Cyropaedia

Come on, then, Persians and Medes,Cyrus cried; and you Hyrcanians—for now I speak with you also as confederates and allies—you must know that we are in a position where we shall meet with nothing but disaster if we betray a lack of courage; for the enemy know what we have come for. But if[*](Cyrus outlines plans for a second attack) we go into the attack upon the enemy with might and main and with stout hearts, you will see right soon that, just like a lot of slaves caught in an attempt to run away, some of them will beg for mercy, others will try to escape, others still will not even have presence of mind to do either. For they will see us before they have recovered from their first defeat, and they will find themselves caught neither thinking of our coming, nor drawn up in line, nor prepared to fight.

If, therefore, we wish from this time forth to eat well, to sleep soundly, and to live comfortably, let us not give them time either to take counsel or to provide any defence for themselves, or even to recognize at all that we are human beings; but let them think that nothing but shields, swords, bills, and blows have descended upon them.

And you, Hyrcanians, said he, spread yourselves out in the van and march before us, in order that only your arms may be seen and that our presence here may be concealed as long as possible. And when I come up with the enemy’s army, then leave with me, each of you, a division of cavalry for me to use while I remain near their camp.

But you, officers and men of years, march together in close order, if you are wise, so that if you fall in with any compact body you may never be forced back; and leave the pursuit to the younger men, and let them kill all they can; for this is the safest measure—to leave now as few of the enemy alive as possible.

And if we win the battle, he continued,[*](How to conserve the results of victory) we must be on our guard against an error which has lost the day for many in the hour of victory—turning aside to plunder. For the man who does this is no longer a soldier but a camp-follower; and any one who will is free to treat him as a slave.

You should realize this also, that nothing is more enriching than victory. For the victor has swept together all the spoil at once, the men and the women, the wealth and all the lands. Therefore have an eye to this alone—that we may conserve our victory; for even the plunderer himself is in the enemy’s power if he is conquered. And remember even in the heat of pursuit to come back to me while it is yet daylight; for after nightfall we shall not admit another man.

When he had said this he sent them away to their several companies with orders to issue, as they marched, the same directions each to his own corporals (for the corporals were in the front so as to hear); and they were to bid the corporals each one to announce it to his squad.Then the Hyrcanians led the way while he himself with his Persians occupied the centre as they marched. The cavalry he arranged, as was natural, on either flank.

And when daylight came, some of the enemy[*](The panic flight of the Assyrian army) wondered at what they saw, some realized at once what it meant, some began to spread the news, some to cry out, some proceeded to untie the horses, some to pack up, others to toss the armour off the pack-animals, still others to arm themselves, while some were leaping upon their horses, some bridling them, others helping the women into the wagons, and others were snatching up their most valuable possessions to save them; still others were caught in the act of burying theirs, while the most of them sought refuge in precipitate flight. We may imagine that they were doing many other things also—all sorts of other things—except that no one offered to resist, but they perished without striking a blow.

As it was summer, Croesus, the king of Lydia, had had his women sent on by night in carriages, that they might proceed more comfortably in the cool of the night, and he himself was following after with his cavalry.

And the Phrygian king, the ruler of Phrygia on the Hellespont, they say, did the same. And when they saw the fugitives who were overtaking them, they enquired of them what was happening, and then they also took to flight as fast as they could go.

But the king of Cappadocia and the Arabian king, as they were still near by and stood their ground though unarmed, were cut down by the Hyrcanians. But the majority of the slain were Assyrians and Arabians. For as these were in their own country, they were very leisurely about getting away.

Now the Medes and Hyrcanians, as they pursued,[*](How the victors behaved) committed such acts as men might be expected to commit in the hour of victory. But Cyrus ordered the horsemen who had been left with him to ride around the camp and to kill any that they saw coming out under arms; while to those who remained inside he issued a proclamation that as many of the enemy’s soldiers as were cavalrymen or targeteers or bowmen should bring out their weapons tied in bundles and deliver them up, but should leave their horses at their tents. Whoever failed to do so should soon lose his head. Now Cyrus’s men stood in line around them, sabre in hand.

Accordingly, those who had the weapons carried them to one place, where he directed, and threw them down, and men whom he had appointed for the purpose burned them.

Now Cyrus recollected that they had come with neither food nor drink, and without these it was not possible to prosecute a campaign or to do anything else. And as he was considering how to[*](Cyrus organizes his commissariat) procure the best possible supplies with the greatest possible dispatch, it occurred to him that all those who take the field must have some one to take care of the tent and to have food prepared for the soldiers when they came in.

So he concluded that of all people these were the ones most likely to have been caught in the camp, because they would have been busy packing up. Accordingly, he issued a proclamation for all the commissaries to come to him; but if a commissary officer should be lacking anywhere, the oldest man from that tent should come. And to any one who should dare to disobey he threatened direst punishment. But when they saw their masters obeying, they also obeyed at once. And when they had come, he first ordered those of them to sit down who had more than two months’ supply of provisions in their tents.

And when he had noted them, he gave the same order to those who had one month’s supply. Hereupon nearly all sat down.

And when he had this information he addressed them as follows:Now then, my men, said he, if any of you have a dislike for trouble and wish that you might receive kind treatment at our hands, be sure to see to it that there be twice as much food and drink prepared in each tent as you used to get ready every day for your masters and their servants; and get everything else ready that belongs to a good meal; for whichever side is victorious, they will very soon be here and they will expect to find plenty of every sort of provisions. Let me assure you, then, that it would be to your advantage to entertain those men handsomely.

When they heard this, they proceeded with great alacrity to carry out his directions, while he called together his captains and spoke as follows: I[*](Cyrus exhorts the Persians to self-denial and consideration of others) realize, friends, that it is possible for us now to take luncheon first, while our comrades are away, and to enjoy the choicest food and drink. But I do not think that it would be of more advantage to us to eat this luncheon than it would to show ourselves thoughtful for our comrades; neither do I think that this feasting would add as much to our strength as we should gain if we could make our allies devoted to us.

But if we show ourselves to be so neglectful of them that we are found to have broken our fast even before we know how they are faring, while they are pursuing and slaying our enemies and fighting any one that opposes them, let us beware lest we be disgraced in their eyes and lest we find ourselves crippled by the loss of our allies. If, on the other hand, we take care that those who are bearing the danger and the toil shall have what they need when they come back, a banquet of this sort would, in my opinion, give us more pleasure than any immediate gratification of our appetites.

And remember, said he, that even if we were under no obligation to show them every consideration, even so it is not proper for us as yet to sate ourselves with food or drink; for not yet have we accomplished what we wish, but, on the contrary, everything is now at a crisis and requires care. For we have enemies in camp many times our own number, and that, too, under no confinement. We not only must keep watch against them but we must keep watch over them, so that we may have people to look after our provisions. Besides, our cavalry are gone, making us anxious to know where they are and whether they will stay with us if they do come back.