Complete Works of Xenophon (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics)

by Xenophon

  Should it happen at any time that the cavalry forces engaged are about equal, I think it would be a good plan to split each regiment into two divisions, putting one under the command of the colonel, and the other under the best man available. [18] The latter would follow in the rear of the colonel’s division for a time; but presently, when the adversary is near, he would wheel on receiving the order and charge. This plan, I think, would make the blow delivered by the regiment more stunning and more difficult to parry. [19] Both divisions should have an infantry contingent; and if the infantry, hidden away behind the cavalry, came out suddenly and went for the enemy, I think they would prove an important factor in making the victory more decisive; for I have noticed that a surprise cheers men up if it is pleasant, but stuns them if it is alarming. [20] Anyone will recognise the truth of this who reflects that, however great their advantage in numbers, men are dazed when they fall into an ambuscade, and that two hostile armies confronting each other are scared out of their wits for the first few days. [21]

  There is no difficulty in adopting these tactics; but only a good cavalry commander can find men who will show intelligence, reliability and courage in wheeling to charge the enemy. [22] For the commander must be capable both by his words and action of making the men under him realize that it is good to obey, to back up their leader, and to charge home; of firing them with a desire to win commendation; and of enabling them to carry out their intentions with persistence. [23]

  Suppose now that the cavalry are busy in the no-man’s-land that separates two battle lines drawn up face to face or two strategic positions, wheeling, pursuing and retreating. After such manoeuvres both sides usually start off at a slow pace, but gallop at full speed in the unoccupied ground. [24] But if a commander first feints in this manner, and then after wheeling, pursues and retreats at the gallop he will be able to inflict the greatest loss on the enemy, and will probably come through with the least harm, by pursuing at the gallop so long as he is near his own defence, and retreating at the gallop from the enemy’s defences. [25] If, moreover, he can secretly leave behind him four or five of the best horses and men in each division, they will be at a great advantage in falling on the enemy as he is turning to renew the charge.

  9. To read these suggestions a few times is enough; but it is always necessary for the commander to hit on the right thing at the right moment, to think of the present situation and to carry out what is expedient in view of it. To write out all that he ought to do is no more possible than to know everything that is going to happen. [2] The most important of all my hints, I think, is this: Whatever you decide to be best, see that it gets done. Whether you are a farmer, a skipper or a commander, sound decisions bear no fruit unless you see to it that, with heaven’s help, they are duly carried out. [3]

  Further, I am of opinion that the full complement of a thousand cavalry would be raised much more quickly and in a manner much less burdensome to the citizens if they established a force of two hundred foreign cavalry. For I believe that the presence of these men would improve the discipline of the whole force and would foster rivalry in the display of efficiency. [4] I know that the fame of the Lacedaemonian horse dates from the introduction of foreign cavalry: and in the other states everywhere I notice that the foreign contingents enjoy a high reputation; for need helps to produce great eagerness. [5] To defray the cost of their horses, I believe that money would be forthcoming from those who strongly object to serve in the cavalry — since even men actually enrolled are willing to pay in order to get out of the service — from rich men who are physically unfit, and also, I think, from orphans possessed of large estates. [6] I believe also that some of the resident aliens would be proud to be enrolled in the cavalry. For I notice that, whenever the citizens give them a share in any other honourable duty, some are willing enough to take pride in doing the part assigned to them. [7] I fancy, too, that infantry attached to the cavalry will be most effective if it consists of persons who are very bitter against the enemy.

  All these things are feasible provided the gods give their consent. [8] If anyone is surprised at my frequent repetition of the exhortation to work with God, I can assure him that his surprise will diminish, if he is often in peril, and if he considers that in time of war foemen plot and counterplot, but seldom know what will come of their plots. [9] Therefore there is none other that can give counsel in such a case but the gods. They know all things, and warn whomsoever they will in sacrifices, in omens, in voices, and in dreams. And we may suppose that they are more ready to counsel those who not only ask what they ought to do in the hour of need, but also serve the gods in the days of their prosperity with all their might.

  ON HUNTING

  Translated by E. C. Marchant

  This minor treatise belongs to a genre of literature about breeding and the care and use of dogs and horses, which is now categorised as Cynegeticon. Xenophon opens the work by discussing the importance of hunting and how the gods Apollo and Artemis bestowed game and hounds upon Chiron the gentle centaur, who used hunting to teach twenty-one heroes. Xenophon goes on to describe the excellence of these individual mythological heroes and their skill in hunting. The author claims that, “hunting is the means by which men become good in war and in all things out of which must come excellence in thought and word and deed” In the next part of the treatise Xenophon discusses what is required of the young man who wishes to hunt and his attire, with an explanation of each item’s purpose, and also the net-keeper that should assist him, including a brief detail of the net required.

  Xenophon ends the discussion on the practical side of hunting and explains the benefits of hunting. First he discusses the health benefits of improved sight and hearing, longevity, and lastly that it is the best training for war. Once he mentions the military he goes on to discuss the benefits of hunting as war training such as the recovery of fellow troops in a difficult area. Xenophon explains, “For men who are sound in body and mind may always stand on the threshold of success”. Hunting also “makes men sober and upright … because they are trained in the school of truth”. These men can do whatever honourable employment they desire and make good soldiers and generals because they desire virtue.

  Xenophon goes on to defend hunting from those who think it causes them to avoid domestic affairs, however he believes that they will instead protect and assist their fellow citizens.

  Ancient Greek depiction of a hunting scene

  ON HUNTING

  1. Game and hounds are the invention of gods, of Apollo and Artemis. They bestowed it on Cheiron and honoured him therewith for his righteousness. And he, receiving it, rejoiced in the gift, and used it. [2] And he had for pupils in venery and in other noble pursuits — Cephalus, Asclepius, Meilanion, Nestor, Amphiaraus, Peleus, Telamon, Meleager, Theseus, Hippolytus, Palamedes, Odysseus, Menestheus, Diomedes, Castor, Polydeuces, Machaon, Podaleirius, Antilochus, Aeneas, Achilles, of whom each in his time was honoured by gods. [3] Let no man marvel that the more part of these, even though they pleased gods, died none the less; for that was nature’s work; but the praise of them grew mightily; — nor yet that not all of these flourished at one time. For Cheiron’s lifetime sufficed for all. [4] For Zeus and Cheiron were brethren, sons of one sire, but the mother of the one was Rhea, of the other the nymph Nais: and so, though he was born before these, he died after them, for he taught Achilles. [5]

  Through the heed they paid to hounds and hunting and the rest of their scholarship they excelled greatly and were admired for their virtue. Cephalus was carried away by a goddess. [6] Asclepius won yet, greater preferment — to raise the dead, to heal the sick; and for these things he has everlasting fame as a god among men. [7] Meilanion was so peerless in love of toil that, though the princeliest of that age were his rival suitors for the greatest Lady of the time, only he won Atalanta. Nestor’s virtue is an old familiar tale to Greek ears; so there is no need for me to tell of it. [8] Amphiaraus when he fought against Thebes, gained great praise and won from
the gods the honour of immortality. Peleus stirred a desire even in the gods to give him Thetis and to hymn their marriage in Cheiron’s home. [9] Telamon waxed so mighty that he wedded from the greatest city the maiden of his choice, Periboea, daughter of Alcathus: and when the first of the Greeks, Heracles son of Zeus, distributed the prizes of valour after taking Troy, to him he gave Hesione/. [10] As for Meleager, the honours that he won are manifest; and it was not by his own fault that he came to sorrow when his father in old age forgot the goddess. Theseus single-handed slew the enemies of all Greece; and because he enlarged greatly the borders of his country he is admired to this day. [11] Hippolytus was honoured by Artemis and held converse with her; and for his prudence and holiness he was counted happy when he died. Palamedes far outstripped the men of his generation in wisdom while he lived; and being unjustly slain he won from the gods such vengeance as fell to the lot of no other mortal. But his end was not compassed by those whom some imagine, else could not the one of them have been well-nigh the best, and the other the peer of the good; but bad men did the deed. [12] Menestheus through the heed he paid to hunting, so far surpassed others in love of toil that the first of the Greeks confessed themselves his inferiors in feats of war, all save Nestor; and he, it is said, outdid not, but rivalled him. [13] Odysseus and Diomedes were brilliant in every single deed, and in short, to them was due the capture of Troy. Castor and Polydeuces, through the renown that they won by displaying in Greece the arts they learned of Cheiron, are immortal. [14] Machaon and Podaleirius, schooled in all the selfsame arts, proved in crafts and reasonings and wars good men. Antilochus, by giving his life for his father, won such glory that he alone was proclaimed among the Greeks as “the Devoted Son.” [15] Aeneas saved the gods of his father’s and his mother’s family, and withal his father himself; wherefore he bore away fame for his piety, so that to him alone among all the vanquished at Troy even the enemy granted not to be despoiled. [16] Achilles, nursed in this schooling, bequeathed to posterity memorials so great and glorious that no man wearies of telling and hearing of him. [17]

  These, whom the good love even to this day and the evil envy, were made so perfect through the care they learned of Cheiron that, when troubles fell upon any state or any king in Greece, they were composed through their influence; or if all Greece was at strife or at war with all the Barbarian powers, these brought victory to the Greeks, so that they made Greece invincible. [18]

  Therefore I charge the young not to despise hunting or any other schooling. For these are the means by which men become good in war and in all things out of which must come excellence in thought and word and deed.

  2. The first pursuit, therefore, that a young man just out of his boyhood should take up is hunting, and afterwards he should go on to the other branches of education, provided he has means. He must look to his means, and, if they are sufficient, spend as much as the benefit to himself is worth; or, if they are insufficient, at least let him supply enthusiasm, in no way coming short of his power. [2]

  I will give a list and a description of the intending hunter’s outfit, and the explanation of each item, in order that he may understand the business before he puts his hand to it. And let no one regard these details as trivial; inasmuch as nothing can be done without them. [3]

  The net-keeper should be a man with a keen interest in the business, one who speaks Greek, about twenty years old, agile and strong, and resolute, that, being well qualified to overcome his tasks, he may take pleasure in the business. [4] The purse-nets should be made of fine Phasian or Carthaginian flax, and the road-nets and hayes of the same material.

  Let the purse-nets be of nine threads woven in three strands, each strand consisting of three threads. The proper length for these nets is forty-five inches, the proper width of the meshes six inches. The cords that run round them must be without knots, so that they may run easily. [5] The road-nets should be of twelve threads, and the hayes of sixteen. The length of the road-nets may be twelve, twenty-four or thirty-feet; that of the hayes sixty, a hundred and twenty, or a hundred and eighty feet. If they are longer, they will be unwieldy. Both kinds should be thirty knots high, and should have meshes of the same width as those of the purse-nets. [6] At the elbows at either end let the road-nets have slip-knots of string and the hayes metal rings, and let the cords be attached by loops. [7] The stakes for the purse-nets should be thirty inches long, but some should be shorter. Those of unequal length are for use on sloping ground, to make the height of the nets equal, while those of the same length are used on the level. These stakes must be so shaped at the top that the nets will pull off readily and they must be smooth. The stakes for the road-nets should be twice the length of these, and those for the hayes forty-five inches long. The latter should have little forks with shallow grooves, and all should be stout, of a thickness proportioned to the length. [8] The number of stakes used for the hayes may be large or small; fewer are required if the nets are strained tight when set up, more if they are slack. [9] A calf-skin bag will be wanted for carrying the purse-nets and road-nets and hayes and the bill-hooks for cutting wood and stopping gaps where necessary.

  3. The hounds used are of two kinds, the Castorian and the Vulpine. The Castorian is so called because Castor paid special attention to the breed, making a hobby of the business. The Vulpine is a hybrid between the dog and the fox: hence the name. In the course of time the nature of the parents has become fused. [2] Inferior specimens (that is to say, the majority) show one or more of the following defects. They are small, hook-nosed, grey-eyed, blinking, ungainly, stiff, weak, thin-coated, lanky, ill-proportioned, cowardly, dull-scented, unsound in the feet. [3] Now small dogs often drop out of the running through their want of size; hook-nosed dogs have no mouth and can’t hold the hare; grey-eyed dogs and blinkers have bad sight; ungainly dogs look ugly; stiff ones are in a bad way at the end of the hunt; no work can be got out of the weak and the thin-coated ones; those that are lanky and ill-proportioned are heavy movers and carry themselves anyhow; cowards leave their work and give up and slink away from the sun into shady places and lie down; dogs with no nose seldom scent the hare and only with difficulty; and those with bad feet, even if they are plucky, can’t stand the hard work, and tire because they are foot-sore. [4]

  Moreover, hounds of the same breed vary much in behaviour when tracking. Some go ahead as soon as they find the line without giving a sign, and there is nothing to show that they are on it. Some move the ears only, but keep the tail still; others keep the ears still and wag the tip of the tail. [5] Others prick up the ears and run frowning along the track, dropping their tails and putting them between their legs. Many do none of these things, but rush about madly round the track, and when they happen upon it, stupidly trample out the traces, barking all the time. [6] Others again, continually circling and straying, get ahead of the line when clean off it and pass the hare, and every time they run against the line, begin guessing, and if they catch sight of the hare, tremble and never go for her until they see her stir. [7] Hounds that run forward and frequently examine the discoveries of the others when they are casting about and pursuing have no confidence in themselves; while those that will not let their cleverer mates go forward, but fuss and keep them back, are confident to a fault. Others will drive ahead, eagerly following false lines and getting wildly excited over anything that turns up, well knowing that they are playing the fool; others will do the same thing in ignorance. Those that stick to game paths and don’t recognise the true line are poor tools. [8] A hound that ignores the trail and races over the track of the hare on the run is ill-bred. Some, again, will pursue hotly at first, and then slack off from want of pluck; others will cut in ahead and then get astray; while others foolishly dash into roads and go astray, deaf to all recall. [9] Many abandon the pursuit and go back through their hatred of game, and many through their love of man. Others try to mislead by baying on the track, representing false lines as true ones. [10] Some, though free from this fault, leave their own wo
rk when they hear a shout from another quarter while they are running, and make for it recklessly. When pursuing some are dubious, others are full of assumptions but their notions are wrong. Then there are the skirters, some of whom merely pretend to hunt, while others out of jealousy perpetually scamper about together beside the line. [11]

  Now most of these faults are natural defects, but some by which hounds are spoilt are due to unintelligent training. Anyhow such hounds may well put a keen hunter off the sport. What hounds of the same breed ought to look like and what they should be in other respects I will now explain.

  4. First, then, they should be big. Next, the head should be light, flat and muscular; the lower parts of the forehead sinewy; the eyes prominent, black and sparkling; the forehead broad, with a deep dividing line; the ears small and thin with little hair behind; the neck long, loose and round; the chest broad and fairly fleshy; the shoulder-blades slightly outstanding from the shoulders; the forelegs short, straight, round and firm; the elbows straight; the ribs not low down on the ground, but sloping in an oblique line; the loins fleshy, of medium length, and neither too loose nor too hard; the flanks of medium size; the hips round and fleshy at the back, not close at the top, and smooth on the inside; the under part of the belly itself slim; the tail long, straight and thin; the thighs hard; the shanks long, round and solid; the hind-legs much longer than the fore-legs and slightly bent; the feet round. [2] Hounds like these will be strong in appearance, agile, well-proportioned, and speedy; and they will have a jaunty expression and a good mouth. [3]