your insatiability was not a desire for foods but for saving. Thus you safely despised those things, providing supplies both so great and strange, so that through them you might kindle the battle; thus provoking the evildoer, like a dog, you hastened to snatch him away into war. But you did not persuade him to sally forth at all, neither daring first nor making sport of the battle; for by this seeming negligence your contempt, as I think, cast the barbarians into greater agony. From this, no one easily pursued or leaped out from his own ranks; for all were as if turned to stone; and the strange sight of your tent was built up as a barrier against the barbarians, but was established as a wall for your servants. For justice, running everywhere, did not grant the foreigners a single day, but the prominent tents of the barbarians fell utterly. For an engagement often occurred in part by drawing near; yet you alone then prepared each of the champions for eagerness, always leaping forth mightily in the battles and drawing a bow and holding out a shield and doing all things in place of all, before all, by which each man was immediately stirred to find danger rather than not to share in the toil of a master toiling so. And anyone being cowardly, looking to you, changed his mind to boldness; for he knows that the work brings good success, when a master arms himself before all. And somewhere one said, speaking to his comrade: «Alas for the necessity; the king and master arms himself for battle as one of us, and now an iron tunic instead of purple binds his back and weighs down his neck, and much dust, mingled with his hair, conceals a form of such delight; and he endures this burning sun, drenched everywhere with hot sweat, which violent toil brings forth from his body, by necessity of his constrained limbs.» As he spoke, he groaned deeply from his depths and his tears flowed down with his words. And the other immediately answered him: «But it does not strike my mind so much to see the master suffering hardship now, as this makes me marvel, that he gladly hastens toward necessities, and considers toils to be a delight. For holding a spear he is more adorned than holding the scepters of authority; and he bears this shield easily and more gladly, as I see, than his diadem; and having previously extinguished slaughters for our sake, he again arms himself for slaughters for our sake. And now, stretching out a foot shod in black, he is more comely in what is not comely and remains more honored in poverty; for he wishes to dye it with a strange dye, making it red from Persian blood. What stony hearts does he not soften? What timid minds does he not incite? And he most easily persuades to bear every danger, he who is neither held back so much by his mother's loving nature nor again by his children as he is fired up in his relation to us.» Having said these things and groaning wrathfully, with his groan he wrought slaughters. At these things, most mighty one, I both rejoiced with them, as was fitting, for thinking well, and I suffered with them the more, being confounded by the identity of our tears; for often joy nourishes joy and one rouses tears with tears; for us, thus, the tears were without grief. Nevertheless, it is not fitting to conceal in my account the Persian covering of villainy.

For their teacher, deceit, knows them and shows them to be ungrateful even as allies; for the ingrained habit of evildoing is always transformed into law among them. And I will state the whole reason for my purpose; for a certain one of them, in a time before, having deserted to your army, a barbarian yet a Persian (and I describe the whole matter), seemed to be faithful out of faithlessness and, for the rest, being eager to be an ally to us, was suitably placed in your army. And already for him a cycle of fourteen days was being completed, when, unfortunately running back to the barbarians themselves with unsteady steps, he was found, as it were, a second time a shield-thrower; and in doing this not without purpose he went astray. For the preceding times of cowardice

ὑμῶν οὐκ ἐδεσμάτων πόθον ἀλλ' εἰς τὸ σῴζειν εἶχε τὴν ἀπληστίαν. οὕτως ἐκείνων ἀσφαλῶς κατεφρόνεις ὕλας χορηγῶν καὶ τοσαύτας καὶ ξένας, ὅπως δι' αὐτῶν ἐξανάψῃς τὴν μάχην· οὕτως ἐρεθίζων τὸν κακοῦργον, ὡς κύνα, ἔσπευδες αὐτὸν εἰς πόλεμον ὑφαρπάσαι. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔπειθες τοῦτον ἐκτρέχειν ὅλως, οὔτε προτολμῶν οὔτε παίζων τὴν μάχην· τῇ γὰρ δοκήσει τῇ παρημελημένῃ ἡ σὴ καταφρόνησις, ὡς οἶμαι, πλέον τοὺς βαρβάρους ἔβαλλεν εἰς ἀγωνίαν. ἐντεῦθεν οὐδεὶς εὐχερῶς μετήρχετο ἢ τῶν καθ' αὑτὸν ἐξεπήδα ταγμάτων· πάντες γὰρ ἦσαν ὥσπερ ἐστηλωμένοι· σκηνῆς δὲ τῆς σῆς ἡ ξένη θεωρία τοῖς βαρβάροις μὲν φραγμὸς ἀντεκτίζετο, τεῖχος δὲ τοῖς σοῖς οἰκέταις καθίστατο. μίαν γὰρ ἡ τρέχουσα πανταχοῦ δίκη τοῖς ἀλλοφύλοις οὐ παρῆκεν ἡμέραν, ἀλλ' ἐξέχοντα βαρβάρων σκηνώματα ἔπιπτον ἄρδην. συμπλοκὴ γὰρ πολλάκις τῷ πλησιάζειν ἐκ μέρους ἐγίνετο· ὅμως ἕκαστον τῶν ἀριστέων τότε μόνος παρεσκεύαζες εἰς προθυμίαν, ἀεὶ προπηδῶν εὐσθενῶς ἐν ταῖς μάχαις καὶ τόξον ἕλκων καὶ προτείνων ἀσπίδα καὶ πάντα πράττων ἀνθ' ὅλων πρὸ τῶν ὅλων, δι' ὧν ἕκαστος εὐθὺς ἠρεθίζετο κίνδυνον εὑρεῖν μᾶλλον ἢ τοῦ δεσπότου πονοῦντος οὕτω μὴ μετασχεῖν τοῦ πόνου. καὶ πᾶς τις ὢν ἄτολμος εἰς ὑμᾶς βλέπων τὸν νοῦν μετεσκεύαζεν εἰς εὐτολμίαν· φέρειν γὰρ οἶδεν ἔργον εἰς εὐπραξίαν, ὅτε πρὸ πάντων δεσπότης ὁπλίζεται. καί πού τις εἶπε προσλαλῶν τῷ συμμάχῳ· «φεῦ τῆς ἀνάγκης· ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ δεσπότης ὡς εἷς ἀφ' ἡμῶν πρὸς μάχην ὁπλίζεται καὶ νῦν σιδηροῦς ἀντὶ πορφύρας χιτὼν σφίγγει τὰ νῶτα καὶ βαρεῖ τὸν αὐχένα, κόνις δὲ πολλὴ συμπλακεῖσα τῇ κόμῃ μορφὴν τοσαύτης συγκαλύπτει τέρψεως· τὸν καυστικὸν δὲ τοῦτον ἥλιον στέγει ἱδρῶτι θερμῷ πανταχοῦ βεβρεγμένος ὃν ἐξ ἀνάγκης τῶν μελῶν ἐσφιγμένων πόνος βίαιος ἐκφέρει τοῦ σώματος.» ὡς εἶπεν, ἐστέναξεν ἐκ βάθους μέγα καὶ συγκατέρρει τῷ λόγῳ τὰ δάκρυα. ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν εὐθὺς ἀντεφθέγξατο· «ἀλλ' οὐ τοσοῦτον τὴν ἐμὴν πλήττει φρένα τὸ δυσπαθοῦντα νῦν ὁρᾶν τὸν δεσπότην, ὅσον με ποιεῖ τοῦτο θαυμάζειν, ὅτι πρὸς τὰς ἀνάγκας ἡδέως ἐπείγεται, καὶ τέρψιν εἶναι τοὺς πόνους λογίζεται. κρατῶν γὰρ αἰχμὴν ὡραΐζεται πλέον ἤπερ κρατῶν τὰ σκῆπτρα τῆς ἐξουσίας· φέρει δὲ ταύτην εὐμαρῶς τὴν ἀσπίδα ἥδιστα μᾶλλον, ὡς βλέπω, τοῦ στέμματος· καὶ πρὶν δι' ἡμᾶς τοὺς φόνους κατασβέσας πάλιν δι' ἡμᾶς πρὸς φόνους ὁπλίζεται. καὶ νῦν μελαμπέδιλον ἐκτείνων πόδα τοῖς μὴ πρέπουσίν ἐστιν εὐπρεπέστερος καὶ τοῖς πενιχροῖς τιμιώτερος μένει· βάψαι γὰρ αὐτὸν τῇ ξένῃ βαφῇ θέλει ποιῶν ἐρυθρὸν Περσικῶν ἐξ αἱμάτων. ποίας λιθώδεις οὐ μαλάττει καρδίας; ποίας ἀτόλμους οὐ παροξύνει φρένας; πείθει τε ῥᾷστα πάντα κίνδυνον φέρειν, ὃς οὔτε μητρὸς τῇ φιλοστόργῳ φύσει οὔτ' αὖ τοσοῦτον τοῖς τέκνοις ἀνθέλκεται ὅσον πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐκπυροῦται τῇ σχέσει.» ταῦτα προσειπὼν καὶ στενάξας ὀργίλον σὺν τῷ στεναγμῷ τοὺς φόνους εἰργάζετο. τούτοις, κράτιστε, καὶ συνήσθην εἰκότως καλῶς φρονοῦσι, καὶ συνήλγησα πλέον τῇ ταυτότητι συγχυθεὶς τῶν δακρύων· καὶ τὴν χαρὰν γὰρ πολλάκις χαρὰ τρέφει καὶ δάκρυσίν τις ἐξεγείρει δάκρυα· ἡμῖν μὲν οὕτως ἦν ἄλυπα δάκρυα. πλὴν οὐ προσήκει συγκαλύψαι τῷ λόγῳ τὸ Περσικὸν κάλυμμα τῆς πανουργίας.

οἶδεν γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἡ διδάσκαλος πλάνη καὶ συμμαχοῦντας δεικνύειν ἀγνώμονας· τὸ σύντροφον γὰρ τῆς κακουργίας ἔθος ἀεὶ παρ' αὐτοῖς εἰς νόμον μεθίσταται. ἐρῶ δὲ πᾶσαν τοῦ σκοποῦ τὴν αἰτίαν· καὶ γάρ τις αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνον προσαυτομολήσας τῷ στρατῷ σου βάρβαρος ὅμως δὲ Πέρσης (καὶ τὸ πᾶν διαγράφω) ἔδοξεν εἶναι πιστὸς ἐξ ἀπιστίας καὶ λοιπὸν ἡμῖν συμμαχεῖν ἠπειγμένος, ἐν τῷ στρατῷ σου προσφόρως ἐτάττετο. ἤδη δὲ τούτῳ τεττάρων τε καὶ δέκα ὑπῆρχε κύκλος ἡμερῶν πληρουμένων, ὅτε πρὸς αὐτοὺς δυστυχῶς τοὺς βαρβάρους παλινδρομήσας ἀστάτοις βαδίσμασι ῥίψασπις ὥσπερ εὑρέθη τὸ δεύτερον· οὐκ ἀσκόπως δὲ τοῦτο πράττων ἐσφάλη. οἱ γὰρ φθάσαντες τῆς ἀτολμίας χρόνοι