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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.

Thus he spoke; and Cyrus answered: Please see to it, Gobryas, that you are here early in the morning with your cavalry under arms, so that we may see your forces, and then you shall lead us through your country so that we may know what we have to consider as belonging to our friends and what as belonging to our enemies.

When they had thus spoken, they went away, each to his own proper task. When day dawned, Gobryas came with his cavalry and led the way. But Cyrus, as became a general, turned his thoughts not only upon the march, but at the same time, as he proceeded, he kept studying the situation to see whether it might be in any way possible to make the enemy weaker or his own side stronger.

So he called Gobryas and the[*](Cyrus consults with Gobryas and the Hyrcanian king) Hyrcanian king to him, for he supposed that they must know best what he thought he needed to learn, and said: My dear friends, I think that I should be making no mistake to consult with you in regard to this war and to rely upon your trustworthiness. For I observe that you have greater need than I to see to it that the Assyrian shall not get the upper hand of us: if I am unsuccessful in this, I shall, perhaps, find some other place of refuge; whereas in your case, I see that if he gains the upper hand, all that you have passes into other hands.

For, as for me, he is my enemy, not because he hates me, but because he imagines that it would be inimical to his interests for our nation to become great, and for that reason he is making war upon us; but you he actually hates, for he thinks that you have done him wrong.To this they both answered in the same way, that he should proceed with what he had to say, for they recognized the truth of what he had said and knew that it was a matter of vital concern to them how things turned out in the future.

Then he began as follows: Tell me, then, said he, does the Assyrian king believe that you are the only ones who are hostile to him, or do you know of any one else who is his enemy?Yes, by Zeus, said the Hyrcanian; the Cadusians,[*](Cyrus aims to effect a combination with other enemies of Assyria) a large and powerful nation, are most bitter enemies of his; and so are our neighbours, the Sacians, for they have suffered very severely at his hands; for he attempted to subjugate them just as he did us.

Well then, said he, do you think that these two nations would like to join us in an attack upon the Assyrian? Yes, they answered, and right eagerly, if they could find a way to combine their forces with ours. And what is to hinder such a union of forces? asked Cyrus.The Assyrians, they answered, the same nation, through whose country you are now marching.

But, Gobryas, said Cyrus, when he heard this, do you not accuse this young fellow who has just come to the throne of cruel insolence of character? That judgment, I think, said Gobryas, is warranted by my experience with him. Pray, are you the only man towards whom he has acted in this way, Cyrus asked, or are there others also?

Aye, by Zeus, said Gobryas; there are[*](The king and Gadatas) others also. But why should I recount his acts of insolence toward the weak? For once when he and the son of a man much more powerful than I were drinking together, a young man who, like my son, was his comrade, he had him seized and castrated; and the occasion, so some people said, was simply because his concubine had praised his friend, remarking how handsome he was and felicitating the woman who should be his wife; but the king himself now maintains that it was because the man had made advances toward his concubine. And so now he is a eunuch, but he has come into the kingdom, for his father is dead.

Well then, said Cyrus, do you think that he also would be glad to see us, if he thought we could help him? Think said Gobryas, I am sure of it. But, Cyrus, it would be difficult to see him. Why? asked Cyrus. Because, to effect a union of forces with him, one has to march along under the very walls of Babylon.

Why, pray, said the other, is that so difficult?Because, by Zeus, said Gobryas, I know that[*](The Assyrians’ terror of Cyrus is disappearing) the forces that would come out of that city alone are many times as large as your own at present; and let me tell you that the Assyrians are now less inclined than heretofore to deliver up their arms and to bring in their horses to you for the very reason that to those of them who have seen your army it seemed a small one; and a rumour to this effect has now been widely spread abroad. And, he added, I think we should do better to proceed cautiously.