 Book 7, Part 2 of Xenophon's Anabasis. Now these five were left. Neon the Esenayan, Freniscus the Achaian, Felicius the Achaian, Xanthocles the Achaian, Tamesian the Dardanian, at the head of the army, and they pushed on to some villages of the Thracians facing Byzantium, and they are encamped. Now the generals could not agree. Cleanor and Freniscus wished to march to join Sethus, who had worked up their feelings by presenting one with a horse and the other with a woman to wipe. But Neon's object was to come to the Chersonesi. When we are under the wing of the Lachodemonians, he thought, I shall step to the front and command the whole army. Tamesian's one ambition was to cross back again into Asia, hoping to be reinstated at home and in his exile. The soldiers shared the wishes of the last general. But as time dragged on, many of the men sold their arms at different places and set sail as best they could. The soldiers actually gave away their arms, some here, some there, and became absorbed in the cities. One man rejoiced. This was Enixibius, to whom the breakup of the army was a blessing. That is the way, he said to himself, I can best gratify Pharnabasus. But Enixibius, while prosecuting his voyage from Byzantium, was met at Cisacus by Aristarchus, the new governor, who was to succeed Cleander at Byzantium. And reports said that a new admiral, Paulus, if he had not actually arrived, would presently reach the Hell's Pond and relieve Enixibius. The latter sent a parting injunction to Aristarchus to be sure and sell all the Syrian soldiers he could lay hands on, still lingering in Byzantium, for Cleander had not sold a single man of them. On the contrary, he had made it his business to tend to the sick and wounded, pitying them and insisting on their being received in the houses. Aristarchus changed all that, and was no sooner arrived in Byzantium than he sold no less than four hundred of them. Meanwhile, Enixibius, on his coasting voyage, reached Parium, and according to the terms of their agreement, he sent to Pharnabasus. But the latter, learning that Aristarchus was the new governor at Byzantium, and that Enixibius had ceased to be admiral, turned upon him a cold shoulder, and set out concocting the same measures concerning the Syrian army with Aristarchus, as he had been lately at work upon with Enixibius. Enixibius thereupon summoned Xenophon and bad him, by every manner of means, sail to the army with the utmost speed, and keep it together. He was to collect the scattered fragments and march them down to Parenthus, and thence convey them across to Asia without loss of time. And herewith he put a thirty-ord galley at his service, and gave him a letter of authority, and an officer to accompany him, with an order to the Parenthians, to escort Xenophon without delay on horseback to the army. So it was that Xenophon sailed across, and eventually reached the army. The soldiers gave him a joyous welcome, and would have been only too glad to cross from Thrace into Asia under his leadership. But Suthis, hearing that Xenophon had arrived, sent Metosades again by sea to meet him, and begged him to bring the army to him, and whatever he thought would make his speech persuasive he was ready to promise him. But the other replied that none of these things were open to him to do, and with this answer Metosades departed, and the Helenes proceeded to Parenthus. Here on arrival Neon withdrew his troops and encamped apart, having about eight hundred men, while the remainder of the army lay in one place under the walls of Parenthus. After this Xenophon set himself to find vessels, so as to lose no time in crossing. But in the interval Aristarchus the governor from Byzantium arrived with a couple of warships, being moved to do so by Farnabasus. To make doubly sure he first forbade the skippers and ship masters to carry the troops across, and then he visited the camp and informed the soldiers that their passage into Asia was forbidden. Neon replied that he was acting under the orders of An exibius, who had sent him thither for this express purpose, to which Aristarchus retorted, For the matter of that, An exibius is no longer admiral, and I am governor in this quarter. If I catch any of you at sea, I will sink you. With these remarks he retired within the walls of Parenthus. Next day he sent for the generals and officers of the army. They had already reached the fortification walls, when someone brought word to Xenophon that if he set foot inside he would be seized, and either meet some ill fate there or more likely be delivered up to Farnabasus. On hearing this Xenophon set forward the rest of the party, but for himself pleaded that there was a sacrifice which he wished to offer. In this way he contrived to turn back and consult the victims. Would the gods allow him to try and bring the army over to Suthis? On the one hand it was plain that the idea of crossing over to Asia in the face of this man with his ships of war, who meant to bar the passage, was too dangerous. Nor did he altogether like the notion of being blocked up in the cheresonaceae with an army in dire need of everything, where besides being at the beck and call of the governor of the place, they would be debarred from the necessaries of life. While Xenophon was thus employed the generals and officers came back with a message from Aristarchus, who had told him they might retire for the present, but in the afternoon he would expect them. The former suspicions of a plot had now ripened to a certainty. Xenophon, meantime, had ascertained that the victims were favourable to his project. He personally, and the army as a whole, might with safety proceed to Suthis, as they seem to say. Accordingly he took with him Palykrates, the Athenian captain, and from each of the generals, not including Neon, some one man whom they could in each case trust, and in the night they set off to visit the army of Suthis, sixty furlongs distant. As they approached they came upon some deserted watchfires, and their first impression was that Suthis had shifted his position, but presently perceiving a confused sound, the voices of Suthis' people signalling to one another, the explanation donned on him. Suthis kept his watchfires kindled in front of, instead of behind, his night pickets, in order that the outposts, being in the dark, might escape notice, their numbers and position thus being a mystery, whilst any party approaching from the outside, so far from escaping notice, would, through the glare of the fire, stand out conspicuously. Perceiving how matter stood, Xenophon sent forward his interpreter, who was one of the party, and bade him inform Suthis that Xenophon was there and craved conference with him. The others asked if he were an Athenian from the army yonder, and no sooner had the interpreter applied, yes, the same, than up they leapt and galloped off. And in less time than it takes to tell, a couple of hundred Peltas had come up, who seized and carried off Xenophon, and those with him, and brought them to Suthis. The latter was in a tower right well guarded, and there were horses rounded in a circle, standing already bidded and bridled, for his alarm was so great that he gave his horses their provinder during the day, and during the nights he kept watch and ward with the brutes thus bidded and bridled. It was stated in explanation that in old days an ancestor of his, named Teres, had been in this very country with a large army, several of whom he had lost at the hands of the native inhabitants, besides being robbed of his baggage-train. The inhabitants of the country are Athenians, and they are reputed to be, by far, the most warlike set of fighters, especially at night. When they drew near, Suthis bade Xenophon enter, and bring with him any two he might choose. As soon as they were inside, they first greeted one another warmly, and then, according to the Thracian custom, pledged themselves in bowls of wine. There was further present at the elbow of Suthis, Metosades, who on all occasions acted as his ambassador-in-chief. Xenophon took the initiative and spoke as follows. You have sent to me, Suthis, once and again. On the first occasion, you sent Metosades yonder to Chalcedon, and you begged me to use my influence in favour of the army crossing over from Asia. You promised me in return, for this conduct on my part, various kindnesses. At least that is what Metosades stated. And before proceeding further he turned to Metosades and asked, Is that not so? The other assented. Again on a second occasion the same Metosades came when I had crossed over from Perium to rejoin the army, and he promised me that if I would bring you the army you would in various respects treat me as a friend and brother. He said especially with regard to certain seaboard places, of which you are the owner and lord, that you were minded to make me a present of them. At this point he again questioned Metosades whether the words attributed to him were exact, and Metosades once more fully assented. Come now, preceded Xenophon, recount what answer I made you, at first at Chalcedon. You answered that the army was, in any case, about to cross over to Byzantium, and as far as that went there was no need to pay you or anyone else anything, and for yourself you added that once across you were minded to leave the army which thing came to pass even as you said. Well, what did I say he asked at your next visit when you came to me at Salibria? You said that the proposal was impossible. You were all going to Parenthas to cross into Asia. Good, said Xenophon, and in spite of it all at the present moment, here I am myself, and Frenizkis, one of my colleagues, and Polycrotis Yonder, a captain, and outside to represent the other generals, all except Neon the Laconian, the trustiest men they could find to send, so that if you wish to give these transactions the steel of still greater security you have nothing to do but to summon them also. And do you, Polycrotis, go and say from me that I bid them leave their arms outside, and you can leave your own sword outside before you enter with them on your return. When Suthis had heard so far he interposed, I should never mistrust an Athenian, for we are relatives already, I know, and the best of friends I believe we shall be. After that, as soon as the right men entered, Xenophon first questioned Suthis as to what use he intended to make of the army, and he replied as follows, My cities was my father, his sway extended over the Militari, the Athenians, and the Tranipsae. Then the affairs of the Eurystians took a bad turn, and my father was driven out of this country, and later on died himself of sickness, leaving me to be brought up as an orphan at the court of Metacus, the present king. But I, when I had grown to a man's estate, could not endure to live with my eyes fixed on another's board. So I seated myself on the seat by him as a suppliant, and begged him to give me as many men as he could spare, that I might rake what mischief I could on those who had driven us forth from our land, that thus I might cease to live independence upon another's board, like a dog watching his master's hand. In answer to my petition he gave me the men and the horses which you will see at break of day, and nowadays I live with these pillaging my own ancestral land. But if you would join me, I think, with the help of heaven we might easily recover my empire. That is what I want of you. Well then, said Xenophon, supposing we came, what should you be able to give us, the soldiers, the officers, and the generals? Tell us that these witnesses may report your answer. And he promised to give to the common soldiers a scissorine, to a captain twice as much, and to a general four times as much, with as much land as ever they liked, some yoke of oxen, and a fortified place upon the sea-board. But now supposing, said Xenophon, we fail of success, in spite of our endeavours, suppose any intimidation on the part of the Lachodemonians should arise, will you receive into your country any of us who may seek to find a refuge with you? He answered, Nay, not only so, but I shall look upon you as my brothers, entitled to share my seat, and the joint possessors of all the wealth which we may be able to acquire. And to you yourself, O Xenophon, I will give you my daughter, and if you have a daughter I will buy her in Thracian fashion, and I will give you Bissinth as a dwelling-place, which is the fairest of all my possessions on the sea-board. End of Book 7, Part 2 After listening to these proposals they gave and accepted pledges of good faith, and so the deputation rode off. Before day they were back again in camp, and severally rendered a report to those who sent them. At dawn Aristarchus again summoned the generals and officers, but the latter resolved to have done with the visit to Aristarchus, and summoned a meeting of the army. In full conclave the soldiers met, with the exception of naionsmen, who remained about ten furlongs off. When they were met together Xenophon rose, and made the following announcement. Men, Aristarchus with his ships of war hinders us from sailing where we feign would go. It is not even safe to set foot on board a vessel. But if he hinders us here he hastens us there. Be off to the Cheresinesi, he says, for a passage through the sacred mountains. If we master it, and succeed in getting to that place, he has something in store for us. He promises that he will not sell you any more, as he did at Byzantium. You shall not be cheated again. You shall have pay. He will no longer as now suffer you to remain in want of provisions. That is his proposal. Soothis says that if you will go to him he will treat you well. What you have now to consider is whether you will stay to debate this question, or leave it settlement till we have gone up into a land of provisions. If you ask me my opinion it is this. Since here we have neither money to buy, nor leave to take without money what we need. Why should we not go up into these villages, where the right to help ourselves is conferred by might? There, unhampered by the want of bare necessaries, you can listen to what this man and the other wants of you, and choose whatever sounds best. Let those, he added, who agree to this, hold up their hands. They all held them up. Retire then, said he, and get your kit together, and at the word of command follow your leader. After this Xenophon put himself at the head, and the rest followed. Neon, indeed, and other agents from Aristarchus tried to turn them away from their purpose, but to their persuasions they turned to Daphir. They had not advanced much more than three miles, when Suthas met them, and Xenophon, seeing him, bad him right up. He wished to tell him what they felt to be conducive to their interests, and in the presence of as many witnesses as possible. As soon as he had approached Xenophon said, We are going where the troops will have enough to live upon. When we are there we will listen to you and to the emissaries of the Laconian, and choose between you both whatever seems best. If then you will lead us where provisions are to be God and plenty, we shall veal indebted to you for your hospitality. And Suthas answered, For the matter of that I know many villages close-packed and stocked with all kinds of provisions, just far enough off to give you a good appetite for your breakfasts. Lead on, then, said Xenophon. When they had reached the villages in the afternoon the soldiers met, and Suthas made the following speech. My request to you, sirs, is that you will take the field with me, and my promise to you is that I will give every man of you a scissor scene, and to the officers and generals at the customary rate. Besides this I will honor those who shall special merit. Food and drink you shall get as now for yourselves from the country, but whatever is captured I shall claim to have myself, so that by distribution of it I may provide you with pay. Let them flee, let them creep into hiding-places. We shall be able to pursue after them. We will track them out, or if they resist, along with you we will endeavor to subdue them to our hands. Xenophon answered, And how far from the sea shall you expect the army to follow you? Nowhere more than seven days' journey, he answered, and in many places less. After this permission was given for all who wished to speak, and many spoke, but ever to one in the same tune. What Suthas said was very right. It was winter, and for a man to sail home, even if he had the will to do so was impossible. On the other hand, to continue long in a friendly country, where they must depend upon what they could purchase, was equally beyond their power. If they were to wear away time and support life in a hostile country, it was safer to do so with Suthos than by themselves. Not to speak of all these good things, but if they were going to get pay into the bargain, that indeed was a godsend. To complete the proceedings Xenophon said, If any one opposes the measure, let him state his views. If not, let the officer put the provision to the vote. No one opposed. They put it to the vote, and the resolution was carried, and without loss of time he informed Suthos that they would take the field with him. After this the troops messed in their separate divisions, but the generals and officers were invited by Suthos to dinner at a neighboring village which was in his possession. When they were at the doors and on the point of stepping into dinner they were met by a certain Heracletes of Moronia. He came up to each guest, addressed himself particularly to those who, as he conjectured, ought to be able to make a present to Suthos. He addressed himself first to some Perians who were there to arrange a friendship with Medocas, the king of the Audrecians, and were bearers of presence to the king and his wife. Heracletes reminded them, Medocas is up country twelve days journey from the sea, but Suthos, now that he has got this army, will be lured on the sea coast. As your neighbor then, he is the man to do you good or do you ill. If you are wise you will give him whatever he asks of you. On the whole it will be laid out at better interest than if you have it to Medocas who lives far off. That was his mode of persuasion in their case. Next he came to Timmation, the Dardanian, who someone had told him was the happy possessor of certain goblets and oriental carpets. What he said to him was, it is customary when people are invited to dinner by Suthos for the guests to make him a present. If he should become a great person in these parts he will be able to restore you to your native land or to make you a rich man here. Such were the solicitations which he applied to each man in term whom he accosted. Presently he came to Xenophon and said, You are at once a citizen of no mean city, and with Suthos also your own name is very great. Maybe you expect to obtain a fort or two in this country, just as others of your countrymen have done, and territory. It is only right and proper, therefore, that you sit on or Suthos in the most magnificent style. Be sure, I give this advice out of pure friendliness, for I know that the greater the gift you are ready to bestow on him the better the treatment you will receive at his hands. Xenophon, on hearing this, was in a sad dilemma, for he had brought with him, when he crossed from Perium, nothing but one boy and just enough to pay his travelling expenses. As soon as the company, consisting of the most powerful alterations, were present, with the generals and captains of the Hellenes, and any embassy from a state which might be there, had arrived, they receded in a circle and the dinner was served. Thereupon three legged stools were brought in and placed in front of the assembled guests. They were laid in with pieces of meat, piled up, and there were huge leavened loaves fastened onto the pieces of meat with long skewers. The tables as a rule were set beside the guests at intervals. That was the custom, and Sethus set the fashion of the performance. He took up the loaves which lay by his side and broke them into little pieces, and then threw the fragments here to one and there to another as seemed good to him, and so with the meat likewise, leaving for himself the nearest taste. Then the rest fell to following the fashion set them, that is, those who had tables placed beside them. Now there was an Arcadian, Aristus by name, a huge eater. He soon got tired of throwing the pieces about, and seized a good three-quarters loaf in his two hands, placed some pieces of meat upon his knees, and proceeded to discuss his dinner. Then beakers of wine were brought round, and everyone partook in turn. But when the cut-bearer came to Aristus and handed him the bowl, he looked up, and seeing that Xenophon had done eating, give it him, quoth he, he is more at leisure. I have something better to do at present. Sethus, hearing a remark, asked the cut-bearer what was said, and the cut-bearer, who knew how to talk Greek, explained. Then followed a peal of laughter. When the drinking had advanced somewhat, in came a thretian with a white horse, who snatched the brimming bowl and said, Here's a health to thee, O Sethus, let me present thee with this horse. Mounted on him, thou shalt capture whom thou chooses to pursue, or retiring from battle, thou shalt not dread the foe. He was followed by one who brought in a boy, and presented him in proper style with, Here's a health to thee, O Sethus. A third had clothes for his wife. Intimation the Dardanian pledged Sethus, and presented a silver bowl, and a carpet worth ten minne. Genephsipus, an Athenian, got up and said, It was a good old custom, and a fine one, too, that those who had should give to the King for honour's sake, but to those who had not the King should give. Whereby, my Lord, he added, I too may one day have the wherewithal to give the gifts in honour. Xenophon the while was racking his brains what he was to do. He was not the happier because he was seated in the seat next Sethus as a mark of honour, and Heracletes, bad the cup-bearer, hand him the bowl. The wine had perhaps a little mounted to his head. He rose and manfully seized the cup and spoke. I also, Sethus, have to present you with myself and these dear comrades to be your trusty friends, and not one of them against his will. They are more ready, one in all, still more than I to be your friends. Here they are, they ask nothing from you in return, rather they are forward to labour in your behalf. It will be their pleasure to bear the brunt of the battle in voluntary service. With them, God willing, you will gain vast territory, you will recover what was once your forefathers, you will win for yourself new lands, and not lands only, but horses many, and of men a multitude, and many a fair dame besides. You will not need to seize upon them in robber fashion, it is your friends here who, of their own accord, shall take and bring them to you. They shall lay them at your feet as gifts. Up got Sethus and drained with him the cup, and with him sprinkled the last drops fraternally. At this stage entered musicians blowing upon horns, such as they use for signal calls, and trumpeting on trumpets made of raw oxide, tunes and airs like the music of the double octave harp. Sethus himself got up and shouted, trolling forth a war-song, then he sprang from his place and leapt about as though he would guard himself against a missile, in right nimble style. Then came in a set of clowns and jesters. But when the sun began to set, the Hellenes rose from their seats. It was time, they said, to place the night sentinels and to pass the watchword. Further, they begged of Sethus to issue an order that none of the Thracians were to enter the Hellenic camp at night. Since between your Thracian foes and our Thracian friends there might be some confusion. As they sallied forth, Sethus rose to accompany them, like the soberest of men. When they were outside, he summoned the generals apart and said, Sirs, our enemies are not aware as yet of our alliance. If, therefore, we attack them before they take precautions not to be caught, or are prepared to repel assault, we shall make a fine haul of captives and other stock. The generals fully approved of these views and bade him lead on. He answered, Prepare and wait. As soon as the right time comes I will be with you. I shall pick up the Peltasts and yourselves, and with the help of the gods I will lead on. But consider one point, Urge Xenophon. If we are to march by night, is not the Hellenic fashion best? When marching in the day-time that part of the army leads the van which seems best suited to the nature of the country to be traversed, heavy or light infantry or cavalry, but by night our rule is that the slowest arm should take the lead. Thus we avoid the risk of being pulled to pieces, and it is not easy for a man to give his neighbor the slip without intending, whereas the scattered fragments of an army are apt to fall foul of one another, and to cause damage or incur it in sheer ignorance. To this, Suthis replied, You reason well, and I will adopt your custom. I will furnish you with guides chosen from the oldest experts of the country, and I will myself follow with the cavalry in the rear. It will not take me long, if need be, to present myself at the front. Then for kinship's sake they chose Athenea as their watchword. With this they turned and sought repose. It was about midnight when Suthis presented himself with his cavalry troopers armed with corselettes and his light infantry under arms. As soon as he had handed over to them the promised guides the heavy infantry took the van, followed by the light troops in the center while the cavalry brought up the rear. At daybreak Suthis rode up to the front. He complimented them on their method. So often had he himself, when marching by night with a mere handful of men, been separated with his cavalry from his infantry. But now, said he, we find ourselves at dawn of day all happily together, just as we ought to be. Do you wait for me here, he proceeded, and recruit yourselves. I will take a look round and rejoin you. So saying he took a certain path over hill and rode off. As soon as he had reached deep snow he looked to see whether there were footprints of human beings leading forward or in the opposite direction, and having satisfied himself that the road was untrodden, back he came, exclaiming, God willing, sirs, it will be all right. We shall follow on the fellows before they know where they are. I will lead on with the cavalry, so that if we catch sight of any one he shall not escape and give warning to the enemy. Do you follow, and if you are left behind, keep to the trail of the horses. Once on the other side of the mountains we shall find ourselves in numerous thriving villages. By the middle of the day he had already gained the top of the pass and looked down upon the villages below. Back he came riding to the heavy infantry and said, I will at once send off the cavalry into the plain below, and the Peltasts, too, to attack the villages. Do you follow with what speed you may, so that in case of resistance you may lend us your aid? Hearing this, Xenophon dismounted, and the other asked, Why do you dismount just when speed is the thing we want? The other answered, But you do not want me alone, I am sure. The hoplites will run all the quicker and more cheerily if I lead them on foot. Thereupon Suthis went off, intimation with him, taking the Helene squadron of something like forty troopers. Then Xenophon passed the order, the active young fellows, up to thirty years of age, from the different companies to the front, and off with these he went himself, bowling along, while Cleonore led the other Helenes. When they had reached the villages, Suthis, with about thirty troopers, rode up exclaiming, Well, Xenophon, this is just what you said. The fellows are caught, but now look here. My cavalry have gone off unsupported. They are scattered in pursuit. One here, one there, and upon my word, I am more than half afraid the enemy will collect some where and do them a mischief. Some of us must remain in the villages, for they are swarming with human beings. Well then, says Xenophon, I will seize the heights with the men I have with me, and do you bid Cleonore extend his line along the level beside the villages. When they had done so, there were enclosed of captives for the slave market one thousand, of cattle two thousand, and of other small cattle ten thousand, for the time being they took up their quarters there. End of book seven, part three. But the next day Suthis burnt the villages to the ground. He left not a single house, being minded to inspire terror in the rest of his enemies, and to show them what they were also to expect, if they refused obedience, and so he went back again. As to the booty he sent off Heracletes to Parenthus to dispose of it, with a view to future pay for the soldiers. But for himself he encamped with the Hellenes in the lowland country of the Thinians, the natives leaving the flats and betaking themselves in flight to the uplands. There was deep snow, and cold so intense that the water brought in for dinner, and the wine within the jars froze, and many of the Hellenes had their noses and ears frostbitten. Now they came to understand why the Thracians wear fox-skin caps on their heads and about their ears, and why on the same principle they are frocked not only about the chest and busts so as to cover the loins and thighs as well, and why on horseback they envelop themselves in long shawls which reach down to the feet, instead of the ordinary short-rider's cloak. Suthis sent off some of the prisoners to the hills with a message to say that if they did not come down to their homes and live quietly and obey him, he would burn down their villages and their corn, and leave them to perish with hunger. Thereupon down they came, women and children and the older men, the younger preferred to quarter themselves and the villages on the skirts of the hills. On discovering this, Suthis' bad Xenophon take the youngest of the heavy infantry and join him on an expedition. They rose in the night, and by daybreak had reached the villages, but the majority of the inhabitants made good their escape, for the hills were close at hand. Those whom he did catch, Suthis unsparingly shot down. Now there was a certain Olympian named Ephesthenes. He was a great lover of boys, and seeing a handsome lad just in the bloom of youth, and carrying a light shield about to be slain, he ran up to Xenophon and supplicated him to rescue the fair youth. Xenophon went to Suthis and begged him not to put the boy to death. It explained to him the disposition of Ephesthenes, how he had once enrolled a company, the only qualification being that of personal beauty, and with these handsome young men at his side there were none so brave as he. Suthis put the question, Would you like to die on his behalf, Ephesthenes? There at the other stretched out his neck and said, Strike, if the boy bids you, and will thank his preserver. Suthis, turning to the boy, asked, Shall I smite him instead of you? The boy shook his head, imploring him to slay neither the one nor the other, whereupon Ephesthenes caught the lad in his arms, exclaiming, It is time you did battle with me, Suthis, for my boy. Never will I yield him up. And Suthis laughed, What must be must, and so consented. In these villages he decided that they must bivouac, so that the men on the mountains might be still further deprived of subsistence. Stealthily, descending himself, he found quarters in the plain, while Xenophon with his pick-troops encamped in the highest village on the skirts of the hills, and the rest of the Hellenes hard by, among the Highland Thracians as they are called. After this not many days had idly slipped away before the Thracians from the mountains came down and wished to arrange with Suthis for terms of truce and hostages. Simultaneously came Xenophon and informed Suthis that they were camped in bad quarters with the enemy next door. It would be pleasant or too, he added, to bivouac in a strong position in the open, then undercover on the edge of destruction. The other bad hymn take heart, and point it to some of their hostages as much to say, Look there! Parties also from the mountaineers came down and pleaded with Xenophon himself, to help arrange a truce for them. This he agreed to do, bidding them to pluck up heart, and assuring them that they would beat with no mischief if they yielded obedience to Suthis. All their parleying, however, was, as it turned out, merely to get a closer inspection of things. This happened in the day, and in the following night the Thracians descended from the hill-country and made an attack. In each case the guide was the master of the house attacked. Otherwise it would have taxed their powers to discover the houses in the dark, which, for the sake of their flocks and herds, were palisaded all round with great stockades. As soon as they had reached the doors of any particular house the attack began, some hurling in their spears, others belaboring with their clubs, which they carried it was said, for the purpose of knocking off the lance-points from the shaft. Others were busy setting the place on fire, and they kept calling Xenophon by name, Come out, Xenophon, and die like a man, or we will roast you alive inside. By this time, too, the flames were making their appearance through the roof, and Xenophon and his followers were within, with their coats of mail on, and big shields, swords, and helmets. Then Salinas, a Mistician, a youth of some eighteen years, signaled on the trumpet, and in an instant out they all left with their drawn swords and the inmates of other quarters as well. The Thracians took to their heels, according to their custom, swinging their light shields round their backs. As they leapt over the stockade some were captured, hanging on the top with their shields caught in the palings, others missed the way out and so were slain, and the Helines chased them hotly till they were outside the village. A party of Thinians turned back, and as the men ran past in bold relief against a blazing house, they let fly a volley of javelins out of the darkness into the glare and wounded two Thracians, Heronimus, a Yodian, and Theogenes, a Lucrian. No one was killed, only the clothes and baggage of some of the men were consumed in the flames. Presently up came Suthis to the rescue with seven troopers, the first to hand, and his Thracian trumpeteer by his side. Seeing that something had happened he hastened to the rescue, and every the while his bugler wound his horn, which music added terror to the foe. And at length he greeted them without stretched hand, exclaiming, I thought to find you all dead men. After that Xenophon begged him to hand over the hostages to himself, and if so disposed to join him on an expedition to the hills, or if not to let him go alone. Accordingly the next day Suthis delivered up the hostages. They were men already advanced in years, but the pick of the mountaineers as they themselves gave out. Not merely did Suthis do this, but he came himself, with his force at his back, and by this time he had trouble his former force, for many of the Odricians, hearing of the proceedings, came down to join in the campaign, and the Thinians, aspiring from the mountains the vast array of heavy infantry and light infantry and cavalry rank upon rank, came down and supplicated him to make terms. They were ready, they professed, to do all that he demanded, let him take pledges of their good faith. So Suthis summoned Xenophon and explained their proposals, adding that he should make no terms with them, if Xenophon wished to punish them for their night attack. The latter replied, For my part I should think their punishment is great enough already, if they are to be slaves instead of free men. Still he added, I advise you for the future to take as hostages those who are most capable of doing mischief, and to let the old men abide in peace at home. So to a man they gave in their adhesion in that quarter of the country. PART V Crossing over in the direction of the Thracians above Byzantium, they reached the Delta, as it is called. Here they were no longer in the territory of Mesetes, but in the country of Therese the Odrician, and ancient worthy. Here Heracletes met them with proceeds of the spoil, and Suthis picked out three pairs of mules. There were only three, the other teams being oxen. Then he summoned Xenophon, bad him take them, and divide the rest between the generals and officers, to which Xenophon replied that for himself he was content to receive his share another time, but added, Make a present of these to my friends here, the generals who have served with me, and to the officers. So of the pairs of mules, Tommasian the Dardanian received one, Cleanor the Okrominian one, and Frenisci's the Achaian one. The teams of oxen were divided among the officers. Then Suthis proceeded to omit pay due for the month already passed, but all he could give was the equivalent of twenty days. Heracletes insisted this was all he had got by his trafficking. Where Ponsenophon, with some warmth exclaimed, Upon my word, Heracletes, I do not think you care for Suthis's interest as you should. If you did, you would have been at pains to bring back the full amount of the pay, even if you had to raise a loan to do so, and if by no other means by selling the coat off your own back. But he said annoyed Heracletes, who was afraid of being ousted from the friendship of Suthis, and from that day forward he did his best to collumniate Xenophon before Suthis. The soldiers on their side laid the blame of course on Xenophon. Where was their pay? And Suthis was vexed with him for persistently demanding it for them. Up to this date he had frequently referred to what he would do when he got to the seaboard again, how he intended to hand over to him Byzanta, Gantos, and Neoticos. But from this time forward he never mentioned one of them again. The slanderous tongue of Heracletes had whispered him it was not safe to hand over fortified towns to a man with a force at his back. Consequently Xenophon fell to considering what he ought to do as regards marching any further up the country, and Heracletes introduced the other generals to Suthis, urging them to say that they were quite as well able to lead the army as Xenophon and promising them that within a day or two they should have full pay for two months, and he again implored them to continue the campaign with Suthis. To which Timatian replied that for his part he would continue no campaign without Xenophon, not even if they were to give him pay for five months, and what Timatian said, for Niscus and Cleonore repeated, the views of all three coincided. Suthis fell to upbraiding Heracletes in round terms. Why had he not invited Xenophon with the others? Even presently they invited him, but by himself alone. He, perceiving the neighbouring of Heracletes, and that his object was to collumniate him with the other generals, presented himself, but at the same time he took care to bring all the generals and the officers. After their joint consent had been secured, they continued the campaign. Keeping the Pontus on their right, they passed through the millet-eating thracians, as they were called, and reached Sametisus. This is a point at which many trading vessels bound for the black sea run aground in our rect, owing to a sort of marshy ledge or sandbank, which runs out for a considerable distance into the sea. The thracians, who dwell in these parts, have set up pillars as boundary marks, and each set of them has the pillage of its own flotsam and jetsam. For in old days, before they set up these landmarks, the wreckers, it is said, used freely to fall foul of and slay one another. Here was a rich treasure-trove of beds and boxes numberless, with a mass of written books and all the various things which mariners carry in their wooden chests. Having reduced this district, they turned round and went back again. By this time the army of Suthis had grown to be considerably larger than the Hellenic army, for on the one hand the odricians flocked down in still larger numbers, and on the other the tribes which gave in their adhesion from time to time were amalgamated with his armament. They got into quarters on the flat country above Salibria at about three miles' distance from the sea. As to pay, not a penny was, as yet forthcoming, and the soldiers were cruelly disaffected to Xenophon, whilst Suthis, on his side, was no longer so friendly disposed. If Xenophon ever wished to come face to face with him, want of leisure or some other difficulty always seemed to present itself. The rugged Salmudician jaw of the Black Sea, inhospitable to sailor's stepmother of ships. But the poet is at fault in his geography, since he connects the Salmudician jaw with the Thermodon. End of Book 7, Part 4 and 5. Book 7, Part 5 of Xenophon's Anabasis. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. At this state, when nearly two months had already passed, an embassy arrived. These were two agents from Thibbran, Charminus, a Lachodemonian, and Polynykus. They were sent to say that the Lachodemonians had resolved to open a campaign against Tysophanes, and that Thibbran, who had set sail to conduct the war, was anxious to avail himself of the troops. He could guarantee that each shoulder should receive a derrick a month's pay, the officer's double pay, and the general's quadruple. The Lachodemonian emissaries had no sooner arrived than Heracletes, having learned that they had come in search of the Hellenic troops, goes off himself to Sothos and says, The best thing that could have happened, the Lachodemonians want these troops, and you have done with them, so that if you hand over the troops to them, you will do the Lachodemonians a good turn, and will cease to be bothered for pay and more. The country will be quit of them once and forever. On hearing this, Sothos bad him introduce the emissaries. As soon as they had stated the object of their coming was to treat for the Hellenic troops, he replied that he would willingly give them up, that his one desire was to be the friend and ally of Lachodemon. So he invited them to partake of hospitality, and entertain them magnificently, but he did not invite Xenophon, nor indeed any of the other generals. Suddenly the Lachodemonians asked, What sort of man is Xenophon? And Sothos answered, Not a bad fellow in most respects, but he is too much the soldier's friend, and that is why it goes ill with him. They asked, Does he play the popular leader? And Heracletes answered, Exactly so. Well, then, said they, He will oppose our taking away the troops, will he not? To be sure he will, said Heracletes, but you have only to call a meeting of the whole body, and promise them pay, and little further heed will they pay to him. They will run off with you. How are we to get them collected? They asked. Early to-morrow, said Heracletes, We will bring you to them, and I know, he added once more, As soon as they set eyes on you they will flock to you with alacrity. Thus the day ended. The next day Sothos and Heracletes brought the two Laconian agents to the army, and the troops were collected, and the agents made a statement as follows. The Lachodemonians have resolved on war with Tizephernes, who did you much wrong. By going with us therefore you will punish your enemy, and each of you will get a derrick a month, the officers twice that sum, and the generals quadruple. The soldiers lent willing ears, and up jumped one of the Arcadians at once, to find fault with Sinophon. Sothos was also hard by, wishing to know what was going to happen. He stood within earshot, and his interpreter by his side, not but what he could understand most of what was said in Greek himself. At this point the Arcadian spoke. For the matter of that, Lachodemonians, we should have been by your sides long ago, if Sinophon had not persuaded us and brought us hither. We have never ceased campaigning night and day, the dismal winter through, but he reaps the fruit of our toils. Sothos has enriched him privately, but deprives us of our hard earnings, so that standing here as I do to address you first, all I can say is that if I might see the fellow stoned to death as a penalty for all the long dance he has led us, I should feel I had got my pay in full, and no longer grudged the pains we have undergone. The speaker was followed by another, and then another in the same strain, and after that Sinophon made the following speech. True is the old adage, there is nothing which mortal man may not expect to see. Here am I being accused by you to-day, just where my conscience tells me that I have displayed the greatest zeal on your behalf. Was I not actually on my road home when I turned back? Not God knows, because I learned that you were in Luxway, but because I heard that you were in sore straits, and I wished to help you, if in any way I could. I returned, and Sothos Yonder sent me messenger after messenger, and made me promise upon promise, if only I could persuade you to come to him. Yet as you yourselves will bear me witness I was not to be diverted. Instead of setting my hand to do that, I simply led you to a point from which, with least loss of time, I thought you could cross into Asia. This I believed was the best thing for you, and you knew I desired it. But when Aristarchus came with his ships of war and hindered our passage across, you will hardly quarrel with me for the step I then took, in calling you together that we might advisedly consider our best course. Having heard both sides, first Aristarchus, who ordered you to march to the Cheresinesi, then Sothos, who pleaded with you to undertake a campaign with himself, you all proposed to go with Sothos, and you all gave your votes to that effect. What wrong did I commit in bringing you, whether you were eager to go? If indeed, since the time when Sothos began to tell lies and cheetahs about the pay, I have supported him in this, you may justly find fault with me and hate me. But if I, who at first was most of all his friend, to date and more than anyone else that variants with him, how can I, who have chosen you and rejected Sothos, in fairness be blamed by you for the very thing which has been the ground of quarrel between him and me? But you will tell me, perhaps, that I get from Sothos what is by right yours, and that I deal subtly by you? But is it not clear that, if Sothos has paid me anything, he has at any rate not done so with the intention of losing by what he gives me, whilst he is still your debtor? If he gave to me, he gave in order that, by a small gift to me, he might escape a larger payment to yourselves. But if that is what you really think has happened, you can render this whole scheme of ours null and void in an instant by exacting from him the money which is your due. It is clear Sothos will demand back from me whatever I have got from him, and he will have all the more right to do so if I have failed to secure for him what he bargained for when I took his gifts. But indeed I am far removed from enjoying what is yours, and I swear to you by all the gods and goddesses that I have not taken even what Sothos promised me in private. He is present himself and listening, and he is aware in his own heart whether I swear falsely. And what will surprise you the more I can swear besides that I have not received even what the other generals have received, no, nor yet what some of the officers have received. But how so? Why have I managed my affairs no better? I thought, sirs, the more I helped him to bear his poverty at the time, the more I should make him my friend in the day of his power. It is just when I see the star of his good fortune rising that I have come to define the secret of his character. Some one may say, Are you not ashamed to be so taken in like a fool? Yes, I should be ashamed if it had been an open enemy who had so deceived me. But to my mind, when a friend cheats a friend, a deeper stain attaches to the perpetrator than to the victim of deceit. Whatever precaution a man may take against his friend, that we took in full, we certainly gave him no pretext for refusing to pay us what he promised. We were perfectly upright in our dealings with him. We did not dwaddle over his affairs, nor did we shrink from any work to which he challenged us. But you will say, I ought to have taken security of him at the time, so that had he fostered the wish he might have lacked the ability to deceive. To meet that retort I must beg you to listen to certain things, which I should never have said in his presence except for your utter want of feeling towards me, or your extraordinary ingratitude. Try and recall the posture of your affairs when I extricated you and brought you to Suthis. Do you not recollect how, at Parenthus, Aristarchus shut the gates in your faces each time you offered to approach the town, and how you were driven to camp outside under the canopy of heaven? It was midwinter. You were thrown upon the resources of a market wherein few were the articles offered for sale, and scanty the wherewithal to purchase them. Yet stay in Thrace, you must, for there were ships of war riding an anchor in the bay, ready to hinder your passage across. And what did that stay imply? It meant being in a hostile country, confronted by countless cavalry, legions of light infantry. And what had we, a heavy infantry force certainly, with which we could have dashed at villages in a body possibly, and seized a modicum of food at most, but as to pursuing the enemy with such a force as ours, or capturing men or cattle, the thing was out of the question. For when I rejoined you, your original cavalry and light infantry divisions had disappeared. In such store straits you lay. Supposing that, without making any demands for pay whatever, I had merely won for you the alliance of Suthus, whose cavalry and light infantry were just what you needed. Would you not have thought that I had planned very well for you? I presume it was through your partnership with him and his that you were able to find such complete stores of corn in the villages, when the Thraceans were driven to take to their heels in such hot haste, and you had so large a share of captives and cattle. Why, from the day on which his cavalry force was attached to us, we never set eyes on a single fulmin in the field, though up to that date the enemy, with his cavalry and his light infantry, used undauntedly to hang on our heels, and effectually prevented us from scattering in small bodies and reaping a rich harvest of provisions. But if he who partly gave you this security has failed to pay in full the wages due you therefrom, is not that a terrible misfortune? So monstrous indeed that you think I ought not to go forth alive! But let me ask you, in what condition do you turn your backs on this land today? Have you not wintered here in the lap of plenty? Whatever you have got from Suthus has been surplus gain. Your enemies have to meet the bill of your expenses, whilst you led a merry round of existence, in which you have not once set eyes on a dead body of a comrade, or lost one living man. Again, if you have achieved any, or rather many, noble leads against the Asiatic barbarian, you have them safe. And in addition to these, today you have won for yourselves a second glory. You undertook a campaign against the European Thracians, and have mastered them. What I say, then, is that these very matters which you make a ground of quarrel against myself, are rather blessings for which you ought to show gratitude to heaven. Thus far I have confined myself to your side of the matter. Bear with me, I beg you, while we examine mine. When I first essayed to part with you and journey homewards I was doubly blessed. From your lips I had won some praise, and thanks to you I had obtained glory from the rest of Helus. I was trusted by the Lachodemonians, else would they not have sent me back to you. Whereas today I turn to go, calumniated before the Lachodemonians by yourselves, detested in your behalf by Suthis, whom I meant so to benefit, by the help of you, that I should find in him a refuge for myself and for my children, if children I might have in after-time. And you the while, for whose sake I have incurred so much hate, the hate of people far superior to me in strength, you for whom I have not yet ceased to devise all the good I can, entertain such sentiments about me. Why? I am no renegade or runaway slave you have got hold of. If you carry out what you say, be sure you will have done to death a man who has passed many a vigil in watching over you, who has shared with you many a toil, and run many a risk in turn and out of turn, who, thanks to the gracious gods, has by your side set up full many a trophy over the barbarian, who lastly has strained every nerve in his body to protect you against yourselves. And so it is, that today you can move freely, where you choose, by land or by sea, and no one can say you nay. And you, on whom this large liberty draws, who are sailing to a long desired goal, who are sought after by the greatest of military powers, who have pay in prospect, and for leaders these lackademonians, our acknowledged chiefs, now is the appointed time, you think, to put me to a speedy death. But in the days of our difficulties it was very different, oh ye men of marvellous memory. No, in those days you called me father, and you promised you would bear me ever in mind your benefactor. Not so, however, not so ingratious are those who have come to you to-day. Nor, if I mistake not, have you bedded yourselves in their eyes by your treatment of me. With these words he paused, and Charminus the lackademonian got up and said, Nay, by the twins you are wrong. Surely in your anger against this man I myself can bear testimony in his favour. When Polynicus and I asked Suthos what sort of a man he was, Suthos answered, he had but one fault to find with him, that he was too much the soldier's friend, which also was the cause why things went wrong with him, whether as regards us lackademonians or himself, Suthos. Upon that, Iriolakis of Lucia, an Arcadian, got up and said, addressing the two lackademonians, Yes, sirs, and what strikes me is that you cannot begin your generalship of us better than by exacting from Suthos our pay, whether he likes it or no, let him pay in full, and do not take us away before. Polycrotus the Athenian, who was put forward by Xenophon, said, If my eyes do not deceive me, sirs, there stands Heracletes, yonder, the man who received the property won by our toil, who took it and sold it, and never gave back either to Suthos or to us the proceeds of the sale, but kept the money to himself like the thief he is. If we are wise we will lay hold of him, for he is no thretian but a Helene, and against Helenes is the wrong he has committed. When Heracletes heard these words, he was in great consternation, so he came to Suthos and said, If we are wise we will get away from here out of reach of these fellows. So they mounted their horses and were gone in a thrice, galloping to their own camp. Subsequently, Suthos sent Abrozalmes, his private interpreter, to Xenophon, begging him to stay behind with one thousand heavy troops, and engaging duly to deliver to him the places on the seaboard and the other things which he had promised. And then as a great secret he told him that he had heard from Polynykus that if he once got into the clutches of the Lachodemonians, Thibrun was certain to put him to death. Several messages kept coming to Xenophon by letter or otherwise from several quarters, warning him that he was collimniated and had best beyond his guard, hearing which he took two victims and sacrificed to Zeus the king, whether it were better and happier to stay with Suthos on the terms proposed, or depart with the army. The answer he received was, depart. After this, Suthos removed his camp to some considerable distance, and the Helenes took up their quarters in some villages, selecting those in which they could best supply their commissariat on the road to the sea. Now these particular villages had been given by Suthos to Metisades. Accordingly, when the latter saw his property in the villages being expended by the Helenes, he was not over well pleased, and taking with him an Audrician, a powerful person amongst those who had come down from the interior, and about thirty mounted troopers, he came and challenged Xenophon to come forth from the Hellenic coast. He, taking some of the officers and others of a character to be relied upon, came forward. Then Metisades, addressing Xenophon, said, You are doing wrong to pillage our villages. We give you fair warning. I, in behalf of Suthos, and this man by my side, who comes from Medocas, the king up country, to be gone out of the land. If you refuse, understand we have no notion of handing it over to you. But if you injure our country we will retaliate upon you as foes. Xenophon, hearing what they had to say, replied, Such language addressed to us by you of all people is hard to answer. Yet for the sake of the young man with you I will attempt to do so, that at least he may learn how different your nature is from ours. We, he continued, before we were your friends, had the free run of this country, moving this way or that, as it took our fancy, raging and burning just as we chose. And you yourself, Metisades, whenever you came to us on an embassy, camped with us, without apprehension of any foe. As a tribe, collectively, you scarcely approached the country at all, or, if you found yourselves in it, you bivouacked with your horses, bided and bridled, as being in the territory of your superiors. Presently you made friends with us, and thanks to us, by God's help you have won this country, out of which today you seek to drive us, a country which we held by our own strength and gave to you. No hostile force, as you well know, was capable of expelling us. It might have been expected of you personally to speed us on our way with some gift, in return for the good we did you. Not so. Even though our backs are turned to go, we are too slow in our movements for you. You will not suffer us to take up quarters even if you can help it, and these words arouse no shame in you, either before the gods or this Odrician, in whose eyes today you are a man of means, though until you cultivated our friendship you lived a robber's life as you have told us. However, why do you address yourself to me? I am no longer in command. Our generals are the Lachodemonians, to whom you and yours deliver the army for withdrawal, and that without even inviting me to attend you most marvelous of men, so that if I lost their favour when I brought you the troops I might now win their gratitude by restoring them. As soon as the Odrician had heard this statement he exclaimed, For my part, Medosides, I sink under the earth for very shame at what I hear. If I had known the truth before, I would never have accompanied you. As it is, I return at once. Never would King Medocas applaud me if I drove forth his benefactors. With these words he mounted his horse and rode away, and with him the rest of his horsemen, except four or five. But Medosides, still vexed by the pillaging of the country, urged Xenophon to summon the two Lachodemonians, and he, taking the pick of his men, came to Charminius and Polynykus, and informed him that they were summoned by Medosides. Probably they, like himself, would be warned to leave the country. If so, he added, you will be able to recover the pay which is owing to the army. You can say to them that the army has requested you to assist in exacting their pay from Suthis, whether he like it or not, that they had promised, so soon as they get this, cheerfully to follow you, that the demand seems to you to be only just, and that you have accordingly promised not to leave, until the soldiers have got their dues. The Lachodemonians accepted the suggestion. They would apply these arguments and others the most forcibly they could hit upon, and with the proper representatives of the army they immediately set off. On their arrival Charminius spoke, if you have anything to say to us, Medosides, say it. But if not, we have something to say to you. And Medosides submissively made answer. I say, said he, and Suthos says the same, we think we have a right to ask that those who have become our friends should not be ill-treated by you, whatever ill you do to them you really do to us, for they are a part of us. Good! replied the Lachodemonians, and we intend to go away as soon as those who won for you the people in the territorial question have got their pay. During that, we are coming without further delay to assist them and to punish certain others who have broken their oaths and done them wrong. If it should turn out that you come under this head, when we come to exact justice, we shall begin with you. Xenophon added, Would you prefer, Medosides, to leave it to these people themselves, in whose country we are, your friends, since this is the designation you prefer, to decide by ballot which of the two should leave the country, you or we? To that proposal he shook his head, but he trusted the two Lachonians might be induced to go to Suthos about the pay, adding, Suthos I am sure will lend a willing ear. Or if they could not go, then he prayed them to send Xenophon with himself, promising to lend the latter all the aid in his power, and finally he begged them not to burn the villages. Accordingly they sent Xenophon, and with him a serviceable staff. Being arrived he addressed Suthos thus, Suthis, I am here to advance no claims, but to show you if I can how unjust it was on your part to be angered with me, because I zealously demanded of you, on behalf of the soldiers, which you promised them. According to my belief, it was no less to your interest to deliver it up, than it was to theirs to receive it. I cannot forget that, next to the gods, it was they who raised you up to a conspicuous eminence, when they made you king of large territory and many men, a position in which you cannot escape notice, whether you do good or do evil. For a man so circumstanced, I regarded it as a great thing that he should avoid the suspicion even of ungrateful parting with his benefactors. It was a great thing, I thought, that you should be well spoken of by six thousand human beings, but the greatest thing of all, that you should in no wise discredit the sincerity of your own word. For what of the man who cannot be trusted? I see that the words of his mouth are but vain words, powerless and unhonored, but with him who is seen to regard truth. The case is otherwise. He can achieve by his words what another achieves by force. If he seeks to bring the foolish to their senses, his very frown, I perceive, has a more sobering effect than the chastisement inflicted by another. Or in negotiations the very promises of such and one are of equal weight with the gifts of another. Try and recall to mind in your own case what advance of money you made to us to purchase our alliance. You know you did not advance one penny. It was simply confidence in the sincerity of your word, which incited all these men to assist you in your campaign, and so to acquire for you an empire worth many times more than thirty talents, which is all they now claim to receive. Here, then, first of all, goes the credit which won for you your kingdom, sold for so mean a sum. Let me remind you of the great importance which you then attach to the acquisition of your present conquests. I am certain that to achieve what stands achieved today you would willingly have foregone the gain of fifty times that paltry sum. To me it seems that to lose your present fortune were a more serious loss than never to have won it, since surely it is harder to be poor after being so rich than never to have tasted wealth at all, and more painful to sink to the level of a subject, being a king, than never to have worn a crown. You cannot forget that your present vassals were not persuaded to become your subjects out of love for you, but by sheer force, and but for some restraining dread they would endeavor to be free again to-morrow. And how do you propose to stimulate their sense of awe, and keep them in good behavior towards you? Shall they see our soldiers so disposed toward you that a word on your part would suffice to keep them now, or if necessary would bring them back again to-morrow? While others hearing from us a hundred stories in your presence hasten to present themselves at your desire. Or will you drive them to conclude adversely, that through mistrust of what has happened now no second set of soldiers will come to help you? For even these troops of ours are more their friends than yours. And indeed it was not because they fell short of us in numbers that they became your subjects, but from the lack of proper leaders. There is a danger therefore, now, lest they should choose as their protectors some of us who regard ourselves as wronged by you, or even betterment than us, the lack of demonians themselves, supposing our soldiers undertake to serve with more enthusiasm if the debt you owe to them be first exacted, and the lack of demonians who need their services consent to this request. It is plain at any rate that the Thracians, now prostrate at your feet, would display far more enthusiasm in attacking than in assisting you, for your mastery means their slavery and your defeat their liberty. Again, the country is now yours, and from this time forward you have to make provision for what is yours. And how will you best secure it and immunity from ill? Either these soldiers receive their dues and go, leaving the legacy of peace behind, or they stay and occupy an enemy's country, whilst you endeavor, by aid of a still larger army, to open a new campaign and turn them out, and your new troops will also need provisions, or again, which will be the greater drain on your purse, to pay off your present debt, or, with that still owing, to bid for more troops, and of a better quality. For Cleedies, as he used to prove me, finds the some excessive. But surely it is a far less serious thing for you to take and pay it back to-day than it would have been to pay the tithe of it, before we came to you, since the limit between less and more is no fixed number, but depends on the relative capacity of payer and recipient, and your yearly income is now larger than the whole property which you possessed in earlier days. Well, Suthis, for myself these remarks are the expression of friendly forethought for a friend. They are expressed in the double hope that you may show yourself worthy of the good things which the gods have given you, and that my reputation may not be ruined with the army. For I must assure you that today, if I wish to injure a foe, I could not do so with this army. Nor again, if I wish to come and help you, could I be competent to the task. Such is the disposition of the troops toward me. And yet I call you to witness, along with the gods who knew, that never have I received anything from you on account of the soldiers. Never to this day have I, to my private gain, asked for what was theirs, nor even claimed the promises which were made to myself. And I swear to you, not even had you proposed to pay me my dues, would I have accepted them, unless the soldiers also had been going to receive theirs too. How could I? How shameful it would have been in me to have so secured my own interests, whilst I disregarded the disastrous state of theirs. I being so honoured by them. Of course, to the mind of Heracletes, this is all silly talk, since the one great object is to keep money by whatever means. That is not my tenant, Suthis. I believe that no fairer or brighter jewel can be given to a man, and most of all a prince, than the threefold grace of valor, justice and generosity. He that possesses these is rich in the multitude of friends which surround him, rich also in the desire of others to be included in their number. While he prospers, he is surrounded by those who will rejoice with him in his joy, or, if misfortune overtake him, he has no lack of sympathisers to give him help. However, if you have failed to learn from my deeds that I was, heart and soul, your friend, if my words are powerless to reveal the fact to-day, I would at least direct your attention to what the soldiers said. You were standing by and heard what those who sought to blame me said. They accused me to the Lachodemonians, and the point of their indictment was that I set greater store by yourself than by the Lachodemonians. But as regards themselves, the charge was that I took more pains to secure the success of your interest than their own. They suggested that I had actually taken gifts from you. Was it, do you suppose, because they detected some ill will in me towards you, that they made the allegation? Was it not, rather, that they had noticed my abundant zeal on your behalf? All men believe, I think, that a fund of kindly feelings is due to him from whom we accept gifts. But what is your behaviour, before I had ministered to you in any way, or done you a single service, you welcomed me kindly with your eyes, your voice, your hospitality, and you could not sate yourself with promises of all the fine things that were to follow. But having once achieved your object, and become the great man you are now, as great indeed as I could make you, you can stand by and see me degraded among my own soldiers. Well, time will teach you, that I fully believe, to pay whatever seems to you right, and even without the lessons of that teacher, you will hardly care to see those who have spent themselves in benefitting you, become your accusers. Only when you do pay your debt, I beg of you to use your best endeavour to write me with the soldiers. Leave me at least where you found me, that is all I asked. After listening to this appeal, Suthis called down curses on him, whose fault it was, that the debt had not long ago been paid, and if the general suspicion was correct, this was Heracletes. For myself, said Suthis, for myself, said Suthis, I never had any idea of robbing you of your just dues. I will repay. Then Xenophon rejoined, since you are minded to pay, I only ask that you will do so through me, and will not suffer me on your account to hold a different position in the army, from what I held when we joined you. He replied, as far as that goes, so far from holding a less honoured position among your own men on my account, if you will stay with me, keeping only a thousand heavy infantry, I will deliver to you the fortified places and everything I promised. The other answered, on these terms I may not accept them, only let us go free. Nay, but I know, said Suthis, that it is safer for you to bide with me than to go away. Then Xenophon again, for your forethought I thank you, but I may not stay. Somewhere I may rise to honour, and that, be sure, shall redown to your gain also. Thereupon, Suthis spoke, of silver I have but little, that little, however, I give you, one talent, but of beavis I can give you six hundred head, and of sheep four thousand, and of slaves six score. These take, and the hostages besides, who wronged you and begone. Xenophon laughed and said, but supposing these altogether do not amount to the pay, for whom is the talent, shall I say? It is a little dangerous for myself, is it not? I think I had better be on the lookout for stones when I returned. You heard the threats? So for the moment he stayed there, but the next day Suthis gave up to them what he had promised, and sent an escort to drive the cattle. The soldiers at first maintained that Xenophon had gone up to take his abode with Suthis, and to receive what he had been promised. So when they saw him they were pleased, and ran to meet him. And Xenophon, seeing Charminus and Polynicus, said, thanks to your intervention, this much has been saved for the army. My duty is to deliver this fraction over to your keeping. Do you divide and distribute it to the soldiers? Accordingly they took the property and appointed official vendors of the booty, and in the end incurred considerable blame. Xenophon held aloof. In fact it was no secret that he was making his preparations to return home, for as yet the vote of banishment had not been passed at Athens. But the authorities in the camp came to him and begged him not to go away, until he had conducted the army to its destination, and handed it over at Thebrun. Number 8 From this place they sailed across to Lampsakis, and here Xenophon was met by Euclides the Soothsayer, a Felician, the son of Cleogorus, who painted the dreams in the Lyceum. Euclides congratulated Xenophon upon his safe return, and asked him how much gold he had got. And Xenophon had to confess, upon my word I shall barely have enough to get home, unless I sell my horse, and what I have got about my person. The other could not credit the statement. Now when the Lampsisines sent gifts of hospitality to Xenophon, and he was sacrificing to Apollo, he requested the presence of Euclides. And the latter, seeing the victims, said, Now I believe what you said about having no money, but I am certain, he continued, if it were ever to come, there is an obstacle in the way. If nothing else, you are that obstacle yourself. Xenophon admitted the force of that remark. Then the other, Zeus Melachios, is an obstacle to you, I am sure. Adding in another tone of voice, Have you tried sacrificing to that God, as I was want to sacrifice and offer whole burnt offerings for you at home? Xenophon replied that since he had been abroad he had not sacrificed to that God. Accordingly, Euclides cancelled him to sacrifice in the old customary way. He was sure that his fortune would improve. The next day Xenophon went on to Orphinium and sacrificed, offering a holocaust of swine, after the custom of his family, and the signs which he obtained were favourable. That very day, Bion and Nausicliides arrived laden with gifts for the army. These two were hospitably entertained by Xenophon, and were kind enough to repurchase the horse he had sold in Lamp Sacas for fifty derricks, suspecting that he had parted with it out of need, and hearing that he was fond of the beast, they restored it to him, refusing to be remunerated. From that place they marched through the Troid, and crossing Mount Aida, arrived at Antendris, and then pushed along the seaboard of Missia to the plain of Thebes. Thence they made their way through Adrimitium and Certanus, by Arteneus, coming into the plain of the Caicus, and so reached Pergamos in Missia. Here Xenophon was hospitably entertained at the House of Helus, the wife of Gungillus the Eritrean, the mother of Gorgian and Gungillus. From her he learned that Asidates, a Persian notable, was in the plain. If you take thirty men and go by night, you will take him prisoner, she said, wife, children, money and all. Of money he has a store. And to show them the way to these treasures she sent her own cousin, and Daphnagoras, whom she set great store by. So then Xenophon, with these two to assist, did sacrifice. And Bassius and Aelian, the soothsayer in attendance, said that the victims were as promising as could be, and the great man would be an easy prey. Accordingly after dinner he set off, taking with him the officers who had been his staunchest friends and confidants throughout, as he wished to do them a good turn. A number of others came, thrusting themselves on their company, to the number of six hundred. But the officers repelled them. They had no notion of sharing their portion of the spoiled, they said, just as though the property lay already at their feet. About midnight they arrived. The slaves occupying the precincts of the tower, with the mass of goods and chattels, slipped through their fingers, their sole anxiety being to capture Asidates and his belongings. So they brought their batteries to bear, but failing to take the tower by assault, since it was high and solid, and well supplied with ramparts, besides having a large body of war-like defenders, they endeavored to undermine it. The wall was eight clay bricks thick, but by daybreak the passage was affected and the wall undermined. At the first gleam of light through the aperture, one of the defendants inside, with a large ox spit, smote right through the thigh of the man nearest the hole, and the rest discharged their arrows so hotly that it was dangerous to come anywhere near the passage, and what with their shouting and kindling of beacon fires, a relief-party at length arrived, consisting of Atabilius at the head of his force, and a body of a Syrian heavy infantry from Comania and some Hurcanian cavalry, the latter also being mercenaries of the king. There were eighty of them, and another detachment of light troops, about eight hundred, and more from Parthenium and more again from Apollonia and the neighboring places, also cavalry. It was now time to consider how they were to be to retreat. So seizing all the cattle and sheep to be had, with the slaves, they put them within a hollow square and proceeded to drive them off. Not that they had a thought to give to the spoils now, but for precaution's sake and for fear, lest if they left the goods and chattels behind and made off, the retreat would rapidly degenerate into a stampede, the enemy growing bolder as the troops lost heart. For the present, then, they retired as if they meant to do battle for the spoils. As soon as Gungillus aspired how few the Hellenes were and how large the attacking party, out he came himself, in spite of his mother, with his private force, wishing to share in the action. There, too, joined in the rescue, Proclese from Halisarna and Tuthrenia, a descendant of Demaratus. By this time Xenophon and his men were being sore-pressed by the arrows and sling-stones, though they marched in a curve as to keep their shields facing the missiles, and, even so, barely crossed the river Carcassus, nearly half of them wounded. Here it was that Agacius, the Stamphilion, the captain, received his wound, while keeping up a steady, unflagging fight against the enemy from beginning to end. And so they reached home in safety with about two hundred captives, and sheep enough for sacrifices. The next day Xenophon sacrificed and let out the whole army under the cover of night, intending to pierce far into the heart of Lydia with a view to lulling to sleep the enemy's alarm at his proximity, and so, in fact, put him off his guard. But Asidates, hearing that Xenophon had again sacrificed with the intention of another attack, and was approaching with his whole army, left his tower and took up quarters in some villages lying under the town of Parthenium. Here Xenophon's party fell in with him, and took him prisoner, with his wife, his children, his horses, and all that he had, and so the promise of the earlier victims was literally fulfilled. After that they returned again to Pergamus, and here Xenophon might well thank God with a warm heart, for the Laconians, the officers, the other generals, and the soldiers as a body, united to give him the pick of horses and cattle-teams, and the rest so that he was now in a position himself to do another a good turn. Meanwhile, Thebryn arrived and received the troops which he incorporated with the rest of his Hellenic forces, and so proceeded to prosecute a war against Tysophernes and Farnabasus. End of Boots 7 End of Xenophon's Anabasis, translated by H. G. Dawkins