Cyropaedia

Why not pursue them as swiftly as possible,[*](Pursuit proposed) said one of the men; now that the good things we have let slip are so manifest to us?Because, he replied, we have not horses enough; for the best of the enemy, those whom it were most desirable either to capture or to kill, are riding off on horseback. With the help of the gods we were able to put them to flight, but we are not able to pursue and overtake them.

Then why do you not go and tell Cyaxares this? said they. Come with me, then, all of you, he answered, so that he may know that we are all agreed upon this point. Thereupon they all followed and submitted such arguments as they thought calculated to gain their object.

Now Cyaxares seemed to feel some little jealousy because the proposal came from them; at the same time, perhaps, he did not care to risk another engagement; then, too, he rather wished to stay where he was, for it happened that he was busily engaged in making merry himself, and he saw that many of the other Medes were doing the same. However that may be, he spoke as follows:[*](Cyaxares replies)

Well, Cyrus, I know from what I see and hear that you Persians are more careful than other people not to incline to the least intemperance in any kind of pleasure. But it seems to me that it is much better to be moderate in the greatest pleasure than to be moderate in lesser pleasures; and what brings to man greater pleasure than success, such as has now been granted us?

If, therefore when we are successful, we follow up our success with moderation, we might, perhaps, be able to grow old in happiness unalloyed with danger. But if we enjoy it intemperately and try to pursue first one success and then another, see to it that we do not share the same fate that they say many have suffered upon the sea, that is, because of their success they have not been willing to give up seafaring, and so they have been lost; and many others, when they have gained a victory, have aimed at another and so have lost even what they gained by the first.

And that is the way with us; for if it were because they were inferior to us in numbers that the enemy are fleeing from us, perhaps it might be safe for us actually to pursue this lesser army. But, as it is, reflect with what a mere fraction of their numbers we, with all our forces, have fought and won, while the rest of theirs have not tasted of battle; and if we do not compel them to fight, they will remain unacquainted with our strength and with their own, and they will go away because of their ignorance and cowardice. But if they discover that they are in no less danger if they go away than if they remain in the field, beware lest we compel them to be valiant even against their will.

And let me assure you that you are not more eager to capture their women and children than they are to save them. And bethink you that even wild swine flee with their young, when they are discovered, no matter how great their numbers may be; but if any one tries to catch one of the young, the old one, even if she happens to be the only one, does not think of flight but rushes upon the man who is trying to effect the capture.

And now, when they had shut themselves up in their fortifications, they allowed us to manage things so as to fight as many at a time as we pleased. But if we go against them in an open plain and they learn to meet us in separate detachments, some in front of us (as even now), some on either flank, and some in our rear, see to it that we do not each one of us stand in need of many hands and many eyes. And besides, said he, now that I see the Medes making merry, I should not like to rout them out and compel them to go into danger.

Nay said Cyrus in reply; please do not[*](Cyrus answers his uncle’s objections) place anybody under compulsion; but allow those who will volunteer to follow me, and perhaps we may come back bringing to you and each of your friends here something for you all to make merry with. For the main body of the enemy we certainly shall not even pursue; for how could we ever overtake them? But if we find any detachment of their army straggling or left behind, we shall bring them to you.

And remember, he added, that we also, when you asked us, came a long journey to do you a favour; and it is therefore only fair that you should do us a favour in return, so that we may not have to go home empty-handed nor always be looking to your treasury here for support.

Very well, said Cyaxares then; if indeed[*](Cyaxares accepts Cyrus’s proposal) any one will volunteer to follow you, I for my part should be really grateful to you.Well, then, said he, send with me some one of these notables in positions of trust to announce your commands. Take any of them you wish, said the other, and go.

Now it happened that the man who had once[*](I. iv. 27-28) pretended to be a kinsman of his and had got a kiss from him was present there. Cyrus, therefore, said at once: This man will do. Let him follow you, then, said Cyaxares. And do you, he added to Artabazus, say that whoever will may go with Cyrus.

So then he took the man and went away. And when they had come out, Cyrus said: Now then, you shall prove if you spoke the truth when you said that you liked to look at me. If you talk that way, said the Mede, I shall never leave you. Will you do your best, then, to bring others also with you? asked Cyrus. Yes, by Zeus, he answered with an oath, to such an extent that I shall make you also glad to look at me.

Then, as he had his commission from Cyaxares also, he not only gave his message to the Medes with enthusiasm, but he added that, for his part, he himself would never leave the noblest and best of men, and what was more than all, a man descended from the gods.

While Cyrus was thus occupied, messengers[*](The Hyrcanians) came as if providentially from the Hyrcanians. Now the Hyrcanians are neighbours of the Assyrians; they are not a large nation; and for that reason they also were subjects of the Assyrians. Even then they had a reputation for being good horsemen, and they have that reputation still. For this reason the Assyrians used to employ them as the Spartans do the Sciritae, sparing them neither in hardships nor in dangers. And on that particular occasion they were ordered to bring up the rear (they were cavalrymen about a thousand strong), in order that, if any danger should threaten from behind, they might have to bear the brunt of it instead of the Assyrians.

But as the Hyrcanians were to march in the very rear, they had their wagons also and their families in the rear. For, as we know, most of the Asiatic peoples take the field accompanied by their entire households. So in this particular campaign, the Hyrcanians had taken the field thus attended.

But as they reflected how they were being treated by the Assyrians, that the Assyrian monarch was now slain and the army defeated, that there was great panic throughout the ranks, and that the allies were discouraged and deserting—as they thought over these conditions, they decided that now was a good opportunity to revolt, if Cyrus and his followers would join them in an attack. So they sent envoys[*](They send envoys to Cyrus) to Cyrus; for in consequence of the battle his name had been very greatly magnified.

And those who were sent told Cyrus that they had good reason to hate the Assyrians and that now, if he would proceed against them, they would be his allies and his guides as well. And at the same time they also gave him an account of the enemy’s plight, for they wished above all things to incite him to push the campaign.

Do you really think,Cyrus enquired, that we could still overtake them before they reach their strongholds? For we, he added, consider it hard luck that they have run away from us when we were not watching. Now he said this to make them think as highly as possible of his troops.

They answered that if Cyrus and his army[*](They report the enemy within striking distance) would start out at daybreak in light marching order, he would come up with them the next day: for because their numbers were so vast and so encumbered with baggage, the enemy were marching slowly. And besides, they said, as they had no sleep last night, they have gone ahead only a little way and are now encamped.