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And this, comrades, gives me the most courage for the competition with these gentlemen, that Cyrus is to be the judge; for he decides not with partiality, but (I swear it by the gods) I verily think that Cyrus loves no less than himself those whom he recognizes as valiant. At any rate, I observe that, whatever he has, he is much more pleased to give it to them than to keep it for himself.

And yet I know that these men pride themselves upon having been trained, as they say, to endure hunger and thirst and cold, but they do not know that in this we also have been trained by a better teacher than they have had; for in these branches there is no better teacher than necessity, which has given us exceedingly thorough instruction in them.

And they have been in training for hard labour by carrying weapons, which all men have so devised that they may be as easy as possible to bear; while we, on our part, have been obliged to walk and to run with heavy burdens, so that the carrying of arms now seems to me more like having wings than bearing a burden.

Let me inform you, therefore, Cyrus, said he, that I, for one, shall not only enter this contest, but I shall also expect you to reward me according to my deserts, whatever I am, for better or worse. And you, my fellow-commoners, he concluded, I recommend you to enter with alacrity into the competition with these gentlemen in this sort of warfare; for now they have been trapped in a contest with commoners.

Thus Pheraulas spoke. And many others from both orders rose to speak in favour of the measure. They decided that each one should receive rewards according to his deserts, and that Cyrus should be the judge. Thus, then, the matter was satisfactorily settled.

And once Cyrus invited a captain and his whole[*](A sham battle: cudgels vs. clods) company to dinner, because he had noticed him drawing up one half of the men of his company against the other half for a sham battle. Both sides had breastplates and on their left arms their shields; in the hands of the one side he placed stout cudgels, while he told the other side that they would have to pick up clods to throw.

Now when they had taken their stand thus equipped, he gave the order to begin battle. Then those on the one side threw their clods, and some struck the breastplates and shields, others also struck the thighs and greaves of their opponents. But when they came into close quarters, those who had the cudgels struck the others—some upon the thighs, others upon the arms, others upon the shins; and as still others stooped to pick up clods, the cudgels came down upon their necks and backs. And finally, when the cudgel-bearers had put their opponents to flight, they pursued them laying on the blows amid shouts of laughter and merriment. And then again, changing about, the other side took the cudgels with the same result to their oppononts opponents, who in turn threw clods.

In this Cyrus admired both the captain’s cleverness and the men’s obedience, and he was pleased to see that they were at the same time having their practice and enjoying themselves and also because that side was victorious which was armed after the fashion of the Persians. Pleased with this he invited them to dinner; and in his tent, observing some of them wearing bandages—one around his leg, another around his arm—he asked them what the matter was; and they answered that they had been hit with the clods.

And he inquired further, whether it had happened when they were close together or far apart. And they said it was when they were far apart. But when they came to close quarters, it was capital fun—so the cudgel-bearers said; but those who had been thoroughly drubbed with the cudgels cried out that it did not seem any fun to them to be beaten at close quarters, and at the same time they showed the marks of the cudgels on their arms and their necks and some also on their faces. And then, as was natural, they laughed at one another. On the following day the whole plain was full of men following their example; and if they had nothing more important to do, they indulged in this sport.

And once he saw another captain leading his[*](Military drill made pleasant) company up from the river left about in single file and ordering when he thought it was proper, the second division[*](missing) and then the third and the fourth to advance to the front; and when the lieutenants were in a row in front, he ordered each division to march up in double file. Thus the sergeants came to stand on the front line. Again, when he thought proper, he ordered the divisions to line up four abreast; in this formation, then, the corporals in their turn came to stand four abreast in each division; and when they arrived at the doors of the tent, he commanded them to fall into single file again, and in this order he led the first division into the tent; the second he ordered to fall in line behind the first and follow, and, giving orders in like manner to the third and fourth, he led them inside. And when he had thus led them all in, he gave them their places at dinner in the order in which they came in. Pleased with him for his gentleness of discipline and for his painstaking, Cyrus invited this company also with its captain to dinner. With another doubling up of ranks, they assume a front of sixteen men and a depth of six: Finally in these groups of six each, they are led, single file, in to dinner.

Now there was present another captain who had been invited to the dinner and he said: Cyrus, will you not invite my company to your tent? My company, too, does all this when we go to mess, and when the meal is finished the rear-guard leader of the last division leads that division out, keeping in the rear those whose place in the battle line is in front; then, next after them, the second rear-guard leader brings out the men of the second division, and the third and the fourth in like manner, in order that, he explained, they may also know how to withdraw, if ever it is necessary to retreat before the enemy. And when we take our places on the parade-ground, I take the lead, when we march toward the east, and the first division of the company goes first, the second in its proper order, and then the third and the fourth and the squads of ten and five in each division, until I give the order for some change of formation; then, said he, when we march toward the west, the rear-guard leader and the rear-guard lead off first. Still, even so, they have to look to me for the commands, though I march last, so that they may get into the habit of obeying just the same whether they follow or whether they lead.