Cyropaedia

By the gods, Cyrus, if I were such a man as once I was and had children, I doubt if I could have had a child as kind to me as you have been; for I know that this present king of Assyria, like many another son that I have known, has caused his own father much more trouble than he can now cause you.

You fail to notice a much greater wonder, Gadatas, when you now express your wonder at me,Cyrus made reply. And what is that, pray? asked Gadatas. That so many Persians have shown their interest in you, he answered, and so many Medes and Hyrcanians, and all the Armenians, Sacians, and Cadusians here present.

O Zeus, said Gadatas in prayer, I pray that the gods may grant many blessings to them and most of all to him who is responsible for their being so generous toward me. But, Cyrus, in order that we may entertain handsomely these men whom you have been praising, accept as gifts of friendship these trifles, such as I can give. At the same time he had a great many things brought out, so that any one who wished might sacrifice and that the whole army might be entertained in a manner worthy of their deeds of glory and the glorious issue.

The Cadusian prince had been guarding the[*](The Cadusian fiasco) rear and had no share in the pursuit; so, wishing to do something brilliant on his own account, he went off, without consulting Cyrus or saying anything to him, to make a foray into the country toward Babylon. And as the Cadusian cavalry were scattered, the Assyrian, returning from his city in which he had taken refuge, came suddenly upon them with his own army in battle array.

And when he discovered that the Cadusians were alone, he made an attack, slew the commander of the Cadusians and many others, took some of their horses, and recovered the spoil which they happened to be carrying off. He also pursued them as far as he thought was safe and then turned back. So the survivors of the Cadusians arrived at the camp, the first of them towards evening.

When Cyrus found out what had happened, he[*](Cyrus cares for the survivors) went out to meet them, and if he saw any one that was wounded he received him kindly and sent him on to Gadatas, that he might receive attention; the rest he helped into their tents and saw to it that they should have provisions, taking some of the Persian peers along to help him in looking after them. For under such circumstances, the good are ready to undertake extra labour.

Still Cyrus was evidently very much distressed, so that, when the rest went to dinner at the usual hour, he with his aides and the surgeons did not go; for he would not wittingly leave any uncared for, but either looked after them in person, or, if he did not succeed in doing that, he showed his personal interest by sending some one to attend to them.

Thus they went to sleep that evening. At[*](The lessons of the Cadusian blunder) daybreak he made proclamation for all the Cadusians and the officers of the rest to assemble; and he addressed them as follows: Friends and allies, that which has happened might happen to any man; for it is not at all strange, I think, for mortal man to err. Still it is worth our while to reap some benefit from this occurrence, the lesson never to detach from our main body a force weaker than the forces of the enemy.

I do not mean by that that we should never go off, if circumstances require it, with a still smaller detachment than that with which the Cadusian prince went. But if an officer, when he starts on an expedition, communicates his intention to one that is able to bring help, he may possibly fall into a trap, but then it is equally possible for the one who remains behind to entrap the enemy and turn them away from the detached corps; or he may annoy the enemy in some other way and so secure safety for his friends; and thus even those who are at a distance will not be out of reach but will keep in touch with the main body. But the man who goes off without communicating his purpose is in the same situation, no matter where he is, as if he were carrying on a campaign alone.

But in return for this, we shall ere long, God[*](Cyrus vows revenge) willing, have our revenge on the enemy. So, as soon as you have had luncheon, I shall lead you to the place where this befell. There we shall not only bury the dead, but, God willing, on the very spot where the enemy think they have won a victory we will show them others better than they are. We shall at least let them have no satisfaction in looking even on the place where they slaughtered our allies. If they do not come out to meet us, we shall burn their villages and ravage their country, so that they may have no joy in viewing what they did to us but may be distressed at contemplating there their own misfortunes.

The rest of you, therefore, go to luncheon. But you, Cadusians, go first and elect from your own number according to your custom a new general, who shall look out for your interests with the help of the gods and of us, if you have any need of our help as well; and when you have made your choice, send the man you have elected to me.

So they did as he bade. And when Cyrus led the army out, he assigned the man elected by the Cadusians his position and bade him lead his contingent near to himself, in order, he said, that we may, if we can, put new courage into your men. Thus, then, they proceeded; and when they came to the place, they buried the Cadusians and ravaged the country. And when they had done so they returned again into the land of Gadatas, bringing their supplies from the enemy’s country.

And when he reflected that those who had gone over to him would suffer severely, as they were in the vicinity of Babylon, if he were not always at hand, he ordered those of the enemy whom he released to tell the Assyrian king (he also sent[*](Cyrus proposes mutual protection of the farms) a herald to bear the same message) that he was ready to leave in peace the labourers tilling the land and to do them no harm, provided the king, on his part, would be willing to allow those farmers who had transferred their allegiance to him to work their farms.

And yet, he had them say, even if you are able to hinder them, you will hinder but few; for the country of those who have come over to me is small; while the land under your dominion that I should allow to be cultivated is extensive. Then, as to the harvesting of the crops, if there is war, the victor, I suppose, will do the reaping; but if there is peace, it is evident that you will do it. If, however, any of my adherents take up arms against you, or any of yours against me, upon such we will both execute vengeance according to our ability.

This message he entrusted to the herald and sent him away. And when the Assyrians heard it, they did everything they could to persuade the king to accept the proposal, and to leave as little of the war as possible.

The Assyrian king, moreover, whether because he was persuaded by his countrymen or whether he himself also wished it so, agreed to the proposal; so a covenant was made to the effect that the farmers should have peace, but the men under arms war.

This concession Cyrus obtained for the farming classes. But as for the herds out grazing, he ordered his friends, if they wished, to drive them in and keep them in the territory under their own control; but the enemy’s cattle they brought in as their legitimate prey from whatever quarter they could, so that the allies might be better pleased with the expedition. For the dangers were the same, even if they did not go foraging for provisions, while the burdens of war seemed lighter, if the army was to be fed at the enemy’s cost.

When Cyrus was making preparations to[*](Gadatas brings gifts to Cyrus) depart, Gadatas came to him and brought many gifts of every sort, as might be expected from a wealthy house, and, most important of all, he brought many horses that he had taken from horsemen of his own whom he had come to distrust on account of the conspiracy against him.

When he came into Cyrus’s presence he spoke as follows: These gifts, Cyrus, I beg to offer you for the present; and do you accept them, if you have any use for them. But pray consider that everything else of mine is yours; for there is not and never can be a child of my own to whom I can leave my estates, but with my death our race and name must be altogether blotted out.

And by the gods, who see all things and hear all things, I swear to you, Cyrus, that it is not for anything wrong or base that I have said or done that I have suffered this affliction.As he uttered these words he burst into tears over his lot and could say no more.