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And so long as I am an honest man and receive men’s approbation as bearing this reputation, I assure you that I shall never forget this proof of your confidence but shall try to show you all fair honour in return.

And as for your daughter, he continued,[*](Cyrus’s pledge for the daughter of Gobryas) do not fear that you shall fail to find a husband worthy of her; for I have many noble friends; some one of them will marry her. But whether he will have as much money as you are ready to give me or even many times as much, I could not say. Let me tell you, however, that there are some of them who do not admire you one whit the more for the money you have to offer; but with me they are vying now and praying to all the gods that it may be granted them one day to prove that they are not less faithful to their friends than I, and that so long as they live they would never yield to their enemies, unless some god should cross them. But their virtue and their good name they would not barter for all your wealth and the wealth of the Assyrians and Syrians to boot. Such men, let me tell you, are sitting here.

By the gods, Cyrus, said Gobryas with a laugh, please show me where they are, that I may ask you for one of them to be my son-in-law. There will be no need of your getting that information from me, answered Cyrus; but, if you will go with us, you will be able yourself to point each one of them out to somebody else.

When he had thus spoken, he clasped[*](Gobryas is impressed by the simple life) Gobryas’s right hand in his and rose to depart, taking with him all his followers. And though Gobryas urged him to dine in the castle, he declined, but dined in camp and took Gobryas with him as his guest.

And as he reclined upon a mat of straw he asked this question: Tell me, Gobryas, do you think you have more coverlets than each one of us? I am perfectly sure, by Zeus, the other answered, that you have more coverlets and more couches,[*](Costly coverlets and couches were a special feature of oriental luxury.) and that your dwelling is much larger than mine; for you take heaven and earth for your dwelling, and you have as many couches as you can find resting-places on the ground, while you regard as your proper coverlets not wool that sheep produce, but whatever the mountains and plains bring forth.

Thus, as Gobryas dined with them for the first time and saw the simplicity of the food set before them, he thought his own people more refined than they.

But he soon perceived the temperance of the soldiers who sat at meat with him; for no Persian of the educated class would allow it to appear that he was captivated with any kind of food or drink, either with his eyes gloating over it, or with his hands greedy to get it, or with his thoughts so engrossed by it as to fail to observe things that would attract his attention if he were not at meat; but just as good horsemen do not lose their self-command when on horseback but can ride along and at the same time see and hear and say whatever they should, so also the educated Persians think that at their meals they ought to show themselves sensible and temperate; and to become excited over food or drink seems to them altogether swinish and bestial.

He noticed further about them that they[*](Plain living and high thinking) asked one another such questions as people are more pleased to be asked than not, that they indulged in such banter as is more agreeable to hear than not; he observed how far their jests were removed from insult, how far they were from doing anything unbecoming, and how far from offending one another.

But what seemed to him most extraordinary of all was that when on active service they did not think they ought to be served with a larger share than any one else of those who were going into the same dangers, but that they considered it the most sumptuous feast to make those who were to be their comrades in arms as efficient as possible.

When Gobryas rose to go home, he is reported to have said: I am no longer surprised, Cyrus, that while we possess more cups and clothing and gold than you, we ourselves are worth less than you are. For our whole thought is to have as much of those things as possible, while your whole thought seems to me to be that you may be yourselves as capable as possible.