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And Cyrus was more than pleased at hearing him, for he thought that everything that he had promised Cyaxares to do was in course of accomplishment; for he remembered having told him that he would make the Armenian more his friend than he was before. Tell me, king of Armenia, he therefore asked,[*](Cyrus takes a conciliatory attitude) if I yield to you in this matter, how large an army will you send with me and how much money will you contribute to the war?

I have nothing to propose more simple or more fair, Cyrus, the Armenian replied to this, than for me to show you all the forces I have and for you, when you have seen them, to take as many as you see fit, leaving the rest here to protect the country. And in the same way in regard to the money, it is proper for me to show you all that I have, and for you to decide for yourself and take as much as you please and to leave as much as you please.

Come then, said Cyrus, tell me how large your forces are and how much money you have. Well, the Armenian then answered, there are about eight thousand cavalry and about forty thousand infantry. And the property, said he, including the treasures that my father left me, amounts, when reduced to cash, to more than three thousand talents.

And without hesitation, Cyrus replied: Send[*](His demands) with me then, said he, only half the army, since your neighbours, the Chaldaeans, are at war with you. And of the money, instead of the fifty talents which you used to pay as tribute, pay Cyaxares double that sum because you are in arrears with your payments. And lend me personally a hundred more, said he; and I promise you that if God prospers me, I will in return for your loan either do you other favours worth more than that amount or at least pay you back the money, if I can; but if I cannot, I may seem insolvent, I suppose, but I should not justly be accounted dishonest.

For heaven’s sake, Cyrus, said the Armenian, do not talk that way. If you do, you will make me lose heart. But consider, said he, that what you leave here is no less yours than what you take away. Very well, said Cyrus; now how much money would you give to get your wife back? As much as I could, said he. And how much to get your children? For these also, said he, as much as I could. Well then, said Cyrus, that makes already twice as much as you have.

And you, Tigranes, said he, tell me how much you would pay to get your wife back?Now it happened that he was newly married and loved his wife very dearly. I would give my life, Cyrus, said he, to keep her from slavery.

Well then, said he, take her back; she is[*](His generosity) your own. For I, for my part, do not consider that she has been made a prisoner of war at all, since you never ran away from us. And you too, king of Armenia, may take back your wife and children without paying any ransom for them, that they may know that they return to you free men and women. And now, said he, stay and have dinner with us; and when you have dined you may drive away wherever you have a mind to go. So they stayed.

And after dinner, as the party was breaking up,[*](A Socrates in Armenia)Cyrus asked: Tell me, Tigranes, where is the man who used to hunt with us? You seemed to admire him very much.Ah, he replied, did not my father here have him put to death? What wrong did he find him doing? He said that he was corrupting me. And yet, Cyrus, said he, he was so noble and so good that when he was about to be put to death, he called me to him and said: Be not angry with your father, Tigranes, for putting me to death; for he does it, not from any spirit of malice, but from ignorance, and when men do wrong from ignorance, I believe they do it quite against their will.

Poor man!Cyrus exclaimed on hearing this.Here the Armenian king interrupted: Do not men who discover strangers in intercourse with their wives kill them, not on the ground that they make their wives more inclined to folly, but in the belief that they alienate from them their wives’ affections—for this reason they treat them as enemies. So I was jealous of him because I thought that he made my son regard him more highly than he did me.

Well, by the gods, king of Armenia, said Cyrus, your sin seems human; and you, Tigranes, must forgive your father.Then when they had thus conversed and showed their friendly feelings toward one another, as was natural after a reconciliation, they entered their carriages and drove away with their wives, happy.

And when they got home they talked, one of[*](Armenian appreciation of Cyrus) Cyrus’s wisdom, another of his strength, another of his gentleness, and still another of his beauty and his commanding presence. Then Tigranes asked his wife: Tell me, my Armenian princess, said he, did you, too, think Cyrus handsome? Why, by Zeus, said she, I did not look at him.At whom, then? asked Tigranes.At him, by Zeus, who said that he would give his life to keep me from servitude. Then as might be expected after such experiences, they went to rest together.