Dear Xenophon,
I have been
re-reading Cyropaedia: the Education of Cyrus.
I've never needed
to quote from such a long, complete section of anyone's work in order
to discuss it, but your storyteller's nature strings one idea to
another, and through the voices of your lively young characters, a
powerful and peculiar philosophy is revealed.
So I will begin in
Book V; in this part of your story, Cyrus has won a great battle, and
is in the early stages of dividing up the booty, first of which is
the women.
BOOK V
[C.1] Such were the deeds they did
and such the words they spoke.
Then Cyrus bade them set a guard
over the share chosen for Cyaxares, selecting those whom he knew were
most attached to their lord, "And what you have given me,"
he added, "I accept with pleasure, but I hold it at the service
of those among you who would enjoy it the most."
At that one of the Medes who was
passionately fond of music said, "In truth, Cyrus, yesterday
evening I listened to the singing-girls who are yours to-day, and if
you could give me one of them, I would far rather be serving on this
campaign than sitting at home."
And Cyrus said, "Most gladly I
will give her; she is yours. And I believe I am more grateful to you
for asking than you can be to me for giving; I am so thirsty to
gratify you all."
So this suitor carried off his
prize. [2] And then Cyrus called to his side Araspas the Mede, who
had been his comrade in boyhood. It was he to whom Cyrus gave the
Median cloak he was wearing when he went back to Persia from his
grandfather's court. Now he summoned him, and asked him
to take care of the tent and the
lady from Susa. [3] She was the wife of Abradatas, a Susian, and when
the Assyrian army was captured it happened that her husband was away:
his master had sent him on an embassy to Bactria to conclude an
alliance there, for he was the friend and host of
the Bactrian king. And now Cyrus
asked Araspas to guard the captive lady until her husband could take
her back himself. [4] To that Araspas replied, "Have you seen
the lady whom you bid me guard?"
"No, indeed," said Cyrus,
"certainly I have not."
"But I have," rejoined the
other, "I saw here when we chose her for you. When we came into
the tent, we did not make her out at first, for she was seated on the
ground with all her maidens round her, and she was clad in the same
attire as her slaves, but when we looked at them all to discover the
mistress, we soon saw that one outshone the others, although she was
veiled and kept her eyes on the ground. [5] And when we bade her
rise, all her women rose with her, and then we saw that she was
marked out from them all by her height, and her noble bearing, and
her grace, and the beauty that shone through her mean apparel. And,
under her veil, we could see the big tear-drops trickling down her
garments to her feet. [6] At that sight the eldest of us said, 'Take
comfort, lady, we know that your husband was beautiful and brave, but
we have chosen you a man to-day who is no whit inferior to him in
face or form or mind or power; Cyrus, we believe, is more to be
admired than any soul on earth, and you shall be his from this day
forward.' But when the lady heard that, she rent the veil that
covered her head and gave a pitiful cry, while her maidens lifted up
their voice and wept with their mistress. [7] And thus we could see
her face, and her neck, and her arms, and I tell you, Cyrus," he
added, "I myself, and all who looked on her, felt that there
never was, and never had been, in broad Asia a mortal woman half so
fair as she. Nay, but you must see her for yourself."
[8] "Say, rather, I must not,"
answered Cyrus, "if she be such as you describe."
"And why not?" asked the
young man.
"Because," said he, "if
the mere report of her beauty could persuade me to go and gaze on her
to-day, when I have not a moment to spare, I fear she would win me
back again and perhaps I should neglect all I have to do, and sit and
gaze at her for ever."
[9] At that the young man laughed
outright and said:
"So you think, Cyrus, that the
beauty of any human creature can compel a man to do wrong against his
will? Surely if that were the nature of beauty, all men would feel
its force alike. [10] See how fire burns all men equally; it is the
nature of it so to do; but these flowers of beauty, one man loves
them, and another loves them not, nor does every man love the same.
For love is voluntary, and each man loves what he chooses to love.
The brother is not enamoured of his own sister, nor the
father of his own daughter; some
other man must be the lover. Reverence and law are strong enough to
break the heart of passion. [11] But if a law were passed saying,
'Eat not, and thou shalt not starve; Drink not, and thou shalt not
thirst; Let not cold bite thee in winter nor heat inflame thee in
summer,' I say there is no law that could compel us to obey; for it
is our nature to be swayed by these forces. But love is voluntary;
each man loves to himself alone, and according as he chooses, just as
he chooses his cloak or his sandals."
[12] "Then," said Cyrus,
"if love be voluntary, why cannot a man cease to love when he
wishes? I have seen men in love," said he, "who have wept
for very agony, who were the very slaves of those they loved, though
before the fever took them they thought slavery the worst of evils. I
have seen them make gifts of what they ill could spare, I have seen
them praying, yes, praying, to be rid of their passion, as though it
were any other malady, and yet unable to shake it off; they were
bound hand and foot by a chain of something stronger than iron. There
they stood at the beck and call of their idols, and that without
rhyme or reason; and yet, poor slaves, they make no attempt to run
away, in spite of all they suffer; on the contrary, they mount guard
over their tyrants, for fear these should escape."
[13] But the young man spoke in
answer: "True," he said, "there are such men, but they
are worthless scamps, and that is why, though they are always praying
to die and be put out of their misery and though ten thousand avenues
lie open by which to escape from life, they never
take one of them. These are the very
men who are prepared to steal and purloin the goods of others, and
yet you know yourself, when they do it, you are the first to say
stealing is not done under compulsion, and you blame the thief and
the robber; you do not pity him, you punish him.
[14] In the same way, beautiful
creatures do not compel others to love them or pursue them when it is
wrong, but these good-for-nothing scoundrels have no self-control,
and then they lay the blame on love. But the nobler type of man, the
true gentleman, beautiful and brave, though he desire gold and
splendid horses and lovely women, can still abstain from each and all
alike, and lay no finger on them against the law of honour. [15] Take
my own case," he added, "I have seen this lady
myself, and passing fair I found
her, and yet here I stand before you, and am still your trooper and
can still perform my duty."
[16] "I do not deny it,"
said Cyrus; "probably you came away in time. Love takes a little
while to seize and carry off his victim. A man may touch fire for a
moment and not be burnt; a log will not kindle all at once; and yet
for all that, I am not disposed to play with fire or look on beauty.
You yourself, my friend, if you will follow my advice, will not let
your own eyes linger there too long; burning fuel will only burn
those who touch it, but beauty can fire the beholder from afar, until
he
is all aflame with love."
[17] "Oh, fear me not, Cyrus,"
answered he; "if I looked till the end of time I could not be
made to do what ill befits a man."
"A fair answer," said
Cyrus. "Guard her then, as I bid you, and be careful of her.
This lady may be of service to us all one day."
[18] With these words they parted.
But afterwards, after the young man saw from day to day how
marvellously fair the woman was, and how noble and gracious in
herself, after he took care of her, and fancied that she was not
insensible to what he did, after she set herself, through her
attendants, to care for his wants and see that all things were ready
for him when he came in, and that he should lack for nothing if ever
he were sick, after all this, love entered his heart and took
possession, and it
may be there was nothing surprising
in his fate. So at least it was.
So, Xenophon, now I
think I am ready to talk about your story,
though I hardly
know where to start … … …
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