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agesilaus-第2章

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article of his agreement; he gave all men; Hellenes and barbarians



alike; encouragement to make covenant with him to the full extent of



his desire。







When Tissaphernes; priding himself on the strength of that army which



had come down to aid him; bade Agesilaus to be gone from Asia or to



prepare for war;'8' deep was the vexation depicted on the faces of the



Lacedaemonians there present and their allies; as they realised that



the scanty force of Agesilaus was all too small to cope with the



armaments of Persia。 But the brow of their general was lit with joy as



gaily he bade the ambassadors take back this answer to Tissaphernes:



〃I hold myself indebted to your master for the perjury whereby he has



obtained to himself the hostility of heaven; and made the gods



themselves allies of Hellas。〃 And so without further pause he



published a general order to his soldiers to pack their baggage and



prepare for active service; and to the several cities which lay on the



line of march to Caria; the order sped to have their markets in



readiness; while to the men of Ionia and the Aeolid and the Hellespont



he sent despatches bidding them send their contingents to Ephesus to



join in the campaign。







'8' Lit。 〃When Tissaphernes; priding himself 。 。 。 bade Agesilaus be



    gone 。 。 。 deep was the annoyance felt。〃







Tissaphernes meanwhile was influenced by the fact that Agesilaus had



no cavalry; and that Caria was a hilly district unsuited for that arm。



Moreover; as he further bethought him; Agesilaus must needs be wroth



with him for his deceit。 What could be clearer; therefore; than that



he was about to make a dash at the satrap's home in Caria? Accordingly



he transported the whole of his infantry into Caria and marched his



cavalry round the while into the plain of the Maeander; persuaded that



he would trample the Hellenes under the hoofs of his horses long



before they reached the district where no cavalry could operate。







But Agesilaus; instead of advancing upon Caria; turned right about and



marched in the direction of Phrygia。 Picking up the various forces



that met him on his progress; he passed onwards; laying city after



city at his feet; and by the suddenness of his incursion capturing



enormous wealth。







Here was an achievement which showed the genius of a general; as all



agreed。 When once war as declared; and the arts of circumvention and



deceit were thereby justified; he had proved Tissaphernes to be a very



bade in subtlety;'9' and with what sagacity again did he turn the



circumstances to account for the enrichment of his friends。 Owing to



the quantity of wealth captured; precious things were selling for a



mere song。 Thereupon he gave his friends warning to make their



purchases; adding that he should at once march down to the sea…coast



at the head of his troops。 The quartermasters meanwhile received



orders to make a note of the purchasers with the prices of the



articles; and to consign the goods。 The result was that; without prior



disbursement on their part; or detriment to the public treasury; his



friends reaped an enormous harvest。 Moreover; when deserters came with



offers to disclose hidden treasures; and naturally enough laid their



proposal before the king himself; he took care to have the capture of



these treasures effected by his friends; which would enable them to do



a stroke of business; and at the same time redound to their prestige。



For this reason he was not long in discovering many an eager aspirant



to his friendship。







'9' See below; xi。 4; 〃Mem。〃 III。 i。 6; IV。 ii。 15; 〃Cyrop。〃 I。 vi。



    31; Plut。 〃Ages。〃 xi。 (Clough; iv。 10)。







But a country pillaged and denuded of inhabitants would not long



support an army。 That he felt。 A more perennial source of supply was



surely to be found in waving cornfields and thickly clustering



homesteads。 So with infinite pains he set himself not merely to crush



his foes by force; but also to win them to his side by gentleness。 In



this spirit he often enjoined upon his soldiers to guard their



captives as fellow…men rather than take vengeance upon them as



evildoers;'10' or; on a change of quarters; if aware of little



children left behind by the dealers (since the men often sold them in



the belief that it would be impossible to carry them away and rear



them); he would show concern in behalf of these poor waifs and have



them conveyed to some place of safety; or he would entrust them to the



care of fellow…prisoners also left behind on account of old age; in no



case must they be left to ravening dogs and wolves。 In this way he won



the goodwill not only of those who heard tell of these doings but of



the prisoners themselves。 And whenever he brought over a city to his



side; he set the citizens free from the harsher service of a bondsman



to his lord; imposing the gentler obedience of a freeman to his ruler。



Indeed; there were fortresses impregnable to assault which he brought



under his power by the subtler force of human kindness。







'10' See Grote; vol。 ix。 p。 365 foll。







But when; in Phrygia even; the freedom of his march along the flats



was hampered by the cavalry of Pharnabazus; he saw that if he wished



to avoid a skulking warfare under cover; a force of cavalry was



indispensable。 Accordingly he enlisted the wealthiest members of every



city in those parts to breed and furnish horses; with this saving



clause; however: that the individual who furnished a horse and arms



with a good rider should be exempt from service himself。 By this means



he engendered an eagerness to discharge the obligation; not unlike



that of the condemned man; casting about to discover some one to die



in his place。'11' He further ordered some of the states themselves to



furnish contingents of mounted troopers; and this in the conviction



that from such training…centres he would presently get a pick of



cavaliers proud of their horsemanship。 And thus once more he won



golden opinions by the skill with which he provided himself with a



body of cavalry in the plenitude of strength and ripe for active



service。







'11' Instead of the plain {zetoie} of the parallel passage (〃Hell。〃



    III。 iv。 15) the encomiast prefers the poetical {masteuoi}。







On the approach of early spring'12' he collected his whole armament at



Ephesus; and set himself to the work of training it。 With that object



he proposed a series of prizes: one set for the cavalry squadron which



rode best; another for the heavy infantry divisions which presented



the best physique; another again for various light troops; peltasts;



and bowm
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