as possible from
the senses?—can you doubt whether such a disposition of
things, made thus apparently with attention, is the result of
chance or of intelligence? 7. "No, indeed,” replied Aris-
todemus, “but to one who looks at those matters in this light,
He flourished about B. c. 520. Another Melanippides, his
grandson, lived about sixty years later, at the court of Perdiccas JI.
of Macedonia.
CH. 4.]
A RULING INTELLIGENCE.
375
they appear like the work of some wise maker who studied
the welfare of animals ?" “And to have engendered in them
a love of having offspring, and in mothers a desire to rear
their progeny, and to have implanted in the young that are
reared a desire of life, and the greatest dread of death?"
"Assuredly these appear to be the contrivances of some one
who designed that animals should continue to exist."
S. "And do you think that you yourself have any portion
of intelligence?" "Question me, at least, and I will answer."1
"And can you suppose that nothing intelligent exists auy-
where else? When you know that you have in your body
but a small portion of the earth, which is vast, and a small
portion of the water, which is vast, and that your frame is
constituted for you to receive only a small portion of each of
other things, that are vast, do you think that you have
seized for yourself, by some extraordinary good fortune, in-
telligence alone which exists nowhere else, and that this
assemblage of vast bodies, countless in number, is maintained
in order by something void of reason?" 9. "By Jupiter, I can
hardly suppose that there is any ruling intelligence among that
assemblage of bodies,2 for I do not see the directors, as I see
the agents of things which are done here."
“Nor do you
1
C
66
Ερώτα γοῦν καὶ ἀποκρινοῦμαι.] These words are wanting in
many editions, though found, as Kühner says, who has replaced
them, in all the manuscripts. As modesty prevented Aristodemus
from expressly affirming, and a regard for truth kept him from
exactly denying, that he had any intelligence, he answers guardedly
and ingeniously, Question me and I will answer;' and, when I
answer, you will understand that I have in me some portion of in-
telligence." Lange. "Lange, therefore, thinks that Aristodemus
did not wish his possession of intelligence to be concluded from the
matter of his answer or answers, but from the mere fact of his
answering; intimating that he who could give an answer to a
question, must necessarily be possessed of intellect." Kühner.
Žeune gives this sense to the passage: Question me as to other
things which necessarily follow from hence, and which you are
accustomed to infer from premises of this kind, and you will find
me prepared to answer you." The true sense, however, seems to
be, Question me, and judge from my answers whether I ought to
be considered as possessed of intellect or not.
2 The words in italics are supplied according to the sense given
to the passage by Kühner, who observes that the expression By
Jupiter," Mà Aía, has reference to the first part of the question of
Socrates, (C
can you suppose that nothing intelligent exists anywhere
else?"
.
3
376
[B. 1.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
see your own soul, which is the director of your body; so that,
by like reasoning, you may say that you yourself do nothing
with understanding, but everything by chance."
10. "However, Socrates," said Aristodemus, "I do not
despise the gods, but consider them as too exalted to need my
attention." "But," said Socrates, "the more exalted they
are, while they deign to attend to you, the more ought you to
honour them." 11. "Be assured," replied Aristodemus, "that if
I believed the gods took any thought for men, I would not
neglect them." "Do you not, then, believe that the gods
take thought for men? the gods who, in the first place, have
made man alone, of all animals, upright, (which uprightness
enables him to look forward to a greater distance, and to con-
template better what is above, and renders those parts less
liable to injury in which¹ the gods have placed the eyes, and
ears, and mouth;) and, in the next place, have given to other
animals only feet, which merely give them the capacity of
walking, while to men they have added hands, which execute
most of those things through which we are better off than
they. 12. And though all animals have tongues, they have
made that of man alone of such a nature, as, by touching
sometimes one part of the mouth, and sometimes another, to
express articulate sounds, and to signify everything that we
wish to communicate one to another. Do you not see, too, that to
other animals they have so given the pleasures of sexual in-
tercourse as to limit them to a certain season of the year, but
that they allow them to us uninterruptedly till extreme old
age? 13. Nor did it satisfy the gods to take care of the body
merely, but, what is most important of all, they implanted
in him the soul, his most excellent part. For what other
animal has a soul to understand, first of all, that the gods,
who have arranged such a vast and noble order of things,
exist? What other species of animal, besides man, offers
worship to the gods? What other animal has a mind better
fitted than that of man, to guard against hunger or thirst, or
cold or heat, or to relieve disease, or to acquire strength by
exercise, or to labour to attain knowledge; or more capable
of remembering whatever it has heard, or seen, or learned?
14. Is it not clearly evident to you, that, in comparison with
This passage admitted of no satisfactory interpretation till
Kühner substituted oἷς for καί
A SUPERINTENDING PROVIDENCE.
CH 4.]
377
other animals, men live like gods, excelling them by nature,
both in body and mind? For an animal, having the body of
an ox, and the understanding of a man, would be unable to
execute what it might meditate; and animals which have
hands,' but are without reason, have no advantage over others;
and do you, who share both these excellent endowments, think
that the gods take no thought for you? What then must they
Lo, before you will think that they take thought for you?”2
15. “I will think so," observed Aristodemus, "when they
send me, as you say that they send to you, monitors, to show
what I ought, and what I ought not, to do." "But when
they send admonitions to the Athenians, on consulting them
by divination, do you not think that they admonish you also?
Or when they give warnings to the Greeks by sending por-
tents, or when they give them to the whole human race,
do they except you alone from the whole, and utterly neglect
you? 16. Do you suppose, too, that the gods would have en-
gendered a persuasion in men that they are able to benefit or
injure them, unless they were really able to do so, and that
men, if they had been thus perpetually deluded, would not
have become sensible of the delusion? Do you not see that
the oldest and wisest of human communities, the oldest and
wisest cities and nations, are the most respectful to the gods,
and that the wisest age of man is the most observant of their
worship? 17. Consider also, my good youth," continued
Socrates, "that your mind, existing within your body, directs
your body as it pleases; and it becomes you therefore to
believe that the intelligence pervading all things directs all
things as may be agreeable to it, and not to think that while
your eye can extend its sight over many furlongs, that of
the divinity3 is unable to see all things at once, or that while
your mind can think of things here, or things in Egypt or
Sicily, the mind of the deity is incapable of regarding every-
Apes have hands resembling those of men, but are not on that
account equal to men in ability. Schneider.
"But
2 ᾿Αλλ᾽, ὅταν τι ποιήσωσι, νομιεῖς αὐτοὺς σοῦ φροντίζειν ;]
when they have done what, will you think that they care for you?"
3 Τοῦ Θεοῦ.]
Xenophon sometimes makes Socrates use the
singular, eos, in speaking of the gods. But it is not hence to be
inferred that he insinuated that there was only one god; for the
Greeks frequently used the singular when they might have been
expected to use the plural. Compare iv. 3. 14.
378
[B. I.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
thing at the same time. 18. If, however, as you discover,
by paying court to men, those who are willing to pay court
to you in return, and, by doing favours to men, those who are
willing to return your favours, and as, by asking counsel of
men, you discover who are wise, you should, in like manner,
make trial of the gods by offering worship to them, whether
they will advise you concerning matters hidden from man,
you will then find that the divinity is of such power, and of
such a nature, as to see all things and hear all things at once,
to be present everywhere, and to have a care for all things at
the same time."
19. By delivering such sentiments, Socrates seems to me to
have led his associates to refrain from what was impious, or
unjust, or dishonourable, not merely when they were seen by
men, but when they were in solitude, since they would con-
ceive that nothing that they did would escape the knowledge
of the gods.
CHAPTER V.
Temperance and self-control recommended: he that is destitute of tem-
perance can be profitable or agreeable neither to himself nor others, sect.
1-4. Without temperance nothing can be learned or done with due
effect, 5. Socrates not only encouraged to temperance by precepts, bus
by his example, 6.
1. IF temperance, moreover, be an honourable and valuable
quality in a man, let us consider whether he at all promoted
its observance by reflections of the following kind concern-
ing it. "If, my friends, when a war was coming upon us,
we should wish to choose a man by whose exertions we might
ourselves be preserved, and might gain the mastery over our
enemies, should we select one whom we knew to be unable
to resist gluttony, or wine, or sensuality, or fatigue, or sleep?
How could we think that such a man would either serve us,
or conquer our adversaries? 2. Or if, being at the close of
life, we should wish to commit to any one the guardianship
of our sons, or the care of our unmarried daughters, or the
preservation of our property, should we think an intemperate
man worthy of confidence for such purposes? Should we in-
CH. 5.]
VALUE OF TEMPERANCE.
379
4. In
trust to an intemperate slave our herds, our granaries, or the
superintendence of our agriculture? Should we be willing to
accept such a slave as an agent, or purveyor, even for nothing?
3. But if we would not even accept an intemperate slave, how
can it be otherwise than important for every man to take care
that he himself does not become such a character? For the
intemperate man is not injurious to his neighbour and pro-
fitable to himself, (like the avaricious, who, by despoiling
others of their property, seem to enrich themselves,) but,
while he is mischievous to others, is still more mischievous to
himself, for it is, indeed, mischievous in the highest degree,
to ruin not only his family, but his body and mind.
society, too, who could find pleasure in the company of such a
man, who, he would be aware, felt more delight in eating and
drinking than in intercourse with his friends, and preferred
the company of harlots to that of his fellows? Is it not the
duty of every man to consider that temperance is the founda-
tion of every virtue, and to establish the observance of it in
his mind before all things? 5. For who, without it, can either
learn anything good, or sufficiently practise it? Who, that is
a slave to pleasure, is not in an ill condition both as to his
body and his mind? It appears to me, by Juno,' that a free-
man ought to pray that he may never meet with a slave of
such a character, and that he who is a slave to pleasure should
pray to the gods that he may find well-disposed masters; for
by such means only can a man of that sort be saved.”
6. While such were the remarks that he made, he proved
himself more a friend to temperance by his life than by his
words; for he was not only superior to all corporeal pleasures,
but also to those attendant on the acquisition of money;
thinking that he who received money from any one,2 set up a
master over himself, and submitted to a slavery as disgrace-
ful as any that could be.
Ni Tv "Hpav.] This mode of swearing, which was commonly
used by women, was very frequently adopted by Socrates. See
below, iii. 10. 9; 11. 5; iv. 2. 9; 4. 8; con. x. 1; Plato, Phædr.
p. 230, B. Kühner.
· παρὰ τοῦ τυχόντος.] From any one that happened to present
himself; from any one indiscriminately.
380
[B. L.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
CHAPTER VI.
Three dialogues of Socrates with Antipho. I. Antipho ridicules the poverty
and frugality of Socrates, and his forbearance to receive pay for his in-
structions, sect. 1-3; Socrates replies that, by not receiving remunera-
tion, he is more at liberty to choose his audience, 4, 5; that there are
various advantages attendant on plainness of diet and dress, 6, 7; that
the frugal man has the advantage over the man of pleasure in facilities
for self-improvement, for doing his duty to his country, and for securing
general happiness, 8-10. II. Antipho asserts that Socrates might be a
just man, but was by no means wise, in accepting no payment, 11, 12;
Socrates replies that to sell wisdom is to degrade it, and that more good
is gained by the acquisition of friends than of money, 13, 14. III. An-
tipho asks Socrates why, when he trained others to manage public affairs,
he took no part in public affairs himself; Socrates replies that he was of
more service to his country by training many to govern it, than he could
have been by giving his single aid in the government of it, 15.
1. Ir is due to Socrates, also, not to omit the dialogues
which he held with Antipho the sophist. Antipho, on one
occasion, wishing to draw away his associates from him, came
up to Socrates, when they were present, and said, 2. "I
thought, Socrates, that those who studied philosophy were to
become happier than other men; but you seem to have reaped
from philosophy fruits of an opposite kind; at least you live
in a way in which no slave would continue to live with his
master; you eat food, and drink drink, of the worst kind;
you wear a dress, not only bad, but the same both summer
and winter, and you continue shoeless and coatless. 3. Money,
which cheers men when they receive it, and enables those
who possess it to live more generously and pleasantly, you do
not take; and if, therefore, as teachers in other professions
make their pupils imitate themselves, you also shall produce a
similar effect on your followers, you must consider yourself
but a teacher of wretchedness." 4. Socrates, in reply to these
1 Ανυπόδητός τε καὶ ἀχίτων.] On the ἀνυποδησίᾳ of Socrates, see
Forster on Plato Phædon. p. 64, D.; and the commentators on
Aristoph. Nub. 103, 362, and on Plato Phædr. p. 229, A. Kühner.—
By axirwv is not to be understood that Socrates had covered his
bare body only with his cloak, but that he wore only the inner
tunic, vπevourηs, not having the upper, πevdúτns, which they called
the tunic κατ' εξοχήν, terming those who were without it ἀχίτωνας
as Salmasius has fully shown, and Tertullian, de Pallio, p. 70, sea
and 400, seq. Ernesti.
CH. 6.] HIS ABSTINENCE AND INDEPENDENCE.
381
remarks, said, "You seem to me, Antipho, to have conceived
a notion that I live so wretchedly, that I feel persuaded you
yourself would rather choose to die than pass your life as I
pass mine.
Let us then consider what it is that you find dis-
agreeable in my mode of life. 5. Is it that while others, who
receive money, must perform the service for which they re-
ceive it, while I, who receive none, am under no necessity to
discourse with any one that I do not like? Or do you despise
my way of living, on the supposition that I eat less whole-
some or less strengthening food than yourself? Or is it that
my diet is more difficult to procure than yours, as being more
rare and expensive? Or is it that what you procure for
yourself is more agreeable to you than what I provide for
myself is to me? Do you not know that he who eats with
the most pleasure is he who least requires sauce, and that he
who drinks with the greatest pleasure is he who least desires
other drink than that which he has? 6. You know that those
who change their clothes, change them because of cold and
heat, and that men put on sandals that they may not be pre-
vented from walking through annoyances to the feet; but
have you ever observed me remaining at home, on account of
cold, more than any other man, or fighting with any one for
shade because of heat, or not walking wherever I please be-
cause my feet suffer? 7. Do you not know that those who
are by nature the weakest, become, by exercising their bodies,
stronger in those things in which they exercise them, than
those who neglect them, and bear the fatigue of exercise with
greater ease? And do you not think that I, who am con-
stantly preparing my body by exercise to endure whatever
may happen to it, bear everything more easily than you who
take no exercise? 8. And to prevent me from being a slave
to gluttony, or sleep, or other animal gratifications, can you
imagine any cause more efficient than having other objects of
attention more attractive than they, which not only afford
pleasure in the moment of enjoying them, but give hopes that
they will benefit me perpetually? You are aware of this also,
that those who think themselves successful in nothing, are far
from being cheerful, but that those who regard their agricul-
ture, their seamanship, or whatever other occupation they
pursue, as going on favourably for them, are delighted as with
present success ? 9. But do you think that from all these
382
[B. I.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
gratifications so much pleasure can arise as from the consci-
ousness that you are growing better yourself, and are acquir-
ing more valuable friends? Such is the consciousness, then,
which I continue to enjoy.
"But if there should be occasion to assist our friends or our
country, which of the two would have most leisure to attend
to such objects, he who lives as I live now, or he who lives,
as you think, in happiness? Which of the two would most
readily seek the field of battle, he who cannot exist without
expensive dishes, or he who is content with whatever comes
before him? Which of the two would sooner be reduced by
a siege, he who requires what is most difficult to be found, or
he who is fully content with what is easiest to be met with ?
10. You, Antipho, seem to think that happiness consists in
luxury and extravagance; but I think that to want nothing
is to resemble the gods, and that to want as little as possible
is to make the nearest approach to the gods; that the Divine
nature is perfection, and that to be nearest to the Divine nature
is to be nearest to perfection."
11. On another occasion, Antipho, in a conversation with
Socrates, said, "I consider you indeed to be a just man, So-
crates, but by no means a wise one; and you appear to me
yourself to be conscious of this; for you ask money from no
one for the privilege of associating with you; although, if you
considered a garment of yours, or a house, or any other thing
that you possess, to be worth money, you would not only not
give it to anybody for nothing, but you would not take less
than its full value for it. 12. It is evident, therefore, that if
you thought your conversation to be worth anything, you
would demand for it no less remuneration than it is worth.
You may, accordingly, be a just man, because you deceive.
nobody from covetousness, but wise you cannot be, as you
have no knowledge that is of any value." 13. Socrates, in
reply, said, "It is believed among us, Antipho, that it is
possible to dispose of beauty, or of wisdom, alike honourably
or dishonourably; for if a person sells his beauty for money
1 Νομίζεται τὴν ὥραν καὶ τὴν σοφίαν ὁμοίως μὲν καλὸν, ὁμοίως δὲ
aloxpòv diarideoa eival.] The sense seems to be, that it is alike
honourable or dishonourable to dispose of beauty (in a certain way)
and to dispose of wisdom (in a certain way): i. e. that there is a
certain way of disposing of beauty honourably, and a certain way
CH. 6.]
PREFERS FRIENDSHIP TO MONEY.
383
to any one that wishes to purchase, men call him a male pros-
titute; but if any one makes a friend of a person whom he
knows to be an honourable and worthy admirer, we regard
him as prudent: and, in like manner, those who sell their
wisdom for money, to any that will buy, men call sophists,
or, as it were, prostituters of wisdom; but whoever makes a
friend of a person whom he knows to be deserving, by teach-
ing him all the good that he knows, we consider him to act the
part which becomes an honourable and good citizen. 14.
As any other man, therefore, Antipho, takes delight in a good
horse, or dog, or bird, so I, to a still greater degree, take de-
light in valuable friends; and, if I know anything good, I
communicate it to them, and recommend them, also, to any
other teachers by whom I conceive that they will be at all
advanced in virtue. The treasures, too, of the wise men of
old, which they have left written in books, I turn over and
peruse in company with my friends, and if we find anything
good in them, we remark it, and think it a great gain if we
thus become more attached to one another." To me, who
heard him utter these sentiments, Socrates appeared to be
both happy himself, and to lead those that listened to him
to honour and virtue.
1
15. Again, when Antipho asked him how he imagined that
he could make men skilful statesmen, when he himself took
no part in state affairs, if indeed he knew anything of them,
"In which of the two ways," said he, "Antipho, should I
better promote the management of affairs; if I myself engage
in them alone, or if I make it my care that as many as possi-
ble may be qualified to engage in them?"
of disposing of it dishonourably, and that the same is the case with
regard to wisdom, or talent. My translation is much the same as
the Latin of Schneider: Apud nos existimatur eodem modo posse
aliquem et formâ et sapientiá vel honestè vel turpiter uti.
Γ Φίλοι γιγνώμεθα.] For φίλοι Ernesti substituted from one manu-
script wpepo, which Kühner stigmatizes as "apertum glossema,
and restores the old pilot, with the comment, Si nos jam antea
amicitiæ vinculis constricti, etiam horum studiorum communione
cari ac dilecti fiamus." I have rendered pilot by the comparative
degree, but think Ernesti's correction far more eligible.
384
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
(B. I
CHAPTER VII.
Dissuasions from ostentation. He that desires to be distinguished, should
endeavour to be what he would wish to seem. He that pretends to be
what he is not, exposes himself to great inconvenience and ridicule, and
may bring disgrace and detriment on his country.
1. LET us consider also, whether, by dissuading his fol-
lowers from ostentation, he excited them to pursue virtue. He
always used to say that there was no better road to honour-
able distinction, than that by which a person should become
excellent in that in which he wished to appear excellent.
2. That he said what was just, he used to prove by the fol-
lowing arguments. "Let us consider," he would say,
"what
a person must do, if, not being a good flute-player, he should
wish to appear so? Must he not imitate good flute-players
in the adjuncts of their art? In the first place, as flute-players
procure fine dresses, and go about with a great number of
attendants, he must act in a similar manner; and as many
people applaud them, he must get many to applaud him; yet
he must never attempt to play, or he will at once be shown to
be ridiculous, and not only a bad flute-player, but a vain
boaster. Thus, after having been at great expense without
the least benefit, and having, in addition, incurred evil repute,
how will he live otherwise than in uneasiness, unprofitable-
ness, and derision?
3. "In like manner, if any one should wish to be thought a
good general, or a good steersman of a ship, without being so,
let us reflect what would be his success. If, when he longed
to seem capable of performing the duties of those characters,
he should be unable to persuade others of his capability,
would not this be a trouble to him? and, if he should per-
suade them of it, would it not be still more unfortunate for
him? For it is evident that he who is appointed to steer a
vessel, or to lead an army, without having the necessary
knowledge, would be likely to destroy those whom he would
not wish to destroy, and would come off himself with disgrace
and suffering."
4. By similar examples he showed that it was of no profit
His friends, and such as he would wish to applaud him.
CH. 1.]
CONVERSATION WITH ARISTIPPUS.
385
for a man to appear rich, or valiant, or strong, without being
so; for he said that demands were made upon such persons
too great for their ability, and that, not being able to comply
with them, when they seemed to be able, they met with no
indulgence.
5. He called him, also, no small impostor, who, obtaining
money or furniture from his neighbour by persuasion, should
defraud him; but pronounced him the greatest of all impostors,
who, possessed of no valuable qualifications, should deceive
men by representing himself capable of governing his country.
To me he appeared, by discoursing in this manner, to deter
his associates from vain boasting.
BOOK II.
CHAPTER I.
Socrates, suspecting that Aristippus, a man of pleasure, was aspiring to a
place in the government, admonishes him that temperance is an essential
qualification in a statesman, sect. 1-7. But as Aristippus says that he
looked only to a life of leisure and tranquil enjoyment, Socrates intro-
duces the question, whether those who govern, or those who are
gverned, live the happier life, 8-10. Aristippus signifies that he wished
ne. her to govern nor to be governed, but to enjoy liberty; and Socrates
show that such liberty as he desired is inconsistent with the nature of
huma. society, 11-13. Aristippus still adhering to his own views, and
declaring his intention not to remain in any one country, but to visit and
sojourn in many, Socrates shows him the dangers of such a mode of life,
14-16. But as Aristippus proceeds to accuse those of folly who prefer
a life of toil in the affairs of government to a life of ease, Socrates shows
the difference between those who labour voluntarily, and those whe
labour from compulsion, and observes that nothing good is given to mor
tals without labour, 17-20; in illustration of which remark he relates
the fable of Prodicus, THE CHOICE OF HERCULES, 21-34.
1. HE appeared also to me, by such discourses as the fol-
lowing, to exhort his hearers to practise temperance in their
desires for food, drink, sensual gratification, and sleep, and
endurance of cold, heat, and labour. But finding that one of
his associates was too intemperately disposed with regard to
such matters, he said to him, "Tell me, Aristippus,¹ if it were
'Aristippus of Cyrene, the founder of the Cyrenaic sect of philo
VOL. I.
2 c
386
[B. II.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
3.
""
required of you to take two of our youths and educate them,
the one in such a manner that he would be qualified to
govern, and the other in such a manner that he would never
seek to govern, how would you train them respectively?
Will you allow us to consider the matter by commencing with
their food, as with the first principles?" "Food, indeed,” re-
plied Aristippus, "appears to me one of the first principles;
for a person could not even live if he were not to take food."
2. "It will be natural for them both, then," said Socrates,
"to desire to partake of food when a certain hour comes.
"It will be natural," said Aristippus. "And which of the
two, then,” said Socrates, "should we accustom to prefer the
discharge of any urgent business to the gratification of his
appetite?" "The one undoubtedly," rejoined Aristippus,
"who is trained to rule, that the business of the state may
not be neglected during his administration.” "And on the
same person," continued Socrates, "we must, when they
desire to drink, impose the duty of being able to endure
thirst ?" "Assuredly," replied Aristippus.
"And on
which of the two should we lay the necessity of being tem-
perate in sleep, so as to be able to go to rest late, to rise early,
or to remain awake if it should be necessary?" "Upon the
same, doubtless."
"And on which of the two should we im-
pose the obligation to control his sensual appetites, that he
may not be hindered by their influence from discharging
whatever duty may be required of him?" "Upon the same.
"And on which of the two should we enjoin the duty of not
shrinking from labour, but willingly submitting to it?" "This
also is to be enjoined on him who is trained to rule." 'And
to which of the two would it more properly belong to acquire
whatever knowledge would assist him to secure the mastery
over his rivals?" "Far more, doubtless, to him who is
trained to govern, for without such sort of acquirements there
would be no profit in any of his other qualifications." 4. "A
man, then, who is thus instructed, would appear to you less
liable to be surprised by his enemies than other animals, of
which some, we know, are caught by their greediness; and
others, though very shy, are yet attracted to the bait by their
desire to swallow it, and consequently taken; while others
sophers, who thought pleasure the greatest good, and pain the
greatest evil. See b. iii. ch. 8.
CH. 1.]
CONVERSATION WITII ARISTIPPUS.
387
also are entrapped by drink." "Indisputably," replied Aris-
tippus. 'Are not others, too, caught through their salacious-
ness, as quails and partridges, which, being attracted to the
call of the female by desire and hope of enjoyment, and losing
all consideration of danger, fall into traps?" To this Aris-
tippus expressed his assent. 5. "Does it not then," proceeded
Socrates, "appear to you shameful for a man to yield to the
same influence as the most senseless of animals; as adulterers,
for instance, knowing that the adulterer is in danger of suffer-
ing what the law threatens, and of being watched, and dis-
graced if caught, yet enter into closets; and, though there
are such dangers and dishonours hanging over the intriguer,
and so many occupations that will free him from the desire of
sensual gratification, does it not seem to you the part of one
tormented with an evil genius, to run, nevertheless, into im-
minent peril?" It does seem so to me," said Aristippus.
6. And since the greater part of the most necessary employ-
ments of life, such as those of war and agriculture, and not a
few others, are to be carried on in the open air, does it not
appear to you to show great negligence, that the majority of
mankind should be wholly unexercised to bear cold and heat?”
Aristippus replied in the affirmative. "Does it not then
appear to you that we ought to train him who is intended to
rule, to bear these inconveniences also without difficulty?"
"Doubtless," answered Aristippus. 7. "If, therefore, we class
those capable of enduring these things among those who are
qualified to govern, shall we not class such as are incapable
of enduring them among those who will not even aspire to
govern?" Aristippus expressed his assent. “In conclusion,
then, since you know the position of each of these classes of
men, have you ever considered in which of them you can
reasonably place yourself?" 8. "I have indeed,” said Aris-
tippus, "and I by no means place myself in the class of
those desiring to rule; for it appears to me that, when it is a
task of great difficulty to procure necessaries for one's self, it
is the mark of a very foolish man not to be satisfied with that
occupation,' but to add to it the labour of procuring for his
fellow-countrymen whatever they need. And is it not the
· Μὴ ἀρκεῖν τοῦτο.] That is, τοῦτο μὴ ἀρκεῖν αὐτῷ, “ that that
occupation should not be sufficient for him;" should not content
him.
2 c 2
388
[15. 17.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
greatest folly in him, that while many things which he desires
are out of his reach, he should, by setting himself at the head
of the state, subject himself, if he does not accomplish all that
the people desire, to be punished for his failure? 9. For the
people think it right to use their governors as I use my
slaves; for I require my slaves to supply me with the neces-
saries of life in abundance, but to take no part of them them-
selves; and the people think it the duty of their governors
to supply them with as many enjoyments as possible, but
themselves to abstain from all of them. Those, therefore,
who wish to have much trouble themselves, and to give
trouble to others,' I would train in this manner, and rank
among those qualified to govern; but myself I would number
with those who wish to pass their lives in the greatest pos-
sible ease and pleasure."
10. Socrates then said, "Will you allow us to consider this
point also, whether the governors or the governed live with
the greater pleasure?" "By all means," said Aristippus.
"In the first place, then, of the nations of which we have any
knowledge, the Persians bear rule in Asia, and the Syrians,
Phrygians, and Lydians are under subjection; the Scythians
govern in Europe, and the Maotians 2 are held in subjection;
the Carthaginians rule in Africa, and the Libyans are under
subjection. Which of these do you regard as living with the
greater pleasure? Or among the Greeks, of whom you your-
self are, which of the two appear to you to live more happily,
those who rule, or those who are in subjection ?" 11. “Yet,
on the other hand," said Aristippus, "I do not consign.
myself to slavery; but there appears to me to be a certain
middle path between the two, in which I endeavour to pro-
3
He that holds the reins of government, must not only undergo
much toil and trouble himself, but must also enjoin many tasks and
duties on others, and incite them to exertion and industry.
With this passage of Xenophon may aptly be compared what the
Corinthians say of the Athenians in Thucydides, i. 70: "If any
one should say, in a word, that they are formed by nature neither
to enjoy quiet themselves, nor to suffer others to enjoy it, he would
speak of them rightly." Kühner.
The people bordering on the lake Mæotis, which was in Sar-
matia Europea, and is now called the Sea of Azov. Kühner.
Av.] Compare sect. 8, where Aristippus says that he does not
rank himself among those who wish to rule; here he states that, on
the other hand, he does not wish to be a slave.
ca. 1. |
INCLINATIONS OF ARISTIPpus.
389
ceed, and which leads, not through slavery, but through
liberty, a path that most surely conducts to happiness." 12.
"If this path of yours, indeed," said Socrates, "as it lies
neither through sovereignty nor servitude, did not also lie
through human society, what you say would perhaps be worth
consideration; but if, while living among mankind, you shall
neither think proper to rule nor to be ruled, and shall not will-
ingly pay respect to those in power, I think that you will see
that the stronger know how to treat the weaker as slaves, mak-
ing them to lament both publicly and privately. 13. Do those
escape your knowledge who fell and destroy the corn and trees
of others that have sown and planted them, and who assail in
every way such as are inferior to them, and are unwilling to flat-
ter them, until they prevail on them to prefer slavery to
carrying on war against their superiors? In private life, too,
do you not see that the spirited and strong enslave the timor-
ous and weak, and enjoy the fruits of their labours ?”
"But
for my part," answered Aristippus, "in order that I may not
suffer such treatment, I shall not shut myself up in any one
state, but shall be a traveller everywhere.' 14. Doubtless,
rejoined Socrates, "this is an admirable plan that you pro-
pose; for since Sinnis, and Sciron, and Procrustes were
killed, nobody injures travellers.
Yet those who manage
the government in their several countries, even now make
laws, in order that they may not be injured, and attach to
themselves, in addition to such as are called their necessary
connexions, other supporters; they also surround their cities
with ramparts, and procure weapons with which they may
repel aggressors, securing, besides all these means of defence,
other allies from abroad; and yet those who have provided
themselves with all these bulwarks, nevertheless suffer injury;
15. and do you, having no protection of the sort, spending a
long time on roads on which a very great number are out-
raged, weaker than all the inhabitants of whatever city you
may arrive at, and being such a character² as those who are
66
1
""
1 Celebrated robbers, put to death by Theseus. There is a plea-
sant irony, says Weiske, in the remark of Socrates: though Sinnis,
Sciron, and Procrustes no longer rob on the highways, yet there is
no lack of successors to them.
2 A person without any settled abode, without friends or support-
ers; not under the protection of any particular state, but wander-
ing from one state to another. Kühner.
390
D. II.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
eager to commit violence most readily attack, think, never-
theless, that you will not be wronged because you are a
stranger? Or are you without fear, because these cities pro-
claim safety to any one arriving or departing? Or because
you think that you would prove a slave of such a character as
would profit no master, for who, you perhaps ask yourself,
would wish to keep in his house a man not at all disposed to
labour, and delighting in the most expensive fare?
16. But
let us consider how masters treat slaves of such a sort. Do
they not tame down their fondness for dainties by hunger?
Do they not hinder them from stealing by excluding them
from every place from whence they may take anything? Do
they not prevent them from running away by putting fetters
on them? Do they not overcome their laziness by stripes?
Or how do you yourself act, when you find any one of your
slaves to be of such a disposition?” 17. "I chastise him,"
said Aristippus, "with every kind of punishment, until I
compel him to serve me? But how do those, Socrates, who
are trained to the art of ruling, which you seem to me to con-
sider as happiness, differ from those who undergo hardships
from necessity, since they will have (though it be with
their own consent) to endure hunger, and thirst, and cold, and
want of sleep, and suffer all other inconveniences of the same
kind? 18. For I, for my own part, do not know what differ-
ence it makes to a man who is scourged on the same skin,
whether it be voluntarily or involuntarily, or, in short, to one
who suffers with the same body in all such points, whether he
suffer with his consent or against it, except that folly is to be
attributed to him who endures troubles voluntarily.
"What
then, Aristippus," said Socrates, "do not voluntary endur-
ances of this kind seem to you to differ from the involuntary,
inasmuch as he who is hungry from choice may eat when
he pleases, and he who is thirsty from choice may drink when
he pleases, the same being the case with regard to other
voluntary sufferings, while he who endures such hardships
from necessity has no liberty to relieve himself from them
when he wishes? Besides, he who undergoes trouble will-
ingly, is cheered in undergoing it with some expectation of
good, as the hunters of wild animals bear fatigue with plea-
sure in the hope of capturing them. 19. And such rewards
but as for those who
of toil are indeed but of small worth;
""
CH. 1.J
SEDUCTIONS OF PLEASURE.
391
toil that they may acquire valuable friends, or that they may
subdue their enemies, or they may, by becoming vigorous in
body and mind, manage their own household judiciously, and
be of service to their friends and of advantage to their coun-
try, how can you think that they labour for such objects
otherwise than cheerfully, or that they do not live in happi-
ness, esteeming themselves, and being praised and envied by
others? 20. But indolence, moreover, and pleasures enjoyed
at the moment of desire,¹ are neither capable of producing a
good constitution of body, as the teachers of gymnastic exer-
cises say, nor do they bring to the mind any knowledge wor-
thy of consideration; but exercises pursued with persevering
labour lead men to the attainment of honourable and valuable
objects, as worthy men inform us; and Hesiod somewhere
says,
2
Vice it is possible to find in abundance and with ease; for the
way to it is smooth, and lies very near. But before the temple
of Virtue the immortal gods have placed labour, and the way
to it is long and steep, and at the commencement rough; but
when the traveller has arrived at the summit, it then becomes
easy, however difficult it was at first.
A sentiment to which Epicharmus gives his testimony in
this verse,
The gods for labour sell us all good things;
1 Ἐκ τοῦ παραχρῆμα ἡδοναί.] The interpretation of this phrase
given in the text is that which is adopted by Kühner: Voluptates
ejusmodi, quas, ubi concupiveris, statim, utpote sine ullo labore parabiles,
percipere liceat; an interpretation taken from Ernesti. But the ex-
pression often seems to signify nothing more than what we mean by
present pleasures; as in Cyrop. i. 5. 9; ii. 2. 24; so Schneider
understands eas voluptates quæ statim percipiuntur, et quarum usus breve
tempus durat, with Heindorf. ad Plat. Protag. p. 353.
* Επιστήμην ἀξιόλογον οὐδεμίαν.] ᾿Αξιόλογον is very properly
added; for it cannot be said that αἱ παραυτίκα ἡδοναὶ convey na
knowledge to the mind; for who can deny that from listening to music,
contemplating pictures, and other pleasures of that kind, somi
knowledge may be gained? Kühner.
3 Choose Sin, by troops she shall beside thee stand;
Smooth is the track, her mansion is at hand:
Where Virtue dwells the gods have placed before
The dropping sweat that springs from every pore;
And ere the foot can reach her high abode,
Long, rugged, steep th' ascent, and rough the road:
The ridge once gain'd, the path so hard of late
Runs easy on, and level to the gate.
Elton.
392
B. I.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
and in another place he says,
O wretched mortal, desire not what is soft, lest you find
what is hard
2
21. Prodicus the sophist,¹ also, in his narrative concerning Her-
cules, which indeed he declaims to most people as a specimen
of his ability, expresses a similar notion respecting virtue,
speaking, as far as I remember, to the following effect: For
he says that Hercules, when he was advancing from boyhood
to manhood, a period at which the young, becoming their own
masters, begin to give intimations whether they will enter on
life by the path of virtue or that of vice, went forth into a
solitary place, and sat down, perplexed as to which of these
two paths he should pursue; 22. and that two female figures,
of lofty stature, seemed to advance towards him, the one of
an engaging and graceful mien, gifted by nature with elegance
of form, modesty of look, and sobriety of demeanour, and
clad in a white robe; the other fed to plumpness and softness,
but assisted by art both in her complexion, so as to seem
fairer and rosier than she really was, and in her gesture, so
as to seem taller than her natural height; she had her eyes
wide open, and a robe through which her beauty would
readily show itself; she frequently contemplated her figure,
and looked about to see if any one else was observing her;
and she frequently glanced back at her own shadow.
4
3
23. As
10 copóc.] Sturz and others consider oopòs, in this passage, to
be the same as copiorns; but there seems no particular reason
why it should not be rendered the wise. "On Prodicus, the famous
sophist of Ceos, there is an excellent note of Beierus ad Cic. Off. i.
See Cobet, Prosop. Xen. p. 35. C. Fr. Hermann, in his Disp.
de Socr. Magistris, Marb. 1837, p. 49, seq., judiciously shows that those
are mistaken who think that Prodicus was a teacher of Socrates.
Kühner.
32.
2 There is an allusion to this fable in Cic. de Off. i. 32. It has
been versified in English, with much elegance, though rather ver-
bosely, by Bishop Lowth.
"Adorned as
3 Κεκοσμημένην τὸ μὲν σῶμα καθαριότητι, κ. τ. λ.]
to her person with elegance, as to her eyes with modesty, and as to
her gesture with sobriety." The reading kasapiórηr is properly
preferred by Kühner to ka apórηri, the first meaning elegance or
gracefulness, the second, purity.
4 Αναπεπταμένα.] Wide open," says Kühner, is equivalent to
"looking or staring boldly," in opposition to "modestly cast
down."
CH. 1.]
CHOICE OF HERCULES.
393
they approached nearer to Hercules, she, whom I first de-
scribed, came forward at the same pace, but the other, eager
to get before her, ran up to Hercules, and exclaimed, “I see
that you are hesitating, Hercules, by what path you shall
enter upon life; if, then, you make a friend of me, I will
conduct you by the most delightful and easy road, and you
shall taste of every species of pleasure, and lead a life free
from every sort of trouble. 24. In the first place, you shall
take no thought of wars or state affairs, but shall pass your
time considering what meat or drink you may find to gratify
your appetite, what you may delight yourself by seeing or
hearing, what you may be pleased with smelling or touching,
with what objects of affection you may have most pleasure in
associating, how you may sleep most softly, and how you may
secure all these enjoyments with the least degree of trouble.
25. If an apprehension of want of means, by which such de-
lights may be obtained, should ever arise in you, there is no
fear that I shall urge you to procure them by toil or suffering
either of body or mind; but you shall enjoy what others ac-
quire by labour, abstaining from nothing by which it may be
possible to profit, for I give my followers liberty to benefit
themselves from any source whatever."
66
26. Hercules, on hearing this address, said, "And what, O
woman, is your name ?” My friends," she replied, “call me
Happiness, but those who hate me, give me, to my disparage-
ment, the name of Vice."
27. In the mean time the other female approached, and
said, "I also am come to address you, Hercules, because I
know your parents, and have observed your disposition in the
training of your childhood, from which I entertain hopes, that
if you direct your steps along the path that leads to my
dwelling, you will become an excellent performer of whatever
is honourable and noble, and that I shall appear more honour-
able and attractive through your illustrious deeds. I will not
deceive you, however, with promises of pleasure, but will set
before you things as they really are, and as the gods have ap-
pointed them; 28. for of what is valuable and excellent, the
gods grant nothing to mankind without labour and care; and
if you wish the gods, therefore, to be propitious to you, you
must worship the gods; if you seek to be beloved by your
friends, you must serve your friends; if you desire to be
394
[E. 1
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
honoured by any city, you must benefit that city; if you long
to be admired by all Greece for your merit, you must endea-
vour to be of advantage to all Greece; if you are anxious
that the earth should yield you abundance of fruit, you must
cultivate the earth; if you think that you should enrich your-
self from herds of cattle, you must bestow care upon herds of
cattle; if you are eager to increase your means by war, and
to secure freedom to your friends and subdue your enemies,
you must learn the arts of war, and learn them from such
as understand them, and practise how to use them with ad-
vantage; or if you wish to be vigorous in body, you must
accustom your body to obey your mind, and exercise it with
toil and exertion."
29. Here Vice, interrupting her speech, said, (as Prodicus
relates,) "Do you see, Hercules, by how difficult and tedious
a road this woman conducts you to gratification, while I shall
lead you, by an easy and short path, to perfect happiness?"
30. "Wretched being," rejoined Virtue, "of what good are
you in possession? Or what real pleasure do you experience,
when you are unwilling to do anything for the attainment of
it? You, who do not even wait for the natural desire of
gratification, but fill yourself with all manner of dainties be-
fore you have an appetite for them, eating before you are
hungry, drinking before you are thirsty, procuring cooks that
you may eat with pleasure, buying costly wines that you may
drink with pleasure, and running about seeking for snow in
summer; while, in order to sleep with pleasure, you prepare
not only soft beds,2 but couches, and rockers under your
1
1 "To cool wine; for they deposited snow and ice in pits for such
purposes. See notes on Athen. iii. p. 124; Plin. H. N. ix. 4; Aul.
Gell. xix. 5; Macrob. Sat. vii. 12." Schneider. See Wyttenbach ad
Plutarch. Præcept. Sanit. p. 809. Bornemann.
2 Στowμvás.] Properly, couches or beds spread on the ground.
With these the luxurious were not content, but prepared for them-
selves kλívai, or couches with legs, to which they afterwards added
vróba pa, rockers or rollers. Commentators used to interpret
iπóba pa, carpets spread under the feet of couches, referring to Cyrop.
viii. 8. 16; but the true signification of the word has been very
learnedly made clear by Schneider from three passages of Antyllus
in Fragm. Medicorum Oribas. ed. Matthæi, p. 114, 170, 172; from
which it appears that the vπóba pa were fulcra diagonalia, diagonal
props, put under the feet of couches, in order that a σuopos or rock-
ing might be produced. The effect, as he observes, would be the
same as that of suspended cradles." Kühner.
CH. 1.]
CHOICE OF HERCULES.
1
395
couches, for you do not desire sleep in consequence of labour,
but in consequence of having nothing to do; you force the
sensual inclinations before they require gratification, using
very species of contrivance for the purpose, and abusing
male and female; for thus it is that you treat your friends,
insulting their modesty at night, and making them sleep away
the most useful part of their day. 31. Though you are one of
the immortals, you are cast out from the society of the gods,
and despised by the good among mankind; the sweetest of all
sounds, the praises of yourself, you have never heard, nor
have you ever seen the most pleasing of all sights, for you
have never beheld one meritorious work of your own hand.
Who would believe you when you give your word for any-
thing? Or who would assist you when in need of anything?
Or who, that has proper feeling, would venture to join your
company of revellers? for while they are young they grow
impotent in body, and when they are older they are impot-
ent in mind; they live without labour, and in fatness,
through their youth, and pass laboriously, and in wretched-
ness, through old age; ashamed of what they have done, op-
pressed with what they have to do, having run through their
pleasures in early years, and laid up afflictions for the close of
life. 32. But I am the companion of the gods; I associate
with virtuous men; no honourable deed, divine or human, is
done without me; I am honoured, most of all, by the deities,
and by those among men to whom it belongs to honour me,
being a welcome co-operator with artisans, a faithful house-
hold guardian to masters, a benevolent assistant to servants, a
benign promoter of the labours of peace, a constant auxiliary
to the efforts of war, an excellent sharer in friendship.
My friends have a sweet and untroubled enjoyment of meat
and drink, for they refrain from them till they feel an appe-
tite. They have also sweeter sleep than the idle; and are
neither annoyed if they lose a portion of it, nor neglect to do
their duties for the sake of it. The young are pleased with
praises from the old; the old are delighted with honours from
the young. They remember their former acts with pleasure,
33.
"It is said that Themistocles, when he was asked what acroama,
or whose voice, he would hear with most pleasure, replied, 'The
voice of him by whom his merits would be best set forth.'
Pro Archia, c. 9.
Cicero
:
396
[B. IL
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
and rejoice to perform their present occupations with success;
being, through my influence, dear to the gods, beloved by
their friends, and honoured by their country. And when the
destined end of life comes, they do not lie in oblivion and dis-
honour, but, celebrated with songs of praise, flourish for ever
in the memory of mankind. By such a course of conduct, O
Hercules, son of noble parents, you may secure the most ex-
alted happiness."
34. Nearly thus it was that Prodicus related the instruction
of Hercules by Virtue; adorning the sentiments, however,
with far more magnificent language than that in which I now
give them. It becomes you, therefore, Aristippus, reflecting
on these admonitions, to endeavour to think of what concerns
the future period of your life.
CHAPTER II.
A dialogue between Socrates and his son Lamprocles, who had expressed
resentment against his mother, on the duty of children to their parents.
The ungrateful are to be deemed unjust, sect. 1, 2. The greater benefits
a person has received, the more unjust is he if he is ungrateful; and there
are no greater benefits than those which children experience from their
parents, 3-6. Hence it follows that a son ought to reverence his mother,
though she be severe, when he knows that her severity proceeds from
kind motives, 7-12. How great a crime the neglect of filial duty is, ap-
pears from the fact that it is punished by the laws and execrated by man-
kind, 13, 14.
66
1. HAVING learned, one day, that Lamprocles, the eldest¹ of
his sons, had exhibited anger against his mother, "Tell me,
my son," said he, "do you know that certain persons are
called ungrateful?" Certainly," replied the youth.
" And
do you understand how it is they act that men give them this
appellation?" "I do," said Lamprocles, "for it is those that
have received a kindness, and that do not make a return when
they are able to make one, whom they call ungrateful.” “They
then appear to you to class the ungrateful with the unjust?"
"I think so." 2. "And have you ever considered whether, as
it is thought unjust to make slaves of our friends, but just to
¹ Socrates had three sons, Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, and Me-
nexenus. See Cobet, Prosopogr. Xen. p. 57. Kühner.
CH. 2.]
DUTY TOWARDS PARENTS.
397
make slaves of our enemies, so it is unjust to be ungrateful to-
wards our friends, but just to be so towards our enemies?"
'I certainly have," answered Lamprocles, "and from whom-
soever a man receives a favour, whether friend or enemy, and
does not endeavour to make a return for it, he is in my opinion
unjust."
3. "If such, then, be the case," pursued Socrates, “ingra-
titude must be manifest injustice?" Lamprocles expressed
his assent. "The greater benefits, therefore, a person has
received, and makes no return, the more unjust he must be."
He assented to this position also. Whom, then," asked
Socrates, "
can we find receiving greater benefits from any
persons than children receive from their parents? children
whom their parents have brought from non-existence into ex-
istence, to view so many beautiful objects, and to share in so
many blessings, as the gods grant to men; blessings which
appear to us so inestimable, that we shrink, in the highest
degree, from relinquishing them; and governments have
made death the penalty for the most heinous crimes, in the sup-
position that they could not suppress injustice by the terror
of any greater evil. 4. You do not, surely, suppose that mer
beget children merely to gratify their passions, since the streets
are full, as well as the brothels, of means to allay desire; but
what we evidently consider, is, from what sort of women the
finest children may be born to us, and, uniting with them,
we beget children. 5. The man maintains her who joins with
him to produce offspring, and provides, for the children that
are likely to be born to him, whatever he thinks will conduce
to their support, in as great abundance as he can; while the
woman receives and bears the burden, oppressed and endan-
gering her life, and imparting a portion of the nutriment with
which she herself is supported; and, at length, after bearing
it the full time, and bringing it forth with great pain, she
suckles and cher 'shes it, though she has received no previous
benefit from it, nor does the infant know by whom it is tended,
nor is it able to signify what it wants, but she, conjecturing what
will nourish and please it, tries to satisfy its calls, and feeds it
for a long time, both night and day, submitting to the trouble
BEλriora.] Kühner interprets this word robustissima; but it is
Detter to understand it as meaning good in every way; excellent in
shape, vigour, health, and understanding.
398
[B. II.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
and rot knowing what return she will receive for it. 6. Nor
does it satisfy the parents merely to feed their offspring, but
as soon as the children appear capable of learning anything,
they teach them whatever they know that may be of use for
their conduct in life; and whatever they consider another
more capable of communicating than themselves, they send
their sons to him at their own expense, and take care to adopt
every course that their children may be as much improved as
possible."
""
7. Upon this the young man said, "But, even if she has
done all this, and many times more than this, no one, assuredly,
could endure her ill-humour." “And which do you think,'
asked Socrates, more difficult to be endured, "the ill-humour
of a wild beast, or that of a mother?" I think," replied
Lamprocles, "that of a mother, at least of such a mother as
mine is." "Has she ever then inflicted any hurt upon you,
by biting or kicking you, as many have often suffered from
wild beasts?" 8. "No; but, by Jupiter, she says such things
as no one would endure to hear for the value of all that he
possesses.' "And do you reflect," returned Socrates, "how
much grievous trouble you have given her by your peevish-
ness, by voice and by action, in the day and in the night,
and how much anxiety you have caused her when you were
ill ? " “But I have never said or done anything to her,” re-
plied Lamprocles, "at which she could feel ashamed." 9. "Do
you think it, then," inquired Socrates, "a more difficult thing
for you to listen to what she says, than for actors to listen
when they utter the bitterest reproaches against one another
in tragedies?” "But actors, I imagine, endure such re-
proaches easily, because they do not think that, of the speakers,
the one who utters reproaches, utters them with intent to do
harm, or that the one who utters threats, utters them with
any evil purpose.” 'Yet you are displeased at your mother,
although you well know that whatever she says, she not only
says nothing with intent to do you harm, but that she wishes
you more good than any other human being. Or do you sup-
pose that your mother meditates evil towards you?"
indeed," said Lamprocles, "that I do not imagine." 10.
you then say that this mother," rejoined Socrates, "who is so
benevolent to you, who, when you are ill, takes care of you,
to the utmost of her power, that you may recover your health,
"No
"Do
CH. 2.]
DUTY OF A SON TO HIS MOTHER.
399
and that you may want nothing that is necessary for you, and
who, besides, entreats the gods for many blessings on your
head, and pays vows for you, is a harsh mother? For my
part, I think that if you cannot endure such a mother, you
cannot endure anything that is good? 11. But tell me,"
continued he, "whether you think that you ought to pay re-
spect to any other human being, or whether you are resolved
to try to please nobody, and to follow or obey neither a general
nor any other commander?" "No indeed," replied Lamprocles,
"I have formed no such resolution." 12. "Are you then
willing," inquired Socrates, "to cultivate the good-will of
your neighbour, that he may kindle a fire for you when you
want it, or aid you in obtaining some good, or, if you happen
to meet with any misfortune, may assist you with willing and
ready help?" "I am," replied he. "Or would it make no
difference," rejoined Socrates, "whether a fellow-traveller, or
fellow-voyager, or any other person that you met with, should
be your friend or enemy? Or do you think that you ought
to cultivate their good-will?" "I think that I ought," re-
plied Lamprocles. 13. “You are then prepared," returned So-
crates, "to pay attention to such persons; and do you think
that you ought to pay no respect to your mother, who loves
you more than any one else? Do you not know that the state
takes no account of any other species of ingratitude, nor allows
any action at law for it, overlooking such as receive a favour
and make no return for it, but that if a person does not pay
due regard to his parents, it imposes a punishment on him,¹
rejects his services, and does not allow him to hold the arch-
onship, considering that such a person cannot piously perform
the sacrifices offered for the country, or discharge any other
duty with propriety and justice. Indeed if any one does not
keep up the sepulchres of his dead parents, the state inquires.
into it in the examinations of candidates for office. 14. You
therefore, my son, if you are wise, will entreat the gods to
pardon you if you have been wanting in respect towards your
mother, lest, regarding you as an ungrateful person, they should
be disinclined to do you good; and you will have regard, also,
'Concerning the law against disrespect to parents, or ill-treat-
ment of them, see Meier and Schoemann, Att. Proc. iii. 1, p. 288;
and C. F. Hermann, Gr. Staats-alterthümer, sect. 133, 11, p. 254.
Kühner
:
400
B. 11.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
[B.
to the opinion of men, lest, observing you to be neglectful of
your parents, they should all contemn you, and you should
then be found destitute of friends; for if men surmise that
you are ungrateful towards your parents, no one will believe
that if he does you a kindness he will meet with gratitude in
return."
CHAPTER III.
Socrates, hearing that two brothers, Chærephon and Chærecrates, had quar-
relled, recommends brotherly love to Chærecrates by the following argu-
ments. A brother ought to be regarded as a friend, and esteemed more
than wealth, sect. 1; for wealth is an uncertain possession, if the possess
or of it is destitute of friends, 2, 3. Fraternal love an appointment of
Nature; and men who have brothers are more respected than those who
have none, 4. Even though a brother should conceive ill feelings towards
us, we should still endeavour to conciliate him, 5-9. How such concili-
ation may be effected, 10-14. The endeavour to conciliate is still more
the duty of a younger than of an elder brother, and the more noble the
disposition of a brother is, the more easy will it be to conciliate him,
15-17. Brothers should act in unison with one another, like different
members of the same body, 18, 19.
1. SOCRATES, having observed that Charephon and Chare
crates, two brothers well known to him, were at variance with
each other, and having met with Char crates, said, “ Tell me,
Chærecrates, you surely are not one of those men, are you,
who think wealth more valuable than brothers, when wealth
is but a senseless thing, and a brother endowed with reason,
when wealth needs protection, while a brother can afford pro-
tection, and when wealth, besides, is plentiful, and a brother
but one?1 2. It is wonderful, too, that a man should con-
sider brothers to be a detriment to him, because he does not
possess his brothers' fortunes, while he does not consider his
fellow-citizens to be a detriment, because he does not possess
their fortunes; but, in the latter case, he can reason with
himself, that it is better for him, living in society with many,
to enjoy a competency in security, than, living alone, to possess
all the property of his fellow-citizens in fear of danger, while,
with regard to brothers, he knows not how to apply such rea-
"After all, there is more money than brothers."
Translation.
Bysshe's
CH. 3.]
ON BROTHERLY CONCORD.
401
soning. 3. Those who are able, too, purchase slaves, that they
may have helpers in their work, and procure friends, as being
in need of supporters, while they neglect their brothers, as if
friends could be made of fellow-citizens, but could not be
made of brothers. 4. Yet it surely conduces greatly to friend-
ship to have been born of the same parents, and to have been
brought up together, since, even among brutes, a certain affec-
tion springs up between those that are reared together. In
addition to these considerations, men pay more respect to those
who have brothers than to those who have none, and are less
forward to commit aggression on them."
5. To this Chærecrates made answer, "If, indeed, Socrates,
the dissension between us were not great, it might perhaps be
my duty to bear with my brother, and not shun his society
for slight causes; for a brother, as you say, is a valuable
possession, if he be such as he ought to be; but when he
is nothing of the sort, and is indeed quite the reverse of
what he should be, why should I attempt impossibilities ?"
6. "Whether, then, Chærecrates," rejoined Socrates, "is
Cherephon unable to please anybody, as he is unable to
please you, or are there some whom he certainly can please ?”
Yes," replied Chærecrates, "for it is for this very reason
that I justly hate him, that he can please others, while to me
he is on all occasions, whenever he comes in contact with me,
a harm rather than a good, both in word and deed."
7. "Is
the case then thus," said Socrates, "that as a horse is a harm
to him who knows not how to manage him, and yet tries to
do so, so a brother is a harm, when a person tries to manage
him without knowing how to do it?" 8. "But how can I
be ignorant," replied Chærecrates, "how to manage my
brother, when I know how to speak well of him who speaks
well of me, and to do well to him who does well to me?
to one, however, who seeks to vex me both by word and deed,
I should not be able either to speak well of him, or to act
well towards him, nor will I try." 9. "You speak strangely,
Chærecrates," rejoined Socrates, "for if a dog of yours were
of service to watch your sheep, and fawned upon your shep-
herds, but snarled when you approached him, you would for-
bear to show any ill feeling towards him, but would endeavour
to tame him by kindness; but as for your brother, though
you admit that he would be a great good to you if he were
VOL. I.
2 D
As
402
[B. IL
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
دو
وي
<<
such as he ought to be, and though you confess that you know
how to act and speak well with respect to him, you do not
even attempt to make him of such service to you as he might
be." 1
10. "I fear, Socrates," replied Charecrates, "that I
have not wisdom enough to render Cherephon such as he
ought to be towards me. "Yet there is no need to contrive
anything artful or novel to act upon him," said Socrates, as
it appears to me; for I think that he may be gained over by
means which you already know, and may conceive a high es-
teem for you.' 11. "Tell me first," said the other, "whether
you have observed that I possess any love-charm, which I
was not aware that I knew? “Answer me this question,"
said Socrates: "if you wished to induce any one of your ac-
quaintance, when he offered sacrifice, to invite you to his
feast, what would you do?" "I should doubtless begin by
inviting him when I offered sacrifice." 12. "And if you wished
to prevail on any of your friends to take care of your property,
when you went from home, what would you do?” “I should
certainly first offer to take care of his property, when he went
from home." 13. "And if you wished to induce an acquaintance
in a foreign land to receive you hospitably when you visited his
country, what would you do?" "I should unquestionably be
the first to receive him hospitably when he came to Athens;
and if I wished him to be desirous to effect for me the objects
for which I went thither, it is clear that I must first confer a
similar service on him." 14. "Have you not long been un-
awares acquainted, then, with all the love-charms that exist
among mankind? Or are you afraid," continued Socrates,
"to make the first advances, lest you should seem to degrade
yourself, if you should be the first to propitiate your brother?
Yet he is thought to be a man deserving of great praise, who
is the first to do harm to the enemy, and to do good to his
friends. If, then, Cherephon had appeared to me more
likely to bring you to this frame of mind, I would have
endeavoured to persuade him first to try to make you
his friend; but, as things stand, you seem more likely, if
you take the lead, to effect the desired object.” 15. "You
speak unreasonably, Socrates," rejoined Charecrates, "and
¹ Kühner, differing from other editors, puts a note of interroga-
tion at the end of this sentence. It seems better not to take it in-
terrogatively.
CH. 3.] BROTHER SHOULD BEAR WITH BROTHER.
403
not as might be expected from you, when you desire me, who
am the younger, to take the lead; for the established practice
among all men is quite the reverse, being that the elder should
always be first, both to act and speak." 16. "How," said So-
crates; "is it not the custom everywhere that the younger
should yield the path to the elder when he meets him, rise
from his seat before him, honour him with the softest couch,
and give place to him in conversation? Do not therefore
66
hesitate, my good young friend, but endeavour to conciliate
your brother, and he will very soon listen to you. Do you
not see how fond of honour, and how liberal-minded, he is?
Mean-minded persons you cannot attract more effectually
than by giving them something; but honourable and good
men you may best gain by treating them in a friendly spirit."
17. But what if he should become no kinder," said Chærecra-
tes, "after I have done what you advise?" "It will be of no
consequence,” replied Socrates, "for what other risk will you
run but that of showing that you are kind and full of brother-
ly affection, and that he is mean-spirited and unworthy of
any kindness? But I apprehend no such result; for I con-
ceive that when he finds you challenging him to such a con-
test, he will be extremely emulous to excel you in doing
kindnesses both by word and deed. 18. At present, you are
in the same case as if the two hands, which the gods have
made to assist each other, should neglect this duty, and begin
to impede each other; or as if the two feet, formed by divine
providence to co-operate with one another, should give up this
office, and obstruct one another. 19. Would it not be a great
folly and misfortune to use for our hurt what was formed for
our benefit? And indeed, as it appears to me, the gods have
designed brothers to be of greater mutual service than the
hands, or feet, or eyes, or other members which they have
made in pairs for men; for the hands, if required to do things,
at the same time, at greater distance than a fathom, would be
unable to do them; the feet cannot reach two objects, at the
same time, that are distant even a fathom; and the eyes,
which seem to reach to the greatest distance, cannot, of objects
that are much nearer, see at the same time those that are be-
fore and behind them; but brothers, if they are in friendship,
can, even at the greatest distance, act in concert and for mu-
tual benefit."
2D 2
404
[B. II.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
CHAPTER IV.
On the value of friendship. Many are more desirous to acquire property
than friends, sect. 1-4. But no species of property is more valuable,
lasting, and useful than a good friend: his qualities enumerated, 5-7.
1. I HEARD him, also, on one occasion, holding a discourse
concerning friends,' by which, as it seems to me, a person
might be greatly benefited, both as to the acquisition and use
of friends; for he said that he had heard many people observe
that a true and honest friend was the most valuable of all
possessions, but that he saw the greater part of mankind at-
tending to anything rather than securing friends. 2. He ob-
served them, he added, industriously endeavouring to procure
houses and lands, slaves, cattle, and furniture; but as for a
friend, whom they called the greatest of blessings, he saw
the majority considering neither how to procure one, nor
3. Even when
how those whom they had might be retained.
friends and slaves were sick, he said that he noticed people
calling in physicians to their slaves, and carefully providing
other means for their recovery, but paying no attention to
their friends; and that, if both died, they grieved for their
slaves, and thought that they had suffered a loss, but con-
sidered that they lost nothing in losing friends. Of their
other possessions they left nothing untended or unheeded,
but when their friends required attention, they utterly neg-
lected them.
4. In addition to these remarks, he observed that he saw
the greater part of mankind acquainted with the number of
their other possessions, although they might be very numer-
ous, but of their friends, though but few, they were not only
ignorant of the number, but even when they attempted to
reckon it to such as asked them, they set aside again 2 some
that they had previously counted among their friends; so
little did they allow their friends to occupy their thougnts. 5.
Yet in comparison with what possession, of all others, would not
The sentiments of Plato's Socrates concerning friendship are
given in his Lysis; but Stallbaum, in a note on it, p. 89, has justly
observed that that subject is much more acutely and copiously dis
cussed in the Symposium and Phædrus. Kühner.
2 See note on i. 2. 44.
CH. 5.]
VALUE OF FRIEnds.
405
a good friend appear far more valuable? What sort of horse,
or yoke of oxen, is so useful as a truly good friend? What
slave is so well-disposed or so attached, or what other acqui,
sition so beneficial? 6. For a good friend is ready to
supply whatever is wanting on the part of his friend, whether
in his private affairs, or for the public interests; if he is re-
quired to do a service to any one, he assists him with the
means; if any apprehension alarms him, he lends him his aid,
sometimes sharing expenditure with him, sometimes co-oper-
ating with him, sometimes joining with him to persuade.
others, sometimes using force towards others; frequently
cheering him when he is successful, and frequently support-
ing him when he is in danger of falling. 7. What the hands
do, what the eyes foresee, what the ears hear, what the feet
accomplish, for each individual, his friend, of all such ser-
vices, fails to perform no one; and oftentimes, what a person
bas not effected for himself, or has not seen, or has not
heard, or has not accomplished, a friend has succeeded in ex-
ecuting for his friend; and yet, while people try to foster trees
for the sake of their fruit, the greater portion of mankind are
heedless and neglectful of that most productive possession
which is called a friend.
CHAPTER V.
On the different estimation in which different friends are to be held. We
ought to examine ourselves, and ascertain at what value we may expect
our friends to hold us.
1. I HEARD one day another dissertation of his, which
seemed to me to exhort the hearer to examine himself, and
ascertain of how much value he was to his friends. Finding
that one of his followers was neglectful of a friend who was
oppressed with poverty, he asked Antisthenes, in the presence
of the man that neglected his friend, and of several others,
saying, "Are there certain settled values for friends, Antis-
thenes, as there are for slaves? 2. For, of slaves, one, per-
haps, is worth two mine, another not even half a mina, ano-
ther five minæ, another ten. Nicias, the son of Niceratus, is
1 ᾿Αργῶς καὶ ἀνειμένως ἐπιμέλονται.] “ Idly and negligently at-
tend to-'
406
[B. II.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
said to have bought an overseer for his silver mines' at the
price of a whole talent. I am therefore considering whether,
as there are certain values for slaves, there are also certain
values for friends." 3.There are, undoubtedly," replied.
Antisthenes; "at least I, for my part, should wish one man to
be my friend rather than have two minæ; another I should
not value even at half a mina; another I should prefer to ten
minæ; and another I would buy for my friend at the sacri-
fice of all the money and revenues in the world."2 4. “If
such be the case, therefore," said Socrates, "it would be well
for each of us to examine himself, to consider of what value
he is in the estimation of his friends; and to try to be of as
much value to them as possible, in order that his friends may
be less likely to desert him; for I often hear one man saying
that his friend has abandoned him, and another, that a person
whom he thought to be his friend has preferred a mina to
him. 5. I am considering, accordingly, whether, as one sells
a bad slave, and parts with him for whatever he will fetch, so
it may be advisable to give up a worthless friend, when there
is an opportunity of receiving more than he is worth. Good
slaves I do not often see sold at all, or good friends aban-
doned."
CHAPTER VI.
What sort of persons we should choose for our friends, sect. 1-5. How we
may ascertain the characters of men, before we form a friendship with
them, 6, 7. How we may attach men to us as friends, 8-13. Friend-
ship can exist only between the good and honourable, 14–19; between
whom it will continue to subsist in spite of differences of opinion, 19-28.
Deductions from the preceding remarks, 29-39.
1. HE appeared to me, also, to make his followers wise in
examining what sort of persons it was right to attach to
1 Τάργυρεία.] Kühner reads ταργύρια, σε money," but without
giving any reason for his preference of that reading. I have
thought it better to follow the generality of editors.
2 Πρὸ πάντων χρημάτων καὶ πόρων.] Πόρων is the conjecture of
Portus or Leunclavius, which many editors have adopted instead
of the old óvwv, which Kühner retains, supposing that it means
what is gained by labour, agreeably to the saying in ii. 1. 20, "the
gods sell us all good things for labour; and that προ πάντων
χρημάτων καὶ πόνων may be a proverbial expression. But this sense
CH. 6.]
QUALITIES OF A GOOD FRIEND.
66
407
themselves as friends, by such conversations as the following.
"Tell me, Critobulus," said he, "if we were in need of a
good friend, how should we proceed to look for one? Should
we not, in the first place, seek for a person who can govern
his appetite, his inclination to wine or sensuality, and abstain
from immoderate sleep and idleness? for one who is overcome
by such propensities would be unable to do his duty either to
himself or his friend." Assuredly he would not," said
Critobulus. "It appears then to you that we must avoid one
who is at the mercy of such inclinations ?" Undoubtedly,"
replied Critobulus. 2. Besides," continued Socrates, "does
not a man who is extravagant and yet unable to support him-
self, but is always in want of assistance from his neighbour, a
man who, when he borrows, cannot pay, and when he cannot
borrow, hates him who will not lend, appear to you to be a
dangerous friend?" "Assuredly," replied Critobulus. "We
must therefore avoid such a character?" "We must indeed."
3. “Again: what sort of friend would he be who has the means
of getting money, and covets great wealth, and who, on this
account, is a driver of hard bargains, and delights to receive,
but is unwilling to pay?" "Such a person appears to me,"
said Critobulus, "to be a still worse character than the
former." 4." What then do you think of him, who, from love
of getting money, allows himself no time for thinking of any-
thing else but whence he may obtain it?" "We must avoid
him, as it seems to me; for he would be useless to any one
that should make an associate of him." "And what do you
think of him who is quarrelsome, and likely to raise up many
enemies against his friends?" "We must avoid him also, by
Jupiter." "But if a man have none of these bad qualities,
but is content to receive obligations, taking no thought of re-
turning them?” "He also would be useless as a friend.
But what sort of person, then, Socrates, should we endea-
vour to make our friend?" 5. "A person, I think, who, being
the reverse of all this, is proof against the seductions of bodily
pleasures, is upright and fair in his dealings, and emulous not
to be outdone in serving those who serve him, so that he is
of advantage to those who associate with him.” 6. "How
of Tóvwv is so forced, and so destitute of support, that I have pre-
ferred the emendation, especially as it is effected with the change
of one letter.
408
LB. IL
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
I
then shall we find proof of these qualities in him, Socrates,
before we associate with him?" "We make proof of statu-
aries," rejoined Socrates, "not by forming opinions from their
words, but, whomsoever we observe to have executed his pre-
vious statues skilfully, we trust that he will execute others
well." 7. "You mean, then, that the man who is known to
have served his former friends, will doubtless be likely to serve
such as may be his friends hereafter?" "Yes; for whom-
soever I know to have previously managed horses with skill,
I expect to manage other horses also with skill.”
CC
8. "Be it so,” said Critobulus; "but by what means must
we make a friend of him who appears to us worthy of our
friendship?" "In the first place," answered Socrates, "we
must consult the gods, whether they recommend us to make
him our friend." "Can you tell me, then," said Critobulus,
"how he, who appears eligible to us, and whom the gods do
not disapprove, is to be secured ?” 9. Assuredly," returned
Socrates, "he is not to be caught by tracking him like the
hare, or by wiles, like birds, or by making him prisoner by
force, like enemies; for it would be an arduous task to make a
man your friend against his will, or to hold him fast if you
were to bind him like a slave; for those who suffer such treat-
ment are rendered enemies rather than friends."
10. "How
then are men made friends?" inquired Critobulus.
"They
say that there are certain incantations, which those who know
them, chant to whomsoever they please, and thus make them
their friends; and that there are also love-potions, which those
who know them, administer to whomsoever they will, and are
in consequence beloved by them." 11. "And how can we dis-
cover these charms?" "You have heard from Homer the
song which the Sirens sung to Ulysses, the commencement of
which runs thus:
Come hither, much-extolled Ulysses, great glory of the Greeks.'"
"Did the Sirens then, by singing this same song to other men
also, detain them so that they were charmed and could not
depart from them?" "No; but they sang thus to those who
were desirous of being honoured for virtue.”
"You seem
12.
to mean that we ought to apply as charms to any person, such
commendations as, when he hears them, he will not suspect
that his eulogist utters to ridicule him; for, if he con-
CH. 6.]
HOW FRIENDS ARE TO BE GAINED.
409
ceived such a suspicion, he would rather be rendered an
enemy, and would repel men from him; as, for instance, if a
person were to praise as beautiful, and tall, and strong, one
who is conscious that he is short, and deformed, and weak.
"2
""
But," added Critobulus," do you know any other charms?"
13. "No," said Socrates, "but I have heard that Pericles
knew many, which he used to chant to the city, and make it
love him." "And how did Themistocles make the city love
him?" "Not, by Jupiter, by uttering charms to it, but by
conferring¹on it some advantage." 14. "You appear to me
to mean, Socrates, that if we would attach to us any good
person as a friend, we ourselves should be good both in speak-
ing and acting.' "And did you think it possible," said So-
crates, “for a bad person to attach to himself good men as his
friends?" 15. "I have seen," rejoined Critobulus,
"bad
orators become friends to good orators, and men bad at com-
manding an army become friends to men eminently good in
the military art.' 16. “Do you, then," said Socrates, “re-
garding the subject of which we are speaking,³ know any
persons, who, being themselves useless, can make useful
sons their friends ?" "No, by Jupiter," replied Critobulus ;
"but if it is impossible for a worthless person to attach to him-
self good and honourable friends, it becomes now an object of
consideration with me, whether it is possible for one who is
himself honourable and good, to become, with ease, a friend
to the honourable and good." “What perplexes you, Cri-
tobulus, is, that you often see men who are honourable in
their conduct, and who refrain from everything disgraceful,
involved, instead of being friends, in dissensions with one
another, and showing more severity towards each other than
the worthless part of mankind." 18. "Nor is it only private
persons," rejoined Critobulus, "that act in this manner, but
even whole communities, which have the greatest regard for
17.
per-
1 Пepiápas.] A expression borrowed from witchcraft or sorcery,
when an amulet, or anything supposed to have a fascinating power,
is applied or attached to the person, and termed, in consequence,
TEρíаTTоV and TEρíaµµa, as is justly observed by Ernesti. Schneider
Αγαθοὺς λέγειν τε καὶ πράττειν.] Referring, as Coray and
Herbst think, to the eloquence of Pericles, and the exploits of
Themistocles.
• Пεpì où diaλɛyóμeda.] Socrates wishes to recall the attention of
Critobulus to the subject immediately under discussion. Kühner.
410
| B. II.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
what is honourable, and are least inclined to anything dis-
graceful, are often hostilely disposed towards one another.
19. When I reflect on these differences," continued Crito-
bulus, "I am quite in despair about the acquisition of friends;
for I see that the bad cannot be friends with one another;
for how can the ungrateful, or careless, or avaricious, or
faithless, or intemperate, be friends to each other? indeed the
bad appear to me to be altogether disposed by nature to be
mutual enemies rather than friends. 20. Again, the bad, as
you observe, can never harmonize in friendship with the good;
for how can those who commit bad actions be friends with
those who abhor such actions? And yet, if those also who
practise virtue fall into dissensions with one another about
pre-eminence in their respective communities, and even hate
each other through envy, who will ever be friends, or among
what class of mankind shall affection and attachment b
found?" 21. "But these affections act in various ways," re-
joined Socrates, "for men have by nature inclinations to
attachment, since they stand in need of each other, and feel
compassion for each other, and co-operate for mutual benefit,
and, being conscious that such is the case, have a sense of
gratitude towards one another; but they have also propen-
sities to enmity, for such as think the same objects honour-
able and desirable, engage in contention for them, and, divided
in feelings, become enemies. Disputation and anger lead to
war; the desire of aggrandizement excites ill-will; and envy
is followed by hatred. 22. But, nevertheless, friendship, in-
sinuating itself through all these hindrances, unites together
the honourable and good; for such characters, through affec-
tion for virtue, prefer the enjoyment of a moderate competency
without strife, to the attainment of unlimited power by means
of war; they can endure hunger and thirst without discon-
tent, and take only a fair share of meat and drink, and,
though delighted with the attractions of youthful beauty,
they can control themselves, so as to forbear from offending
those whom they ought not to offend. 23. By laying aside
all avaricious feelings too, they can not only be satisfied with
their lawful share of the common property, but can even
assist one another. They can settle their differences, not
only without mutual offence, but even to their mutual benefit.
They can prevent their anger from going so far as to cause
c. 6.]
GOOD MEN DISPOSED TO FRIENDSHIP.
411
them repentance; and envy they entirely banish, by sharing
their own property with their friends, and considering that of
their friends as their own.
25. But
24. "How, then, can it be otherwise than natural, that
the honourable and good should be sharers in political dis-
tinctions, not only without detriment, but even with advan-
tage, to each other? Those indeed who covet honour and
power in states, merely that they may be able to embezzle
money, to do violence to others, and to live a life of luxury,
must be regarded as unprincipled and abandoned characters,
and incapable of harmonious union with other men.
when a person wishes to attain honours in a community, in
order, not merely that he may not suffer wrong himself, but
that he may assist his friends as far as is lawful, and may
endeavour, in his term of office, to do some service to his
country, why should he not, being of such a character, form
a close union with another of similar character? Will he be
less able to benefit his friends if he unite himself with the
honourable and good, or will he be less able to serve his coun-
try if he have the honourable and good for his colleagues"
26. In the public games, indeed, it is plain, that if the strong-
est were allowed to unite and attack the weaker, they would
conquer in all the contests, and carry off all the prizes; and
accordingly people do not permit them, in those competitions,
to act in such a manner; but since, in political affairs,¹ in
which honourable and good men rule, no one hinders another
from serving his country, in concert with whomsoever he
pleases, how can it be otherwise than profitable for him to
conduct affairs with the best men as his friends, having these
as colleagues and co-operators, rather than antagonists, in his
proceedings? 27. It is evident, too, that if one man com-
inences hostilities against another, he will need allies, and will
need a great number of them, if he oppose the honourable and
good; and those who consent to be his allies must be well
treated by him, that they may be zealous in his interests;
and it is much better for him to serve the best characters,
who are the fewer, than the inferior, who are more numerous ;
for the bad require far more favours than the good. 28.
1 Επεὶ οὖν ἐκεῖ μὲν οὐκ ἐῶσι τοῦτο ποιεῖν, ἐν δὲ τοῖς πολιτικοῖς, κ. τ.
x.] 'Since, accordingly, they do not permit to act so there, (i. e.
in the public games,) but in political affairs," &c.
412
[B. II.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
But strive with good courage, Critobulus," he continued,
"to be good yourself, and, having become so, endeavour to
gain the friendship of men of honour and virtue. Perhaps I
myself also may be able to assist you in this pursuit of the
honourable and virtuous, from being naturally disposed to
love, for, for whatever persons I conceive a liking, I devote
myself with ardour, and with my whole mind, to love them,
and be loved in return by them, regretting their absence to
have mine regretted by them, and longing for their society
while they on the other hand long for mine. 29. I know that
you also must cultivate such feelings, whenever you desire to
form a friendship with any person. Do not conceal from my
knowledge, therefore, the persons to whom you may wish to
become a friend; for, from my carefulness to please those
who please me, I do not think that I am unskilled in the art
of gaining men's affections."
?
""
30. "Indeed, Socrates," replied Critobulus, "I have long
desired to receive such instructions as yours, especially if the
same knowledge will have effect at once on those who are
amiable in mind, and handsome in person. 31. "But, Crito-
bulus," replied Socrates, "there is nothing in the knowledge
that I communicate to make those who are handsome in per-
son endure him who lays hands upon them; for I am per-
suaded that men shrunk from Scylla because she offered to
put her hands on them; while every one, they say, was ready
to listen to the Sirens, and were enchanted as they listened,
because they laid hands on no one, but sang to all men from a
distance." 32. "On the understanding, then, that I shall lay my
hands on no one," said Critobulus, "tell me if you know any
effectual means for securing friends." "But will you never,"
asked Socrates, "apply your lips to theirs?"
"Be of good
courage, Socrates," said Critobulus, "for I will never apply
my lips to those of any person, unless that person be beauti-
ful." "You have now said," rejoined Socrates, "the exact
contrary to what will promote your object; for the beautiful'
will not allow such liberties, though the deformed receive
them with pleasure, thinking that they are accounted beau-
tiful for their mental qualities." 33. "As I shall caress the
beautiful, then," said Critobulus, "and caress the good with
""
1 Kaloi.] Socrates plays on the word kaλoi, which referred, as
Bornemann observes, both to beauty of person and beauty of mind.
CH. 6.]
""
EFFECTS OF JUDICIOUS PRAISE.
413
the utmost ardour, teach me, with confidence, the art of at-
taching my friends to me." "When, therefore, Critobulus,"
said Socrates, "you wish to become a friend to any one, will
you permit me to say to him concerning you, that you admire
him, and desire to be his friend?" "You may say so,” an-
swered Critobulus, "for I have never known any one dislike
those who praised him." 34. "But if I say of you, in addition,
that, because you admire him, you feel kindly disposed to-
wards him, will you not think that false information is given
of you by me?" "No: for a kind feeling springs up in my-
self also towards those whom I regard as kindly disposed
towards me. 35. "Such information, then," continued So-
crates, "I may communicate regarding you to such as you
may wish to make your friends; but if you enable me also to
say concerning you, that you are attentive to your friends;
that you delight in nothing so much as in the possession of
good friends; that you pride yourself on the honourable con-
duct of your friends not less than on your own; that you
rejoice at the good fortune of your friends not less than at
your own; that you are never weary of contriving means by
which good fortune may come to your friends; and that you
think it the great virtue of a man to surpass his friends in do-
ing them good and his enemies in doing them harm, I think
that I shall be a very useful assistant to you in gaining the
affections of worthy friends." 36. “But why," said Crito-
bulus, "do you say this to me, as if you were not at liberty to
say of me anything you please?" "No, by Jupiter," replied
Socrates; "I have no such liberty, according to a remark that
I once heard from Aspasia; for she said that skilful match-
makers, by reporting with truth good points of character, had
great influence in leading people to form unions, but that those
who said what was false, did no good by their praises, for that
such as were deceived hated each other and the match-maker
alike; and as I am persuaded that this opinion is correct, I
think that I ought not to say, when I praise you, anything
that I cannot utter with truth." 37. "You are, therefore,
returned Critobulus, "a friend of such a kind to me, Socrates,
as to assist me, if I have myself any qualities adapted to gair
friends; but if not, you would not be willing to invent any、
thing to serve me. "And whether, Critobulus," said So-
crates, "should I appear to serve you more by extolling you
"
414
LB. II.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
with false praises, or by persuading you to endeavour to be-
come a truly deserving man? 38. If this point is not clear to
you, consider it with the following illustrations: If, wishing
to make the owner of a ship your friend, I should praise
you falsely to him, pronouncing you a skilful pilot, and he,
believing me, should intrust his ship to you to steer when you
are incapable of steering it, would you have any expectation
that you would not destroy both yourself and the ship? Or if,
by false representations, I should persuade the state, publicly,
to intrust itself to you as a man skilled in military tactics, in
judicial proceedings, or in political affairs, what do you think
that yourself and the state would suffer at your hands? Or if,
in private intercourse, I should induce any of the citizens, by
unfounded statements, to commit their property to your care,
as being a good and diligent manager, would you not, when
you came to give proof of your abilities, be convicted of dis-
honesty, and make yourself appear ridiculous? 39. But the
shortest, and safest, and best way, Critobulus, is, to strive to
be really good in that in which you wish to be thought good.
Whatever are called virtues among mankind, you will find, on
consideration, capable of being increased by study and exer-
cise. I am of opinion, that it is in accordance with these
sentiments, that we ought to endeavour to acquire friends; if
you know any other way, make me acquainted with it."
should be indeed ashamed,” replied Critobulus, “to say any-
thing in opposition to such an opinion; for I should Say what
was neither honourable nor true."
CHAPTER VII.
Jocrates endeavoured to alleviate the necessities of his friends by his instruc-
tions, and by exhorting them to assist cach other. In this chapter it is
particularly shown that any person of liberal education may, when op-
pressed by poverty, honourably use his talents and accomplishments for
his support.
1. Such difficulties of his friends as arose from ignorance,
ne endeavoured to remedy by his counsel; such as sprung
from poverty, by admonishing them to assist each other ac-
cording to their means. With reference to this point, I will
CH. 7.]
NECESSITY OF LABOUR.
415
relate what I know of him from having been an ear-witness
of what he said.
3
Observing Aristarchus,¹ on one occasion, looking gloomily,
"You seem," said he, "Aristarchus, to be taking something to
heart; but you ought to impart the cause of your uneasiness
to your
friends; for perhaps we may by some means lighten
it." 2. "I am indeed, Socrates," replied Aristarchus, "in
great perplexity; for since the city has been disturbed,2 and
many of our people have fled to the Piraeus, my surviving
sisters, and nieces, and cousins have gathered about me in
such numbers, that there are now in my house fourteen free-
born persons. At the same time, we receive no profit from
our lands, for the enemy are in possession of them; nor any
rent from our houses, for but few inhabitants are left in the
city; no one will buy our furniture, nor is it possible to bor-
row money from any quarter; a person, indeed, as it seems to
me, would sooner find money by seeking it on the road, than
get it by borrowing. It is a grievous thing to me, therefore,
to leave my relations to perish; and it is impossible for me to
support such a number under such circumstances." 3. So-
crates, on hearing this, replied, " And how is it that Cera-
mon, yonder, though maintaining a great number of people,
is not only able to procure what is necessary for himself and
them, but gains so much more, also, as to be positively rich,
while you, having many to support, are afraid lest you should
all perish for want of necessaries ?" "Because, assuredly,"
replied Aristarchus, "he maintains slaves, while I have to
support free-born persons." 4. "And which of the two,” in-
quired Socrates, "do you consider to be the better, the free-
born persons that are with you, or the slaves that are with
Ceramon?" "I consider the free persons with me as the
4
1 Nothing more is known of him than is here mentioned.
Kühner.
2 When Lysander had taken the city, and established the Thirty
Tyrants, those who sought to restore the democracy and regain their
ancient liberty, occupied the Piraeus under the leadership of Thra-
sybulus, and began to make war on the supporters of the oligarchy.
See Xen. Hellen. ii. 4. Schneider,
3 Tovs λεvdépovs.] Observe the force of the article: "Fourteen,
Τοὺς ἐλευθέρους.]
and those free persons, to say nothing of slaves." Ernesti.
+ 'O Kepáµwr.] He is nowhere else mentioned. The article is
here used dεIKTIкws, Ceramon ille. Kühner.
416
[B. II.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
better." "Is it not then a disgrace that he should gain abund-
ance by means of the inferior sort, and that you should be
in difficulties while having with you those of the better
class?" "Such certainly is the case; but it is not at all
wonderful; for he supports artisans; but I, persons of liberal
education." "Artisans, then," asked Socrates,
66 are per-
sons that know how to make something useful?” "Unques-
tionably," replied Aristarchus. "Is barley-meal, then, use-
ful? " (C
Very." "Is bread?” "Not less so." "And are
men's and women's garments, coats, cloaks, and mantles, use-
ful?" "They are all extremely useful." "And do those
5.
who are residing with you, then, not know how to make any
of these things?" "They know how to make them all, as I
believe." 6. "And are you not aware that from the manu-
facture of one of these articles, that of barley-meal, Nàu-
sicydes 2 supports not only himself and his household, but a
great number of swine and oxen besides, and gains, indeed, so
much more than he wants, that he often even assists the govern-
ment with his money? Are you not aware that Cyrebus, by
making bread, maintains his whole household, and lives luxu-
riously; that Demea, of Collytus,3 supports himself by mak-
ing cloaks, Menon by making woollen cloaks, and that most
of the Megarians live by making mantles?" "Certainly
they do," said Aristarchus; "for they purchase barbarian
slaves and keep them, in order to force them to do what they
please; but I have with me free-born persons and relatives.”
7. Then," added Socrates, "because they are free and re-
lated to you, do you think that they ought to do nothing else
but eat and sleep? Among other free persons, do you see that
those who live thus spend their time more pleasantly, and do
you consider them happier, than those who practise the arts
which they know, and which are useful to support life? Do
66
1 Νή Δί', ἔφη, κ. τ. λ.] I have been obliged to supply some words
here, which it is absolutely necessary to understand, if we adhere, with
Kühner, to the reading N Aử. "Profecto ille in abundantiâ vivit,
ego in egestate; neque id mirum est, nam," &c. Finck apud Kühner.
Zeune and Schneider would read negatively μà Ai, “No, indeed, it
is not at all disgraceful, for," &c.; a change which I cannot but
think would much improve the passage.
2 By the Scholiast on Aristoph. Eccl. 426, he is called åλpıraµor-
Cós. Sturz, Lex. Xen.
3 One of the boroughs or districts into which Attica was divided.
CH. 7.]
ADVANTAGES OF INDUSTRY
417
you find that idleness and carelessness are serviceable to man-
kind, either for learning what it becomes them to know,
or for remembering what they have learned, or for maintain-
ing the health and strength of their bodies, or for acquiring
and preserving what is useful for the support of life, and that
industry and diligence are of no service at all? 8. And as to
the arts which you say they know, whether did they learn
them as being useless to maintain life, and with the in-
tention of never practising any of them, or, on the contrary,
with a view to occupy themselves about them, and to reap
profit from them? In which condition will men be more
temperate, living in idleness, or attending to useful employ-
ments? In which condition will they be more honest, if they
work, or if they sit in idleness meditating how to procure
necessaries? 9. Under present circumstances, as I should sup-
pose, you neither feel attached to your relatives, nor they to
you, for you find them burdensome to you, and they see that
you are annoyed with their company. From such feelings there
is danger that dislike may grow stronger and stronger, and
that previous friendly inclinations may be diminished. But if
you take them under your direction, so that they may be em-
ployed, you will love them, when you see that they are ser-
viceable to you, and they will grow attached to you, when they
find that you feel satisfaction in their society; and remember-
ing past services with greater pleasure, you will increase the
friendly feeling resulting from them, and consequently grow
more attached and better disposed towards each other. 10. If,
indeed, they were going to employ themselves in anything
dishonourable, death would be preferable to it; but the ac-
complishments which they know, are, as it appears, such as
are most honourable and becoming to women; and all people
execute what they know with the greatest ease and expedition,
and with the utmost credit and pleasure. Do not hesitate,
therefore," concluded Socrates, "to recommend to them this
line of conduct, which will benefit both you and them; and
they, as it is probable, will cheerfully comply with your
wishes." 11. "By the gods," exclaimed Aristarchus, “you
seem to me to give such excellent advice, Socrates, that
though hitherto I did not like to borrow money, knowing that,
when I had spent what I got, I should have no means of re-
VOL. I.
2 E
418
LB. IL
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
paying it, I now think that I can endure to do so, in order to
gain the necessary means for commencing work."
12. The necessary means were accordingly provided; wool
was bought; and the women took their dinners as they con-
tinued at work, and supped when they had finished their
tasks; they became cheerful instead of gloomy in countenance,
and, instead of regarding each other with dislike, met the looks
of one another with pleasure; they loved Aristarchus as their
protector, and he loved them as being of use to him. At last
he came to Socrates, and told him with delight of the state of
things in his house; adding that "the women complained of
him as being the only person in the house that ate the bread
of idleness." 13.
“And do you not tell them," said Socrates,
"the fable of the dog? For they say that when beasts had
the faculty of speech, the sheep said to her master, 'you act
strangely, in granting nothing to us who supply you with
wool, and lambs, and cheese, except what we get from the
ground; while to the dog, who brings you no such profits,
you give a share of the food which you take yourself.'
The dog, hearing these remarks, said, 'And not indeed with-
out reason; for I am he that protects even yourselves, so that
you are neither stolen by men, nor carried off by wolves;
while, if I were not to guard you, you would be unable even
to feed, for fear lest you should be destroyed.' In consequence
it is said that the sheep agreed that the dog should have supe-
rior honour. You, accordingly, tell your relations that you
are, in the place of the dog, their guardian and protector, and
that, by your means, they work and live in security and plea-
sure, without suffering injury from any one."
14.
CH. 8.]
CONVERSATION WITH EUTHERUS.
419
CHAPTER VIII.
Socrates persuades Eutherus, who was working for hire, to seek some more
eligible employment, as his present occupation was not suited for old age,
and recommends to him the post of steward to some rich man. An ob-
jection on the part of Eutherus, that he should dislike to have to render
an account to a master, Socrates opposes with the remark that there is no
office in the world free from responsibility.
¹
1. SEEING an old friend one day, after a considerable inter-
val of time, he said, "Whence do you come, Eutherus?" "I
am returned, Socrates," replied Eutherus, "from my retire-
ment abroad at the conclusion of the war; and I come now
from the immediate neighbourhood; for since we were robbed
of all our possessions beyond the borders, and my father left
me nothing in Attica, I am obliged to live in the city and
work with my own hands to procure the necessaries of life;
but this seems to me better than to ask aid of anybody, espe-
cially as I have nothing on which I could borrow." 2. "And
how long," said Socrates, "do you think that your bodily
labour will serve to earn what you require?"
Not very
long, by Jupiter,” replied Eutherus. "Then," said Socrates,
"when you grow older, you will doubtless be in want of
money, and no one will be willing to give you wages for your
bodily labour.” "What you say is true," rejoined Eutherus.
3. “It will be better for you, therefore," continued Socrates,
"to apply yourself immediately to some employment which
will maintain you when you are old, and, attaching yourself
to some one of those that have larger fortunes, (who requires
a person to assist him,) and, superintending his works, help-
ing to gather in his fruits, and preserve his property, to benefit
him, and to be benefited by him in return." 4. "I should
with great reluctance, Socrates," said he, "submit to slavery."
"Yet those who have the superintendence in states, and who
take care of the public interests, are not the more like slaves
on that account, but are thought to have more of the free-
1 There is no doubt that the allusion here is to the peace of
Theramenes, by which everything that the Athenians possessed be-
yond the limits of Attica was taken from them. See Plutarch. Lys.
14. Andoc. de Pace, 12. Krüger.
2 E 2
420
[B. 11.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
man."
5. "In a word, however," rejoined Eutherus, "I am
not at all willing to make myself liable to any one's censure."
"But assuredly, Eutherus," said Socrates, "it is not very easy
to find an employment in which a person would not be ex-
posed to censure; for it is difficult to do anything so as to
commit no error; and it is difficult, even if you have done it
without error, to meet with a considerate judge; for even in
the occupation in which you are now engaged I should wonder
if it be easy for you to go through it without blame. 6. But
you must endeavour to avoid such employers as are given to
censure, and seek such as are candid; to undertake such duties
as you are able to do, and to decline such as you cannot fulfil;
and to execute whatever you take upon you in the best manner
and with the utmost zeal; for I think that, by such conduct,
you will be least exposed to censure, you will most readily
find assistance in time of need, and you will live with the
greatest ease and freedom from danger, and with the best pro-
vision for old age.
CHAPTER IX.
Crito, a rich man, complaining that he is harassed by informers, Socrates
recommends him to secure the services of Archedemus, a poor man well
skilled in the law, to defend him against them; a plan by which both
are benefited. Archedemus also assists others, and gains both reputation
and emolument.
1. I KNOW that he also heard Crito once observe, how
difficult it was for a man who wished to mind his own busi-
ness to live at Athens.¹ "For at this very time," added he,
"there are people bringing actions against me, not because
they have suffered any wrong from me, but because they
think that I would rather pay them a sum of money than
have the trouble of law proceedings." 2. "Tell me, Crito,"
said Socrates, "do you not keep dogs, that they may drive
away the wolves from your sheep?" "Certainly," answered
1 To live at Athens is said to have been troublesome on account
of the sycophantæ, or informers, whom the populace allowed to harass
and annoy the richer class, in the belief that such liberty helped to
support the democracy. Schneider.
сп. 9.]
ARCHEDEMUS SERVES CRITO.
421
3.
Crito, "for it is more profitable to me to keep them than not."
"Would you not then be inclined to keep a man also, who
would be willing and able to drive away from you those that
try to molest you?" "I would with pleasure," returned Crito,
"if I were not afraid that he would turn against me.”
"But do you not see," said Socrates, "that it would be much
more pleasant for him to serve himself by gratifying such a
man as you than by incurring your enmity. And be assured
that there are such characters here, who would be extremely
ambitious to have you for a friend.”
4. In consequence of this conversation, they fixed upon
Archedemus, a man of great ability both in speaking and
acting, but poor; for he was not of a character to make
money by every means, but was a lover of honesty, and a
person of superior mind, so that he could draw money from
the informers.¹ Crito, therefore, whenever he gathered in
his corn, or oil, or wine, or wool, or anything else that grew
on his land, used to select a portion of it, and give it to Ar-
chedemus ; and used to invite him whenever he sacrificed,²
and paid him attention in every similar way. 5. Archedemus,
accordingly, thinking that Crito's house would be a place of
refuge for him, showed him much respect, and quickly dis-
covered, on the part of Crito's accusers, many illegal acts,
and many persons who were enemies to those accusers, one of
whom he summoned to a public trial, in which it would be
settled what he should suffer or pay.3 6. This person, being
conscious of many crimes, tried every means to get out of the
hands of Archedemus; but Archedemus would not let him
off, until he ceased to molest Crito, and gave himself a sum
of money besides.
7. When Archedemus had succeeded in this and some
C
· Φιλό χρηστός τε καὶ εὐφυέστερος ὢν, ἀπὸ τῶν συκοφαντῶν λαμβάνειν.]
Understand ὥστε, so that he could get the better of the syco-
phants, and draw money from them, instead of allowing them to
practise on Crito." This is the reading of Kühner; most editions
have ἔφη ῥᾷστον εἶναι, “ he said that it was very easy to get money
from the sycophants.
2 When the sacrifice was ended, an entertainment followed, to
which it was usual to invite kinsmen and friends, as a mark of
respect. See Bachius ad Hieron. viii. 3. Kühner.
3 Ο τι δεῖ παθεῖν ἢ ἀποτῖσαι.] A legal expression, παθεῖν referring
to corporal punishment, áπоrina to a pecuniary fine.
422
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
[B. II. CH. 10.
other similar proceedings, then, as when any shepherd has a
good dog, other shepherds wish to station their flocks near
him, in order to have the benefit of his dog, so likewise many
of the friends of Crito begged him to lend them the services
of Archedemus as a protector. 8. Archedemus willingly
gratified Crito in this respect, and thus not only Crito himself
was left at peace, but his friends. And if any of those with
whom he was at variance taunted him with receiving favours
from Crito, and paying court to him, Archedemus would ask,
'whether is it disgraceful to be benefited by honest men,
and to make them your friends by serving them in return,
and to be at variance with the unprincipled, or to make the
honourable and good your enemies by trying to wrong them,
and to make the bad your friends by co-operating with them,
and associate with the vicious instead of the virtuous?" From
this time Archedemus was one of Crito's friends, and was
honoured by the other friends of Crito.
CHAPTER X.
Socrates exhorts Diodorus, a rich man, to aid his friend Hermogenes, who
is in extreme poverty. A man endeavours to preserve the life of a slave,
and ought surely to use greater exertions to save a friend, who will well
repay our kindness.
(6
(C
1. I AM aware that he also held a conversation with Dio-
dorus, one of his followers, to the following effect.
"Tell
me, Diodorus," said he, "if one of your slaves runs away, do
you use any care to recover him?" 2. Yes, indeed," an-
swered he, "and I call others to my aid, by offering rewards
for capturing him." "And if any of your slaves falls ill,"
continued Socrates, "do you pay any attention to him, and
call in medical men, that he may not die?" Certainly,"
replied the other. "And if any one of your friends, who is
far more valuable to you than all your slaves, is in danger of
perishing of want, do you not think that it becomes you to
take care of him, that his life may be saved? 3. But you are
not ignorant that Hermogenes is not ungrateful, and would
be ashamed, if, after being assisted by you, he were not to
serve you in return; and indeed to secure such a supporter as
B. III. CH. 1.] ON CHARITY. ON DOING OUR DUTY.
423
he, willing, well-disposed, steady, and not only able to do what
he is directed, but capable of being useful of himself, and of
taking forethought, and forming plans for you, I consider
equivalent to the value of many slaves. 4. Good economists
66
say that you ought to buy, when you can purchase for a little
what is worth much; but now, in consequence of the troubled
state of affairs, it is possible to obtain good friends at a very
easy rate."
5. "You say well, Socrates," rejoined Diodorus;
"and therefore tell Hermogenes to come to me." No, by
Jupiter," said Socrates, "I shall not; for I think it not so
honourable for you to send for him as to go yourself to
him; nor do I consider it a greater benefit to him than to
you that this intercourse should take place." 6. Diodorus
accordingly went to Hermogenes, and secured, at no great
expense, a friend who made it his business to consider by
what words or deeds he could profit or please Diodorus.
BOOK III.
CHAPTER 1.
Socrates used to exhort those who aspired to public offices to learn the
duties that would be required in them. The duties of a military com-
mander, and his responsibilities, sect. 1-5. He must know many things
besides military tactics, 6-11.
1
1. I WILL now show that Socrates was of great service to
those who aspired to posts of honour, by rendering them
attentive to the duties of the offices which they sought.
Having heard that Dionysodorus2 had arrived at the city,
offering to teach the art of a general, he said to one of those
who were with him, whom he observed to be desirous of
obtaining that honour in the state, 2. "It is indeed unbe-
coming, young man, that he who wishes to be commander of
1 Twv kaλwv.] Tà кaλà are here munera publica, honores. See
Weiske ad h. 1., and Haas. ad lib. de Rep. Lac. p. 95, seq. Kühner.
2 A native of Chios, and brother of Euthydemus. He first taught
the military art at Athens, and then devoted himself to the profes-
cion of the Sophists. See Cobet, Prosopogr. Xen. p. 38. Kühner.
424
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
an army in his country should neglect to learn the duties of
that office when he has an opportunity of learning them; and
such a person would be far more justly punished by his coun-
try than one who should contract to make statues for it,
when he had not learned to make them; 3. for as the whole
state, in the perils of war, is intrusted to the care of the
general, it is likely that great advantages will occur if he act
well, and great evils if he fall into error. How, then, would
not he, who neglects to learn the duties of the office, while he
is eager to be elected to it, be deservedly punished?" By
making such observations, he induced the young man to go
and learn.
4. When, after having learned, he returned to Socrates again,
he began to joke upon him, saying, "Since Homer, my
friends, has represented Agamemnon as dignified,' does not
this young man, after learning to be a general, seem to you to
look more dignified than before? For as he who has learned
to play the lyre is a lyrist, though he may not use the instru-
ment, and he who has learned the art of healing is a physician,
though he may not practise his art, so this youth will from
henceforth be a general, though no one may elect him to com-
mand; but he who wants the proper knowledge is neither
general nor physician, even though he be chosen to act as
such by all the people in the world. 5. But," he continued,
"in order that we may have a better knowledge of the mili-
tary art, in case any one of us should have to command a
troop or company under you, tell us how he began to teach
you generalship?" "He began," replied the youth, "with
the same thing with which he ended; for he taught me
tactics, and nothing else." 6. "But," said Socrates, "how
small a part of the qualifications of a general is this! For a
general must be skilful in preparing what is necessary for
war, able² in securing provisions for his troops, a man of great
contrivance and activity, careful, persevering, and sagacious;
kind, and yet severe; open, yet crafty; careful of his own,
yet ready to steal from others; profuse, yet rapacious; lavish
of presents, yet eager to acquire money; cautious, yet enter-
prising; and many other qualities there are, both natural and
acquired, which he, who would fill the office of general with
ability, must possess. 7. It is good, indeed, to be skilled in
2 Compare Cyrop. i. 6, 12. seqq.
1 Γεραρόν. Ιl. iii. 171.
CH. 1.]
THE DUTIES OF A GENERAL.
425
tactics; for a well-arranged army is very different from a
disorderly one; as stones and bricks, wood and tiles, if thrown
together in confusion, are of no use whatever; but when the
stones and tiles, materials not likely to rot or decay, are
placed at the bottom and the top, and the bricks and wood
are arranged in the middle, (as in building,) a house, which is
a valuable piece of property, is formed." 8. "What you have
said, Socrates," rejoined the youth, "is an exact illustration
of our practice; for in the field of battle we must place the
bravest troops in the front and rear, and the cowardly in the
middle, that they may be led on by those before them, and
pushed forward by those behind."2 9. "If indeed he has
taught you to distinguish the brave and cowardly," rejoined
Socrates, "that rule may be of use; but if not, what profit
there in what you have learned? for if he ordered you, in
arranging a number of coins, to lay the best first and last,
and the worst in the middle, and gave you no instructions
how to distinguish the good and bad, his orders to you would
be to no purpose.' 'But indeed," he replied, "he did not
teach me this; so that we must distinguish the brave from
the cowardly ourselves."3 10. "Why should we not consider
then," said Socrates, "how we may avoid mistakes as to that
matter?" "I am willing," returned the young man.
then we had to capture a sum of money, and were to place
the most covetous men in front, should we not arrange them
properly?” "It appears so to me. "And what must
generals do when entering on a perilous enterprise? Must
they not place the most ambitious in front?" They at
least," said the young man, "are those who are ready to
brave danger for the sake of praise; and they are by no
means difficult to discover, but will be everywhere con-
spicuous and easy to be selected.”4 11. “But did your in-
""
¹ Compare Cyrop. vi. 3, 25.
وو
2 See Cyrop. vii. 5. 5. As Homer, Il. iv. 297, says of Nestor,
The horse and chariots to the front assign'd,
The foot (the strength of war) he rang'd behind;
The middle space suspected troops supply,
Enclos'd by both, nor left the power to fly. Pope.
(C If
3 So that if we have to decide which are good, and which bad, we
must make the decision for ourselves. Kühner.
These remarks on the easiness of discovering the ambitious,
are given to the young man by Schneider, Kühner, and, I believe,
426
[B. III.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
structor," inquired Socrates, "teach you to arrange an army,
merely, or did he tell you for what purpose, and in what
manner, you must employ each division of your forces ?"
"Not at all," replied he. "Yet there are many occasions,
on which it is not proper to draw up an army, or to conduct
it, in the same way." But, by Jupiter, he gave me no ex-
planation as to such occasions." "Go again, then, by all
means," said Socrates, "and question him; for if he knows,
and is not quite shameless, he will blush, after taking your
money, to send you away in ignorance.”
<<
CHAPTER II.
A good general ought to take measures for the safety, maintenance, and
success of his troops; and not to study his own honour alone, but that
of his whole army.
6
1. HAVING met, on some occasion, a person who had been
elected general, Socrates said to him, "Why is it, do you
think, that Homer has styled Agamemnon Shepherd of the
people?' Is it not for this reason, that as a shepherd must
be careful that his sheep be safe, and have food, and the ob-
ject may be effected for which they are kept, so a general
must take care that his soldiers be safe, and have provisions,
and that the object be effected for which they serve? and
they serve, no doubt, that they may increase their gratifica-
tions by conquering the enemy. 2. Or why has he praised
Agamemnon in the following manner, saying that he was
Both characters, a good king, and an efficient warrior?"
Does he not mean that he would not have been "
an efficient
warrior," if he had fought courageously alone against the
enemy, and if he had not been the cause of courage to his
whole army; and that he would not have been "a good king,"
if he had attended to his own subsistence only, and had not
been the cause of comfort to those over whom he ruled? 3.
all other editors; but it might be inquired whether they are not
more suitable to the character of Socrates, to whom Sarah Fielding
has taken the liberty of giving them.
Il. iii. 179.
сн. 3.]
DUTIES OF A CAVALRY OFFICER.
427
For a man is chosen king, not that he may take good care of
himself, but that those who have chosen him may prosper by
his means; and all men, when they take the field, take it that
their lives may be rendered as happy as possible, and choose
generals that they may conduct them to the accomplishment
of that object. 4. It is incumbent on the leader of an army,
therefore, to carry into execution the views of those who have
chosen him their leader. Nor is it easy to find anything more
honourable than such exertion, or more disgraceful than an
opposite course of conduct."
Thus considering what was the merit of a good leader, he
omitted other points in his character, and left only this, that
he should render those whom he commanded happy.
CHAPTER III.
The duty of a commander of cavalry is twofold, to improve the condition
both of his men and his horses; and not to leave the care of the horses to
the troops, sect. 1-4. How he should train his men, and how he should
be himself qualified to do so, 5-10. He should acquire oratorical
power, that he may incite his men to exertion, and fire them with the
desire of glory, 11–15.
1. I REMEMBER that he held a dialogue with a person who
had been chosen Hipparch,' to the following purport. "Could
you tell me, young man," said he, "with what object you de-
sired to be a Hipparch? It certainly was not for the sake of rid-
ing first among the cavalry; for the horse-archers are honoured
with that dignity, as they ride even before the Hipparchs."
"You say the truth," said the youth. "Nor was it,
surely, for the sake of being noticed, for even madmen are
noticed by everybody." "You say the truth in that respect
also." 2. "But was it, then, that you expect to render the
cavalry better, and present them in that condition to your
country, and that, if there should be need for the services of
There were at Athens two inπаруоi, or commanders of the horse,
who had supreme authority over the cavalry, but were subject to
the orders of the ten orpárnyou, or commanders of the infantry. The
duties of a Hipparch Xenophon has described in his treatise en-
titled 'Imaрxikós. Kühner.
428
[B. II.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
CC
cavalry, you hope, as their leader, to be the author of some
advantage to the state?" "I do hope so, certainly." "And
it will be truly honourable to you," continued Socrates, “if
you are able to effect that object. But the office, to which
you have been chosen, takes charge of both the horses and
riders?" "It does so," said the young man. 3.
C6 Come then,
tell me this first of all, how you propose to render the horses
better?" That," replied the other, "I do not consider to
be my business; for I think that each man, individually, must
take care of his own horse." 4. "If, then," said Socrates,
some of the men should present their horses before you so
diseased in the feet, so weak in the legs, or so feeble in body,
and others theirs so ill-fed, that they could not follow you;
others, theirs so unmanageable, that they would not remain
where you posted them; others, theirs so vicious that it
would not be possible to post them at all; what would be
the use of such cavalry to you? Or how would you be able,
at the head of them, to be of any service to your country?"
"You admonish me well," said the youth, "and I will try
to look to the horses as far as may be in my power."
"And will you not also endeavour," asked Socrates, "to make
the riders better?" "I will," said he. "You will first of
all, then, make them more expert in mounting their horses."
"I ought to do so; for if any of them should fall off, they
would thus be better prepared to recover themselves."
66
5.
6.
'If, then," said Socrates, "you should be obliged to hazard
an engagement, whether will you order your men to bring
the enemy down to the level sand¹ on which you have been
accustomed to ride, or will you try to exercise them on such
ground as that on which the enemy may show themselves?"
"The latter method will be the better," said the young man.
7.
"Will you also take any care that the greatest possible
number of your men may be able to hurl the dart on horse-
back?" "That will be better too," replied he. "And have
you considered how to whet the courage of your cavalry,
since you intend to make them more courageous, and animate
them against the enemy ? " "If I have not yet considered,"
The cavalry were exercised on level ground strewed with sand;
hence such places were called aµµódpoμoi. See Lexic. apud Ruhnk.
ad Timæum, p. 23. ed. ii. Schneider. See also Hipparch. i. 5, and
Schneider ad Hipparch. iii. 10.
CH. 3.]
DUTIES OF A CAVALRY OFFICER.
8.
429
said he, "I will now try to do so." And have you at all
considered how your cavalry may be induced to obey you?
For without obedience you will have no profit either from
horses or horsemen, spirited and valiant as they may be."
"You say the truth, Socrates," said he; "but by what means
can a leader most effectually induce them to obedience?
9. "You are doubtless aware that in all circumstances men
most willingly obey those whom they consider most able to
direct; for in sickness patients obey him whom they think
the best physician; on ship-board, the passengers obey him
whom they think the best pilot, and in agriculture, people
obey him whom they deem the best husbandman." Unques-
tionably," said the young man. "Is it not then likely," said
Socrates, "that in horsemanship also, others will be most will-
ing to obey him who appears to know best what he ought
to do?" 10. "If, therefore, Socrates, I should myself appear
the best horseman among them, will that circumstance be
sufficient to induce them to obey me?" "If you convince
them in addition," said Socrates, "that it is better and safer
for them to obey you." "How, then, shall I convince them
of that?" "With much more ease," replied Socrates, "than
you had to convince them that bad things are better and
more profitable than good.” 11. "You mean," said the young
man, "that a commander of cavalry, in addition to his other
qualifications, should study to acquire some ability in speak-
ing.” “And did you think," asked Socrates, "that you would
command cavalry by silence? Have you not reflected, that
whatever excellent principles we have learned according to
law,¹ principles by which we know how to live, we learned all
through the medium of speech; and that whatever other
valuable instruction any person acquires, he acquires it by
means of speech likewise? Do not those who teach best, use
speech most; and those who know the most important truths,
discuss them with the greatest eloquence? 12. Or have you
if
not observed, that when a band of dancers and musicians is
2
1 Nóuq.] That is, more et institutis civitatis. Ernesti.
The idea is, that though the Athenians excel other people in
many respects, they excel them in nothing more than in their love
of praise. If, therefore, you wish to improve the cavalry, you must
bestow praises and honours upon them as often as they do their
duty well. Lange.
430
[B. III
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
13.
formed from this city, as that, for instance, which is sent to
Delos,¹ no one from any other quarter can compete with it;
and that in no other city is manly grace2 shown by num-
bers of people like that which is seen here?”
"What you
say is true," said he.
"But it is not so much in sweet-
ness of voice, or in size and strength of body, that the Athe-
nians excel other people, as in ambition, which is the greatest
incitement to whatever is honourable and noble.” "This also
is true," said he. 14. Do you not think, then," said So-
crates, “that if any one should study to improve the cavalry
here, the Athenians would excel other people in that depart-
ment also, (as well in the decoration of their arms and horses
as in the good order of the men, and in boldly defying danger
to encounter the enemy,) if they thought that by such means
they would acquire praise and honour?" "It is probable,"
said the young man. "Do not delay, therefore,” added So-
crates, "but try to excite your men to those exertions by which
you will both be benefited yourself, and your countrymen
through your means.” "I will assuredly try," replied he.
CHAPTER IV.
Nicomachides complaining that the Athenians had not chosen him general,
though he was experienced in war, but Antisthenes, who had seen no
military service, Socrates proceeds to show that Antisthenes, although he
had never filled the office of commander, might have qualities to indicate
that he would fill it with success.
1. SEEING Nicomachides,³ one day, coming from the as-
sembly for the election of magistrates, he asked him, "Who
1 The Athenians sent a chorus to Delos every year, and a sacred
deputation, in which there was also a chorus, every fifth year, to
celebrate games in honour of Apollo. It is of this deputation that
the passage in iv. 8. 2 is to be understood. Weiske.
2 He refers to the custom of selecting the best-looking men, both
young and old, to walk as Thallophori at the Panathenæa, or feast
of Minerva. See Harpocration sub h. v. ibique Valesius, p. 34. Old
men are mentioned as Thallophori by Xen. Sympos. iv. 17.
Athenæus, lib. xiii. p. 565. Schneider.
3 Nothing is said of him elsewhere. Kühner.
See
CH. 4.]
GOOD QUALITIES FOR COMMAND.
""
431
2.
have been chosen generals, Nicomachides?" "Are not the
Athenians the same as ever, Socrates?" he replied; "for
they have not chosen me, who am worn out with serving on
the list, both as captain and centurion,2 and with having re-
ceived so many wounds from the enemy, (he then drew aside
his robe, and showed the scars of the wounds,) but have
elected Antisthenes, who has never served in the heavy-armed
infantry, nor done anything remarkable in the cavalry, and
who indeed knows nothing, but how to get money.'
"Is it not good, however, to know this," said Socrates, "since
he will then be able to get necessaries for the troops ?"
"But
merchants,” replied Nicomachides, "are able to collect money;
and yet would not, on that account, be capable of leading an
army." 3. "Antisthenes, however," continued Socrates, "is
given to emulation, a quality necessary in a general. Do you
not know that whenever he has been chorus-manager 3 he has
gained the superiority in all his choruses ?" 'But, by Jupi-
ter," rejoined Nicomachides, "there is nothing similar in
managing a chorus and an army." 4. "Yet Antisthenes,"
said Socrates, "though neither skilled in music nor in teach-
ing a chorus, was able to find out the best masters in these
departments." "In the army, accordingly," exclaimed Nico-
machides, "he will find others to range his troops for him,
and others to fight for him!" 5. "Well, then," rejoined So-
crates, "if he find out and select the best men in military
affairs, as he has done in the conduct of his choruses, he will
probably attain superiority in this respect also; and it is
likely that he will be more willing to spend money for a vic-
tory in war on behalf of the whole state, than for a victory
with a chorus in behalf of his single tribe.”5
6. “Do you
4
¹ 'EK KATAλóyov.] E delectu militans. * **Significatur ratio quâ
ad militares expeditiones venit. Kühner: who also refers to Thucyd.
viii. 24; Aristot. Polit. v. 2; and Suidas, v. Kaтáλoyoç.
κατάλογος.
2 Λοχαγῶν καὶ ταξιαρχῶν.] Serving as λοχαγός, captain of twenty
five, and ragiapxòs, captain of a hundred.
3 The xoonyos, or chorus-manager, among the Attic writers, is
properly he who raised the chorus, and provided it with instruction
and everything necessary, at his own expense. Schneider.
Böckh, Sub. Econ. of Athens, vol. i. p. 487.
4
See
* Χορῶν διδασκαλίας.] He that taught and disciplined the χορὸς,
was called χοροῦ διδάσκαλος.
"The victory belonged, not to the xopnyòs, but to his tribe, in the
432
[B. III.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
CC
8.
say, then, Socrates," said he, "that it is in the power of the
same man to manage a chorus well, and to manage an army
well?" I say," said Socrates, "that over whatever a man
may preside, he will, if he knows what he needs, and is able
to provide it, be a good president, whether he have the direc-
tion of a chorus, a family, a city, or an army." 7. "By
Jupiter, Socrates," cried Nicomachides, "I should never have
expected to hear from you that good managers of a family
would also be good generals." Come, then," proceeded So
crates, "let us consider what are the duties of each of them,
that we may understand whether they are the same, or are in
any respect different." "By all means," said he. "Is it
not, then, the duty of both," asked Socrates, "to render those
under their command obedient and submissive to them?"
"Unquestionably." "Is it not also the duty of both to in-
trust various employments to such as are fitted to execute
them?" "That is also unquestionable." "To punish the
bad, and to honour the good, too, belongs, I think, to each of
them." "Undoubtedly." 9. "And is it not honourable in both
to render those under them well-disposed towards them?"
"That also is certain." "And do you think it for the interest
of both to gain for themselves allies and auxiliaries or not?"
"It assuredly is for their interest." "Is it not proper for
both also to be careful of their resources ?" "Assuredly."
"And is it not proper for both, therefore, to be attentive and
industrious in their respective duties ?” 10. "All these par-
ticulars," said Nicomachides,
are common alike to both;
but it is not common to both to fight." "Yet both have
doubtless enemies," rejoined Socrates. "That is probably the
case," said the other. "Is it not for the interest of both to
gain the superiority over those enemies?" 11. "Certainly;
but to say nothing on that point, what, I ask, will skill in
managing a household avail, if it be necessary to fight?" "It
will doubtless, in that case, be of the greatest avail," said So-
crates; "for a good manager of a house, knowing that nothing
is so advantageous or profitable as to get the better of your
enemies when you contend with them, nothing so unprofitable
and prejudicial as to be defeated, will zealously seek and pro-
vide everything that may conduce to victory, will carefully
name of which the money was expended. Schneider. Attica was
divided into ten tribes.
CH. 5.7
CONVERSATION WITH PERICLES.
433
watch and guard against whatever tends to defeat, will vigor-
ously engage if he sees that his force is likely to conquer, and,
what is not the least important point, will cautiously avoid en-
gaging if he find himself insufficiently prepared. 12. Do not
therefore, Nicomachides," he added, "despise men skilful in
managing a household; for the conduct of private affairs
differs from that of public concerns only in magnitude; in
other respects they are similar; but what is most to be ob-
served, is, that neither of them are managed without men, and
that private matters are not managed by one species of men,
and public matters by another; for those who conduct public
business make use of men not at all differing in nature from
those whom the managers of private affairs employ; and those
who know how to employ them, conduct either private or public
affairs judiciously, while those who do not know, will err in
the management of both.”
CHAPTER V.
Conversation of Socrates with Pericles the younger on the manner in which
the Athenians might be made to recover their ancient spirit and ambition.
They ought to be reminded of the deeds of their ancestors, sect. 1-12;
and to be taught that indolence has been the cause of their degeneracy,
13. They ought to revive the institutions of their forefathers, or imitate
those of the Lacedæmonians, 14; and to pay great attention to military
affairs, 15-25. How the territory of Attica might be best secured against
invasion, 26-28.
1. CONVERSING, on one occasion, with Pericles,¹ the son of
the great Pericles, Socrates said, "I have hopes, Pericles, that
under your leadership the city will become more eminent and
famous in military affairs, and will get the better of her ene-
mies." "I wish, Socrates," said Pericles,
"that what you
say may happen; but how such effects are to be produced, I
cannot understand." "Are you willing, then," asked So-
This is the Pericles, the illegitimate son of the great Pericles,
whom the Athenians, when the legitimate sons of the elder Pericles
were dead, naturalized, in order to gratify his father. See Plutarch
in Pericl. extr. Being made general with Thrasylus and Erasinides,
and being involved in the ill-success at Arginusæ, he was con-
demned to death, Olymp. xciii. 2. Ernesti.
VOL. I.
2 r
434
[B. III.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
2.
crates, "that we should have some conversation on these
points, and consider how far there is a possibility of effecting
what we desire." "I am quite willing," replied Pericles.
"Are you aware, then," said Socrates, "that the Athenians
are not at all inferior in number to the Boeotians ?"
"I am,"
said Pericles. "And whether do you think that a greater
number of efficient and well-formed men could be selected
from the Boeotians, or from the Athenians ?" "The Atheni-
ans do not appear to me to be inferior in this respect."
“And which of the two peoples do you consider to be more
united among themselves?" "I think that the Athenians
are; for many of the Baotians, being oppressed by the The-
bans, entertain hostile feelings towards them. But at Athens
I see nothing of the kind.” 3. "But the Athenians are more-
over of all people most eager for honour and most friendly in
disposition; qualities which most effectually impel men to face
danger in the cause of glory and of their country."
Athenians are certainly not to be found fault with in these
respects." "And assuredly there is no people that can boast
of greater or more numerous exploits of their ancestors than
the Athenians; a circumstance by which many are prompted
and stimulated to cultivate manly courage and to become
brave." "All that you say is true, Socrates, but you see
that since the slaughter of the thousand occurred at Lebadeia
under Tolmides,' and that at Delium under Hippocrates,2
the reputation of the Athenians has suffered as far as regards
the Boeotians, and the spirit of the Boeotians has been raised
4.
"The
¹ Lebadeia was a town of central Boeotia, between Haliartus and
Charonea; the whole province is now comprehended under the
name of Livadia. From the proximity of these places, it has hap-
pened that the battle is sometimes called the battle at Lebadeia,
sometimes at Charonea, sometimes at Coronea. See Thucyd. i.
113; Plutarch, Pericl. c. 18; Agesil. c. 19; Diod. Sic. xii. 6; Plat.
Alcib. I. p. 112, E. The battle was fought B. c. 447. The "slaugh
ter" was of a thousand Athenians by the Boeotians. Tolmides was
the Athenian general. Kühner.
Hippocrates was a general of the Athenians killed by the
Boeotians. See Krüger, de Xen. Vit. Questt. Critt. p. 6. Cobet
Prosopogr. Xen. p. 49. The battle at Delium was fought в. c. 424
Socrates, as Schneider observes, was present at it, according to
Strabo, ix. p. 618, B., and Diogenes Laertius, Vit. Soc. See Thucyd
iv. 93, segg.
*** Delium was a temple of Apollo in Boeotia, near
which a little town seems gradually to have arisen; for Strabo and
others speak of a πολιχνίον. Kühner.
cn. 5.]
CONDITION OF THE ATHENIANS.
435
7.
as far as regards the Athenians, so that the Boeotians, indeed,
who formerly did not dare, even on their own soil, to meet
the Athenians in the field without the aid of the Spartans
and other Peloponnesians, now threaten to invade Attica
single-handed; while the Athenians, who formerly, when the
Boeotians were unsupported, ravaged Boeotia, are afraid lest
the Boeotians should lay waste Attica. 5. "I perceive, in-
deed," said Socrates, "that such is the case; but the city
seems to me now to be more favourably disposed for any good
general; for confidence produces in men carelessness, indo-
lence, and disobedience, but fear renders them more attentive,
obedient, and orderly. 6. You may form a notion of this
from people in a ship; for as long as they fear nothing, they
are all in disorder, but as soon as they begin to dread a storm,
or the approach of an enemy, they not only do everything
that they are told to do, but are hushed in silence, waiting
for the directions to be given, like a band of dancers.”¹
"Well then,” said Pericles, "if they would now, assuredly,
obey, it would be time for us to discuss how we might incite
them to struggle to regain their ancient spirit, glory, and
happiness." 8. "If then," said Socrates, we wished them
to claim property of which others were in possession, we
should most effectively urge them to lay claim to it, if we
proved that it belonged to their fathers, and was their rightful
inheritance; and since we wish that they should strive for
pre-eminence in valour, we must show them that such pre-,
eminence was indisputably theirs of old, and that if they now
exert themselves to recover it, they will be the most power-
ful of all people." 9. How, then, can we convince them of
this?” “I think that we may do so, if we remind them that
they have heard that their most ancient forefathers, of whom
we have any knowledge, were the bravest of men." 10. "Do
allude to the dispute between the gods, of which Cecrops
you
and his assessors had the decision on account of their valour?"
"I do allude to that, and to the education and birth of Erech-
(C
66
2
1 Ὥσπερ χορευταί.] Who always look to the coryphæus, or
chorus-leader. Schneider.
Cecrops is said to have sat as judge between Neptune and
Minerva when they were contending for the dominion over Attica.
The fable is related both by other writers and by Apollodorus, iii.
14. See Heyne, Observat. p. 321, seqq., and the commentators on
Ovid. Met. vi. 70. Schneider.
2F2
436
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
4
theus,' and the war which occurred in his time with the people
of the whole adjoining continent,² as well as that which was
waged under the Heracleida against the Peloponnesians,3 and
all the wars that were carried on under Theseus, in all of
which they showed themselves the bravest people of their
time; 11. and also, if you please, to what their descendants
have since done, who lived not long before our day, not only
contending, with their own unassisted strength, against the
lords of all Asia and of Europe, as far as Macedonia, (who
inherited vast power and wealth from their ancestors, and
who had themselves performed great achievements,) but also
distinguishing themselves, in conjunction with the Pelopon-
nesians, both by land and sea. They, doubtless, are cele-
brated as having far surpassed other men of their time."
"They are so," said Pericles. 12. "In consequence, though
many migrations occurred in Greece, they remained in their
own country; and many, when contending for their rights,
submitted their claims to their arbitration, while many others,
also, when persecuted by more powerful people, sought refuge
with them." 13. "I wonder, indeed, Socrates,” said Pericles,
"how our city ever degenerated." "I imagine,” said So-
crates, "that as some other nations have grown indolent
¹ Erectheus was the fourth king of Athens. Il. ii. 547:
Athens the fair, where great Erectheus sway'd,
That owed his nurture to the blue-ey'd maid,
But from the teeming furrow took his birth,
The mighty offspring of the foodful earth. Pope.
5
2 The continent meant is the country of Thrace, which, in the
earliest times, reached to the boundaries of Attica. See Isocrates,
Panegyr. c. 19. The war intended is that which was waged by the
Athenians against the Thracians and Eleusinians. See Goeller ad
Thucyd. ii. 15, and Stallbaum ad Plat. Menex. p. 239, B. Kühner.
3 The war carried on by the descendants of Hercules against
Eurystheus and the Peloponnesians. Kühner.
He alludes to the wars carried on against the Amazons and
Thracians. Herodot. ix. 27; Isocr. Panegyr. c. 19; Plutarch,
Thes. c. 27; Aristid. Panath. p. 201, seqq.; Lysiæ Epitaph. sect. 4,
seqq.; Justin ii. 4. Herbst.
Hence the Athenians wished to be thought auróxoves and
ynyɛves: all their praises, to which Xenophon here alludes, are
briefly given by Isocrates, in his Panegyric. Schneider.
BANOI TIVES.] Schneider, from a conjecture of Weiske or Heinz,
reads á λnraí Tiveç; for, says he, "ineptè civitati Atheniensium
ἄλλοι τινὲς opponuntur. *Αλλοι τινὲς is however the reading of all
the old copies, and is followed by Kühner.
JA. 5.] HOW THE ATHENIANS MAY BE IMPROVED.
437
through excessive exaltation and power, so likewise the
Athenians, after attaining great pre-eminence, grew neglect-
ful of themselves, and consequently became degenerate."
14. "By what means, then," said Pericles, "could they
now recover their pristine dignity?" It appears to me,"
replied Socrates, "not at all difficult to discover; for I think
that if they learn what were the practices of their ancestors,
and observe them not less diligently than they, they will
become not at all inferior to them; but if they do not take
that course, yet, if they imitate those who are now at the
head of Greece, adhere to their institutions, and attend to
the same duties with diligence equal to theirs, they will stand
not at all below them, and, if they use greater exertion, even
above them." 15. "You intimate," returned Pericles, “that
honour and virtue are far away from our city; for when will
the Athenians reverence their elders as the Spartans do,
when they begin, even by their own fathers, to show disrespect
for older men? Or when will they exercise themselves like
them, when they not only are regardless of bodily vigour, but
deride those who cultivate it. 16. Or when will they obey
the magistrates like them, when they make it their pride to set
them at nought? Or when will they be of one mind like
them, when, instead of acting in concert for their mutual in-
terests, they inflict injuries on one another, and envy one
another more than they envy the rest of mankind? More
than any other people, too, do they dispute in their private
and public meetings; they institute more law-suits against
one another, and prefer thus to prey upon one another than
to unite for their mutual benefit. They conduct their public
affairs as if they were those of a foreign state; they contend
about the management of them, and rejoice, above all things,
in having power to engage in such contests. 17. From such
conduct much ignorance and baseness prevail in the republic,
and much envy and mutual hatred are engendered in the
breasts of the citizens; on which accounts I am constantly in
2
That the Lacedæmonians are meant is plain from what follows.
Schneider. It is justly observed by Herbst, that Xenophon takes
every occasion to praise the constitution of Sparta, and to prefer it
to that of Athens, referring to iv. 4. 15; Cyrop. i. 6. 19; Symp.
viii. 39; De Rep. Ath. and De Vectigal. Kühner.
2
"Qσrep àλλorpios.] Negligently; as if they had no concern in
them.
438
[B. III.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
the greatest fear lest some evil should happen to the state too
great for it to bear.” 18. "Do not by any means suppose,
Pericles," rejoined Socrates, "that the Athenians are thus
disordered with an incurable depravity. Do you not see how
orderly they are in their naval proceedings, how precisely
they obey the presidents in the gymnastic games, and how, in
the arrangement of the choruses, they submit to the directions
of their teachers in a way inferior to none?" 19. "This is
indeed surprising," said Pericles, "that men of that class¹
should obey those who are set over them, and that the in-
fantry and cavalry, who are thought to excel the ordinary
citizens in worth and valour, should be the least obedient of
all the people." 20. "The council of the Areopagus, too,"
said Socrates, "is it not composed of men of approved cha-
racter?"2 "Undoubtedly," replied Pericles.
"And do you
know of any judges who decide causes, and conduct all their
business, with more exact conformity to the laws, or with
more honour and justice?” “I find no fault with them," said
Pericles. "We must not therefore despair," said Socrates,
as if we thought that the Athenians are not inclined to be
lovers of order." 21. "Yet in military affairs," observed Peri-
cles, "in which it is most requisite to act with prudence, and
order, and obedience, they pay no regard to such duties."
It may be so," returned Socrates, "for perhaps in military
affairs men who are greatly deficient in knowledge have the
command of them. Do you not observe that of harp-players,
choristers, dancers, wrestlers, or pancratiasts, no one ventures
to assume the direction who has not the requisite knowledge
for it, but that all, who take the lead in such matters, are able
to show from whom they learned the arts in which they are
masters; whereas the most of our generals undertake to com-
mand without previous study.³ 22. I do not however imagine
you to be one of that sort; for I am sensible that you can tell
when you began to learn generalship not less certainly than
(6
1 TOÙS TOLOÚTOVs.] Such men as the sailors, rowers, and iπibátai,
who were either slaves, or of the lower order of citizens. Kühner.
Δεδοκιμασμένων.] Those who had discharged their duties as
magistrates with integrity and honour, and, on giving in their
accounts at the end of their term of office, had been approved by
the judgment of the people. Schneider.
A similar complaint is made by Marius of the Roman generals
in Sall. Jug. 85.
CH. 5.]
HOW ATTICA MAY BE DEFENDED.
439
23. I
when you began to learn wrestling. I am sure, too, that you
have learned, and keep in mind, many of your father's prin-
ciples of warfare, and that you have collected many others
from every quarter whence it was possible to acquire any-
thing that would add to your skill as a commander.
have no doubt that you take great care that you may not un-
awares be ignorant of anything conducive to generalship,
and that, if you have ever found yourself deficient in any
such matters, you have applied to persons experienced in
them, sparing neither presents nor civilities, that you might
learn from them what you did not know, and might render
them efficient helpers to you." 24. "You make me well
aware, Socrates," said Pericles, "that you do not say this
from a belief that I have diligently attended to these matters,
but from a wish to convince me that he who would be a
general must attend to all such studies; and I indeed agree
with you in that opinion.”
25. "Have you considered this also, Pericles," asked So-
crates, “that on the frontier of our territories lie great moun-
tains,¹ extending down to Boeotia, through which there lead
into our country narrow and precipitous defiles; and that our
country is girded by strong mountains,2 as it lies in the midst
of them?" "Certainly," said he. 26. “Have you heard,
too, that the Mysians and Pisidians, who occupy extremely
strong positions in the country of the Great King,3 and who
are lightly armed, are able to make descents on the king's
territory, and do it great damage, while they themselves pre-
serve their liberty?" "This, too, I have heard," said Peri-
cles. 27.
"And do you not think that the Athenians," said
Socrates, "if equipped with light arms while they are of an
age for activity, and occupying the mountains that fence our
country, might do great mischief to our enemies, and form a
strong bulwark for the inhabitants of our country?" "I
think, Socrates," said he, "that all these arrangements would
be useful." 28. "If these plans, then," concluded Socrates,
appear satisfactory to you, endeavour, my excellent friend,
1 The frontier of Attica was defended by the mountains Citharon,
Cerastes, and others. Schneider.
66
2 Parnes, Brilessus, Hymettus, Laurium. Schneider. Also Lyca-
bettus, Pentelicum, Corydalus. Herbst.
3 The king of Persia. See, respecting the Pisidians, Anab. iii. 2
23; i. 1. 11
440
[B. III.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
to act upon them; for whatsoever of them you carry into exe-
cution, it will be an honour to yourself and an advantage to
the state; and if you fail in the attempt for want of power,
you will neither injure the state nor disgrace yourself."
CHAPTER VI.
Socrates, by his usual process of interrogation, leads Glaucon, a young man
who was extravagantly desirous of a post in the government, to confess
that he was entirely destitute of the knowledge necessary for the office to
which he aspired. He then shows that, unless a ruler has acquired an
exact knowledge of state affairs, he can do no good to his country or cre-
dit to himself.
1. WHEN Glaucon,' the son of Ariston, attempted to ha-
rangue the people, from a desire, though he was not yet
twenty years of age,2 to have a share in the government of the
state, no one of his relatives, or other friends, could prevent
him from getting himself dragged down from the tribunal,
and making himself ridiculous; but Socrates, who had a
friendly feeling towards him on account of Charmides,³ the
son of Glaucon, as well as on account of Plato, succeeded in
prevailing on him, by his sole dissuasion, to relinquish his
purpose. 2. Meeting him by chance, he first stopped him by
addressing him as follows, that he might be willing to listen
to him: "Glaucon," said he, "have you formed an intention
4
1 This Glaucon was the brother of Plato the philosopher. See
Cobet, Prosopogr. Xen. p. 66. On the other Glaucon see iii. 7. 1.
Kühner.
2 Young men at Athens were allowed to assume the rights of
citizens, and take part in the government, on attaining their
twenty-second year. Sauppe. See Schoemann de Comit. Athen. p.
76, 105.
3 He is mentioned iii. 7. 1.
The philosopher, of whom Gellius (xiv. 13) denies that any men-
tion is made in the writings of Xenophon. But Muretus has re-
ferred to this passage for a refutation of Gellius, Var. Lect. v. 14.
Schneider. This question about the supposed enmity between Plato
and Xenophon is learnedly and acutely considered by Boeckh in
in his treatise on the subject. Cobet, too, in his Prosopogr. Xen.
p. 28, thinks that the belief of their rivalry rests on no good found
atior, and ought to be rejected. Kühner.
CH. 6.]
66
DISCOURSE WITII GLAUCON.
441
>>
to govern the state for us?" "I have, Socrates," replied
Glaucon. ((
By Jupiter," rejoined Socrates, "it is an hon-
ourable office, if any other among men be so; for it is certain
that, if you attain your object, you will be able yourself to
secure whatever you may desire, and will be in a condition to
benefit your friends; you will raise your father's house, and
increase the power of your country; you will be celebrated,
first of all in your own city, and afterwards throughout
Greece, and perhaps also, like Themistocles, among the Bar-
barians; and, wherever you may be, you will be an object of
general admiration." 3. Glaucon, hearing this, was highly
elated, and cheerfully stayed to listen. Socrates next pro-
ceeded to say, "But it is plain, Glaucon, that if you wish to be
honoured, you must benefit the state.” Certainly," answered
Glaucon. Then, in the name of the gods," said Socrates,
"do not hide from us how you intend to act, but inform us
with what proceeding you will begin to benefit the state?
4. But as Glaucon was silent, as if just considering how he
should begin, Socrates said, “As, if you wished to aggran-
dize the family of a friend, you would endeavour to make it
richer, tell me whether you will in like manner also endea-
vour to make the state richer?"
"Assuredly," said he. 5.
"Would it then be richer, if its revenues were increased?”
"That is at least probable," said Glaucon. "Tell me then,"
proceeded Socrates, “from what the revenues of the state
arise, and what is their amount; for you have doubtless
considered, in order that if any of them fall short, you may
make up the deficiency, and that if any of them fail, you may
procure fresh supplies." "These matters, by Jupiter," re-
plied Glaucon, "I have not considered." 6. "Well then,'
said Socrates, "if you have omitted to consider this point,
tell me at least the annual expenditure of the state; for
you undoubtedly mean to retrench whatever is superfluous in
it." "Indeed,” replied Glaucon, "I have not yet had time to
turn my attention to that subject." "We will therefore,"
said Socrates, "put off making our state richer for the pre-
sent; for how is it possible for him who is ignorant of its
expenditure and its income to manage those matters ?" 7.
"But, Socrates," observed Glaucon, "it is possible to enrich
the state at the expense of our enemies." "Extremely possi-
ble indeed," replied Socrates, "if we be stronger than they;
442
[B. III.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
(C
66
CC
but if we be weaker, we may lose all that we have." "What
you say is true," said Glaucon. S. Accordingly," said So-
crates, "he who deliberates with whom he shall go to war,
ought to know the force both of his own country and of the
enemy, so that, if that of his own country be superior to that
of the enemy, he may advise it to enter upon the war, but, if
inferior, may persuade it to be cautious of doing so."
"You
say rightly," said Glaucon. 9. "In the first place, then,"
proceeded Socrates, "tell us the strength of the country by
land and sea, and next that of the enemy." But, by
Jupiter," exclaimed Glaucon, "I should not be able to tell
you on the moment, and at a word." Well, then, if you
have it written down," said Socrates, "bring it, for I should
be extremely glad to hear what it is." "But to say the truth,"
replied Glaucon, "I have not yet written it down.” 10. “We
will therefore put off considering about war for the present,"
said Socrates, "for it is very likely that, on account of the
magnitude of those subjects, and as you are just commencing
your administration, you have not yet examined into them. But
to the defence of the country, I am quite sure that you have
directed your attention, and that you know how many gar-
risons are in advantageous positions, and how many not so,
what number of men would be sufficient to maintain them, and
what number would be insufficient, and that you will advise
your countrymen to make the garrisons in advantageous posi-
tions stronger, and to remove the useless ones. 11. "By
Jove,” replied Glaucon, “I shall recommend them to remove
them all, as they keep guard so negligently, that the property
is secretly carried off out of the country. "Yet if we re-
move the garrisons," said Socrates, "do you not think that
liberty will be given to anybody that pleases to pillage?
But," added he, "have you gone personally, and examined
as to this fact, or how do you know that the garrisons conduct
themselves with such negligence?" "I form my conjec-
tures," said he. "Well then," inquired Socrates, "shall we
settle about these matters also, when we no longer rest upon
conjecture, but have obtained certain knowledge?" "Perhaps
that," said Glaucon, "will be the better course. 12. "To the
ilver mines, however," continued Socrates, “I know that you
have not gone, so as to have the means of telling us why a small-
er revenue is derived from them than came in some time ago.
""
"
ёп. 6. ]
GLAUCON CONVICTED OF IGNORANCE.
443
"I have not gone thither," said he. "Indeed the place,” said
Socrates, "is said to be unhealthy, so that, when it is neces..
sary to bring it under consideration, this will be a sufficient
excuse for you. "You jest with me,'
" said Glaucon. 13. "1
am sure, however," proceeded Socrates, "that you have not
neglected to consider, but have calculated, how long the corn,
which is produced in the country, will suffice to maintain the
city, and how much it requires for the year, in order that the
city may not suffer from scarcity 2 unknown to you, but that,
from your own knowledge, you may be able, by giving your
advice concerning the necessaries of life, to support the city,
and preserve it." "You propose a vast field for me," observed
Glaucon, "if it will be necessary for me to attend to such
subjects." 14. "Nevertheless," proceeded Socrates, a man
cannot order his house properly, unless he ascertains all that
it requires, and takes care to supply it with everything ne-
cessary; but since the city consists of more than ten thousand
houses, and since it is difficult to provide for so many at once.
how is it that you have not tried to aid one first of all, sup-
pose that of your uncle,³ for it stands in need of help? If
you be able to assist that one, you may proceed to assist more;
but if you be unable to benefit one, how will you be able to
benefit many? Just as it is plain that, if a man cannot carry
the weight of a talent, he need not attempt to carry a greater
weight.' 15. "But I would improve my uncle's house," said
Glaucon, "if he would but be persuaded by me.'
"And
then," resumed Socrates, "when you cannot persuade your
uncle, do you expect to make all the Athenians, together with
your uncle, yield to your arguments? 16. Take care, Glaucon,
lest, while you are eager to acquire glory, you meet with the
reverse of it. Do you not see how dangerous it is for a person
to speak of, or undertake, what he does not understand?
Contemplate, among other men, such as you know to be cha-
racters that plainly talk of, and attempt to do, what they do
""
""
1 Σκώπτομαι.] " I am jested with." This is the reading of five
manuscripts; one gives okeyoua, which has been adopted by
Ernesti, Schneider, and several other editors.
2 Ἵνα μὴ τοῦτο γε λάθῃ σέ ποτε ἡ πόλις ἐνδεὴς γενομένη.] That is
κατὰ τοῦτο. One manuscript exhibits roUTOU, which has been
adopted by most editors. But Zeune refers to Cyrop. ii. 2. 1, and
vi. 3. 1, for the examples of similar accusatives with ivdens.
• Charmides. See iii. 7. 1. Kühner.
444
[B. III.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
not know, and consider whether they appear to you, by such
conduct, to obtain more applause or censure, whether they seem
to be more admired or despised? 17. Contemplate, again,
those who have some understanding of what they say and do,
and you will find, I think, in all transactions, that such as are
praised and admired are of the number of those who have most
knowledge, and that those who incur censure and neglect are
among those that have least. 18. If therefore you desire to
gain esteem and reputation in your country, endeavour to suc-
ceed in gaining a knowledge of what you wish to do; for if,
when you excel others in this qualification, you proceed to
manage the affairs of the state, I shall not wonder if you very
easily obtain what you desire.”
CHAPTER VII.
Socrates exhorts Charmides, a man of ability, and acquainted with public
affairs, to take part in the government, that he may not be charged with
indolence, sect. 1-4. As Charmides distrusts his abilities for public
speaking, Socrates encourages him by various observations, 5-9.
1. OBSERVING that Charmides,' the son of Glaucon,' a man
of worth, and of far more ability than those who then ruled
the state, hesitated to address the people, or to take part in
the government of the city, he said to him, "Tell me, Char-
mides, if any man, who was able to win the crown in the
public games,2 and, by that means, to gain honour for himself,
and make his birth-place more celebrated in Greece, should
nevertheless refuse to become a combatant, what sort of per-
son would you consider him to be?" "I should certainly
¹ On Charmides, the son of Glaucon, a young man of great beauty
and modesty, see Stallbaum's Prolegomena to Plato's Dialogue
named from him; and Cobet in Prosop. p. 46. Kühner. The reader
may find more about him in Xenophon's Symposium. By Plato, in
his Theages, T. i. p. 128, D., he is called o kaλós. He was one of the
ten leaders at the Piraeus in the war with Thrasybulus against the
Thirty Tyrants, in which he was killed. See Perizon. ad Ælian.
V. H. viii. 1."´ Sturz.
Τοὺς στεφανίτας ἀγῶνας νικᾶν.] " To conquer in the crowned
games," the games in which a crown was given as a prize
CH. 7.]
ON SPEAKING IN PUBLIC.
445
3.
وو
"But
think him indolent and wanting in spirit,” replied Charmides.
2. “And if any one were able," continued Socrates, “by tak-
ing part in public affairs, to improve the condition of his
country, and thus to attain honour for himself, but should yet
shrink from doing so, might not he be justly regarded as
wanting in spirit?" "Perhaps so," said Charmides; "but
why do you ask me that question?" Because," replied So-
crates, "I think that you yourself, though possessed of suffi-
cient ability, yet shrink from engaging even in those affairs
in which it is your duty as a citizen to take a share.”
"But in what transaction have you discovered my ability,
said Charmides, "that you bring this charge against me?"
"In those conferences," answered Socrates, "in which you
meet those who are engaged in the government of the state;
for when they consult you on any point, I observe that you
give them excellent advice, and that, when they are in any
way in the wrong, you offer judicious objections." 4.
it is not the same thing, Socrates," said he, "to converse withı
people in private, and to try one's powers at a public assem-
bly." Yet," said Socrates, "he that is able to count, car
count with no less exactness before a multitude than alone,
and those who can play the harp best in solitude are also the
best performers on it in company.' 5. "But do you not
see," said Charmides, "that bashfulness and timidity are
naturally inherent in mankind, and affect us far more before
a multitude than in private conversations?"
"But I am
prompted to remind you," answered Socrates, "that while
you neither feel bashfulness before the most intelligent, nor
timid before the most powerful, it is in the presence of the
most foolish and weak that you are ashamed to speak. 6. And
is it the fullers among them, or the cobblers, or the carpenters,
or the copper-smiths, or the ship-merchants, or those who
barter in the market, and meditate what they may buy for
little and sell for more, that you are ashamed to address?
For it is of all such characters that the assembly is composed.
7. How then do you think that your conduct differs from that
of a wrestler, who, being superior to well-practised opponents,
should yet fear the unpractised? For is not this the case with
>>
· Εμπόρους.] The ἔμποροι were merchants who traded by sea,
and are opposed to "those who barter in the forum," mentioned
immediately afterwards. See Schneider ad Cyrop. iv. 5. 42. Kühner.
446
[B. III.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
you, that though you converse at your ease with those who
have attained eminence in state affairs, and of whom some un-
Hervalue you, and though you are far superior to many who
make it their business to address the people, you yet shrink
from uttering your sentiments before men who have never
thought of political affairs, and who have shown no disrespect
for your talents, from an apprehension that you may be
laughed at?” 8. "And do not the people in the assembly,"
asked Charmides, "appear to you often to laugh at those who
speak with great judgment?" "Yes," said Socrates, “and so
do the other sort of people; and therefore I wonder at you,
that you so easily silence one class of persons when they do
so, and yet think that you shall not be able to deal with
another? 9. Be not ignorant of yourself,2 my friend, and do
not commit the error which the majority of men commit; for
most persons, though they are eager to look into the affairs of
others, give no thought to the examination of their own. Do
not you, then, neglect this duty, but strive more and more to
cultivate your own powers; and do not be regardless of the
affairs of your country, if any department of them can be im-
proved by your means; for, if they are in a good condition,
not only the rest of your countrymen, but your own friends
and yourself, will reap the greatest benefit."
CHAPTER VIII.
Socrates meets the captious questions of Aristippus about goodness and
beauty in such a manner as to show that nothing is good or bad in itself,
but only with reference to some object, sect. 1-3; and that nothing is
beautiful or otherwise in itself, but that the beautiful must be considered
with regard to the useful, 4-7. His remarks on buildings, to the same
effect, 8-10.
1. WHEN Aristippus attempted to confute Socrates, as he
himself had previously 3 been confuted by him, Socrates,
Oi ETεpoi.] Meaning those, says Kühner, with whom he is men--
tioned as discoursing in sect. 3.
2 Ernesti refers to a passage in Cicero ad Quintum Fratrem, iii. 6,
in which he seems to have had Xenophon in his mind: Cessator esse
noli; et illud yvwdi reavтòv noli putare ad arrogantiam minuendam
solùm esse dictum, verùm etiam ut bona nostra nôrimus.
3 Book ii. c. 1.
CII. 8.]
1
ON THE GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL.
447
wishing to benefit those who were with him, gave his an-
swers, not like those who are on their guard lest their words
be perverted, but like those who are persuaded that they
ought2 above all things to do what is right. 2. What Aris-
tippus had asked him, was, 'whether he knew anything
good,' in order that if he should say any such thing as food,
or drink, or money, or health, or strength, or courage, he
might prove that it was sometimes an evil. But Socrates, re-
flecting that if anything troubles us, we want something to
relieve us from it, replied, as it seemed best to do,³ "Do you
ask me whether I know anything good for a fever?"
do not." Anything good for soreness of the eyes ?”
"For hunger?" 'No, nor for hunger either."
3
3. "I
"No."
"Well
then," concluded Socrates, "if you ask me whether I know
anything good that is good for nothing, I neither know any-
thing, nor wish to know."
4. Aristippus again asking him if he knew anything beau-
tiful, he replied, "Many things." "Are they then," inquired
Aristippus, "all like each other?" "Some of them," an-
swered Socrates, " are as unlike one another as it is possible
for them to be." "How then," said he, can what is beau-
tiful be unlike what is beautiful?' 'Because, assuredly,"
replied Socrates, "one man, who is beautifully formed for
wrestling, is unlike another who is beautifully formed for
running; and a shield, which is beautifully formed for de-
fence, is as unlike as possible to a dart, which is beautifully
formed for being forcibly and swiftly hurled."
"You an-
5.
swer me," said Aristippus, "in the same manner as when I
asked you whether you knew anything good." "And do you
imagine," said Socrates, "that the good is one thing, and the
beautiful another? Do you not know that with reference to
Not being at all afraid lest he should give any answer which
might, from some ambiguity in it, be wrested to mean, apparently,
what he did not intend, or of which his adversary might take ad-
vantage to entrap him. See Aristot. Pol. i. 2. 17. Schneider and
Kühner acquiesce in this sense of the word ἐπαλλάττειν.
2 With the word πρáттε in the text the word dev seems to be
wanting.
3 ᾿Απεκρίνατο ὥσπερ καὶ ποιεῖν κράτιστον.] it is well known that
the word Toεv, like the Latin facere, and the German thun, is often
made to do duty for another verb. See Passow's Gr. Lex. v. Toliv,
and my note on Cic. Tusc. Quæst. iv. 14. 31. Kühner.
448
[B. III.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
the same objects all things are both beautiful and good? Virtue,
for instance, is not good with regard to some things and
beautiful with regard to others; and persons, in the same
way, are called beautiful and good with reference to the same
objects; and human bodies, too, with reference to the same
objects, appear beautiful and good; and in like manner all
other things, whatever men use, are considered beautiful and
good with reference to the objects for which they are service-
able." 6. "Can a dung-basket, then," said Aristippus, “be
a beautiful thing?" "Yes, by Jupiter," returned Socrates,
"and a golden shield may be an ugly thing, if the one be
beautifully formed for its particular uses, and the other ill
formed?" 7. "Do you say, then, that the same things may
be both beautiful and ugly?" "Yes, undoubtedly, and also
that they may be good and bad; for oftentimes what is good
for hunger is bad for a fever, and what is good for a fever is
bad for hunger; oftentimes what is beautiful in regard to run-
ning is the reverse in regard to wrestling, and what is beauti-
ful in regard to wrestling is the reverse in regard to running;
for whatever is good is also beautiful, in regard to purposes
for which it is well adapted, and whatever is bad is the re-
verse of beautiful, in regard to purposes for which it is ill
adapted."
8. When Socrates said, too, that the same houses that were
beautiful were also useful, he appeared to me to instruct us
what sort of houses we ought to build. He reasoned on the
subject thus, "Should not he, who purposes to have a house
such as it ought to be, contrive that it may be most pleasant,
and at the same time most useful, to live in?" 9. This being
admitted, he said, "Is it not then pleasant to have it cool in
summer, and warm in winter?" "When his hearers had as-
sented to this, he said, "In houses, then, that look to the
south, does not the sun, in the winter, shine into the porticoes,
while, in the summer, it passes over our heads, and above the
roof, and casts a shade? If it is well, therefore, that houses
should thus be made,¹ ought we not to build the parts towards
the south higher, that the sun in winter may not be shut out,
and the parts toward the north lower, that the cold winds may
not fall violently on them?2 10. To sum up the matter
¹ That is, so as to be cool in summer and warm in winter
Of this passage no satisfactory explanation has yet been given.
CH. 8.J
ON BUILDINGS.
449
briefly, that would be the most pleasant and the most beauti-
ful residence, in which the owner, at all seasons, would find
the most satisfactory retreat, and deposit what belongs to
him with the greatest safety."
Paintings, and coloured decorations of the walls,¹ deprive
us, he thought, of more pleasure than they give.
The most suitable ground for temples and altars,² he said,
Kühner contents himself with adducing, without any remark, the
comment of Lange: "As far as the summer is concerned, the posi-
tion of a house (in Greece) need not be considered, whether it looks
to the south or any other quarter of the heaven; for it must be
shady in the hottest season of the year, when, indeed, the sun sends
down its rays almost perpendicularly, and makes a shade in what-
ever position the house may be. (Umbrosa tamen sit fervidissimo
auni tempore, sole nimirum radios suos rectis lineis deorsum mit-
tente, et in quovis domûs situ umbram efficiente.) In building a
house, (in Greece,) therefore, it is necessary to take thought only for
the winter, that at that season of the year the house may be as warm
as possible. To effect this object, let one row of buildings (una
domorum series) face the south, and the other the north, in such a
way, that those looking towards the south may be higher than those
'ooking in the opposite direction; for thus the higher will enjoy the
sun in winter, and the lower, facing the north, will be defended
from the winds blowing from that quarter.' (The part near um-
brosa tamen sit seems to be defective, or incorrect in some way.)
But to me the text seems capable of explanation only on the suppo-
sition that Socrates is speaking with reference to the porticoes or
colonnades merely, as we can easily conceive why he should recom-
mend porticoes towards the south to be made high, in order to admit
the sun in winter, (the summer sun, as Lange remarks, being not at
all regarded,) and those toward the north to be made low, in order
to exclude in some degree the keen north winds. Thus Columella,
R. R. i. 6. 2, says, Ambulationes meridiano æquinoctiali subjectæ sint, ut
hieme plurimum solis et æstate minimum recipiant: a passage which
Schneider says is not to be compared with this of Xenophon; but
it might not be very difficult to prove the contrary.
1 Toikiλiai.] Ralph Rochet, cited by G. Hermann in Opusc. vol. v.
p. 221, thinks that by Toikilia are to be understood those coloured
ornaments on walls which are called Toiλμara by Xenophon,
Econ. ix. 2, and by Plato, Hipp. Maj. p. 298, A. Kühner: who gives
the following reason for the disapprobation which Socrates ex-
presses of them: "That those ornaments might not be injured by
the rays of the sun, the parts of the house in which they were,
were so constructed as not to face the sun; and thus the inmates, in
winter, were deprived of the heat of the sun, (tali modo homines
hiberno tempore solis calore privabantur,) and exposed to the cold
winds from the north."
2 Altars and temples, and especially temples, were surrounded
with a wall, within which was an area, the view across which was
VOL. I.
2 a
i
450
[B. III.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
was such as was most open to view, and least trodden by the
public; for that it was pleasant for people to pray as they
looked on them, and pleasant to approach them in purity.¹
CHAPTER IX.
Various definitions of fortitude, prudence and temperance, madness, envy,
idleness, command, happiness, given by Socrates. Fortitude is not equal
in all men; it may be increased by exercise, sect. 1-3. Prudence and
temperance not distinct from cach other, 4. Justice, as well as other vir-
tues, is wisdom, 5. The opposite to prudence is madness; ignorance dis-
tinct from madness, 6, 7. Envy is uneasiness of mind at the contempla-
tion of the happiness of others, 8. Idleness is forbearance from useful
occupation, 9. Command is exercised, not by those who bear the name,
merely, of kings and rulers, but by those who know how to command,
10-13. The best object of human life is to act well; the difference be-
treen acting well and acting fortunately, 14, 15.
1. BEING asked, again, whether Fortitude was a quality
acquired by education, or bestowed by nature, "I think," said
he, “that as one body is by nature stronger for enduring toil
than another body, so one mind may be by nature more
courageous in meeting dangers than another mind; for I see
that men who are brought up under the same laws and insti-
tutions differ greatly from each other in courage. 2. I am of
opinion, however, that every natural disposition may be im-
proved, as to fortitude, by training and exercise; for it is
evident that the Scythians and Thracians would not dare tc
take bucklers and spears and fight with the Lacedæmonians:
and it is certain that the Lacedæmonians would not like tc
fight the Thracians with small shields and javelins, or the
Scythians with bows. 3. In other things, also, I see that
intercepted by a thick grove or some considerable number of trees.
Of these obstructions to the view, Socrates disapproves, wishing the
site of the temple to be upaveorárn, fully open to the sight, as if the
worshippers would then fancy that they saw as it were the deity be
fore them, and would suppose that their prayers would thus be
better received by him. Weiske. Others suppose that Socrates
merely wished that temples and altars should be built on high
grounds; an opinion which is equally defensible. Kühner.
That is, as Schutz suggests, that they might not have to go
through a crowd, in which they might encounter polluted persona
and be defiled by them.
CH. 9.]
ON VIRTUES AND VICES.
451
men differ equally from one another by nature, and make
great improvements by practice; from which it is evident
that it concerns all, as well the naturally ingenious as the
naturally dull, to learn and study those arts in which they de-
sire to become worthy of commendation."
4. Prudence and Temperance¹ he did not distinguish; for he
deemed that he who knew what was honourable and good, and
how to practise it, and who knew what was dishonourable,
and how to avoid it, was both prudent and temperate. Being
also asked whether he thought that those who knew what
they ought to do, but did the contrary, were prudent and tem-
perate, he replied, "No more than I think the [openly] im-
prudent and intemperate to be so; 2 for I consider that all
[prudent and temperate] persons choose from what is possible
what they judge for their interest, and do it; and I therefore
deem those who do not act [thus] judiciously to be neither
prudent nor temperate."
5. He said, too, that justice, and every other virtue, was [a
part of] prudence, for that everything just, and everything
done agreeably to virtue, was honourable and good; that
those who could discern those things, would never prefer
anything else to them; that those who could not discern
them, would never be able to do them, but would even go
wrong if they attempted to do them; and that the prudent,
accordingly, did what was honourable and good, but that the
imprudent could not do it, but went wrong even if they at-
tempted to do it; and that since, therefore, all just actions,
and all actions that are honourable and good, are done in
agreement with virtue, it is manifest that justice, and every
other virtue, is [comprehended in] prudence.
6. The opposite to prudence, he said, was Madness;³ he did
· Σοφίαν καὶ σωφροσύνην οὐ διώριζεν.] Σοφία, wisdom or prudence,
ís, as Kühner remarks, right judgment about what ought to be
done; σwopoσúvn is temperance, self-control, or self-regulation, in
acting. The word oopía is used in another sense in iv. 6. 7. "This
subject, in conformity with the opinion of Socrates, is discussed in
Plato's Charmides, ubi pariter temperantia scientiâ contineri demon-
stratur." See Stallbaum on that Dialogue, p. 81, seqq. Kühner.
2 Ii, qui sciunt quidem bona, sed contraria faciunt, nihilo magis
sapientes et temperantes sunt quàm ii qui sunt insipientes et intem-
perantes. Kühner. The words in brackets are supplied as being
necessary to the translation.
3 Mavía, madness or insanity, is, according to the definition of
2 G 2
452
[B. III.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
not, however, regard ignorance as madness; though for a
man to be ignorant of himself, and to fancy and believe that
he knew what he did not know, he considered to be something
closely bordering on madness. The multitude, he observed,
do not say that those are mad who make mistakes in matters
of which most people are ignorant, but call those only mad
who make mistakes in affairs with which most people are ac-
quainted; 7. for if a man should think himself so tall as to
stoop when going through the gates in the city wall, or so
strong as to try to lift up houses, or attempt anything else
that is plainly impossible to all men, they say that he is mad;
but those who make mistakes in small matters are not thought
by the multitude to be mad; but just as they call "strong
desire love," so they call " great disorder of intellect
"madness."
8. Considering what Envy was, he decided it to be a cer-
tain uneasiness, not such as arises, however, at the ill success
of friends, nor such as is felt at the good success of enemies,
but those only he said were envious who were annoyed at
the good success of their friends. When some expressed sur-
prise, that any one who had a friendly feeling for another
should feel uneasy at his good fortune, he reminded them that
many are so disposed towards others as to be incapable of
neglecting them if they are unfortunate, but would relieve
them in ill fortune, though they are uneasy at their good for-
tune. This feeling, he said, could never arise in the breast
of a sensible man, but that the foolish were constantly af-
fected with it.
9. Considering what Idleness was, he said that he found
Socrates, the contrary to wisdom or prudence, oopia. Madness is
therefore ignorance of the virtues of justice, temperance, and forti-
tude; for prudence is manifested in the knowledge of these virtues.
But the source, and foundation as it were, of prudence, is the
knowledge of one's self. He therefore that is destitute of this
knowledge of himself is bordering on madness. The multitude,
however, do not, like Socrates, consider ignorance of virtue to be
madness, but apply that term only to gross ignorance or misconduct
with regard to other matters. Kühner.
"Aristotle is praised for naming Fortitude first of the cardinal
virtues, as that without which no other virtue can steadily be prac-
tised; but he might, with equal propriety, have placed Prudence
and Justice before it, since, without Prudence Fortitude is mad;
without Justice, it is mischievous." Johnson Life of Pope.
CH. 9.]
ON COMMAND AND OBEDIENCE.
453
most men did something; for that dice-players and buffoons
did something; but he said that all such persons were idle, før
it was in their power to go and do something better; he ob-
served that a man was not idle, however, in passing from a
better employment to a worse, but that, if he did so, he, as he
[previously] had occupation, acted in that respect viciously.
10. Kings and Commanders, he said, were not those who
held sceptres merely, or those elected by the multitude, or
those who gained authority by lot, or those who attained it
by violence or deceit, but those who knew how to command.
11. For when some one admitted that it was the part of a
commander to enjoin what another should do, and the part of
him who was commanded, to obey, he showed that in a ship
the skilful man is the commander, and that the owner and all
the other people in the ship were obedient to the man of
knowledge; that, in agriculture, those who had farms, in
sickness, those who were ill, in bodily exercises, those who
practised them, and indeed all other people, who had any
business requiring care, personally took the management of it
if they thought that they understood it, but if not, that they
were not only ready to obey men of knowledge who were pre-
sent, but even sent for such as were absent, in order that, by
yielding to their directions, they might do what was proper.
In spinning, too, he pointed out that women commanded men,
as the one knew how to spin, and the other did not know.
12. But if any one remarked in reply to these observations,
that a tyrant is at liberty not to obey judicious advisers, he
would say,
"And how is he at liberty not to obey, when a
penalty hangs over him that does not obey a wise monitor?
for in whatever affair a person does not obey a prudent ad-
viser, he will doubtless err, and, by erring, will incur a
penalty." 13. If any one also observed that a tyrant might
put to death a wise counsellor, "And do you think," he
would say,
"that he who puts to death the best of his allies
will go unpunished, or that he will be exposed only to casual
punishment? Whether do you suppose that a man who acts
thus would live in safety, or would be likely, rather, by such
conduct, to bring immediate destruction on himself?"
14. When some one asked him what object of study he
thought best for a man, he replied, "good conduct." When
he asked him again whether he thought "good fortune" an
454
[B. III.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
object of study, he answered, "Fortune' and 'Conduct' I
think entirely opposed; for, for a person to light on anything
that he wants without seeking it, I consider to be good for-
tune,' but to achieve anything successfully by learning and
study, I regard as 'good conduct;' and those who make this
their object of study appear to me to do well."
15. The best men, and those most beloved by the gods, he
observed, were those who, in agriculture, performed their
agricultural duties well, those who, in medicine, performed
their medical duties well, and those who, in political offices,
performed their public duties well; but he who did nothing
well, he said, was neither useful for any purpose, nor accept-
able to the gods.
CHAPTER X.
Socrates was desirous to benefit artisans by discoursing with them on the
principles of their several arts. Of painting, sect. 1. Of representing
perfect beauty, 2. Of expressing the affections of the mind, 3-5. Of
statuary, 6-8. In what the excellence of a corslet consists, 9-15.
1. WHENEVER he conversed with any of those who were
engaged in arts or trades, and who wrought at them for gain,
he proved of service to them. Visiting Parrhasius¹ the painter
one day, and entering into conversation with him, he said,
“Pray, Parrhasius, is not painting the representation of visi-
ble objects? At least you represent substances, imitating
them by means of colour, whether they be concave or convex,
dark or light, hard or soft, rough or smooth, fresh or old.”
"What you say is true," said Parrhasius. 2. "And when
you would represent beautiful figures, do you, since it is not
easy to find one person with every part perfect, select, out of
many, the most beautiful parts of each, and thus represent
figures beautiful in every part ?" "We do so," said he. 3.
"And do you also," said Socrates, "give imitations of the
1 It is to be remembered that this celebrated painter, when So-
crates held this conversation with him, was then young, and that it
was not till after the death of Socrates, Olymp. xcv. I, that he ac-
quired a great name in his art. Kühner.
CH. 10.]
""
ON PAINTING AND STATUARY.
"1
455
disposition of the mind, as it may be most persuasive, most
agreeable, most friendly, most full of regret, or most amiable?
Or is this inimitable?" "How can that be imitated, Socrates,
said he, "which has neither proportion, nor colour, nor any
of the qualities which you just now mentioned, and is not
even a visible object ? 4. "Is it not often observable in a
man that he regards others with a friendly or unfriendly
look ?" "I think so," said he. "Is this then possible to be
copied in the eyes?" "Assuredly." "And at the good or
ill fortune of people's friends, do those who are affected at it,
and those who are not, appear to you to have the same sort of
look ? No, indeed; for they look cheerful at their good,
and sad at their evil, fortune. 'Is it possible, then, to
imitate these looks?" "Unquestionably." 5. "Surely, also,
nobleness and generosity of disposition, meanness and illiber-
ality, modesty and intelligence, insolence and stupidity, show
themselves both in the looks and gestures of men, whether
they stand or move.” "What you say is just." "Can these
peculiarities be imitated?" "Certainly." "Whether, then,"
said Socrates, "do you think that people look with more plea-
sure on paintings in which beautiful, and good, and lovely
characters are exhibited, or those in which the deformed, and
evil, and detestable are represented ?" "There is a very great
difference indeed, Socrates," replied Parrhasius.2
""
6. Going once, too, into the workshop of Cleito,³ the statu-
ary, and beginning to converse with him, he said, "I see and
understand, Cleito, that you make figures of various kinds,
runners and wrestlers, pugilists and pancratiasts, but how do
you put into your statues that which most wins the minds of
the beholders through the eye, the life-like appearance?" 7.
As Cleito hesitated, and did not immediately answer, So-
crates proceeded to ask, “Do you make your statues appear
more life-like by assimilating your work to the figures of the
living?" "Certainly," said he. "Do you not then make
your figures appear more like reality, and more striking, by
1 'Oparóv.] Not an object which you can represent by its shape,
as a tree, or a house.
2 The admonition which Socrates wished to convey to Parrhasius,
was, as Schneider thinks, that he should exercise his pencil in re-
presenting rather what was fair and lovely than what was deformed
and repulsive.
'He is nowhere else mentioned.
Kühner.
456
[B. III.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
imitating the parts of the body, that are drawn up or drawn
down, compressed or spread out, stretched or relaxed, by the
gesture?" "Undoubtedly," said Cleito.
"And the repre-
sentation of the passions of men engaged in any act, does it
not excite a certain pleasure in the spectators ?”
"It is na-
tural, at least, that it should be so," said he. "Must you not,
then, copy the menacing looks of combatants? And must you
not imitate the countenance of conquerors, as they look joyful?"
"Assuredly," said he. "A statuary, therefore," concluded
Socrates, "must express the workings of the mind by the
form."
66
1
9. Entering the shop of Pistias, a corslet-maker, and Pis-
tias having shown him some well-made corslets, Socrates ob-
served, "By Juno, Pistias, this is an excellent invention, that
the corslet should cover2 those parts of a man's body that need
protection, and yet should not hinder him from using his
hands. 10. But tell me, Pistias," he added, "why do you
sell your corslets at a higher price than other makers, though
you neither make them stronger nor of more costly materials?"
Because, Socrates," said he, "I make them better propor-
tioned." "And do you make this proportion appear in the
measure or weight of your corslets, that you set a higher price
on them? For I suppose that you do not make them all
equal or similar, if you make them to fit different persons.
"Indeed,” replied he, "I do make them to fit, for there would
be no use in a corslet without that quality." 11. "Are not
then," said Socrates, "the bodies of some men well-propor-
tioned, and those of others ill-proportioned?” "Certainly,"
said Pistias. 46
How, then," asked Socrates, "do you make
a well-proportioned corslet fit an ill-proportioned body?"
"As I make it fit," answered Pistias; "for one that fits is
well-proportioned." 12.
"You seem to me," said Socrates,
"to speak of proportion considered not independently, but
with respect to the wearer, as if you should say of a
shield, or a cloak, that it is well-proportioned to him whom it
suits; and such appears to be the case with regard to other
¹ He seems to be the same that is called Пiorov in Athenæus, iv.
20.
Sturz.
2 Tw-
σκεπάζειν τὸν θώρακα.] "In that the corslet should
cover," &c. Many editions have rò, with which must be under-
stood διά.
CH. 11.1
VISIT TO THEODOTA.
457
things, according to what you say. 13. But, perhaps, there
may be some other considerable advantage attendant on being
made to fit." "Tell me, Socrates," said he, "if you know
any."
"Those corslets which fit," answered Socrates, “are
less oppressive by their weight, than those which do not fit,
though they be both of equal weight; while those which do not
fit, are, either from hanging wholly on the shoulders, or from
pressing heavily on some other part of the body, inconvenient
and uneasy; but those which fit, as they distribute their
weight partly over the collar-bone¹ and shoulder, partly over
the upper part of the arm, and partly over the breast, back,
and stomach, appear almost like, not a burden to be borne,
but a natural appendage." 14. "You have hit upon the very
quality," said Pistias, "for which I consider my manufacture
deserving of the very highest price; some, however, prefer
purchasing ornamented and gilded corslets."
"Yet if on
this account," said Socrates, "they purchase such as do
not fit, they appear to me to purchase an ornamented and
gilded annoyance. But," added he, "since the body does not
continue always in the same position, but is at one time bent,
and at another straight, how can a corslet, which is exactly
fitted to it, suit it ?" "It cannot by any means," said Pistias.
"You mean, therefore," said Socrates, "that it is not those
which are exactly fitted to the body that suit, but those that
do not gall in the wearing." "You say what is clearly the
case, Socrates," replied he, "and exactly comprehend the
matter."
CHAPTER XI.
The visit of Socrates to Theodota, and his discourse with her, sect. 1-9.
He tells her that true friends are not acquired without the manifestation
of kind and good feelings, 9-12. He reminds her that in gratifying the
appetites we must guard against satiety, 13, 14. His jests on taking leave
of her, 15-18.
1. THERE being at one time a beautiful woman in the city,
whose name was Theodota,2 a woman ready to form a con-
1 Ὑπὸ τῶν κλειδῶν, κ. τ. λ.] The preposition ὑπὸ is used because
the idea of being borne must be kept in the mind. Kühner.
2 This passage is cited by Athenæus, v. p. 200, F. Theodota was
458
[B. 11.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
nexion with any one that made advances to her, and some-
body in company with Socrates making mention of her, and
saying that her beauty was beyond description, and that
painters went to her to take her portrait, to whom she showed
as much of her person as she could with propriety, "We
ought then to go and see her," remarked Socrates, "for it is
not possible to comprehend by hearing that which surpasses
description." "You cannot be too quick in following me,
then," said he who had mentioned her.
2. Going, accordingly, to the house of Theodota, and find-
ing her standing to a painter, they contemplated her figure
and when the painter had left off, Socrates said, "My friends,
whether ought we to feel obliged to Theodota for having
shown us her beauty, or she to us for having viewed it with
admiration? If the exhibition be rather of advantage to her,
ought not she to feel grateful to us, or if the sight has given rather
more pleasure to us, ought not we to feel grateful to her?" 3.
Somebody saying that he spoke reasonably, he added, “She.
then, for the present, gains praise from us, and, when we have
spoken of her to others, will gain profit in addition; but as
for us, we now desire to embrace what we have seen, and shall
go away excited, and long for her after we are away from
her; the natural consequence of which is that we shall be her
adorers, and that she will be worshipped as our mistress."
"If this be the case, indeed," said Theodota, "I must feel
gratitude to you for coming to see me."
4. Soon after, Socrates, seeing her most expensively attired,
and her mother with her in a dress and adornment above
the common, with several handsome female attendants, not
unbecomingly apparelled, and her house richly furnished in
other respects, said to her, "Tell me, Theodota, have you an
estate?" "Not I indeed,” replied she. "But perhaps you
have a house that brings you an income?" "Nor a house
either," said she. "Have you then any slaves that practise
handicrafts ?" "No, nor any slaves." "How then," said
afterwards the mistress of Alcibiades, and covered his body with
her garment when he was killed, and burned it, Athen. xiii. p. 574,
F.; Corn. Nep. Vit. Alcib. Libanius mentions her among the most
remarkable courtesans of Greece, Tom. i. p. 582. In Ælian, V. H.
xiii. 32, mention is made of Callisto, a courtesan, with whom So-
crates conversed. Schneider.
1 XεiρOTÉXvai.] These were slaves trained to mechanical occu-
CH. 11.]
66
MEANS OF ACQUIRING FRIENDS.
459
"}
Socrates, "do you procure subsistence?" "If any one be-
comes my friend," she replied, "and is willing to benefit me,
he is my means of subsistence." 5. "By Juno, Theodota,'
rejoined Socrates, "and he is an excellent acquisition to you ;
and it is much better to have a flock of friends than of sheep,
oxen, and goats. But," added he, "do you leave it to chance
whether a friend, like a fly, shall wing his way to you, or do
you use any contrivance to attract them?” 6. "And how,"
said she, can I find a contrivance for such a purpose ?
"Much more readily," said he, "than spiders can; for you
know how they try to get subsistence; they weave fine nets,
and feed upon whatever falls into them." 7. "And do you ad-
vise me, too," said she, "to weave a net?" "Yes," said he,
"for you ought not to think that you will catch friends,
the most valuable prey that can be taken, without art. Do
you not see how many arts hunters use to catch hares,¹ an
animal of but little worth? s. As the hares feed in the night,
they procure dogs for hunting by night, with which they
chase them; as they conceal themselves in the day, they pro-
vide other dogs, which, perceiving by the smell the way that
they have gone from their feeding-place to their forms, trace
them out; and as they are swift of foot, so as soon to
escape from view by running, they procure also other dogs, of
great speed, that they may be caught by pursuit; and because
some of them escape even from these dogs, they stretch nets
across the paths by which they flee, that they may fall into
them and be entangled." 9. " By what art of this kind, then,"
said she,
66
can I catch friends ?" If," said he, "instead of
a dog, you get somebody to track and discover the lovers of
beauty, and the wealthy, and who, when he has found them,
will contrive to drive them into your nets." "And what nets
have I?" said she. 10. "You have one at least,” he replied,
"and one that closely embraces its prey, your person; and in
it you have a mind, by which you understand how you may
gratify a person by looking at him, and what you may say to
cheer him, and learn that you ought to receive with transport
him who shows concern for you, and to shut out him who is
insolent, to attend carefully on a friend when he is ill, to re-
pations, the owners of whom derived considerable income from
their labours.

66
1 Cyrop. i. 6. 40.
460
B
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
. III.
Įbjoice greatly with him when he has succeeded in anything hon-
ourable, and to cherish affection in your whole soul for the man
who sincerely cares for you. To love I am sure that you know,
not only tenderly, but with true kindness of heart; and your
friends try to please you, I know, because you conciliate them,
not with words merely, but by your behaviour towards them.'
Indeed,” replied Theodota, "I use none of these schemes.”
11. "Yet," said Socrates, "it is of great importance to deal with
a man according to his disposition, and with judgment; for by
force you can neither gain nor keep a friend, but by serving
and pleasing him the animal¹ is easily taken and attached to
you. "What you say is true," said she.

66
12. "It becomes you, therefore," proceeded Socrates, “in
the first place, to request of your lovers only such favours as
they will perform with least cost to themselves; and you must
then make a return by obliging them in a similar way; 2 for
thus they will become most sincerely attached to you, and will
love you longest, and benefit you most. 13. But you will
please them most, if you grant them favours only when they
solicit them; for you see that even the most savoury meats,
if a person offer them to another before he has an appetite for
them, appear to him distasteful; and in the satisfied they ex-
eite even loathing; but if one offers food to another after
having raised an appetite in him, it seems, though it be of a
very ordinary kind, extremely agreeable." 14. "How then
can I," said she, "excite such an appetite in any one of those
that visit me?" "If, when they are satiated," said he, "you,
in the first place, neither offer yourself to them, nor remind
them of you, until, coming to an end of their satiety, they
again feel a desire for you; and, when they do feel such de-
sire, remind them of your fondness by the most modest ad-
dress, and by showing yourself willing to gratify them, hold-
ing back, at the same time, until they are filled with impatient
longing; for it is far better to grant the same favours at such
a time, than before they had an appetite for them." 15.
"Why do not you, then, Socrates," said she, "become my
helper in securing friends?" "I will indeed," said he, "if
you can persuade me." "And how then," said she,
66 can I
1 Tò Onpiov.] A word suitable to the illustrations which Socrates
ad previously given.
2 That is, as freely as they oblige you; not at the least possible cost.
CH. 11.]
SOCRATES ATTACHED MEN TO HIM.
17.
2
4
461
persuade you?" "You yourself will seek and find means to
do so, if you should at all need me.” "Come often to see me,
then," said she. 16. Then Socrates, joking upon his own easy
life, said, "But, Theodota, it is not easy for me to find leisure;
for my own numerous occupations, private and public,' allow
me no rest; and I have friends also, who will not suffer me
to leave them day or night, learning from me love-charms and
incantations." "Do you then know such arts, too, So-
crates?" said Theodota. Through what other influence do
you suppose that Apollodorus 3 here, and Antisthenes, never
leave me? and through what other influence do you suppose
that Cebes and Simmias come to me from Thebes? Be
assured, that such effects were not produced without many
love-charms, incantations, and magic wheels." G 18. "Lend
me, then, your magic wheel," said she, "that I may set it a
going, first of all, against yourself." "But, by Jupiter," ex-
claimed Socrates, "I do not wish that I should be drawn to
you, but that you should come to me.” "I will come then,"
said she, "only take care to let me in." “I will let you in.
replied he, "if another more acceptable than you be not
within." 8
7
5
5
This mention of public employments is to be taken as a joke,
as Weiske observes; for Socrates took no part in public employ-
ments, as is stated in i. 6. 15.
pila.] He uses the feminine gender in jest, as if he had his
φίλαι as Theodota had her φίλοι.
3 He was a great admirer of Socrates, and constant attendant on
him. Apol. Soc. c. 28. Cobet, Prosopogr. Xen. p. 63.
Founder of the Cynics; he passed much of his time with So-
crates: Sympos. iv. 44; Mem. ii. 5. 1. Both these men appear to
have attended him in his visit to Theodota.
5 Mentioned i. 2. 48.
* 'I❝yywv.]. The g is a small bird that builds in hollow trees,
and feeds on insects; it is called in Latin torquilla, in French torcou,
in German wendehals, and in English wry-neck, from the incessant
motion of its head. From this peculiarity the ancients believed that
it had some magic power, and used it in incantations. They used
to tie the bird to a wheel with four spokes, which they whirled
round rapidly, chanting, at the same time, certain charms. Hence
the wheel itself came to be called y. See Pind. Pyth. iv. 380;
Esch. Pers. 993; Theocr. ii. 17. Schneider.
7 "Ελκω. ] The expression ἕλκειν ἔγγα ἐπὶ τινα was a common one,
says Schneider.
'EXREV is used for torquere, in speaking of the
magic wheel. So tortus rhombus, Ov. Amor. i. S. 7; and retro solvere
turbinem, Hor. Ep. xvii. 7." Sturz.
8
Aptly and wittily said; for the excuse of the traipaɩ in shutting
462
[B. IN.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
CHAPTER XII.
Socrates shows the benefit of gymnastic exercises, as well on the health of
the mind as on that of the body, sect. 1-4. The advantages of health and
vigour, 5-8.
""
"You are not less of an ath-
1. NOTICING that Epigenes, one of his followers, was both
very young and weak in body, he said to him, "How very
unlike an athlete¹ you are in frame, Epigenes!
"I am not an
athlete, Socrates," replied he.
lete," rejoined Socrates, "than those who are going to con-
tend at the Olympic games. Does the struggle for life with
the enemy, which the Athenians will demand of you when
circumstances require, seem to you to be a trifling contest?
2. Yet, in the dangers of war, not a few, through weakness of
body, either lose their lives, or save them with dishonour;
many, from the same cause, are taken alive, and, as prisoners
of war, endure for the rest of their lives, if such should be
their fate, the bitterest slavery; or, falling into the most
grievous hardships, and paying for their ransom sometimes
more than they possess, pass the remainder of their existence
in want of necessaries, and in the endurance of affliction; and
many, too, incur infamy, being thought to be cowards merely
from the imbecility of their bodily frame. 3. Do you think
lightly of such penalties attached to weakness of body, or do
you expect that you will endure such calamities with ease? I
believe that what he must bear who attends to the health of
his body, is far lighter and more pleasant than such afflic-
tions. Or do you suppose that an ill condition of body is
more salutary and advantageous than a good condition? Or
do you despise the benefits secured by a good state of the
body? 4. Yet the lot which falls to those who have their
bodies in good condition is exactly the reverse of that which
falls to those who have them in ill condition; for those who
have their bodies in a good state are healthy and strong; and
out their gallants was vdov Tepos. Lucian, Dialog. Meretr. xii.
p. 310; viii. p. 300. Ruhnken.
1 Ὡς ἰδιωτικῶς—τὸ σῶμα ἔχεις.] Quam non athleticè corpore consti
tutus es! 'Idiúrns, one untrained in gymnastic exercises, was op-
posed to άлкηrns, one trained in them. See iii. 7. 7.
CH. 12.]
ADVANTAGES OF EXERCISE.
463
many, from being possessed of this advantage, save themselves
with honour amid the struggles of war, and escape every
peril; many, also, assist their friends and benefit their coun-
try, and, for such services, are thought worthy of favour, ac-
quire great glory, and attain the highest dignities; and, on
these accounts, pass the rest of their lives with greater plea-
sure and honour, and bequeath finer fortunes to their chil-
dren. 5. Nor, because the city does not require warlike
exercises publicly,2 ought we, on that account, to neglect
them privately, but rather to practise them the more;³ for be
well assured that neither in any other contest, nor in any
affair whatever, will you at all come off the worse because
your body is better trained than that of other men; since the
body must bear its part in whatever men do; and in all the
services required from the body, it is of the utmost import-
ance to have it in the best possible condition; 6. for even in
that in which you think that there is least exercise for the
body, namely, thinking, who does not know that many fail
greatly from ill-health? and loss of memory, despondency,
irritability, and madness, often, from ill-health of body, at-
tack the mind with such force as to drive out all previous
knowledge. 7. But to those who have their bodies in good
condition, there is the utmost freedom from anxiety, and no
danger of suffering any such calamity from weakness of con-
stitution; whilst it is likely, rather, that a healthy state of
body will avail to produce consequences the reverse of those
which result from an unhealthy state of it; and, indeed, to
secure consequences the reverse of what we have stated, what
would a man in his senses not undergo? 8. It is disgraceful,
too, for a person to grow old in self-neglect, before he knows
what he would become by rendering himself well-formed and
vigorous in body; but this a man who neglects himself can-
not know; for such advantages are not wont to come spon-
taneously.
1
Apogµàs eis Tòv Biov.] Supplies or incomes for living; means
of life.
2 Xenophon, in recording this censure on the Athenians, intends
tacitly to praise the Lacedæmonians. See iii. 5. 15. Weiske. There
were at Athens, says Schneider, as in other states of Greece,
λoμάxo, men who trained others in the exercise of arms; but no
such exercise was publicly required by law as at Lacedæmon.
3 Μηδὲν ἧττον.] "Not less.
464
[B. IIF
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
CHAPTER XIII.
Several brief sayings of Socrates. We should not be offended at rudeness of
manner more than at personal defects, sect. 1. Fasting the best remedy
for loathing of food, 2. We should not be too nice as to food or drink, 3.
He that punishes his slave, should consider whether he himself deserves
like punishment, 4. Admonitions to travellers, 5. It is disgraceful to
him who has been trained in the gymnasium to be outdone by a slave in
enduring toil, 6.
1. A PERSON being angry, because, on saluting another, he
was not saluted in return, "It is an odd thing," said Socrates
to him, “that if you had met a man ill-conditioned in body,
you would not have been angry, but to have met a man
rudely disposed in mind provokes you."
2. Another person saying that he ate without pleasure,
“Acumenus,
" said Socrates, "prescribes an excellent remedy
for that disease." The other asking, "What sort of remedy?"
"To abstain from eating," said Socrates; "for he says that,
after abstaining, you will live with more pleasure, less ex-
pense, and better health.”
3. Another saying that the water which he had to drink at
his house was warm, "When you wish to bathe in warm
water, then,” said Socrates, "it will be ready for you.” “But
it is too cold to bathe in," said the other.
"Are your
slaves, then," asked Socrates, "inconvenienced by drinking
or bathing in it?" "No, by Jupiter," replied he; "for I
have often wondered how cheerfully they use it for both those
purposes." "And is the water in your house," said Socrates,
<6
or that in the temple of Esculapius,2 the warmer for drink-
ing?" "That at the temple of Esculapius," replied he.
“And which is the colder for bathing in, that at your house,
or that in the temple of Amphiaraus ?"3"That in the temple
of Amphiaraus," said he. "Consider, then," said Socrates,
A physician of the time of Socrates, and one of his friends. See
Plato, Phædr. p. 227, A., p. 268, A. B.; Symp. p. 176; Cobet, Pro-
sopogr. Xen. p. 50.
2 At Athens. Pausanias, Attic. c. 21, mentions that it was situate
in the way from the theatre to the Acropolis, and that there was a
fountain belonging to it; but says nothing of the nature of the
water. Schneider.
3 Between Potniæ and Thebes.
CH. 13.
SAYINGS OF SOCRATES.
465
"that you seem to be harder to please than your slaves or the
sick."
66
4. Another person beating his attendant severely, Socrates
asked him why he was so angry at the slave. Because,"
said he, "he is very gluttonous and very stupid, very covet-
ous and very idle." "And have you ever reflected," rejoined
Socrates, “which of the two deserves the greater number of
stripes, you or your slave?"
5. A person being afraid of the journey to Olympia,
Why," said Socrates to him, "do you fear the journey? Do
you not walk about at home almost all day? And, if you set
out thither, you will walk and dine, walk and sup, and go to
rest. Do you not know that if you were to extend in a straight
line the walks which you take in five or six days, you would
easily go from Athens to Olympia? But it will be better for
you to start a day too soon than a day too late; for to be
obliged to extend your days' journeys beyond a moderate
length is disagreeable; but to spend one day more on the
road gives great ease; and it is better, therefore, to hasten to
start than to hurry on the way."
66
66
"He
"And
6. Another saying that he was utterly wearied with a long
journey, Socrates asked him whether he carried any burden.
'No, by Jupiter," said he, "I did not, except my cloak."
“And did you travel alone," said Socrates, or did an at-
tendant accompany you?" "An attendant was with me."
"Was he empty-handed, or did he carry anything?"
carried, certainly, the bedding 3 and other utensils."
how did he get over the journey?" "He appeared to me to
come off better than myself." "If you, then, had been
obliged to carry his burden, how do you imagine that you
would have fared?" "Very ill," by Jupiter; "or rather, I
should not have been able to carry it at all."
"And how can
you think that it becomes a man trained to exercise to be so
much less able to bear fatigue than a slave?"
Which slaves used to carry in a bag. See note on Anab. v.
4. 13.
VOL. I.
2 HI
466
[B. II.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
CHAPTER XIV.
fable-talk of Socrates in praise of frugality. In contributions to feasts, one
guest should not strive to surpass another in the quality or quantity of
what he contributes, sect. 1. He may be called ofopayos, flesh-eater;
who eats flesh alone, or with very little bread, 2-4. He that eats of mary
dishes at once acts foolishly in various ways, 5, 6. He may be truly satd
εvwxεiolaι, to banquet, who lives on plain and wholesome food, 7.
1. WHEN, among a number of persons who had met to-
gether to sup, some brought little meat, and others a great
quantity, Socrates desired the attendant either to set the
smallest dish on the table for common participation, or to dis-
tribute a portion of it to each. They, accordingly, who had
brought a great deal, were ashamed not to partake of what
was put on table for the company in general, and not, at
the same time, to put their own on table in return. They
therefore offered their own dishes for the participation of the
company; and when they had no greater share than those
who brought but little, they ceased to buy meat at great cost.
2. Observing one of those at table with him taking no
bread, but eating meat by itself, and a discussion having
arisen at the same time about names, for what cause any par
ticular name was given, "Can we tell," said Socrates, "for
what cause a man should be called oopάyos?¹ For everybody
eats flesh with his bread when he has it; but I do not sup-
pose that people are called dopάyou on that account." "I
should think not," said one of the company. 3. But," said
Socrates, "if a person should eat meat by itself without
bread, not for the purpose of training, but of gratifying his
appetite, whether would he seem to be an ovopayos or not?”
Scarcely any other would more justly seem so," said he.
"And he that eats a great deal of meat with very little
bread," said another of the company, "what should he be
called?" "To me," replied Socrates, "it appears that he
would justly be called o↓opúyos, and when other men pray tc
¹ Flesh-eater. From oov, whatever was eaten with bread, and
payɛir, to eat.
66
2
2 'AσKnoεws.] A word used to denote the training of the athlete,,
who ate a great deal of flesh to strengthen them. See i. 2. 4; iii
7.7 Kühner.
JH. 14.]
TABLE-TALK.
467
the gods for abundance of corn, he may pray for abundance of
flesh." 4. When Socrates said this, the young man, thinking
that the words were directed at him, did not indeed leave off
eating meat, but took some bread with it. Socrates, observ-
ing him do so, said, "Notice this young man, you that sit
near him, whether he takes bread to his meat, or meat to his
bread."
(6
5. Seeing another of the company taste of several dishes
with the same piece of bread, " Can any cookery be more ex-
travagant," said he, or more adapted to spoil dishes, than
that which he practises who eats of several at the same time,
putting all manner of sauces into his mouth at once?
For as
he mixes together more ingredients than the cooks, he makes
what he eats more expensive; and as he mixes what they for-
bear to mix as being incongruous, he, if they do right, is in
the wrong, and renders their art ineffectual. 6. And how can
it be otherwise than ridiculous," he added, “for a man to pro-
vide himself with cooks of the greatest skill, and then, though
he pretends to no knowledge of their art, to undo what has
been done by them? But there is another evil attendant on
him who is accustomed to eat of several dishes at once; for, if
he has not several sorts of meat before him, he thinks himself
stinted, missing the variety to which he has been used. But
he who is accustomed to make one piece of bread, and one
piece of meat, go together, will be able to partake contentedly
of one dish when several are just at hand.
7. He observed also that evwyeio Sai, "to fare well,"¹ was in
the language of the Athenians called odiar, "to eat ;" and
that the ɛ, "well," was added to denote that we should eat
such food as would disorder neither mind nor body, and such as
would not be difficult to be procured; so that he applied
εvwxεïodaι, "to fare well," to those who fared temperately.
I
1 Evwxew, quasi evoxew, from s and oy, support, nourishment,
from xw: a derivation for which Kühner refers to Eustath. ad 1.1. ii.
p. 212. 37 : 'Αχαιοὶ τὴν τροφὴν ὀχὴν λέγουσι.
1
!
5 2
BOOK IV.
CHAPTER I.
Socrates liked the society of young men; how he judged of them; his de-
sire that they should be well educated, sect. 1, 2. The more powerful the
mind in youth, the more likely it is, if ill trained, to run into vice, 3, 4.
Happiness does not depend on riches, but on knowledge, and on being
useful to our fellow-creatures, and gaining their esteem, 5.
1. So serviceable was Socrates to others, in every kind of
transaction, and by every possible means, that to any one who
reflects on his usefulness, (even though he possess but moderate
discernment,) it is manifest that nothing was of greater be-
nefit than to associate with Socrates, and to converse with
him, on any occasion, or on any subject whatever; since even
the remembrance of him, when he is no longer with us, bene-
fits in no small degree those who were accustomed to enjoy
his society, and heard him with approbation; for he sought
to improve his associates not less in his humorous than in his
serious conversation. 2. He would often say that he loved
some particular person; but he was evidently enamoured, not
of those formed by nature to be beautiful, but of those
naturally inclined to virtue. He judged of the goodness
of people's abilities from their quickness in learning the
things to which they gave their attention, from their re-
membrance of what they learned, and from their desire for
all those branches of knowledge by means of which it is possi-
ble to manage a family or an estate well, and to govern men
and their affairs with success; for he thought that such cha-
racters, when instructed, would not only be happy themselves,
and regulate their own families judiciously, but would be able
to render other men, and other communities besides their own,
happy. 3. He did not however make advances to all in the
same manner. Those who thought that they had good natural
abilities, but despised instruction, he endeavoured to con-
vince that minds which show most natural power have most
need of education, pointing out to them that horses of the best
MORAL OBSERVATIONS.
469
breed, which are high-spirited and obstinate, become, if they
are broken in when young, most useful and valuable, but if
they are left unbroken, remain quite unmanageable and
worthless; and that hounds of the best blood, able to endure
toil, and eager to attack beasts, prove, if they are well trained,
most serviceable for the chase, and every way excellent, but,
if untrained, are useless, rabid, and disobedient. 4. In like
manner, he showed that men of the best natural endowments,
possessed of the greatest strength of mind, and most energetic
in executing what they undertake, became, if well disciplined
and instructed in what they ought to do, most estimable cha-
racters, and most beneficent to society, (as they then per-
formed most numerous and important services,) but that, if
uninstructed, and left in ignorance, they proved utterly worth-
less and mischievous; for that, not knowing what line of
conduct they ought to pursue, they often entered upon evil
courses, and, being haughty and impetuous, were difficult to be
restrained or turned from their purpose, and thus occasioned
very many and great evils.
5. But those who prided themselves on their wealth, and
thought that they required no education, but imagined that
their riches would suffice to effect whatever they desired, and
to gain them honour from mankind, he tried to reduce to
reason by saying that the man was a fool who thought that
he could distinguish the good and the evil in life without in-
struction; and that he also was a fool, who, though he could
not distinguish them, thought that he would procure whatever
he wished, and effect whatever was for his interest, by means
of his wealth. He also said that the man was void of sense,
who, not being qualified to pursue what was for his good,
fancied that he would be prosperous in the world, and that
everything necessary for his comfort was fully, or at least
sufficiently, provided for him; and that he was equally void
of sense, who, though he knew nothing, thought that he would
seem good for something because of his riches, and, though
evidently despicable, would gain esteem through their in-
fluence.
470
{B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
CHAPTER II.
No dependence to be placed on natural abilities without education. Socrates
proceeds to show Euthydemus, a self-conceited young man, that in every
art it is proper to have recourse to instructors, sect. 1, 2. IIe shows the
folly of a man who should pretend to have learned everything of himself,
3-5. The necessity of instruction in the art of government, 6, 7. By a
long series of interrogations Socrates reduces Euthydemus to acknowledge
his ignorance and incompetence, 8-23. The value of self-knowledge,
24-30. Further instructions given to Euthydemus, 30-40.
4
1. 1 I will now show how Socrates addressed himself to
such as thought that they had attained the highest degree of
knowledge, and prided themselves on their ability. Hearing
that Euthydemus,2 surnamed the Handsome, had collected
many writings³ of the most celebrated poets and sophists, and
imagined that by that means he was outstripping his con-
temporaries in accomplishments, and had great hopes that he
would excel them all in talent for speaking and acting, and
finding, by his first inquiries about him, that he had not yet
engaged in public affairs on account of his youth, but that,
when he wished to do any business," he usually sat in a bridle-
maker's shop near the Forum, he went himself to it, accom-
panied by some of his hearers; 2. and as somebody asked,
first of all, "whether it was from his intercourse with some
of the wise men, or from his own natural talents, that The-
mistocles attained such a pre-eminence above his fellow-
citizens, that the republic looked to him whenever it wanted
the service of a man of ability," Socrates, wishing to excite
the attention of Euthydemus, said that "it was absurd to
believe that men could not become skilled in the lowest
1 Schneider observes that this second chapter is but a continu--
ation of the first, and ought not to be separated from it.
2 The same that is mentioned i. 2. 29.
Γράμματα.] They seem to be the same as συγγράμματα, or
ovyyεypaμμέva, moral precepts, reflections, and examples, extracted
from different writers. See Bekker, Anecd. i. p. 31; and Borne-
mann ad Cyrop. viii. 4. 16. Kühner.
See iii. 6. 1.
4 Being under twenty years of age.
Ti-dianρážαoSau.] He seems to have appointed the bridle-
maker's shop as a place for meeting his friends, and for waiting
for them, if they went away to do any business for him.
CH. 2.]
EUTHYDEMUS.
471
mechanical arts without competent instructors, and to imagine
that ability to govern a state, the most important of all arts,
might spring up in men by the unassisted efforts of nature."
3. On another occasion, when Euthydemus was one of the
company, and Socrates saw him leaving it, from apprehension
lest he should seem to admire him for his wisdom, he observed,
It is evident, my friends, from the studies that he pursues,
that Euthydemus here, when he comes of age, and the govern
ment give liberty of discussion¹ on any point, will not refrain
from offering his counsel; and I imagine that he has already
framed an exordium for his public oration, taking precau-
tion that he may not be thought to have learned anything
from anybody; and it is pretty certain, therefore, that when
he begins to speak, he will make his opening thus: 4. 'I, O
men of Athens, have never learned anything from any per-
son, nor, though I heard of some that were skilled in speaking
and acting, have I sought to converse with them; nor have I
been anxious that any one of the learned should become my mas-
ter; but I have done the exact contrary; for I have constant-
ly avoided not only learning anything from any one, but even
the appearance of learning anything; nevertheless I will offer
you such advice as may occur to me without premeditation.
5. So it might be proper for a person to commence a speech
who desired to obtain a medical appointment2 from the go-
vernment: 'I, O men of Athens, have never learned the
medical art from any one, nor have been desirous that any
physician should be my instructor; for I have constantly been
on my guard, not only against learning anything of the art
from any one, but even against appearing to have learned any-
thing; nevertheless confer on me this medical appointment;
for I will endeavour to learn by making experiments³ upon
When the public crier called the people to an assembly, he gave
notice that liberty would be granted to those who wished to speak
on the subject of discussion: as in Demosth. de Cor. c. 53: ric
άуoρεúεiv BоúλεTaɩ; and Aristoph. Acharn. 45. Schneider. Schoe-
mann de Comitiis, ii. p. 104.
•
2 'IarρıkÒv ëруov.] Weiske supposes that there were two classes
of medical men; some freemen, and others slaves; and that the
better sort were appointed by the people at their assemblies, re-
ceiving a salary from the public treasury.
3 To learn by making experiments on their patients medical
men do not profess, yet it is what they secretly practise. Diacuni
472
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
you.'' At this mode of opening a speech all who were pre-
sent burst out into laughter.
6. As Euthydemus had now evidently begun to attend to
what Socrates was saying, but was cautious of speaking him-
self, as thinking by his silence to clothe himself with reputa-
tion for modesty, Socrates, wishing to cure him of that
fancy, said, It is indeed strange, that those who desire to
play on the lyre, or on the flute, or to ride, or to become expert
in any such accomplishment, should endeavour to practise, as
constantly as possible, that in which they desire to excel, and not
by themselves merely, but with the aid of such as are considered
eminent in those attainments, attempting and undergoing every-
thing, so as to do nothing without their sanction, as supposing
that they can by no other means attain reputation; but that of
those who wish to become able to speak and act in affairs of
government, some think that they will be suddenly qualified to
achieve their object, without preparation or study, and by
their own unassisted efforts. 7. Yet these pursuits are mani-
festly more difficult of attainment than those, inasmuch as of
the very many who attempt them a much smaller number
succeed in them; and it is evident, therefore, that those who
pursue the one are required to submit to longer and more dili-
gent study than those who pursue the other."
8. Socrates used at first to make such remarks, while Eu-
thydemus merely listened; but when he observed that he
stayed, while he conversed, with more willingness, and
hearkened to him with more attention, he at last came to the
bridle-maker's shop unattended. As Euthydemus sat down
beside him, he said, "Tell me, Euthydemus, have you really,
as I hear, collected many of the writings¹ of men who are said
to have been wise." "I have indeed, Socrates," replied he,
"and I am still collecting, intending to persevere till I get as
many as I possibly can. 9. "By Juno," rejoined Socrates,
"I feel admiration for you, because you have not preferred ac-
quiring treasures of silver and gold rather than of wisdom; for
it is plain you consider that silver and gold are unable to make
men better, but that the thoughts of wise men enrich their
possessors with virtue."
Euthydemus was delighted to hear
""
periculis nostris, et experimenta per mortes agunt, as Pliny says, H. N.
xxix. 1.
1
Schneider.
гpáµµаra.] See note on sect. i.
CH. 2.
CONVERSATION WITH EUTHYDEMUS.
66
(6
476
>
this commendation, believing that he was thought by Socrates
to have sought wisdom in the right course. 10. Socrates, ob-
serving that he was gratified with the praise, said, “And in
what particular art do you wish to become skilful, that you
collect these writings?" As Euthydemus continued silent,
considering what reply he should make, Socrates again asked,
"Do you wish to become a physician? for there are many
writings of physicians." "Not I, by Jupiter," replied Eu-
thydemus. 'Do you wish to become an architect, then? for
a man of knowledge is needed for that art also."1 'No, in-
deed," answered he. "Do you wish to become a good geome-
trician, like Theodorus?"2 "Nor a geometrician either,'
said he. "Do you wish then to become an astronomer ?”
said Socrates. As Euthydemus said "No," to this, "Do you
wish then,” added Socrates, "to become a rhapsodist,³ for they
say that you are in possession of all the poems of Homer."
"No indeed," said he, "for I know that the rhapsodists,
though eminently knowing in the poems of Homer, are, as
men, extremely foolish." 11. "You are perhaps desirous then,”
proceeded Socrates, "of attaining that talent by which men
become skilled in governing states, in managing households,
able to command, and qualified to benefit other men as well
as themselves." "I indeed greatly desire," said he, “Socra-
tes, to acquire that talent." "By Jupiter," returned Socrates,
"you aspire to a most honourable accomplishment, and a most
exalted art, for it is the art of kings, and is called the royal
art. But," added he, “have you ever considered whether it
is possible for a man who is not just to be eminent in that
· Γνωμονικοῦ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς καὶ τοῦτο δεῖ.] "There is need of a man
of knowledge also for this art. Τοῦτο Τον κατὰ τοῦτο, for it cannot,
as Kühner observes, be a nominative.
2 Theodorus of Cyrene, the preceptor of Socrates in geometry,
mentioned in the Theaetetus of Plato. Comp. iv. 7. 8. Schneider.
See Cobet, Prosopogr. Xen. p. 32.
3 The rhapsodists, paydoi, were men who publicly recited epic
verses, especially those of Homer. "The judgment here passed on
the rhapsodists has reference to the period of Socrates only, not to
preceding times, in which they were held in great honour. See
Bornemann ad Sympos. iii. 6. There is an elegant discussion on
the rhapsodists by G. H. Bodius, in a work of much learning, en-
titled Gesch. der Hellen. Dichtkunst. vol. i. p. 351, seqq. See Stall-
baum ad Plato, Ion, p. 285, F. A.; Wolf, Prolegom. in Hom. p. 99,
seqq.; and Gr. Guil. Nitzsch in Quæst. Hom. P. iv. p. 13." Kühner
174
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
""
12.
art?" "I have certainly," replied he; "and it is not possible
for a man to be even a good citizen without justice."
"Have you yourself, then, made yourself master of that
virtue?" "I think," said he, "Socrates, that I shall be
found not less just than any other man. "Are there then
works of just men, as there are works of artisans ?" "There
are, doubtless," replied he. "Then," said Socrates,
sans are able to show their works, would not just men be able
also to tell their works?” "And why should not I,"
asked Euthydemus, "be able to tell the works of jus-
tice; as also indeed those of injustice; for we may see and
hear of no small number of them every day?"
as arti-
13. "Are you willing then," said Socrates, "that we should
make a delta on this side, and an alpha³ on that, and then that
we should put whatever seems to us to be a work of justice
under the delta, and whatever seems to be a work of injustice
under the alpha?" "If you think that we need those
letters," said Euthydemus, "make them." 14. Socrates,
having made the letters as he proposed, asked, "Does false-
hood then exist among mankind?" "It does assuredly,"
replied he. "Under which head shall we place it?" "Under
injustice, certainly." "Does deceit also exist?" "Unques-
tionably." “Under which head shall we place that?" "Evi
dently under injustice." "Does mischievousness exist?"
"Undoubtedly." "And the enslaving of men?" "That,
too, prevails.' "And shall neither of these things be placed
by us under justice, Euthydemus ?" "It would be strange if
they should be," said he. 15. But," said Socrates, "if a
man, being chosen to lead an army, should reduce to slavery
an injust and hostile people, should we say that he committed
injustice ?" "No, certainly," replied he. "Should we not
rather say that he acted justly?” "Indisputably." “And
if, in the course of the war with them, he should practise de-
ceit?" "That also would be just," said he. "And if he
should steal and carry off their property, would he not do
what was just ?" "Certainly," said Euthydemus; "but I
thought at first that you asked these questions only with
reference to our friends." "Then," said Socrates, "all that
we have placed under the head of injustice, we must also place
•
Delta for dikaios, "just;" alpha for ȧdiròs, "unjust."
CH. 2.
ON JUSTICE AND INJUSTICE.
475
under that of justice?" "It seems so,” replied Euthydemus.
16. "Do you agree, then," continued Socrates, "that, having
so placed them, we should make a new distinction, that it is
just to do such things with regard to enemies, but unjust to do
them with regard to friends, and that towards his friends our
general should be as guileless as possible?" "By all means,"
replied Euthydemus. 17. "Well, then," said Socrates, "if a
general, seeing his army dispirited, should tell them, invent-
ing a falsehood, that auxiliaries were coming, and should, by
that invention, check the despondency of his troops, under
which head should we place such an act of deceit?" "It ap-
pears to me," said Euthydemus, "that we must place it under
justice." "And if a father, when his son requires medicine,
and refuses to take it, should deceive him, and give him the
medicine as ordinary food, and, by adopting such deception,
should restore him to health, under which head must we place
such an act of deceit ?" "It appears to me that we must put
it under the same head." "And if a person, when his friend
was in despondency, should, through fear that he might kill
himself, steal or take away his sword, or any other weapon,
under which head must we place that act?" That, as-
suredly, we must place under justice." 18. "You say, then,"
said Socrates, "that not even towards our friends must we
act on all occasions without deceit ?" "We must not indeed,"
said he, "for I retract what I said before, if I may be per-
mitted to do so." "It is indeed much better that you should
be permitted," said Socrates, "than that you should not place
actions on the right side. 19. But of those who deceive their
friends in order to injure them, (that we may not leave even this
point unconsidered,) which of the two is the more unjust, he
who does so intentionally or he who does so involuntarily ?"
Indeed, Socrates," said Euthydemus, "I no longer put con-
fidence in the answers which I give; for all that I said be-
fore appears to me now to be quite different from what I then
thought; however, let me venture to say that he who de-
ceives intentionally is more unjust than he who deceives in-
voluntarily?"
66
3
(6
20. "Does it appear to you, then, that there is a way of
learning and knowing what is just, as there is of learning and
1 Εἰρήσθω μοι.]
say."
Eiphow μo. "Let it have been said by me," or "Let me
476
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
66
knowing how to read and write?" "I think there is." "And
which should you consider the better scholar, him who should
purposely write or read incorrectly, or him who should do so
unawares ?" "Him who should do so purposely, for, when-
ever he pleased, he would be able to do both correctly."
"He, therefore, that purposely writes incorrectly may be a
good scholar, but he who does so involuntarily is destitute of
scholarship?" "How can it be otherwise?" And whether
does he who lies and deceives intentionally know what is
just, or he who does so unawares ?” "Doubtless he who does
so intentionally." "You therefore say that he who knows
how to write and read is a better scholar than he who does
not know?" "Yes." "And that he who knows what is
just is more just than he who does not know?" "I seem to
say so; but I appear to myself to say this I know not how."
21. "But what would you think of the man, who, wishing to
tell the truth, should never give the same account of the same
thing, but, in speaking of the same road, should say at one
time that it led towards the east, and at another towards the
west, and, in stating the result of the same calculation, should
sometimes assert it to be greater and sometimes less, what, I
say, would you think of such a man?" "It would be quite
clear that he knew nothing of what he thought he knew."'
"For
22. "Do you know any persons called slave-like?”2 “I do.”
“Whether for their knowledge or their ignorance ?”
their ignorance, certainly." "Is it then for their ignorance of
working in brass that they receive this appellation?" "Not
at all." "Is it for their ignorance of the art of building?"
"Nor for that." "Or for their ignorance of shoemaking?
"Not on any one of these accounts; for the contrary is the
case, as most of those who know such trades are servile."
"Is this, then, an appellation of those who are ignorant of
what is honourable, and good, and just?" "It appears so to
me."
23. "It therefore becomes us to exert ourselves in
every way to avoid being like slaves."
"But, by the gods,
1 This is the conclusion to which Socrates wished to bring Euthy-
demus with regard to his own knowledge of justice; and to exhort
him, at the same time, to gain a knowledge of it, as he who knows
what is just is more just than he who does not know," sect. 20.
2 Ανδραποδώδεις.]
'Avoρaπodúdεis.] Slave-like, ignorant, low-minded, not pos-
sessed of any qualities to raise them above the level of slaves
Compare i. 1. 16; and sect. 39 of this chapter.
CH. 2.]
ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE.
477
Socrates," rejoined Euthydemus, "I firmly believed that I
was pursuing that course of study, by which I should, as I
expected, be made fully acquainted with all that was proper
to be known by a man striving after honour and virtue; but
now, how dispirited must you think I feel, when I see that, with
all my previous labour, I am not even able to answer a ques-
tion about what I ought most of all to know, and am ac-
quainted with no other course which I may pursue to become
better !"
24. Socrates then said, "Tell me, Euthydemus, have you
ever gone to Delphi ?" "Yes, twice," replied he.
66
"And did
you observe what is written somewhere on the temple wall,
KNOW THYSELF?" "I did." "And did you take no
thought of that inscription, or did you attend to it, and try
to examine yourself, to ascertain what sort of character you
are ?"
“I did not indeed try, for I thought that I knew
very well already, since I should hardly know anything else
if I did not know myself." 25. "But whether does he seem
to you to know himself, who knows his own name merely, or
he who, (like people buying horses, who do not think that they
know the horse that they want to know, until they have
ascertained whether he is tractable or unruly, whether he is
strong or weak, swift or slow, and how he is as to other points
which are serviceable or disadvantageous in the use of a
horse, so he,) having ascertained with regard to himself how
he is adapted for the service of mankind, knows his own
abilities ?" "It appears to me, I must confess, that he who
does not know his own abilities, does not know himself.”
"But is it not evident," said Socrates, "that men enjoy a great
number of blessings in consequence of knowing themselves, and
incur a great number of evils, through being deceived in them-
selves? For they who know themselves know what is suitable
for them, and distinguish between what they can do and what
they cannot; and, by doing what they know how to do, pro-
cure for themselves what they need, and are prosperous, and,
by abstaining from what they do not know, live blamelessly,
and avoid being unfortunate. By this knowledge of them-
selves, too, they can form an opinion of other men, and, by
their experience of the rest of mankind,' obtain for them-
26.
· Διὰ τῆς τῶν ἄλλων χρείας.] Χρεία is here " dealing with,” “ in-
tercourse," by which knowledge and experience may be obtained.
Compare olc xpwvrat in the following section.
478
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
selves what is good, and guard against what is evil. 27. But
they who do not know themselves, but are deceived in their
own powers, are in similar case with regard to other men,'
and other human affairs, and neither understand what they
require, nor what they are doing, nor the characters of those
with whom they connect themselves, but, being in error as to
all these particulars, they fail to obtain what is good, and fall
into evil. 28. They, on the other hand, who understand
what they take in hand, succeed in what they attempt, and
become esteemed and honoured; those who resemble them in
character willingly form connexions with them; those who
are unsuccessful in life desire to be assisted with their ad-
vice, and to prefer them to themselves; they place in them
their hopes of good, and love them, on all these accounts, be-
yond all other men. 29. But those, again, who do not know
what they are doing, who make an unhappy choice in life,
and are unsuccessful in what they attempt, not only incur
losses and sufferings in their own affairs, but become, in con-
sequence, disreputable and ridiculous, and drag out their lives
in contempt and dishonour. Among states, too, you see that
such as, from ignorance of their own strength, go to war with
others that are more powerful, are, some of them, utterly
overthrown, and others reduced from freedom to slavery."
2
""
30. "Be assured, therefore," replied Euthydemus, "that I
feel convinced we must consider self-knowledge of the highest
value; but as to the way in which we must begin³ to seek
self-knowledge, I look to you for information, if you will
kindly impart it to me. 31. "Well, then," said Socrates,
"you doubtless fully understand what sort of things are good,
and what sort are evil." 66
Yes, by Jupiter,” replied Euthy-
demus, “for if I did not understand such things, I should be
in a worse condition than slaves are." "Come then," said
Socrates, "tell me what they are." "That is not difficult,"
said he, "for, in the first place, health I consider to be a good,
and sickness an evil, and, in the next, looking to the causes of
1
¹ As they have no right knowledge of themselves, they have no
right knowledge of other men, or of human affairs.
* Επιθυμοῦσι τούτους ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν βουλεύεσθαι.] "Desire that
these persons should deliberate (cr consider about matters) for
them.'
3 πόθεν χρὴ ἄρξασθαι.] "Whence (from what point) we must
begin."
CH. 2.]
""
ON GOOD AND EVIL.
479
each of them, as drink, food, and employments, I esteem such
as conduce to health to be good, and such as lead to sick-
ness to be evil." 32. "Consequently," said Socrates, "health
and sickness themselves, when they are the causes of any
good, will be good, and when they are the causes of any
evil, will be evil.” "But when," exclaimed Euthydemus,
can health be the cause of evil, and sickness of good?"
"When, for example," said Socrates, "some portion of a com-
munity, from being in good health, take part in a disgraceful
expedition by land, or a ruinous voyage by sea, or in any
other such matters, which are sufficiently common, and lose
their lives, while others, who are left behind from ill-health,
are saved." "What you say is true," said Euthydemus, "but
you see that some men share in successful enterprises from
being in health, while others, from being in sickness, are left
out of them.' "Whether then," said Socrates, “are those
things which are sometimes beneficial, and sometimes injuri-
ous, goods, rather, or evils?" "Nothing, by Jupiter, is to be
?"«6
settled with regard to them' by considering thus. 33. But as
to wisdom, Socrates, it is indisputably a good thing; for what
business will not one who is wise conduct better than one who
is untaught?" "Have you not heard, then, of Daedalus," said
Socrates, "how he was made prisoner by Minos and compelled
to serve him as a slave; how he was cut off, at once, from
his country and from liberty, and how, when he endeavoured
to escape with his son, he lost the child, and was unable to
save himself, but was carried away among barbarians, and
made a second time a slave ?" "Such a story is told, in-
deed," said Euthydemus. "Have you not heard, too, of the
sufferings of Palamedes? for everybody says that it was for
his wisdom he was envied and put to death by Ulysses."
That, too, is said," replied Euthydemus.
"And how many
66
2
other men do you think have been carried off to the king on
account of their wisdom, and made slaves there?"
34. "But as to happiness, Socrates," said Euthydemus,
"that at least appears to be an indisputable good." "Yes,
Euthydemus," replied Socrates, "if we make it consist in
1 Ovdèv- φαίνεται.]
paiverai.] "Nothing appears" or is shown; nothing
can be settled with regard to them; they cannot be called positively
good things, or positive evils, as they seem sometimes one and
sometimes the other: but as to wisdom, that is indisputably a
good, &c.
2 The king of Persia; iii. 26.
480
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
"9
things that are themselves indisputably good."1 "But what,"
said he, "among things constituting happiness can be a
doubtful good?" "Nothing," answered Socrates, "unless we
join with it beauty, or strength, or wealth, or glory, or any
other such thing." 35. "But we must assuredly join them
with it," said Euthydemus; "for how can a person be happy
without them ?" "We shall then join with it, by Jupiter,
said Socrates, "things from which many grievous calamities
happen to mankind; for many, on account of their beauty,
are ruined by those who are maddened with passion2 for their
youthful attractions; many, through confidence in their
strength, have entered upon undertakings too great for it, and
involved themselves in no small disasters; many, in consequence
of their wealth, have become enervated, been plotted against,
and destroyed; and many, from the glory and power that they
have acquired in their country, have suffered the greatest
calamities." 36. Well, then," said Euthydemus, “if I do not
say what is right when I praise happiness, I confess that I do
not know what we ought to pray for to the gods."
"These points, however," proceeded Socrates, “you have
perhaps not sufficiently considered, from too confident a belief
that you were already well acquainted with them; but since
you intend to be at the head of a democratic government, you
doubtless know what a democracy is.” “ Assuredly," said he.
37. "Do you think it possible for a person to know what a
democracy is, without knowing what the Demos is?"
“No,
indeed." "And what do you conceive the Demos to be?"
"I conceive it to be the poorer class of citizens."
know, then, which are the poor?" "How can I help know-
ing?”
"You know then which are the rich ?"
well as I know which are the poor."
"Which sort of persons
then do you call poor, and which sort rich ?”
"Those who
have not sufficient means to pay for the necessaries of life,³ I
regard as poor; those who have more than sufficient, I con-
"Do you
"Just as
1 Εἴ γε μή τις αὐτό—ἐξ ἀμφιλόγων ἀγαθῶν συντιθείη.] " If one does
not make it up of things doubtfully (or disputably) good."
2 Παρακεκινηκότων.] Παρακινεῖν put intransitively signifies mente
excuti, to be disturbed in mind, to be distracted or mad. See Plato
Rep. vii. p. 517, D., Phædr. p. 249, and Stallbaum's note. Kühner.
3 Μὴ ἱκανὰ ἔχοντας εἰς ἃ δεῖ τελεῖν.] I take τελεῖν in the sense of
paying, as in ii. 9. 1; ii. 10 6; and eiç å deì is ad vitæ necessitotibus
satisfaciendum. Kühner.
CH. 2.]
DOCILITY OF EUTHYDEMUS.
481
sider rich." 38. "Have you ever observed, then, that to some
who have very small means, those means are not only suffici-
ent, but that they even save from them, while, to many, very
large fortunes are not sufficient?" "I have indeed," said
Euthydemus, " (for you very properly put me in mind of it,)
since I have known some princes, who, from poverty, have
been driven to commit injustice like the very poorest people."
39. "Then," said Socrates, "if such be the case, we must rank
such princes among the Demos, and those that have but little,
we must rank, if they be good managers, among the rich?
"My own want of knowledge,' indeed," said Euthydemus,
obliges me to admit even this; and I am considering whether
it would not be best for me to be silent; for I seem to know
absolutely nothing."
66
He went away, accordingly, in great dejection, holding him-
self in contempt, and thinking that he was in reality no better
than a slave.
40. Of those who were thus addressed by Socrates, many
came to him no more; and these he regarded as too dull to
be improved. But Euthydemus, on the contrary, conceived
that he could by no other means become an estimable charac-
ter, than by associating with Socrates as much as possible;
and he in consequence never quitted him, unless some neces-
sary business obliged him to do so.
He also imitated many
of his habits.
When Socrates saw that he was thus disposed, he no longer
puzzled him with questions, but explained to him, in the sim-
plest and clearest manner, what he thought that he ought to
know, and what it would be best for him to study.
¹ Þavλóτng.] Inscitia. Sturz.
VOL. I.
21
482
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
CHAPTER III.
The necessity of temperance or self-control, and of right notions concerning
the gods, sect. 1, 2. The gods have a providential care for mankind,
3-9. Other animals are formed by the gods for the use of man, 10. In
addition to the senses common to man with the inferior animals, the gods
have given him reason and speech, 11, 12. Though we do not see the
gods, we are convinced of their existence from their works, 13, 14. We
ought therefore to pay them honour according to our means, 15-18.
1
1. SOCRATES was never in haste that his followers should
become skilful in speaking, in action, or in invention, but,
previous to such accomplishments, he thought it proper that a
love of self-control should be instilled into them; for he con-
sidered that those who had acquired those qualifications were,
if devoid of self-control, only better fitted to commit injustice
and to do mischief. 2. In the first place, therefore, he endea-
voured to impress his associates with right feelings towards
the gods. Some, who were present with him when he con-
versed with others on this subject, have given an account of
his discourses; but I myself was with him when he held a
conversation with Euthydemus to the following effect.
""
3. "Tell me,” said he, "Euthydemus, has it ever occurred
to you to consider how carefully the gods have provided for
men everything that they require ? "It has indeed never
occurred to me,” replied he. "You know at least," proceeded
Socrates, "that we stand in need, first of all, of light, with
which the gods supply us." "Yes, by Jupiter," answered Eu-
thydemus, "for if we had no light, we should be, as to the use
of our eyes, like the blind.” "But, as we require rest, they
afford us night, the most suitable season for repose.'
"That is
assuredly," said Euthydemus, "a subject for thankfulness." 4.
"Then because the sun, being luminous, shows us the hours of
the day, and everything else, while the night, being dark,
prevents us from making such distinctions in it,2 have they
""
1 Λεκτικοὺς καὶ πρακτικοὺς καὶ μηχανικούς.] How Socrates rendered
his hearers AEKTIKOUS, is shown in c. 5; how diaλEKTIKоvg, in c. 6;
how unxavikovs, in c. 7. Mŋxavikoì may be Englished " fertile in ex-
pedients."
2 'Acapeorépa loiv.] Schneider interprets, "nihil patitur oculis
distinguere." Kühner observes that the adjective will not bear this
CH. 3.]
BENEVOLENCE OF THE GODS.
483
"The
not caused the stars to shine in the night, which show us the
night-watches, and under the direction of which we perform
many things that we require?" "So it is," said he.
moon, too, makes plain to us not only the divisions of the
night, but also of the month." "Assuredly," said he. 5.
"But that, since we require food, they should raise it for us
from the earth, and appoint suitable seasons for the purpose,
which prepare for us, in abundance and every variety, not
only things which we need, but also things from which we
derive pleasure, what do you think of such gifts?"
"They
certainly indicate love for man." 6. "And that they should
supply us with water, an element of such value to us, that it
causes to spring up, and unites with the earth and the seasons
in bringing to maturity, everything useful for us, and assists
also to nourish ourselves, and, being mixed with all our food,
renders it easier of digestion, more serviceable, and more plea-
sant; and that, as we require water in great quantities, they
should supply us with it in such profusion, what do you think
of such a gift?" "That also," said he, "shows thought for
us." 7. "That they should also give us fire, a protection
against cold and darkness, an auxiliary in every art and
in everything that men prepare for their use, (for, in a
word, men produce nothing, among the various things neces-
sary to life, without the aid of fire,) what do you think of
such a gift?" "That likewise,
"That likewise," said he, "gives eminent
proof of regard for man." 8. 1["That they should diffuse
the air also around us everywhere in such abundance, as not
only to preserve and support life, but to enable us to cross the
seas by means of it, and to get provisions by sailing hither
and thither among foreign lands, is not this a boon inexpressi-
bly valuable ?" "It is indeed inexpressibly so," replied he.]
"That the sun, too, when it turns towards us in the winter,
should approach to mature some things, and to dry up others
whose season for ripening has passed away; and that, having
effected these objects, he should not come nearer to us, but
active sense, and interprets, "Nox propter tenebras obscurior est,
quàm ut ejus singulæ partes discerni possint."
2
The passage in brackets is found only in one manuscript.
Weiske and Schneider admitted it into their texts. Kühner con-
demns it as spurious, justly observing that the language of it "glos-
satoris manum apertè prodit.
As hay, and standing corn.
21 2
484
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
turn back, as if taking care lest he should hurt us by giving
us more heat than is necessary; and that when again, in his de-
parture, he arrives at the point at which it becomes evident
that, if he were to go beyond it, we should be frozen by the
cold, he should again turn towards us, and approach us, and
revolve in that precise part of the heaven in which he may be
of most advantage to us, what do you think of things so regu-
lated?" "By Jupiter," replied Euthydemus, "they appear
to be appointed solely for the sake of man." 9. "Again, that
the sun, because it is certain that we could not endure such
heat or cold if it should come upon us suddenly, should ap-
proach us so gradually, and retire from us so gradually, that
we are brought imperceptibly to the greatest extremes of both,
what do you think of that appointment?" "I am reflecting,
indeed,” said Euthydemus, "whether the gods can have any
other business than to take care of man; only this thought
embarrasses me, that other animals partake in these benefits."
10. "But is not this also evident," said Socrates,
"that
these animals are produced and nourished for the sake of
man?" For what other animal derives so many benefits from
goats, sheep, horses, oxen, asses, and other such creatures, as
man? To me it appears that he gains more advantages froni
them than from the fruits of the earth; at least he is fed and
enriched not less from the one than from the other; and a
great portion of mankind do not use the productions of the
earth for food, but live by herds of cattle, supported by their
milk, and cheese, and flesh; and all men tame and train the
useful sort of animals, and use their services for war and other
purposes." "I agree with what you say on that point," said
Euthydemus, "for I see some animals, much stronger than
we, rendered so subservient to men that they use them for
whatever they please." 11. "But that, since there are num-
berless beautiful and useful objects in the world, greatly dif-
fering from one another, the gods should have bestowed on
men senses adapted to each of them, by means of which we
enjoy every advantage from them; that they should have im-
planted understanding in us, by means of which we reason
about what we perceive by the senses, and, assisted by the
memory, learn how far everything is beneficial, and contrive
many plans by which we enjoy good and avoid evil; 12. and
that they should have given us the faculty of speech, by means
сп. 3.]
CARE OF THE GODS FOR MAN.
485
"And that,
of which we convey information to one another, and mutually
impart whatever is good, and participate in it, enact laws, and
enjoy constitutional government, what think you of such
blessings ?" "The gods certainly appear, Socrates, to exer-
cise the greatest care for man in every way."
since we are unable to foresee what is for our advantage with
regard to the future, they should assist us in that respect,
communicating what will happen to those who inquire of them
by divination, and instructing them how their actions may be
most for their benefit, what thoughts does that produce in
you?”
"The gods seem to show you, Socrates," rejoined he,
more favour than other men, since they indicate to you,
without being asked, what you ought to do, and what not
to do."
<<
13. "And that I speak the truth,' you yourself also well
know, if you do not expect to see the bodily forms of the
gods, but will be content, as you behold their works, to wor-
ship and honour them. Reflect, too, that the gods themselves
give us this intimation;2 for the other deities 3 that give us
blessings, do not bestow any of them by coming manifestly
before our sight; and he that orders and holds together the
whole universe, in which are all things beautiful and good,
and who preserves it always unimpaired, undisordered, and
undecaying, obeying his will swifter than thought and with-
out irregularity, is himself manifested only in the perform-
ance of his mighty works, but is invisible to us while he
regulates them. 14. Consider also that the sun, which ap-
pears manifest to all, does not allow men to contemplate him
too curiously, but, if any one tries to gaze on him steadfastly,
deprives him of his sight. The instruments of the deities you.
will likewise find imperceptible; for the thunder-bolt, for in-
stance, though it is plain that it is sent from above, and works
1 In saying that the gods assist and admonish us.
2 That we must not expect, when we consult the gods, to see
their shapes. Kühner.
3 Socrates, and those who followed him, Plato, the Stoics, and
Cicero, were advocates of the opinion that, besides the one su-
preme God, there were others, far inferior to him, but immortal,
and of great power and endowments, whom the supreme God em-
ployed, as his ministers, in the government of the world; a subject
which I have discussed at some length in a treatise de M. T. Ciceronis
in philosophiam meritis, Hamb. 1825. Kühner.
486
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
its will with everything with which it comes in contact, is yet
never seen either approaching, or striking, or retreating; the
winds, too, are themselves invisible, though their effects are
evident to us, and we perceive their course. The soul of
man, moreover, which partakes of the divine nature if any-
thing else in man does, rules, it is evident, within us, but is
itself unseen. Meditating on these facts, therefore, it be-
hoves you not to despise the unseen gods, but, estimating
their power from what is done by them, to reverence what is
divine."
1
15. "I feel clearly persuaded, Socrates," said Euthydemus,
"that I shall never fail, in the slightest degree, in respect for
the divine power, but I am dejected at the thought that no
one among mankind, as it seems to me, can ever requite the
favours of the gods with due gratitude.” 16. "But be not
dejected at that reflection, Euthydemus," said Socrates, "for
you know that the deity at Delphi, whenever any one con-
sults him how he may propitiate the gods, answers, ACCORD-
ING TO THE LAW OF YOUR COUNTRY; and it is the law,
indeed, everywhere, that every man should propitiate the
gods with offerings according to his ability; and how, there-
fore, can any man honour the gods better or more piously,
than by acting as they themselves direct? 17. It behoves us,
however, not to do less than we are able, for, when any one
acts thus, he plainly shows that he does not honour the gods.
But it becomes him who fails, in no respect, to honour the
gods according to his means, to be of good courage, and to
hope for the greatest blessings; for no one can reasonably
hope for greater blessings from others than from those who are
able to benefit him most; nor on any other grounds than by
propitiating them; and how can he propitiate them better
than by obeying them to the utmost of his power?”
M
18. By uttering such sentiments, and by acting according
to them himself, he rendered those who conversed with him more
pious and prudent.
:
• See i. 3. 2.
CH. 4.]
SOCRATES OBSERVED JUSTICE.
487
CHAPTER IV.
Socrates inculcated a love of justice into his followers. He gave them an
example of adherence to justice in his own life, sect. 1-4. He commences
a conversation with Hippias, a sophist, 4-9. It is better to be just than
merely to talk of justice, 10, 11; it is a part of justice to obey the laws;
what a law is, 12-14; who are the best magistrates in states, 15; a ge-
neral observance of the laws maintains concord, 16-18; there are certain
unwritten laws, which it is not possible to transgress without incurring
punishment, 19-24; to observe the divine laws is to be just, 25.
а
2.
1. CONCERNING justice, too, he did not conceal what senti-
ments he entertained, but made them manifest even by his
actions, for he conducted himself, in his private capacity,
justly and beneficently towards all men, and, as a citizen, he
obeyed the magistrates in all that the laws enjoined, both in
the city and on military expeditions, so that he was distin-
guished above other men for his observance of order.
When he was president in the public assembly, he would not
permit the people to give a vote contrary to law, but opposed
himself, in defence of the laws, to such a storm of rage on
the part of the populace as I think that no other man could
have withstood.1 3. When the Thirty Tyrants commanded
him to do anything contrary to the laws, he refused to obey
them; for both when they forbade him to converse with the
young, and when they ordered him, and some others of the
citizens, to lead a certain person² away to death, he alone did
not obey, because the order was given contrary to the laws.
4. When he was accused by Meletus,³ and others were ac-
customed, before the tribunal, to speak so as to gain the
favour of the judges, and to flatter them, and supplicate them,
in violation of the laws, and many persons, by such practices,
had often been acquitted by the judges, he refused, on his
trial, to comply with any practices opposed to the laws, and
2
See i. 1. 18.
4
Leon, a native of Salamis, but an enrolled citizen of Athens,
who had gone of his own accord into exile at Salamis, that he might
not be put to death by the Tyrants, in their greediness for wealth.
Stallbaum ad Plat. Apol. p. 32, C. See Xen. Hell. ii. 3. 39; An-
docid. de Myster. p. 46; Diog. Laert. ii. 24. Kühner.
3 See note on i. 1. 1. He is generally called Melitus.
4 It was forbidden at Athens to attempt to move the feelings of
the judges. Quintil. vi. 1 Pollux de Areopagit. viii. 117.
488
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
though he might easily have been acquitted by his judges, if
he had but in a slight degree adopted any of those customs,
he chose rather to die abiding by the laws than to save his
life by transgressing them.
5. He held conversations to this effect with others on
several occasions, and I know that he once had a dialogue of
the following kind, concerning justice, with Hippias of Elis;'
for Hippias, on his return to Athens after an absence of some
time, happened to come in the way of Socrates as he was ob-
serving to some people how surprising it was that, if a man
wished to have another taught to be a shoemaker, or a car-
penter, or a worker in brass, or a rider, he was at no loss
whither he should send him to effect his object;2 [nay, that
every place, as some say, was full of persons who would make
a horse or an ox observant of right for any one that desired ;]
while as to justice, if any one wished either to learn it him-
self, or to have his son or his slave taught it, he did not know
whither he should go to obtain his desire. 6. Hippias, hear-
ing this remark, said, as if jesting with him, "What! are
you still saying the same things, Socrates, that I heard from
you so long ago?" "Yes," said Socrates, "and what is more
wonderful, I am not only still saying the same things, but am
saying them on the same subjects; but you, perhaps, from
being possessed of such variety of knowledge, never say the
same things on the same subjects." "Certainly," replied.
Hippias, "I do always try to say something new." 7. “About
matters of which you have certain knowledge, then," said
Socrates, "as, for instance, about the letters of the alphabet,
if any one were to ask you how many and what letters are in
the word 'Socrates,' would you try to say sometimes one thing,
and sometimes another; or to people who might ask you
about numbers, as whether twice five are ten, would you not
A famous sophist of that time, well known from the Dialogues
of Plato; see Cobet, Prosopogr. Xen. p. 36; Quintil. xii. 11, 21;
Bornemann ad Sympos. iv. 62. Of the vanity and arrogance of
the man, see Stallbaum ad Plat. Hipp. Maj. p. 148.
2 The words in brackets are condemned by Ruhnken and Valcke-
naer as spurious. Bornemann and Kühner attempt to defend
them. They certainly disturb the course of the argument so much,
and are so useless, that I cannot think them Xenophon's. "Ob-
servant of right in the translation answers to diraiovs, "just," a
word on which the writer plays
cu. 4.]
CONVERSATION WITH HIPPIAS.
489
"About
9.
"You
10.
give the same answer at one time as at another ?”
such matters, Socrates," replied Hippias, "I, like you, always
say the same thing; but concerning justice I think that I
have certainly something to say now which neither you nor
any other person can refute." 8. "By Juno," returned So-
crates, "it is a great good that you say you have discovered,
since the judges will now cease from giving contradictory sen-
tences, the citizens will cease from disputing about what is
just, from going to law, and from quarrelling, and communi-
ties will cease from contending about their rights and going
to war; and I know not how I can part with you till I have
learned so important a benefit from its discoverer."
shall not hear it, by Jupiter," rejoined Hippias, "until you
yourself declare what you think justice to be; for it is enough
that you laugh at others,' questioning and confuting every-
body, while you yourself are unwilling to give a reason to
anybody, or to declare your opinion on any subject."
"What then, Hippias," said Socrates, "have you not per-
ceived that I never cease declaring my opinion as to what I
conceive to be just?" "And what is this opinion of yours?"
said Hippias. "If I make it known to you, not by words
merely, but by actions, do not deeds seem to you to be a
stronger evidence than words?” "Much stronger, by Jupi-
ter," said Hippias, "for many who say what is just do what
is unjust, but a man who does what is just cannot be himself
unjust." 11. "Have you ever then found me bearing false
witness, or giving malicious information, or plunging my
friends or the state into quarrels, or doing anything else that
is unjust?" I have not." And do you not think it jus-
tice to refrain from injustice?" "You are plainly now,"
said Hippias, "endeavouring to avoid expressing an opinion
as to what you think just; for what you say is, not what the
just do, but what they do not do.” 12. "But I thought,"
rejoined Socrates, "that to be unwilling to do injustice was a
sufficient proof of justice. If this, however, does not satisfy
you, consider whether what I next say will please you better;
for I assert that what is in conformity with the laws is just."
"Do you say, Socrates, that to be conformable to the laws,
and to be just, is the same thing?" "I do indeed." 13. “I
"Satis est quod ceteros omnes rides;-me verò non ridebis."
Kühner.
490
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
am puzzled; for I do not understand what you call conform-
able to law, or what you call just." "Do you know the laws
of the state?" said Socrates. "I do," said the other.
"And
what do you consider them to be?" "What the citizens in con-
cert have enacted as to what we ought to do, and what we
ought to avoid doing." "Would not he, therefore," asked
Socrates, "be an observer of the laws, who should conduct
himself in the community agreeably to those enactments, and he
be a violater of the laws who transgresses them?" "Undoubt-
edly," said Hippias. "Would not he then do what is just who
obeys the laws, and he do what is unjust who disobeys them?"
Certainly." "Is not he then just who does what is just, and
he unjust who does what is unjust?" "How can it be other-
wise?" "He therefore that conforms to the laws is just,"
added Socrates, "and he who violates the laws, unjust.
(6
14.
66
""
But," objected Hippias, "how can any one imagine
the laws, or obedience to them, to be a matter of absolute im-
portance, when the very persons who make them often reject
and alter them?" "That objection is of no consequence,
said Socrates, "for states, which have commenced war, often
make peace again." "Undoubtedly they do," said Hippias.
"What difference will there be in your conduct, then, think
you,¹ if you throw contempt on those who obey the laws, be-
cause the laws may be changed, and if you blame those who
act properly in war, because peace may be made? Do you
condemn those who vigorously support their country in war?"
"I do not indeed," replied Hippias. 15. Have you ever
heard it said of Lycurgus the Lacedæmonian, then," said So-
crates, “that he would not have made Sparta at all different
from other states, if he had not established in it, beyond
others, a spirit of obedience to the laws? Do you not know,
too, that of magistrates in states, those are thought the best
who are most efficient in producing obedience to the laws, and
that that state, in which the citizens pay most respect to the
laws, is in the best condition in peace, and invincible in war?
16. The greatest blessing to states, moreover, is concord; and
the senates and principal men in them often exhort the citizens
to unanimity; and everywhere throughout Greece it is a law
that the citizens shall take an oath to observe concord, an oath
1 Διάφορον οὖν τι οἴει ποιεῖν ἢ-] "Do you think, therefore,
that you do anything different-than-."
CH. 4.]
THE JUST MAN IS ESTEEMED.
1
491
which they everywhere do take; but I conceive that this is done,
not that the citizens may approve of the same choruses, or that
they may praise the same flute-players, or that they may prefer
the same poets, or that they may take delight in the same
spectacles, but that they may obey the laws; for while the
citizens adhere to these, states will be eminently powerful and
happy; but without such unanimity, no state can be well
governed, nor any family well regulated. 17. As an indi-
vidual citizen, too, how could any person render himself less
liable to penalties from the government, or more likely to
have honours bestowed upon him, than by being obedient to
the laws? How else would he incur fewer defeats in the
courts of justice, or how more certainly obtain sentence in his
favour? To whom would any one believe that he could
more safely confide his money, or his sons or daughters?
Whom would the whole community deem more trustworthy
than him who respects the laws? From whom would parents,
or relatives, or domestics, or friends, or citizens, or strangers,
more certainly obtain their rights? To whom would the
enemy sooner trust in cessations of arms, or in making a truce,
or articles of peace? To whom would people more willingly
become allies than to the observer of the laws, and to whom
would the allies more willingly trust the leadership, or com-
mand of a fortress, or of a city? From whom would any one
expect to meet with gratitude, on doing him a kindness,
sooner than from the observer of the laws? Or whom would
any one rather serve than him from whom he expects to re-
ceive a return? To whom would any one more desire to be a
friend, or less desire to be an enemy, than such a man? With
whom would any one be less inclined to go to war, than with
him to whom he would most wish to be a friend, and least of
all an enemy, and to whom the greatest part of mankind
would wish to be friends and allies, and but a small number
to be antagonists and enemies? 18. I, therefore, Hippias,
pronounce that to obey the laws and to be just is the same
if
you hold an opinion to the contrary, tell me." "Indeed,
Socrates," rejoined Hippias, "I do not know that I entertain
any sentiments opposed to what you have said of justice.”
19. "But are you aware, Hippias," continued Socrates,
"that there are unwritten laws?" "You mean those," said
The same scenic poets.
192
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
૮૮
66
Why?"
Hippias, "that are in force about the same points every-
where." "Can you affirm, then, that men made those laws ?"
"How could they," said Hippias, "when they could not all
meet together, and do not all speak the same language?"
"Whom then do you suppose to have made these laws?" "I
believe," said he, "that it was the gods who made these laws
for men, for among all men the first law is to venerate the
gods." 20. Is it not also a law everywhere to honour
parents ?" "It is so." "Is it not a law, too, that parents
shall not intermarry with their children, nor children with
their parents?" "This does not as yet, Socrates, appear to
me to be a law of the gods?"
"Because I find
that some nations transgress it." 21. "Many others, too, they
transgress," said Socrates; "but those who violate the laws
made by the gods incur punishment which it is by no means
possible for man to escape, as many transgressors of the laws
made by men escape punishment, some by concealment, others
by open violence."
22. "And what sort of punishment,
Socrates," said he, "cannot parents escape who intermarry
with their children, and children who intermarry with their
parents?" "The greatest of all punishments, by Jupiter,"
replied Socrates, "for what greater penalty can those who
beget children incur, than to have bad children?" 23. "How
then," said Hippias, "do they necessarily have bad children,
when nothing hinders but that they may be good themselves,
and have children by good partners?" "Because," returned
Socrates, "it is not only necessary that those who have chil-
dren by each other should be good, but that they should be in
full bodily vigour.¹ Or do you suppose that the seed of those
who are at the height of maturity is similar to that of those
who have not yet reached maturity, or to that of those who
are far past it ?" "By Jupiter," replied Hippias, "it is not
at all likely that it should be similar." "Which of the two
1 Mirari libet Socratis commentum, qui in conjugiis talibus nihil
culpandum invenit præter ætatis disparitatem. Illud potius disqui
rendum, annon in hominibus nullâ pravâ educatione corruptis sit
in ipsis affectibus insita fuga quædam commixtionis cum parentibus
et ex se natis, quippe cum ab eâ etiam quædam animantia natural-
iter abhorreant. Hugo Grotius de J. B. et P. ii. 5, 12, 4—5, et 2, 3,
cum annott. Puffendorf. et Osiand. Herbst. Parentum et liberorum
officia mutua plus ait Weiskius valere ad reprobanda connubia
talia quàm annorum inæqualitatem. Kühner.
CH. 4.]
66
VICE ITS OWN PUNISHMENT.
""
493
""
"Do not
then is the better?" "Doubtless that of those at full maturity."
"That of those who are not at full maturity, then, is not suffi-
ciently energetic." "Probably not." "Accordingly they ought
not to have children?" "No." "Do not those, therefore,
who have children under such circumstances, have them as
they ought not?” "So it appears to me. "What other
persons, therefore, will have bad children, if not these?"
Well," said Hippias, "I agree with you on this point also.'
24. "Is it not everywhere a law, also," said Socrates, “that
men should do good to those who do good to them?"
"It is
a law," answered Hippias, "but it is transgressed."
those therefore who transgress it incur punishment,” continued
Socrates, "by being deprived of good friends, and being com-
pelled to have recourse to those who hate them? Are not
such as do service to those who seek it of them good friends to
themselves, and are not those who make no return to such as
serve them hated by them for their ingratitude; and yet, be-
cause it is for their advantage to have their support, do they
not pay the greatest court to them?" "Indeed, Socrates,
replied Hippias, "all these things seem to suit the character of
the gods; for that the laws themselves should carry with
them punishments for those who transgress them, appears to
me to be the appointment of a lawgiver superior to man."
25. "Whether, therefore, Hippias," added Socrates, "do
you consider that the gods appoint as laws, what is agreeable
to justice, or what is at variance with justice ?" Not what is
at variance with justice, certainly," said Hippias, "for scarcely
would any other make laws in conformity with justice, if a god
were not to do so." "It is the pleasure of the gods, therefore,
Hippias," concluded Socrates, "that what is in conformity with
justice should also be in conformity with the laws.” 1
By uttering such sentiments, and acting in agreement with
them, he rendered those who conversed with him more ob-
servant of justice.
1 Lange has given a judicious summary of these arguments. The
gods give just laws; what is in conformity with these laws, is
νόμιμον : therefore everything νόμιμον in the divine laws is just.
Thus the gods in this definition (rò vómov dikaιov eivai, sect. 12)
agree with men, or with me, says Socrates. A sound argument, if
human laws be what they ought to be, that is, in conformity with
the divine laws, or the laws of nature.
494
[B. IV
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
CHAPTER V.
Socrates rendered his followers better qualified for public life. The neces-
sity of temperance, sect. 1, 2; the evils of intemperance, 3-7; the benefits
arising from temperance, 8-10; the conduct of the temperate man,
11, 12.
1. I WILL now relate how he rendered his followers better
qualified for the management of public business. Thinking it
expedient that temperance should be observed by him who
would succeed in anything honourable, he first made it evi-
dent to those who conversed with him, that he practised this
virtue beyond all other men, and then, by his discourse, he
exhorted his followers, above everything, to the observance of
temperance. He continued always, therefore, to make allu-
sions to whatever was conducive to virtue; and I know that
he once held a conversation on temperance with Euthydemus
to the following effect: 2. "Tell me," said he, "Euthydemus,
do you regard liberty as an excellent and honourable posses-
Jion for an individual or a community?"
"The most excel-
"Do you
(C
3.
>>
lent and honourable that can be," replied he.
consider him, then, who is held under control by the pleasures
of the body, and is rendered unable, by their influence, to do
what is best for him, to be free?" "By no means," replied
Euthydemus. "Perhaps, then, to have the power of doing
what is best seems to you to be freedom, but to be under in-
fluences which will hinder you from doing it, you consider to
be want of freedom?" Assuredly," said he. 4. "Do not
the intemperate appear to you, then, to be absolutely without
freedom?" "Yes, by Jupiter, and naturally so.
"And
whether do the intemperate appear to you to be merely pre-
vented from doing what is best, or to be forced, also, to do what
is most dishonourable ?" (6
They appear to me,” replied Eu-
thydemus, "to be not less forced to do the one than they are
hindered from doing the other.” 5. "And what sort of mas-
ters do you consider those to be, who hinder men from doing
what is best, and force them to do what is worst?"
very worst possible, by Jupiter," replied he.
sort of slavery do you consider to be the worst?
said he, "under the worst masters." "Do not then the in-
"The
"And what
"That,"
4
I
CH. 5.]
ADVANTAGES OF TEMPERANCE.
495
temperate," said Socrates, "endure the very worst of slavery?”
It appears so to me," answered Euthydemus. 6. "And
does not intemperance seem to you, by banishing from men
prudence, the greatest good, to drive them into the very oppo-
site evil? Does it not appear to you to hinder them from
attending to useful things, and learning them, by drawing
them away to pleasure, and frequently, by captivating those
who have a perception of good and evil, to make them choose
the worse instead of the better?" "Such is the case," said he.
7. "And whom can we suppose, Euthydemus, to have less
participation in self-control than the intemperate man? for
assuredly the acts of self-control and of intemperance are the
very opposite to each other." "I assent to this also,” said he.
"And do you think that anything is a greater hindrance to
attention to what is becoming, than intemperance ? "I do
not." "And do you imagine that there is any greater evil to
man, than that which makes him prefer the noxious to the
beneficial, which prompts him to pursue the one and to neg-
lect the other, and which forces him to pursue a contrary
course of conduct to that of the wise?"
"There is none,'
said Euthydemus.
9.
""
"
8. "Is it not natural, then," said Socrates, "that temperance
should be the cause of producing in men effects contrary to
those which intemperance produces?" "Undoubtedly," said
Euthydemus. "Is it not natural, therefore, also, that what
produces those contrary effects should be best for man?” “It
is natural," said he. "Is it not consequently natural, then,
Euthydemus, that temperance should be best for man?" "It
is so, Socrates," said he. "And have you ever reflected
upon this, Euthydemus ?”
"What?" "That even to those
pleasures, to which alone intemperance seems to lead men, it
cannot lead them, but that temperance produces greater plea-
sure than anything else?" "How?" said he. "Because
intemperance, by not allowing men to withstand hunger, thirst,
or the desire of sensual gratification, or want of sleep, (through
which privations alone is it possible for them to eat, and
drink, and gratify other natural appetites, and go to rest and
sleep with pleasure, waiting and restraining themselves until
the inclinations may be most happily indulged,) hinders them
from having any due enjoyment in acts most necessary and
most habitual; but temperance, which alone enables men to
496
[B. V.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
endure the privations which I have mentioned, alone enables
them to find delight in the gratifications to which I have
alluded." "What you say," observed Euthydemus, "is indis-
putably true.” 10. From learning what is honourable and
good, moreover, and from the study of those accomplishments
by which a man may ably govern himself, judiciously regulate
his household, become useful to his friends and the state, and
gain the mastery over his enemies, (from which studies arise
not only the greatest advantages, but also the greatest plea-
sures,) the temperate have enjoyment while they practise
them, but the intemperate have no share in any of them; for
to whom can we say that it less belongs to participate in such
advantages, than to him who has the least power to pursue
them, being wholly occupied in attention to present pleasures?"
11. “You seem to me, Socrates," said Euthydemus, “to say
that the man who is under the influence of bodily pleasures,
has no participation in any one virtue.” "For what differ-
ence is there, Euthydemus," said he, "between an intemperate
man and the most ignorant brute? How will he, who has
no regard to what is best, but seeks only to enjoy what is most
seductive by any means in his power, differ from the most
senseless cattle? To the temperate alone it belongs to con-
sider what is best in human pursuits, to distinguish those pur-
suits, according to experience and reason, into their several
classes, and then to choose the good and refrain from the
evil."
12. Thus it was, he said, that men became most virtuous
and happy, and most skilful in reasoning; and he observed
that the expression dialéyeodai, "to reason," had its origin in
people's practice of meeting together to reason on matters, and
distinguishing them, dialéyovras, according to their several
kinds. It was the duty of every one, therefore, he thought,
to make himself ready in this art, and to study it with the
greatest diligence; for that men, by the aid of it, became
most accomplished, most able to guide others, and most acute
in discussion.
CH. 6.
DEFINITIONS GIVEN BY SOCRATES.
497
CHAPTER VI.
The value of skill in argument and definition, sect. 1. Definition of PIETY,
2-4; of JUSTICE, 5, 6; of WISDOM, 7; of GOODNESS and BEAUTY, 8, 9;
of COURAGE, 10, 11. Some other definitions, 12. Remarks on the So-
cratic method of argument, 13-15.
*** 1. I WILL now endeavour to show that Socrates rendered
those who associated with him more skilful in argument. For
he thought that those who knew the nature of things sever-
ally, would be able to explain them to others; but as to
those who did not know, he said that it was not surprising
that they fell into error themselves, and led others into it.
He therefore never ceased to reason with his associates about
the nature of things. To go through all the terms that he
defined, and to show how he defined them, would be a long
task; but I will give as many instances as I think will suffice
to show the nature of his reasoning.
1
2. In the first place, then, he reasoned of PIETY, in some
such way as this. "Tell me,” said he, "Euthydemus, what
sort of feeling do you consider piety to be? "The most
noble of all feelings," replied he. "Can you tell me, then,
who is a pious man?” "The man, I think, who honours the
gods." Is it allowable to pay honour to the gods in any
way that one pleases?" "No; there are certain laws in con-
formity with which we must pay our honours to them.”
""
3.
66 He, then, who knows these laws, will know how he must
honour the gods?" "I think so. "He therefore who knows
how to pay honour to the gods, will not think that he ought to
pay it otherwise than as he knows?" "Doubtless not." "But
does any one pay honours to the gods otherwise than as he
thinks that he ought to pay them?" "I think not." 4. "He
therefore who knows what is agreeable to the laws with re-
gard to the gods, will honour the gods in agreement with the
laws?" 66
Certainly." "Does not he, then, who honours the
gods agreeably to the laws honour them as he ought?” “How
can he do otherwise?" "And he who honours them as he
ought, is pious?" "Certainly." "He therefore who know
what is agreeable to the laws with regard to the gods, may
1 Τί ἕκαστον εἴη τῶν ὄντων.] Quid res qualibet esset; "what each
thing was; what was the nature of each thing.
VOL. I.
} }
2 K
498
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
be justly defined by us as a pious man ?"
me," said Euthydemus.
"So it appears to
5. "But is it allowable for a person to conduct himself
towards other men in whatever way he pleases?" "No; but
with respect to men also, he who knows what is in conformity
with the laws, and how men ought, according to them, to
conduct themselves towards each other, will be an observer of
the laws." "Do not those, then, who conduct themselves
towards each other according to what is in conformity with
the laws, conduct themselves towards each other as they
ought?" "How can it be otherwise?" "Do not those, there-
fore, who conduct themselves towards each other as they
ought, conduct themselves well?" "Certainly." "Do not those,
then, that conduct themselves well towards each other, act pro-
perly in transactions between man and man?" "Surely." "Do
not those, then, who obey the laws, do what is just ?" "Un-
doubtedly." 6. “And do you know what sort of actions are
called just?" "Those which the laws sanction."
"Those,
therefore, who do what the laws sanction, do what is just, and
what they ought?" "How can it be otherwise?" "Those who
do just things, therefore, are just ?" "I think so.”
"Do you
think that any persons yield obedience to the laws who do not
know what the laws sanction ?" "I do not.”
“And do you
think that any who know
they ought not to do it?"
know any persons that do
think they ought to do?" "I do not.
know what is agreeable to the laws in regard to men, do what
is just ?" Certainly." "And are not those who do what is
just, just men?" Who else can be so?" "Shall we not
define rightly, therefore," concluded Socrates, "if we define
those to be just who know what is agreeable to the laws in
regard to men ?” "It appears so to me," said Euthydemus.
(6
66
what they ought to do, think that
"I do not think so.”
"I do not think so." "And do you
other things than those which they
"Those, therefore, who
7. "And what shall we say that WISDOM is? Tell me,
whether do men seem to you to be wise, in things which they
know, or in things which they do not know?" "In what
they know, certainly; for how can a man be wise in things of
which he knows nothing?" Those, then, who are wise, are
"By what else can a man bo
wise by their knowledge?"
66
wise, if not by his knowledge?" "Do you think wisdom,
then, to be anything else than that by which men are wise?'
CH. 6.]
GOODNESS: BEAUTY: COURAGE.
>>
499
"It ap-
"I do not." "Is knowledge, then, wisdom?"
pears so to me.' "Does it appear to you, however, that it is
possible for a man to know all things that are ?" "No, by
Jupiter; not even, as I think, a comparatively small portion
of them?" "It is not therefore possible for a man to be wise
in all things?" "No, indeed." "Every man is wise, there-
fore, in that only of which he has a knowledge?" "So it
seems to me."
"As-
8. "Shall we thus, too, Euthydemus," said he, "inquire
what is GOOD?" "How?" said Euthydemus. "Does the
same thing appear to you to be beneficial to everybody?"
"No."
"And does not that which is beneficial to one person
appear to you to be sometimes hurtful to another?"
suredly." "Would you say, then, that anything is good that
is not beneficial?" "I would not." "What is beneficial,
therefore, is good, to whomsoever it is beneficial?" "It ap-
pears so to me," said Euthydemus.
9. "And can we define the BEAUTIFUL in any other way
than if you term whatever is beautiful, whether a person, or
a vase, or anything else whatsoever, beautiful for whatever
purpose you know that it is beautiful?" "No, indeed,” said
Euthydemus. "For whatever purpose, then, anything may
be useful, for that purpose it is beautiful to use it?"
"Cer-
tainly." "And is anything beautiful for any other purpose
than that for which it is beautiful to use it ?" "For no other
purpose," replied he. "What is useful is beautiful, therefore,
for that purpose for which it is beautiful?" "So I think,"
said he.
66
10. “As to COURAGE, Euthydemus," said Socrates, "do
you think it is to be numbered among excellent things?"
I think it one of the most excellent," replied Euthydemus.
"But you do not think courage a thing of use for small occa-
sions."
"No, by Jupiter, but for the very greatest." "Does
it appear to you to be useful, with regard to formidable and
dangerous things, to be ignorant of their character?" "By
I have translated this apparently_corrupt passage according to
the interpretation of it proposed by Lange, a friend of Kühner's:
Num possumus pulchrum aliter [intellige ac bonum, iii. 8, ubi demon-
stratum est kadóv, ayadòv, et xpioquor idem esse,] definire, an pul-
chrum vocas, si quid pulchrum est [ei oriv] vel corpus, vel vas,
vel aliud quid, quod ad quamcunque rem (πρòs πávтa) pul-
chrum est?
σ
2 x 2
500
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
no means.
"They, therefore, who do not fear such things,
"Still
"Those,
because they do not know what they are, are not courage-
ous ?"
Certainly not; for, in that case, many madmen and
even cowards would be courageous."
"And what do you say
of those who fear things that are not formidable?"
less, by Jupiter, should they be called courageous."
then, that are good, with reference to formidable and danger-
ous things, you consider to be courageous, and those that are
bad, cowardly?" Certainly." 11. "But do you think that
any other persons are good, with reference to terrible and
dangerous circumstances, except those who are able to conduct
themselves well under them?" "No, those only," said he.
"And you think those bad with regard to them, who are of
such a character as to conduct themselves badly under them?"
"Whom else can I think so?" "Do not each, then, conduct
themselves under them as they think they ought?”
"How
can it be otherwise?" "Do those, therefore, who do not
conduct themselves properly under them, know how they
ought to conduct themselves under them?" "Doubtless not."
"Those then who know how they ought to conduct them-
selves under them, can do so?" "And they alone."
" Do
those, therefore, who do not fail under such circumstances,
conduct themselves badly under them?" "I think not.”
"Those, then, who do conduct themselves badly under them,
do fail ?" "It seems so. "Those, therefore, who know how
to conduct themselves well in terrible and dangerous circum-
stances are courageous, and those who fail to do so are cow-
ards?" " They at least appear so to me," said Euthydemus.
12. Monarchy and tyranny he considered to be both forms
of government, but conceived that they differed greatly from
one another; for a government over men with their own con-
sent, and in conformity with the laws of free states, he re-
garded as a monarchy; but a government over men against
their will, and not according to the law of free states, but just
as the ruler pleased, a tyranny; and wherever magistrates
were appointed from among those who complied with the
injunctions of the laws, he considered the government to be an
aristocracy; wherever they were appointed according to their
wealth, a plutocracy; and wherever they were appointed
from among the whole people, a democracy.
66
13. Whenever any person contradicted him on any point
CH. 7.]
JUST REASONING OF SOCRATES.
501
who had nothing definite to say, and who perhaps asserted,
without proof, that some person, whom he mentioned, was
wiser, or better skilled in political affairs, or possessed of
greater courage, or worthier in some such respect, [than some
other whom Socrates had mentioned,] he would recall the
whole argument, in some such way as the following, to the
primary proposition: 14. "Do you say that he whom you
commend, is a better citizen than he whom I commend?" "I
do say so." Why should we not then consider, in the first
place, what is the duty of a good citizen ?” "Let us do so."
"Would not he then be superior in the management of the
public money who should make the state richer?"
doubtedly." "And he in war who should make it victorious
over its enemies?" Assuredly." “ And in an embassy he
CC
66
"Un-
who should make friends of foes?" "Doubtless." "And he in
addressing the people who should check dissension and inspire
them with unanimity?" "I think so."
"I think so." When the discussion
was thus brought back to fundamental principles, the truth
was made evident to those who had opposed him.
15. When he himself went through any subject in argu-
ment, he proceeded upon propositions of which the truth was
generally acknowledged, thinking that a sure foundation was
thus formed for his reasoning. Accordingly, whenever he
spoke, he, of all men that I have known, most readily pre-
vailed on his hearers to assent to his arguments; and he used
to say that Homer¹ had attributed to Ulysses the character of
a sure orator, as being able to form his reasoning on points
acknowledged by all mankind.
CHAPTER VII.
How Socrates rendered his followers unyavikovs, ingenious and adapted for
business; his frankness and sincerity, 1. How far he thought that Geo-
metry should be studied, 2, 3. How far he recommended that Astronomy
should be pursued, 4-7. Vain investigations to be avoided, S. Regard
to be paid to health, 9. Counsel to be asked of the gods, 10.
1. THAT Socrates expressed his sentiments with sincerity to
those who conversed with him, is, I think, manifest from what
I have said. I will now proceed to show how much it was his
1 Odyss. viii. 171: 'O dè dopaλéws άyopɛúε: a passage noticed by
Dionys. Hal. de Arte Rhet. xi. 8.
502
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
care that his followers should be competently qualified for em-
ployments suited to their powers. Of all men that I have
known, he was the most anxious to discover in what occupa-
tion each of those who attended him was likely to prove skilful;
and of all that it becomes a man of honour and virtue to
know, he taught them himself, whatever he knew, with the
utmost cheerfulness; and what he had not sufficient know-
ledge to teach, he took them to those who knew, to learn.
2. He taught them also how far it was proper that a well-
educated man should be versed in any department of know-
ledge.¹ Geometry, for instance, he said that a man should
study until he should be capable, if occasion required, to take
or give land correctly by measurement; or to divide it or por-
tion it out for cultivation; 2 and this, he observed, it was so
easy to learn, that he who gave any attention at all to mensur-
ation, might find how large the whole earth was, and perfectly
understand how it was measured. 3. But of pursuing the
study of geometry to diagrams hard to understand, he disap-
proved; for he said that he could not see of what profit they
were,³ though he himself was by no means unskilled in
them; but he remarked that they were enough to consume a
man's whole life, and hinder him from attaining many other
valuable branches of knowledge.
4. He recommended his followers to learn astronomy also,
but only so far as to be able to know the hour of the night,
the month, and the season of the year, with a view to travel-
ling by land or sea, or distinguishing the night-watches; and
Пpáyμaros.] "Negotii ex doctrinâ et scientiâ pendentis."
Schneider.
2 "Eрyov áπodεížαodai.] "Ad opus faciendum agri portionem as-
signare." Ernesti.
3 Socrates did not altogether condemn the study of geometry and
astronomy, but disapproved of the general practice of the philoso-
phers of his own age, who devoted themselves wholly to difficult
questions concerning the figure of the earth, &c., to the entire neg-
lect of moral philosophy. Plato, Phæd. c. 46, agrees with Xeno-
phon; and indeed an immoderate pursuit of such studies was alto-
gether alien from the affairs of common life and morality, to
which alone Socrates gave his serious attention. Zeunc. In the in-
fancy of the mechanic arts, and amidst the foolish practices of the
philosophers, who endeavoured to apply geometry and astronomy
to subjects too high for the human intellect, we cannot wonder at
the determination of Socrates, who preferred improving the morals
of men. Those who are ignorant of those sciences in the present
day repeat the objections of Socrates as to their inutility. Schneider.
CH. 7.
CONCERNING STUDIES.
503
to be competent, by knowing the divisions of the above-men-
tioned times, to profit by the signs for whatever other things
are done at a certain period of the night, or month, or year.
These particulars, he said, were easily learned from men who
hunted by night, from pilots, and from many others whose
business it was to know them. 5. But to continue the study of
astronomy so far as to distinguish the bodies which do not move
in the same circle with the heaven,¹ the planets, and the irre-
gular stars,² and to weary ourselves in inquiring into their
distances from the earth, the periods of their revolutions, and
the causes of all these things, was what he greatly discoun-
tenanced; for he saw, he said, no profit in these studies
either,³ though he had himself given attention to them; since
they also, he remarked, were enough to wear out the life of a
man, and prevent him from attending to many profitable
pursuits.
6. Concerning celestial matters in general, he dissuaded
every man from becoming a speculator how the divine power
contrives to manage them; for he did not think that such
points were discoverable by man, nor did he believe that those
acted dutifully towards the gods who inquired into things
which they did not wish to make known. He observed, too,
that a man who was anxious about such investigations, was
in danger of losing his senses, not less than Anaxagoras, who
prided himself highly on explaining the plans of the gods, lost
his. 7. For Anaxagoras, when he said that fire and the sun
were of the same nature, did not reflect that people can easily
look upon fire, but cannot turn their gaze on the sun, and that
men, if exposed to the rays of the sun, have complexions of a
darker shade, but not if exposed to fire; he omitted to con-
sider, too, that of the productions of the earth, none can come
fairly to maturity without the rays of the sun, while, if warmed
by the heat of fire, they all perish; and when he said that the
sun was a heated stone, he forgot that a stone placed in the
1 Tà µǹ Ev Tŷ aνTH TEρIPOρä övтα.] Edwards refers to Diog. Laert.
vii. 144, where it is said that some of the heavenly bodies are carried
round with the heaven, without changing their place, while others
have motions peculiar to themselves.
2 σтаеÝτоνç dorépas.] Schneider, Bornemann, and Kühner
agree in understanding comets.
3
Any more than in difficult geometrical investigations.
504
[D. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
fire does not shine, or last long, but that the sun continues
perpetually the most luminous of all bodies.
8. He advised his followers also to learn computations,¹ but
in these, as in other things, he exhorted them to avoid useless
labour; as far as it was of any profit, he investigated every-
thing himself, and went through it with his associates.
9. He earnestly recommended those who conversed with
him to take care of their health, both by learning whatever
they could respecting it from men of experience, and by at-
tending to it, each for himself, throughout his whole life,
studying what food or drink, or what exercise, was most
suitable for him, and how he might act in regard to them so
as to enjoy the best health; for he said it would be difficult
for a person who thus attended to himself to find a physician
that would tell better than himself what was conducive to his
health.
10. But if any one desired to attain to what was beyond
human wisdom, he advised him to study divination; for he
said that he who knew by what signs the gods give indications
to men respecting human affairs, would never fail of obtaining
counsel from the gods.
CHAPTER VIII.
Socrates, though condemned to death, was not convicted of falsehood with
regard to his DEMON. His resolution to die. His innocence inspires
him with courage. He thinks it good to die, and escape the evils of old
age. Summary of the arguments of the Memorabilia.
1. BUT if any one thinks that he was convicted of falsehood
with regard to his DÆMON, because sentence of death was
pronounced on him by the judges although he said that the
dæmon admonished him what he ought and what he ought
not to do, let him consider, in the first place, that he was
already so advanced in years,2 that he must have ended his
life, if not then, at least not long after; and, in the next,
1
Aoyioμovs.] Computations or calculations. "Artem calcula-
toriam." Schneider. How λογιστική differed from ἀριθμητικὴ is
shown by Plato, Gorg. c. 13.
He was seventy years old, according to Diog. Laert. ii. 44, and
Maxim. Tyr. ix. 8.
CH. 8.]
DEATH OF SOCRATES.
505.
that he relinquished only the most burdensome part of life,
in which all feel their powers of intellect diminished, while, in-
stead of enduring this, he acquired great glory by proving
the firmness of his mind, pleading his cause, above all men,
with the greatest regard to truth, ingenuousness, and justice,
and bearing his sentence at once with the utmost resignation
and the utmost fortitude.
2. It is indeed acknowledged that no man, of all that are
remembered, ever endured death with greater glory; for he
was obliged to live thirty days after his sentence, because the
Delian festival¹ happened in that month, and the law allowed
no one to be publicly put to death until the sacred deputation
should return from Delos; and during that time he was seen
by all his friends living in no other way than at any preceding
period; and, let it be observed, throughout all the former
part of his life he had been admired beyond all men for the
cheerfulness and tranquillity with which he lived. 3.2 How
could any one have died more nobly than thus? Or what
death could be more honourable than that which any man
might most honourably undergo? Or what death could be
happier than the most honourable? Or what death more ac-
ceptable to the gods than the most happy?
4. I will also relate what I heard³ respecting him from
Hermogenes, the son of Hipponicus, who said that after
Meletus had laid the accusation against him, he heard him
speaking on any subject rather than that of his trial, and re-
marked to him that he ought to consider what defence he
should make, but that he said at first, "Do I not appear to
you to have passed my whole life meditating on that subject ?”5
and then, when he asked him "How so?" he said that "he
Ania.] A procession, instituted by Theseus, which the Atheni-
ans made annually to Delos, and which is to be distinguished from
the greater Delia, or panegyris, in that island. See Smith's Dict. of
G. and R. Ant., art. Delia.
2 Bornemann thinks that portion of this chapter between the
beginning of sect. 3, and suoi uèv dn in sect. 11, spurious, and made
up from the Apology. Weiske is of a contrary opinion.
3 Xenophon himself was then with Cyrus in Asia. Schneider.
The same that is mentioned in ii. 10. See Cobet, Prosopogr.
Xen. p. 64.
• Touтo μeλεTwv diabεbiwкévai.] "In hac re (defensione mei) me
Τοῦτο μελετῶν διαβεβιωκέναι.]
ditandâ totam vitam transegisse." Kühner.
506
[B. IV.
MEMORABILIA OF SOCRATES.
had gone through life doing nothing but considering what was
just and what unjust, doing what was just and abstaining
from what was unjust, which he conceived to be the best
meditation for his defence." 5. Hermogenes said again,
"Do you not see, Socrates, that the judges at Athens have
already put to death many innocent persons, from being
offended at their language, and have allowed many that were
guilty to escape?" "But, by Jupiter, Hermogenes," replied
he, "when I was proceeding, a while ago, to study my address
to the judges, the dæmon testified disapprobation." "You
say what is strange," rejoined Hermogenes. "And do you
think it strange," inquired Socrates, "that it should seem bet-
ter to the divinity that I should now close my life? Do you
not know, that, down to the present time, I would not admit to
any man that he has lived either better or with more pleasure
than myself? for I consider that those live best who study
best to become as good as possible; and that those live with
most pleasure who feel the most assurance that they are daily
growing better and better. 7. This assurance I have felt, tc
the present day, to be the case with respect to myself; and
associating with other men, and comparing myself with others
I have always retained this opinion respecting myself; and,
not only I, but my friends also, maintain a similar feeling
with regard to me, not because they love me, (for those who
love others may be thus affected towards the objects of
their love,) but because they think that while they associated
with me they became greatly advanced in virtue. 8. If I shall
live a longer period, perhaps I shall be destined to sustain the
evils of old age, to find my sight and hearing weakened, to
feel my intellect impaired, to become less apt to learn, and
more forgetful, and, in fine, to grow inferior to others in all
those qualities in which I was once superior to them. If I
should be insensible to this deterioration, life would not be
worth retaining; and, if I should feel it, how could I live
otherwise than with less profit, and with less comfort? 9. If
I am to die unjustly, my death will be a disgrace to those who
unjustly kill me; for if injustice is a disgrace, must it not be
a disgrace to do anything unjustly? But what disgrace will
it be to me, that others could not decide or act justly with re-
gard to me? 16. Of the men who have lived before me, I
see that the estimation left among posterity with regard to
сп. 8.]
CONCLUSION.
507
such as have done wrong, and such as have suffered wrong,
is by no means similar; and I know that I also, if I now die,
shall obtain from mankind far different consideration from that
which they will pay to those who take my life; for I know
that they will always bear witness to me that I have never
wronged any man, or rendered any man less virtuous, but
that I have always endeavoured to make those better who con-
versed with me.
Such discourse he held with Hermogenes,
and with others.
11. Of those who knew what sort of man Socrates was, such
as were lovers of virtue, continue to regret him above all
other men, even to the present day, as having contributed in
the highest degree to their advancement in goodness. To
me, being such as I have described him, so pious that he
did nothing without the sanction of the gods; so just, that
he wronged no man even in the most trifling affair, but was
of service, in the most important matters, to those who enjoyed
his society; so temperate, that he never preferred pleasure to
virtue; so wise, that he never erred in distinguishing better
from worse, needing no counsel from others, but being suffi-
cient in himself to discriminate between them; so able to ex-
plain and settle such questions by argument; and so capable
of discerning the character of others, of confuting those who
were in error, and of exhorting them to virtue and honour,
he seemed to be such as the best and happiest of men would
be. But if any one disapproves of my opinion, let him
compare the conduct of others with that of Socrates, and
determine accordingly.
INDEX
TO THE ANABASIS AND MEMORABILIA.
The figures to which no letter is prefixed refer to the Anabasis; those to which M.
is prefixed, to the Memorabilia.
omitted.
The names inserted in the "Geographical Index" to the Anabasis, are here
Abrocomas, an enemy of Cyrus on
the Euphrates, i. 3. 20; some
Greek mercenaries revolt from
him to Cyrus, i. 4. 3; makes no
defence, i. 4. 5; burns ships, to
prevent Cyrus crossing the Eu-
phrates, i. 4. 18; arrives at Cu-
naxa after the battle, i. 7. 12.
Abrozelmes, a Thracian, vii. 6. 43.
Achæans, numerous in the army,
vi. 2. 10.
Acumenus, a physician, M. iii.
13. 2.
Actes, his grandson, v. 6. 37.
Ægypt, M. i. 4. 17.
Ægyptians, enemies to the Per-
sians, ii. 5. 13.
Æneas of Stymphalus killed, iv. 7.
13.
Enianes among the troops of Me-
non, 2.6.
i. 2. 6. Their dancing, vi.
1.7.
Eolia, v. 6. 24.
Eschines, an Arcarnanian, iv. 3.
22; 8. 18.
Esculapius, temple of, warm spring
in, M. iii. 13. 3.
Agasias, one of the captains, iv. 1.
27; iii. 1. 31; his bravery, iv. 7.
11; v. 2. 15; ridicules the eager-
ness of the Lacedæmonians for
power, vi. 1. 30; goes as am-
bassador to Heraclea, vi. 2. 7;
|
disapproves of a division of the
army, vi. 4. 10; rescues a sol-
dier from Dexippus, vi. 6. 7, 17;
is wounded, vii. 8. 19.
Agesilaus returns from Asia to op-
pose the Baotians, v. 3. 6.
Agias, an Arcadian, one of the
ge-
nerals made prisoner by Tissa-
phernes, ii. 5. 31; is put to
death, ii. 6. 1; is praised, ii. 6.
30.
Alcibiades, his conduct, M. i. 2.
12; why he sought instruction
from Socrates, 16; how corrupt-
ed, 24; his discussion with Pe-
ricles on laws, 40, seqq.
Amazonian hatchet, iv. 4. 16.
Amphicrates, an Athenian, iv. 2.
13, 17.'
Anaxagoras, his erroneous opinions,
M. iv. 7. 6.
Anaxibius, admiral of the Lacedæ-
monian fleet at Byzantium, is
bribed by Pharnabazus to allure
the Greeks out of Asia to By-
zantium, v. 1. 4; vi. 1. 16; vii.
1.3; breaks faith with him, and
sends the Greeks from Byzan-
tium, vii. 1. 11; flees in terror
to the citadel, vii. 1. 20; leaves
Byzantium, vii. 2. 5; sends Xe-
nophon to the army, vii. 2. 8.
Antileon, v. 1. 2.
INDEX.
Antipho, the sophist, M. i. 6. 1.
Antisthenes, his discussion with So-
crates on friendship, M. iii. 5. 1;
his fondness for Socrates, M. iii.
11. 17.
Apollo flays Marsyas, i. 2. 8; the
tenth of the spoil dedicated to
him, v. 3. 4; Xenophon sacrifices
to him, vii. 8. 3. His response
on the worship of the gods, M.
iv. 3. 16.
Apollodorus, follower of Socrates,
M. iii. 11. 17.
Apollonides expelled from the army,
iii. 1. 26, 31.
Arbaces, an officer under Arta-
xerxes, i. 7. 12; satrap of Media,
vii. 8. 25.
Arcadians, numerous in the Greek
army, vi. 2. 10; their dancing,
vi. 1. 11; separate, with the
Achæans, from the rest of the
Greeks, vi. 2. 12; suffer for their
folly, vi. 3. 1-9; an Arcadian
accuses Xenophon, vii. 6. 8.
Archagoras, iv. 2. 13, 17.
Archedemus, his services to Crito,
M. ii. 9. 3.
Areopagus, praise of the, M. iii. 5.
20.
Arexio, an augur, vi. 4. 13; 5.
2, 8.
Argo, vi. 2. 1.
Ariæus, the friend of Cyrus, com-
mands his left wing, i. 8. 5; 9.
31; flees when Cyrus is killed,
i. 9. 31; declines the command,
ii. 2. 1; proposes a route to the
Greeks, ii. 2. 11; is pardoned by
the king, and neglects the Greeks,
ii. 4. 2.
Aristarchus, the Spartan harmost
at Byzantium, sells four hun-
dred of the Greeks as slaves,
vii. 2. 5, 6; bribed by Pharna-
bazus to prevent the Greeks from
crossing into Asia, vii. 2. 12; 6.
13, 24; plots against Xenophon,
vii. 2. 14.
Aristarchus assisted by the advice
of Socrates, M. ii. 7.
|
509
Aristeas of Chios, iv. 1. 28; 6. 20.
Aristippus the Thessalian receives
money and troops from Cyrus, i.
1. 10; he appoints Menon over
his troops, ii. 6. 28.
Aristippus the philosopher, his dis-
cussions with Socrates, M. ii. 1;
iii. 8.
Aristo deputed to Sinope, v. 6. 14.
Aristodemus admonished by So-
crates, M. i. 4.
Aristonymus, a captain of the heavy-
armed, iv. 1. 27; 6. 20; his ac-
tivity, iv. 7. 9; his name occurs
in some copies instead of that of
Cheirisophus, iv. 6. 21.
Artacamas, satrap of Phrygia, vii.
8.25.
Artagerses, a captain in the army
of Artaxerxes, i. 7. 11; is killed
by Cyrus, i. 8. 24.
Artaozus, a friend of Cyrus, ii. 4.
16; v. 35.
Artapates, a eunuch, i. 6. 11, dies
on the body of Cyrus, i. 8. 28.
Artaxerxes, the elder brother of
Cyrus, i. 1. 1; succeeds his father
Darius, i. 1. 3; spares Cyrus, ib. ;
his illegitimate brother, ii. 4. 25;
wounded in the battle by Cyrus,
i. 8. 26; plunders the camp of
Cyrus, i. 10. 1; fears the Greeks,
i. 10. 6; ii. 2. 18; 3. 1; de-
mands their arms, ii. 1. 18; makes
a truce with them, ii. 3. 25; puts
to death the Grecian generals,
ii. 6. 1.
Artimas, satrap of Lydia, vii. 8. 25.
Artuchas, his mercenaries, iv. 3. 4.
Arystas, his voracity, vii. 3. 23.
Asidates, attacked by Xenophon
unsuccessfully, vii. 8. 9, 15; is
made prisoner, vii. 8. 22.
Aspasia, a Phocæan woman, mis-
tress of Cyrus, i. 10. 2.
Aspasia, the mistress of Pericles,
M. ii. 6. 36.
Aspendians, i. 2. 12.
Assyrians, vii. 8. 15.
Athenians embezzle public money,
iv. 6. 16; humbled by the La-
510
INDEX.
cedæmonians, vii. 1. 27; their
honour commended by Seuthes,
who calls them his kinsmen, vii.
2. 31. Athenians, praised and
blamed, M. iii. 5; defeated by
the Boeotians, M. iii. 5. 4; never
changed their abode, 12; pay too
little respect to old age, and to
the magistrates, 15.
Attica, defended by mountains, M.
iii. 5. 25.
B
Basias killed by the Carduchians,
iv. 1. 18.
Basias, an augur of Elis, viii. 8.
10.
Belesys, satrap of Syria and As-
syria, i. 4. 10; vii. 8. 25.
Bito brings money to the army, vii.
8. 6.
Boeotia ravaged by the Athenians,
M. iii. 5. 4.
Baotians compared with the Athe-
nians, M. iii. 5. 2, 4.
Boiscus, v. 8. 23.
C
Callimachus, an Arcadian, captain
of the heavy-armed, iv. 1. 27; 7.
8; his bravery, 7. 10; deputed
to Sinope, v. 6. 14; to Heraclea,
vi. 2. 7; claims authority over
the Arcadians and Achæans, vi.
2.9, 10.
Carthaginians, masters of Africa,
M. ii. 1. 10.
Cebes, M. iii. 11. 17; i. 2. 48.
Cecrops settles a dispute between
the gods, M. iii. 5. 10.
Cephisodorus, an officer, iv. 2. 13;
killed, 17.
Ceramon, M. ii. 7. 3.
Cerberus, vi. 2..22
Chærecrates,
Charephon,
disciples of Socrates,
M. i. 2. 48; their
disagreement, M.
ii. 3. 1.
Charicles, M. i. 2. 31.
Charmides, M. iii. 6. 1; iii. 7. 1.
Cheirisophus the Lacedæmonian,
joins Cyrus with seven hundred
men, i. 4. 3; is sent to Ariæus,
ii. 1.5; praises Xenophon, iii. 1.
45; exhorts the Greek generals,
iii. 2. 2; disagreement, on one
occasion, between him and Xeno-
phon, iv. 6. 3; satirical on the
Athenians, 16; goes from Trebi-
sond to get vessels, v. 1. 4; un-
successful, vi. 1. 16; has the com-
mand of the whole army, vi. 1.
32; is deprived of it, vi. 2. 12;
dies of a medicine that he takes,
vi. 4. 11.
Circe transforms the companions of
Ulysses, M. i. 3. 7.
Cleænetus, v. 1. 17.
Cleagoras, vii. 8. 1.
Cleander, harmost at Byzantium,
vi. 4. 18; comes to Calpe, vi. 6.
5; forms a friendship with Xeno-
phon, vi. 6. 35; vii. 1. 8; de-
clines the command of the Greeks,
and why, vi. 6. 36.
Cleanor, the Arcadian, the oldest
general next to Clearchus, ii. 1.
10; appointed in the place of
Agias, iii. 1. 47; request made
to him by Xenophon, vi. 4. 22.
Cleanor, the Orchomenian, in-
veighs against Ariæus, ii. 5. 39;
exhorts the generals to take ven-
geance on the Persians for their
perfidy, iii. 2. 4; commands the
Arcadians, iv. 8. 18. Cleanor,
without any epithet, wishes to
serve under Seuthes, vii. 2. 2;
has a good opinion of Xenophon,
vii. 5. 10.
Clearchus, an exile from Sparta,
supplied with money to raise
troops by Cyrus, i. 1. 9; 3. 3;
ii. 6. 4; joins Cyrus with a large
force, i. 2. 9; commands the left
wing, i. 2. 15; his temporary
unpopularity, i. 3. 1, seqq.; as-
sailed by the troops of Menon, i.
5. 12; commands the right wing
in the battle, i. 8. 4; his reply to
INDEX.
Cyrus, i. 8. 13; Cyrus had great
esteem for him, i. 1. 9; 6. 5;
and told him of his intention to
go against the king, iii. i. 10; is
praised, ii. 3. 11; 6.8; his con-
ference with Tissaphornes, ii. 5.
3-15; is treacherously made
prisoner, ii. 5. 31; is killed, ii.
6. 1; his character, ib.
Clearetus, v. 7. 14–16.
Cleonymus, iv. 1. 18.
Clinias, brother of Alcibiades, M.
i. 3. 8.
Clito, a statuary, discourse of So-
crates with, M. iii. 10. 6.
Cœeratades, a vain boaster, vii. 1. 33.
Corylas, satrap of Paphlagonia, vii.
8. 25; v. 5. 12, 22; 6.11; makes
a treaty with the Greeks, vi. 1. 2.
Cretan bows, iii. 3. 7, 15; of great
service, iv. 2. 29.
Critias, his conduct, M. i. 2. 12;
why he sought instruction from
Socrates, 16; corrupted, 24; a
lover of Euthydemus, 29; his
law, 31.
Crito, a follower of Socrates, M. i.
2. 48; i. 3. 8; secured against
informers, ii. 9. 1.
Critobulus, M. i. 3. 8; his discourse
with Socrates on friendship, M.
ii. 6.
Ctesias, the physician, attends Ar-
taxerxes when he was wounded,
i. 8. 26, 27.
Cyniscus, vii. 1. 13.
Cyrebus, M. ii. 7. 6.
Cyrus the younger, brother of Ar-
taxerxes, made a satrap by his
father Darius, i. 1. 2; thrown
into prison on the accusation of
Tissaphernes, i. 1. 3; how liber-
ated, ib.; secretly prepares war
against his brother, i. 1. 6; his
clemency to Xenias and Pasion,
i. 4. 8; his liberality to Silanus,
i. 7. 18; comes to battle with
his brother, i. S. 6; kills Ar-
tagerses, 24; wounds Artaxerxes,
26; is killed, 27; his eulogy, i. 9.
Cyrus the elder, i. 9. 1.
|
|
|
D
511
Daedalus enslaved by Minos, M. iv.
2. 33.
Damaratus the Lacedæmonian, ii.
1. 3; vii. 8. 17.
Daphnagoras, vii. 8. 9.
Darius, i. 1. 1.
Delian festival, M. iv. 8. 2.
Delium, M. iii. 5. 4.
Delos, M. iii. 3, 12; iv. 8. 2.
Delphi, treasury of the Athenians
at, v. 3. 5; inscription at, M.
iv. 2. 24.
Demeas, M. ii. 7. 6.
Democrates, his trustworthiness,
iv. 4. 15.
Dercyllidas, opposed in the field to
Pharnabazus, v. 6. 24.
Dernes, satrap of Phoenicia and
Arabia, vii. 8. 25.
Dexippus deserts with a ship from
Trebisond, v. 1. 15; vi. 6. 5;
gives a false character of Xeno-
phon to Anaxibius, vi. 1. 32; his
false representations to Cleander,
vi. 6. 9; he is accused by Aga-
sias, 22; killed by Nicander, v.
1. 15.
Diana, tenth of the spoil consecrat-
ed to her, v. 3. 4; temple built
to her by Xenophon, v. 3. 9.
Diodorus persuaded to relieve Her-
mogenes, M. ii. 10. 1.
Dionysodorus, M. iii. 1. 1.
Dracontius directs the games, iv.
8. 25; deputed to Cleander, vi.
6. 30.

E
Epicharmus cited, M. ii. 1. 20.
Epigenes, M. iii. 12. 1.
Episthenes of Amphipolis com-
mands the peltasts, i. 10. 7; a
boy given in charge to him by
Xenophon, iv. 6. 1, 3.
Episthenes of Olynthus, vi. 4. 7.
Epyaxa, wife of Syennesis, i. 2. 12.
Erasinides, an Athenian com-
512
INDEX.
mander, put to death, M. i. 1.
18.
Erectheus, king of Athens, M. iii.
5. 10.
Eteonicus, vii. 1. 12; 20.
Euclides, an augur, son of Clea-
goras, vii. 8. 1.
another, vii. 8. 6.
Eurylochus protects Xenophon
with his shield, iv. 2. 21; his
valour, iv. 7. 11, 12; deputed to
Anaxibius, vii. 1. 32; agrees
with Xenophon as to getting pay
from Seuthes, vii. 6. 40.
Eurymachus, a Dardanian, v. 6. 21.
Eutherus, M. ii. 8. 1.
Euthydemus, improved by Socrates,
M. iv. 2. 1-40; exhorted to
worship the gods, iv. 3. 2, seqq. ;
Socrates discourses with him on
intemperance, iv. 5. 2; beloved
by Critias, i. 2. 29.
Gaulites, i. 7. 5.
G
Glaucon, too eager to engage in
political affairs, M. iii. 6. 1.
Glaucon, father of Charmides, ib.
Glus, the son of Tamus, ii. 1. 3;
promises rewards to the Greeks
from Cyrus, i. 4. 16; extricates
the waggons at the direction of
Cyrus, i. 5. 7; reports the death.
of Cyrus to the Greeks, ii. 1. 3;
watches the Greeks, ii. 4. 24.
Gnesippus, his humorous request
to Seuthes, vii. 3. 28.
Gobryas, a general of Artaxerxes,
i. 7. 12.
Gongylus of Eretria, vii. 8. 8, 17.
Gorgias the Leontine, ii. 6. 16.
Gorgio, brother of Gongylus, vii.
8.8.
Greeks that went up with Cyrus,
their number, i. 2.9; 7. 10; are
unwilling to go against Arta-
xerxes, i. 3. 1; 4. 12; victorious
at Cunaxa, i. 8. 21; 10. 11; return
to their camp, i. 10. 17; concern-
ed at the death of Cyrus, ii. 1.4;
return to Ariæus, ii. 2. 8; will not
encamp with Ariæus, ii. 4. 1;
arrive at the Zabatus, where their
leaders are treacherously seized
by Tissaphernes, and put to
death, ii. 5. 31; are encouraged
by Xenophon, iii. 1. 15; pursue
their march fighting, iii. 3. 7;
repulse the Persians, iii. 4. 15,
25, 44; their troublesome march
through the mountains of the
Carduchians, iv. 3. 2; proceed
through Armenia, iv. 4. 1; ha-
rassed with snow and frost, iv.
5. 3; overcome the Chalybes,
Taochians, and Phasians, iv. 6.
24; advance through the Scythi-
ni, iv. 7. 18; make a treaty with
the Macrones, iv. 8.7; overcome
the Colchians, iv. 8. 19; arrive
at Trebisond, iv. 8. 22; attack
the Drilæ, v. 2. 1; attack the
Mossynæci, v. 4. 26; sail from
Cotyora to Sinope, vi. 1. 14;
thence to Heraclea, vi. 2. 2;
division of their army, vi. 2. 16;
re-union, vi. 4. 1; defeat the
Bithynians, vi. 5. 31; arrive at
Chrysopolis, vi. 6. 38; cross over
to Byzantium, vii. 1. 7; serve
with Seuthes, and defeat the
Thracians, vii. 3. 14; join the
army of Thibron, vii. 8. 24.

H
Hecatonymus, deputy from Sinope,
v. 5. 7, 24; 6.3.
Hegesander, vi. 3. 5.
Hellas, wife of Gongylus, vii. 8. 8.
Heracleidæ assisted by the Atheni-
ans, M. iii. 5. 10.
Heraclides recommends the guests
of Seuthes to make him presents,
vii. 3. 15; is sent to sell spoil,
vii. 4. 2; 5. 5; speaks ill of Xe-
nophon, vii. 5. 6; 6. 5.
Hercules, sacrifices to, iv. 8. 24;
vi. 2. 15; where he went down
to fetch up Cerberus, vi. 2 2
The Choice of, M. ii. 1. 21
INDEX.
513
Hermocrates, a follower of So- | Lycius, an Athenian, captain of
crates, M. i. 2. 48.
Hermogenes, M. ii. 10. 3; iv. 8. 4.
Hesiod, cited, M. i. 2. 56; i. 3. 3;
ii. 1. 20.
Hieronymus of Elis, a captain un-
der Proxenus, iii. 1. 34; vi. 4.
10; députed to Anaxibius, vii.
1. 32.
Hieronymus, another, wounded, vii.
4. 18.
Hippias disputes with Socrates on
justice, M. iv. 4. 5.
Hippocrates defeated at Delium,
M. iii. 5. 4.
Homer, the greatest of epic poets,
M. i. 4. 3; cited, M. i. 2. 58; ii.
6. 11.
I
Ionia, cities of, revolt from Tis-
saphernes to Cyrus, i. 1. 6.
Itabelius assists Asidates, vii. 8. 15.
J
Jupiter Hospitalis, iii. 2. 24; the
Preserver, iii. 2. 9; iv. S. 44;
Xenophon sacrifices to him, vi. |
1. 22; Milichius, vii. 8. 4.
L
Lacedæmonians taught to steal, iv.
6. 15; contend with the Atheni
ans, vi. 1. 27; are successful, vi.
6. 12; places subject to them,
vii. 1. 28. Their respect for old
age, and for their magistrates,
M. iii. 5. 15; their exercises, ib. ;
their concord, M. iii. 5. 16; their
arms, M. iii. 9. 2. See also M.
iv. 4. 15.
Lamprocles, son of Socrates, ad-
monished, M. ii. 2. 1.
Lebadea, M. iii. 5. 4.
Libyans subject to Carthage, M. ii.
1. 10.
Lichas of Sparta, M. i. 2. 61.
Lycæan games, i. 2. 10.
VOL. I.
2 L
cavalry, iii. 3. 20; iv. 3. 22, 25;
7. 24.
Lycius, a Syracusan, i. 10. 14.
Lycon, an Achæan, opposes Xeno-
phon, v. 6. 27; brings an answer
from Heraclea, vi. 2. 4; deputed
to Heraclea, 7; is the author or
a disturbance, 9.
Lycurgus inculcated obedience to
the laws, M. iv. 4. 15.
Lydians subject to the Persians,
M. ii. 1. 10.
M
Mæotians subject to the Scythians,
M. ii. 1. 10.
Mæsades, father of Seuthes, vii. 2.
32; 5. 1.
Magnesians, their dance, vi. 1. 7.
Mantineans, their dance, vi. 1. 11.
Medea, wife of the king of the
Medes, iii. 4. 11.
Medocus, king of the Odrysæ, vii.
2. 32; 3. 16; 7. 3, 11.
Medosades sent by Seuthes to Xe-
nophon, vii. 1. 5; 2. 10, 24; 7.
1. 11.
Megabyzus, v. 3. 6.
Megaphernes, a Persian nobleman,
put to death by Cyrus, i. 2. 20.
Megarians, their manufacture, M.
ii. 7. 6.
Melanippides, dithyrambic poet, M.
i. 4. 3.
Meletus, accuser of Socrates, M.
iv. 4. 4; 8. 4.
Menon, the forces with which he
joins Cyrus, i. 2. 6; despatched
by Cyrus into Cilicia, 20; first
to cross the Euphrates, i. 4. 13;
quarrel between his men and
those of Clearchus, i. 5. 11; com-
mands on the left wing of the
Greeks, i. 7. 1; 8. 4; friend of
Ariæus, ii. 1. 5; with whom he
remains, ii. 2. 1; suspected of
treachery, ii. 5. 28; made pri-
soner by Tissaphernes, 31; his
miserable end, ii. 6. 29; his ill
514
INDEX.
character, ii. 6. 21.-A maker
of cloaks, M. ii. 7. 6.
Midas takes the Satyr, i. 2. 13.
Milesian woman, mistress of Cyrus,
flees to the Greeks, i. 10. 3.
Miltocythes, a Thracian, deserts to
Artaxerxes, ii. 2. 7.
Minerva, vow of the Athenians to
her, before the battle of Mara-
thon, iii. 2. 12.
Mithridates, a friend of Cyrus, ii.
5. 35; iii. 3. 2, 4; attacks the
Greeks as they are marching
homewards, iii. 3. 6; 4. 2;
4. 2;
called satrap of Lycaonia and
Cappadocia, vii. 8. 25.
Mysian dance, vi. 1. 9; another, v.
2. 29.
N
Nausicydes, M. ii. 7. 6.
Neon of Asina, takes the place of
Cheirisophus in his absence, v. 6.
36; speaks ill of Xenophon, v. 7.
1; gives him bad advice, vi. 2.
13; succeeds Cheirisophus at his
death, vi. 4. 11; his rashness in
going out to plunder, vi. 4. 23;
aspires to the command of the
whole army, vii. 2. 2; dissents
from the other leaders, vii. 2. 17,
29; 3. 2, 7.
Nicander kills Dexippus, v. 1. 15.
Nicarchus wounded, ii. 5. 33;
deserts to the Persians, iii. 3. 5.
Nicias, son of Niceratus, what price
he paid for a slave, M. ii. 5. 2.
Nicomachides, M. iii. 4. 1.
Nicomachus, a captain of the pel-
tasts, iv. 6. 20.
Olympia, M. iii. 13. 5.
Orontes, a Persian nobleman, plots
against Cyrus, i. 6. 1; condemn-
ed to death, 10.
Orontes, son-in-law to the king, ii.
4. 8; iii. 4. 13; attends the
Greeks when returning, ii. 4. 7-
v. 40; satrap of Armenia, in. 5.
17; iv. 3. 4.
P
Palamedes, his death caused by
Ulysses, M. iv. 2. 33.
Parrhasius the painter, discourse of
Socrates with, M. iii. 10. 1.
Parthenius, v. 6. 9; vi. 2. 1.
Parysatis, wife of Darius, mother
of Artaxerxes and Cyrus, i. 1. 1;
her preference for Cyrus, i. 1.
4; her lands in Syria, i. 4. 9;
in Media, ii. 4. 27.
Pasion of Megara commands seven
hundred men, i. 2. 3; is deserted
by his troops, and flees, i. 4. 7.
Pategyas, a friend of Cyrus, i. 8. 1.
Peloponnesians, their war with the
Athenians, M. iii. 5. 4, 10, 11.
Pericles, M. i. 2. 40; ii. 6. 13; iii.
5. 1.
the younger, his convers-
ation with Socrates, M. iii. 5. 1.
Persians, their power, M. ii. 1. 10;
iii. 5. 11.
Phædondes, M. i. 2. 48.
Phalinus, a friend of Tissaphernes,
ii. i. 7; professes military tac-
tics, ib.; says that the Greeks
would be unable to return with-
out the consent of the king, ii. 1.
18.
Pharnabazus, satrap of Bithynia,
vii. 8. 25; of Phrygia, vi. 4. 24;
his cavalry attack the Grecian
stragglers, ib.; bribes Anaxi-
bius to draw the Greeks out of
Asia, vii. 1. 2; also Aristarchus,
vii. 2. 7.
Phasiani, iv. 6. 5; v. 6. 36; under
the satrapy of Tiribazus, vii. 8.
25.
Philesius, an Achæan, succeeds
Menon, iii. 1. 47; he and So-
phænetus the eldest of the ge-
nerals, v. 3. 1; opposes Xeno-
phon, v. 6. 27; is. condemned for
extortion, v. 8. 1; deputed to
Anaxibius, vii. 1. 32. See Phry-
niscus.
Philoxenus, v. 2. 15.
INDEX.
515
Phocæan m stress of Cyrus. Sce
Aspasia.
Phrasias, vi. 5. 11.
Phrygians subject to Persia, M. ii.
1. 10.
Phryniscus, an Achæan, one of the
Greek generals, vii. 2. 1, 29; 5.
4 (where some copies read Phile-
sius); says that he will not serve
without Xenophon, vii. 5. 10.
Pigres, interpreter of Cyrus, i. 2.
17; 5. 7; 8. 12.
Pistias, a maker of coats of mail,
M. iii. 10. 9.
Plato beloved by Socrates, M. iii.
6. 1.
Polus, succeeds Anaxibius as ad-
miral, vii. 2. 5.
Polybotes, an Athenian, iv. 5. 24.
Polycletus the statuary, M. i. 4. 3.
Polycrates, an Athenian, takes a
village, iv. 5. 24; is sent to get
ships, v. i. 16; goes to Seuthes
with Xenophon, vii. 2. 17, 29;
is induced by Xenophon to op-
pose Heraclides, vii. 6. 41.
Polynicus, lieutenant-general
to
Thibron, vii. 6. 1, 39, 43; vii. 7.
13, 56.
Procles, governor of Teuthrania, ii.
1. 3; 2. 1; vii. 8. 17.
Procrustes, M. ii. 1. 14.
Prodicus, his Choice of Hercules,
M. ii. 1. 21.
Proxenus, a Theban, raises troops
for Cyrus, i. 1. 11; joins him
with his force, i. 2. 3; tries to
reconcile Clearchus and Menon,
i. 5. 14; invites Xenophon to
join him, and recommends him
to Cyrus, iii. 1. 4, 8; gives an an-
swer to the deputies from the
king, ii. 1. 10, made prisoner by
Tissaphernes, ii. 5. 31; is put to
death, ii. 6. 1; his character, ii.
6. 16; v. 3. 5.
Pyrrhias, vi. 5. 11.
Pythagoras, a Lacedæmonian, com-
nands the vessels sent to aid
Cyrus, i. 4. 2.
Pythian priestess, M. i. 3. 1.
212
|
R
Rhathines sent against the Greeks
by Pharnabazus, vi. 5. 7.
Rhodians, good slingers, iii. 3. 16;
4. 15; a Rhodian offers to make
a bridge, iii. 5. 8.
Rhoparas, satrap of Babylonia, vii.
8.25.
S
Samolas, deputed to the Sinopians
about ships, v. 6. 14; his force,
vi. 5. 11.
Satyr taken by Midas, i. 2. 13.
Sciro, robber, M. ii. 1. 14.
Scylla, M. ii. 6. 31.
Scythians excel in the use of the
bow, M. iii. 9. 2.
Seuthes of Thrace, invites the
Greeks to take service under
him, vii. 1. 5; 2. 10; relates
the fortunes of his father, vii. 2.
32; calls the Athenians his kins-
men, 31; invites the Greeks to a
banquet, vii. 3. 15; burns the
villages of his enemies, vii. 4. 1;
kills his prisoners, 6; makes pre-
sents to the Greek generals, vii.
5. 2, 9; alienated from Xeno-
phon, vii. 5. 7, 16; treats with
deputies from the Lacedæmoni
ans about sending back the
Greeks, vii. 6. 3; can accuse
Xenophon of nothing but extreme
care for the soldiers, vii. 6. 4,
39; induced by Xenophon to pay
the Greeks, vii. 7. 55; does not
perform his promises to Xeno-
phon, vii. 5. 8; 6. 18; 7. 39;
endeavours to retain Xenophon,
vii. 6. 43; 7. 50.
Silanus, an augur, receives ten ta-
lents from Cyrus, i. 7. 18; v. 6.
18; reveals a secret of Xeno-
phon, v. 6. 17, 29; the soldiers
forbid him, with threats, to go
home alone, 34; but he escapes
from them at Heraclea, vi. 4. 13
516
INDEX.
Silanus gives a signal, vii. 4. 16.
Sinnis, robber, M. ii. 1. 14.
Sirens, M. ii. 6. 11, 31.
Sitalces, vi. 1. 6.
Smicres, vi. 3. 4, 5.
Socrates, an Achæan, raises troops
for Cyrus, i. 1. 11; joins Cyrus
with his force, i. 2. 3; made pri-
soner by Tissaphernes, ii. 5. 31;
is put to death, ii. 6. 1; com-
mended, ii. 6. 30.
Socrates, the Athenian philosopher,
consulted by Xenophon about
his wish to join Cyrus, iii. 1. 5.
Was a senator, M. i. 1. 18; some
of his followers named, M. i. 2.
48; his conversation before his
death, M. iv. 8; his other dis-
courses, M. passim.
Sophænetus, an Arcadian, joins Cy-
rus, i. 2. 9.
of Stymphalus, a friend
of Cyrus, i. 1.11, joins Cyrus with
a thousand foot, i. 2. 3; goes to
Ariæus, ii. 5. 37; left to defend
the camp, iv. 4. 19; oldest of
the generals, v. 3. 1; vi. 5. 13;
found guilty of having neglected
his duty, v. 8. 1.
Sosis of Syracuse joins Cyrus with
troops, i. 2. 9.
Soterides, his foolish behaviour to
Xenophon, iii. 4. 47.
Spithridates, sent by Pharnabazus
to attack the Greeks, vi. 5. 7.
Stratocles commands the Cretan
archers, iv. 2. 29.
Syennesis, king of Cilicia, i. 2. 12;
he guards the entrance into his
country, i. 4. 4; 2. 21; submits
to Cyrus at the solicitation of his
wife, i. 2. 26; assists Cyrus with
money, i. 2. 27.
T
Tamos, admiral of the Lacedæmo-
nian fleet, i. 2. 21; besieges Mi-
letus with the aid of Cyrus's
flect, i. 4. 2.
|
Teres, son of Odryses, an ancestor
of Southes, vii. 2. 22; 5. 1.
Tharypas, ii. 6. 28.
Thebans, unjust to the other Boo-
tians, M. iii. 5. 2.
Themistocles, his merits, M. ii. 6.
13; iv. 2. 2; celebrated among
the Barbarians, M. iv. 2. 2.
Theodorus, geometrician, M. iv. 2.
10.
Theodota, conversation of Socrates
with, M. iii. 11. 1.
Theogenes, vii. 4. 18.
Theognis, cited, M. i. 2. 20.
Theopompus, ii. 1. 12.
Thibron, engages the Greeks to as-
sist him against Tissaphernes,
vii. 6. 1, 7; viii. 8. 24.
Thorax, speaks against Xenophon,
v. 6. 19, 21, 25.
Thracians, their arms, M. iii. 9. 2.
Thrasyllus, Athenian general, put
to death, M. i. 1. 18.
Timasio, a Dardanian, succeeds
Clearchus, iii. 1. 47; v. 1. 32;
an exile from Troas, v. 6. 23;
had served with Clearchus and
Dercyllidas in Asia, 24; he and
Xenophon are the youngest of
the generals, iii. 2. 37; is adverse
to Xenophon's notion of found-
ing a city in Pontus, v. 6. 19;
has the command of the cavalry,
vi. 3. 12; 5. 28; vii. 3. 46; his
vases and Persian carpets, ii. 3.
18; says that he will not serve
apart from Xenophon, vii. 5.
10.
Timesitheus, v. 4. 2, 4.
Tiribazus, satrap of western Arme-
nia, iv. 4. 4; of the Phasians and
Hesperitæ, vii. 8. 25; liked by
Artaxerxes, iv. 4. 4; makes a
truce with the Greeks, ib., wishes
to attack them, iv. 4. 18; his
tent taken, iv. 4. 21.
Tissaphernes, goes up with Cyrus
to Darius, i. 1. 2; speaks ill of
Cyrus to his brother, 3; puts to
death some of the Milesians, and
banishes others, 7; gives notice
INDEX.
to the king of the intentions of!
Cyrus, i. 2. 4; ii. 3. 19; one of
the four generals of Artaxerxes, i.
7. 12; the cities revolt from him
to Cyrus, i. 9.9; an impious and
crafty character, ii. 5. 39; boasts
of his good-will to the Greeks, ii.
3. 18; makes a treaty with them,
ii. 3. 26; desires to free himself
from the suspicion of treachery,
ii. 5. 16; makes pris ners of the
Greek generals, ii. 5. 32; attacks
the Greeks, iii. 4. 13; the Lace-
dæmonians declare war against
him, vii. 6. 1, 7; 8. 24.
Tolmidas, an Athenian general, de-
feated at Lebadea, M. iii. 5. 4.
Tolmides, of Elis, a crier, ii. 2. 20.
U
Ulysses returns to his country
asleep, v. 1. 2. Proof against
the charms of Circe, M. i. 3. 7;
his merits as an orator, M. iv.
6. 15.
X
Xanthicles, an Achæan, elected in
the room of Socrates, iii. 1. 47;
found guilty of dishonesty, v. 8. 1.
Xenias the Parrhasian, went up
with Cyrus to his father, i. 1. 2;
joins Cyrus with four thousand
men, i. 2. 3; celebrates games,
10; is deserted by his men, and
secretly returns home, i. 4. 7.
Xenophon, the Athenian, invited by
Proxenus to join Cyrus; is di-
rected by Socrates to consult
Apollo, iii. 1. 4; meets Cyrus at
Sardes, 8; makes a reply to
Ariæus, ii. 5. 41; has a dream,
iii. 1. 11; assembles the officers,
15; is made general in place of
Proxenus, 26, 47; causes the
expulsion of Apollonides, 30; ad-
vises the generals how to act, iii.
1. 35; exhorts the soldiers, iii. 2.
7; proposes a line of march, 34;
517
commands the rear, 37; pursues
the enemy unsuccessfully, iii. 3.
8; forms a body of slingers, and
another of cavalry, 20; takes pos-
session of a mountain, iii. 4. 44;
merciful to an offending soldier,
47; deceives the enemy by a
stratagem, iv. 2. 2; conducts the
army through the Carduchian
hills, iv. 2. 9, seq.; is deserted
by his armour-bearer, 21; is en-
couraged by another dream, iv.
3. 8; his stratagem, iv. 3. 20;
passes the night in the open air,
without food or fire, iv. 5. 21;
treats the chief of an Armenian
village with kindness, 28; his
only dissension with Cheiriso-
phus, iv. 6. 3; his plan for at-
tacking the enemy, 10; and for
attacking a fort of the Taochians,
iv. 7. 4; his judicious change in
the order of the army, iv. 8. 10;
his plan for employing the army
at Trebisond, v. 1. 5; attacks
a fort of the Drilæ, v. 2. 8; re-
turns from Asia with Agesilaus,
v. 3. 6; lives in exile at Scillus,
7; builds a temple to Diana.
there, 9; is inclined to found a
city in Pontus, v. 6. 15; de-
fends himself against a charge of
misconduct, v. 7. 5; purifies the
army, 35; his defence when ac-
cused of cruelty, v. 8. 2; re-
fuses the sole cominand, vi. 1.
19; consults Hercules, vi. 2. 15;
aids the Arcadians, vi. 3. 19; ex-
horts the soldiers, vi. 5. 14; quells
a tumult, vi. 6. 8; exhorts the
soldiers to please Cleander, 12;
soothes the rage of the soldiers
against the Byzantines, vii. 1
22;
bids farewell to the army,
and goes off with Cleander, 40;
returns at the solicitation of
Anaxibius, vii. 2. 8; Aristarchus
seeks to make him prisoner, 14,
16; goes to Southes, 17; from
whom he brings proposals to the
army, vii. 3. 3; offers himself
518
INDEX.
and his followers as a gift to
Seuthes at a banquet, 30; shows
that he is not to blame because
Seuthes withheld the soldiers'
pay, vii. 6. 11; his bold reply to
Medosades, vii. 7. 4; prevails
on Seuthes to pay the soldiers,
21; sells his horse to get money
for his journey, vii. 8. 2; cap-
tures Asidates, and enriches him-
self, 23.-An observation of So-
crates to him, M. i. 3. 11,
Xerxes defeated by the Grecks, iii.
2. 13; afterwards built the cita-
del and palace of Celænæ. i. 2. 9.
2
Zelarchus, a commissary, v. 7. 21
Zeuxis the painter, M. i. 4. 3
NOTANDA.
A
On the sense of the phrase αναπτύσσειν τὸ κέρας, Arab. i. 10. 9,
I might have expressed myself in the note with more decision. The
meaning of the words is evidently similar to that of ἀναπτύσσοντας
την φάλαγγα, and ἀναπτυχθείσης τῆς φάλαγγος, Cyrop. vii. 5. 3 and
5, where those expressions are fully explained by the context.
portion of the men wer withdrawn from one or both wings of the
páλay, or main body, and sent to the rear, making the line at once
shorter and deeper. Thus the Greeks acted with regard to their
wing; they either drew back the wing altogether, and formed it be-
hind the main body, or drew back a portion of the men from the
extremity of the wing, and formed them behind the front ranks of
the wing, in order to make the wing itself deeper and more com-
pact. I think the latter supposition, which confines ávaπtiσguv to
Tò kipas, the more probable. The Greeks "put the river in their
rear" by wheeling round.
Of Professor Malden's translation of παρὰ τὸν Φᾶσιν ποταμόν,
"along the river Phasis," I was not aware, until I saw it mentioned
by Mr. Ainsworth in his Commentary, p. 226, or I should have
adopted it.
If the student should observe that the negative ouкovv, in Kühner's
text of the Memorabilia, is, in some few passages, not translated
negatively, he must suppose that, in such cases, I thought a posi-
tive sense would be better. Editors vary, in many places, in the
accentuation of this word.
LONDON:
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THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
GRADUATE LIBRARY
969
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DATE DUE

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1973
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1981
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1980
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