Anabasis

and secondly, it is worse to have the blockaded force destroyed and take our chances in company with Cheirisophus’ troops only, than to have these men saved and then unite all our forces and together strive for deliverance. We must set forth, then, prepared in our minds for either meeting to-day a glorious death or accomplishing a most noble deed in saving so many Greeks.

And it may be that the god is guiding events in this way, he who wills that those who talked boastfully, as though possessed of superior wisdom, should be brought low, and that we, who always begin with the gods,[*](i.e. consult the gods before undertaking any enterprise. The expression was proverbial.) should be set in a place of higher honour than those boasters. And now you must keep in line and on the alert, so that you can carry out the orders that are given.

For the present, then, let us go forward as far as may seem consistent with our time for dining, and then encamp; and so long as we are on the march, let Timasion with the cavalry ride on in advance, keeping us in sight, and spy out what is ahead, in order that nothing may escape our attention.

With these words he proceeded to lead the way. Furthermore, he sent out on the flanks and to the neighbouring heights some of the more active of the light-armed troops in order that they might signal to the army in case they should sight anything anywhere from any point of observation; and he directed them to burn everything they found that could be burned.

So the horsemen, scattering as widely as was proper, went to burning, the peltasts, making their way along the heights abreast of the main army, burned all they saw which was combustible, and the main army likewise burned anything they found that had been passed over; the result was, that the whole country seemed to be ablaze and the army seemed to be a large one.

When the time had come, they ascended a hill and encamped; from there they could see the campfires of the enemy, distant about forty stadia, and they kindled as many fires themselves as they could.