for their safety. Clearchus, in his own defence urged, that they were engaged in this expedition without knowing the enemy against whom they were to contend: that they were free from all engagements, and had no design against the Persian king, unless he opposed their return. Tissaphernes seemingly granted their desire, and promised that they should be furnished with al! necessary provisions in their march, and to confirm their security, that he himself would be their companion on the way. 53. Accordingly, in a few days after they set out under his conduct; but, in their march, the barbarians encamping at about a league's distance from the Grecians, created some little distrusts and jealousies on both sides. In about fifty days, being got to the banks of the river Zabatus, Clearchus, to prevent things coming to an open rupture, had a conference with Tissa phernes. The result of their discourse was, that they had been misrepresented to each other by some of Clearchus' officers, and that he should bring them all to Tissaphernes, in order to detect those who were guilty. 54. In consequence of this, it was agreed between them that there should be a general consultation of officers, in which those who had been remiss, or attempted to sow any dissensions between the two armies, should be exposed and punished. Menon, in particular, was suspected on both sides, and he was appointed among the number. In consequence of this fatal resolution, the five principal generals attended the succeeding day at the Persian general's tent. Their names were Clearchus, Menon, Proxenes, Agias, and Socrates; they on a signal given, were immediately seized, their attendants put to the sword, and themselves, after being sent bound to the king, were beheaded in his presence. 55. Nothing could exceed the consternation of the Greeks when they were informed of the massacre of their generals; they were now near two thousand miles from home, surrounded with great rivers, extensive deserts, and inimical nations, without any supplies of provisions. In this state of general dejection they could think of taking neither nourishment nor repose; all now turned their eyes on Xenophon, a young Athenian, who had been invited into Asia by Proxenes, and hitherto served as a volunteer in the army. 56. This was that Xenophon afterwards so famous as a historian, and his conduct seemed equal to his eloquence, in which he surpassed all the rest of mankind. This young general went to some of the Greek officers in the middle of the night, and represented to them that they had no time to lose; that it was of the last importance to prevent the bad designs of the enemy; that however small their number, they would render themselves før H midable, if they behaved with boldness and resolution; that valour and not multitudes determines the success of arms; and that it was necessary above all things to nominate generals immediately, because an army without commanders is like a body without a soul. f 57. A council was immediately held, at which a hundred officers were present, and Xenophon being desired to speak, deduced the reasons at large he had first but lightly touched upon, and by his advice commanders were appointed. They were Timasion for Clearchus, Xanthicles for Socrates, Cleanor for Argos, Philesius for Menon, and Xenophon for Proxenes. 58. Before the break of day they assembled the army. The generals made speeches to animate the troops, and Xenophon among the rest. "Fellow soldiers," said he, "the loss of so many brave men by vile treachery, and the being abandoned by our friends is very deplorable, but we must not sink under our misfortunes; and if we cannot conquer, let us choose rather to perish gloriously than to fall into the hands of barbarians, who would inflict upon us the greatest miseries; let us call to mind the glorious battles of Platæa, Thermopylæ, Salamis, and the many others wherein our ancestors, though with a small number, have fought and defeated the innumerable armies of the Persians, and thereby rendered the name alone of Greeks for ever formidable, 59. "It is to their invincible valour we owe the honour we possess of acknowledging no masters upon earth but the gods, nor any happiness but what consists with liberty. Those gods, the avengers of perjury, and witnesses of the enemy's treason, will be favourable to us; and as they are attacked in the violation of treaties, and take pleasure in humbling the proud, and exalting the low, they will also follow us to battle and combat for us. 60. "For the rest, fellow-soldiers, as we have no refuge but in victory, which must be our hope, and will make us ample amends for whatever it costs to attain it, I should believe, if it were your opinion, that for the making a more ready and less difficult retreat, it would be very proper to rid ourselves of all the useless baggage, and to keep only what is absolutely necessary on our march." All the soldiers that moment lifted up their hands, to signify their approbation and consent to all that had been said; and without loss of time set fire to their tents and carriages, such of them as had too much equipage, giving it to others who had too little, and destroying the rest. 61. Cherisophus, the Spartan general, led the van, and Xenophon, with Timasion, brought up the rear. They bent their march towards the heads of the great rivers, in order to pass them where they were fordable. But they had made little way before they were followed by a party of the enemy's archers and slingers, commanded by Mithridates, which galled their rear, and wounded several of them, who being heavy armed, and without cavalry, could make no resistance. 62. To prevent the like inconvenience, Xenophon furnished two hundred Rhodians with slings, and mounted fifty more of his men upon baggage horses; so that when Mithridates came up with them a second time, and with a much greater body, he re pulsed them with loss, and made good his retreat with this hand ful of men, until he arrived near the city of Larissa, on the banks of the Tigris. From thence they marched to another desolate city, called Mepsile, and about four leagues from that place Tissaphernes came up to them with his whole army in order o battle; but after several skirmishes was forced to retire. 63. In a few days after he secured an eminence, over which the Grecians were obliged to make their way, which Xenophion perceiving, took a detachment of the army, and with great diligence gained the top of a mountain which commanded that eminence, from whence he easily dislodged the enemy and made good a passage for the rest of his troops into the plain, where they found plenty of provisions: Tissaphernes had done what he could before to burn and destroy the country. 64. But still they were under as great difficulties as ever, being bounded on the one hand by the Tigris, and on the other by inaccessible mountains, inhabited by the Carduchi, a fierce and warlike people; and who, Xenophon says, had cut off an army of six score thousand Persians to a man by reason of the difficulty of the ways. However having no boats to cross the river, and the passage through the mountains opening into the rich plains of Armenia, they resolved to pursue their march that way. 65. These barbarians soon took the alarm, but not being prepared to meet the Greeks in a body, they possessed themselves of the tops of the rocks and mountains, and from thence annoyed them with darts and great stones, which they threw down into the defiles through which they passed, in which they were also attacked by several other parties; and though their loss was not considerable, yet, what with storms and famine besides seven tedious days' march, and being continually forced to fight their way, they underwent more fatigue and hardship than they had suffered from the Persians during the whole expedition. 66. They found themselves soon after exposed to new dangers. Almost at the foot of the mountains, they came to a river two hundred feet in breadth, called Centrites, which stopped their : march. They had to defend themselves against the enemy, who pursued them in the rear, and the Armenians, the soldiers of the country, who defended the opposite side of the river. 67. They attempted in vain to pass it in a place where the water came up to their arm-pits, and were carried away by the rapidity of the current, against which the weight of their arms made them unable to resist. By good fortune they discovered another place not so deep, where some soldiers had seen the people of the country pass. It required abundance of address, diligence, and valour to keep off the enemy on both sides of them. The army, however, passed the river at length without much loss. 68. They marched forwards with less interruption, passed the source of the Tigris, and arrived at the little river Teleboa, which is very beautiful and has many villages on its banks. Here began the western Armenia, which was governed by Tiribasus, a satrap much beloved by the king, and who had the honour to help him to mount on horseback when at the court. He offered to let the army pass, and to suffer the soldiers to take all they wanted, upon condition that they should commit no ravages in their march; which proposal was accepted and ratified on each side. 69. Tiribasus kept always a flying camp at a small distance from the army. There fell a great quantity of snow which gave the troops some inconvenience; and they learnt from a prisoner, that Tiribasus had a design to attack the Greeks at a pass on the mountains, in a defile through which they must necessarily march. They prevented him by seizing that post, after having put the enemy to flight. After some days' march through the desert, they passed the Euphrates near its source, not having the water above their middles. 70. They suffered exceedingly afterwards from a north wind, which blew in their faces, and prevented respiration: so that it was thought necessary to sacrifice to the wind, upon which it seemed to abate. They marched on in snow five or six feet, deep, which killed several servants and beasts of burthen, besides thirty soldiers. They made fires during the night, for they found plenty of wood. 71. All the next day they continued their march through the snow, when many of them, from the excess of hunger, followed with languor, or fainting, continued lying upon the ground through weakness and want of spirits: when something had been given them to eat they found themselves relieved and continued their march. 72. After a march of seven days they arrived at the river Araxes, called also the Phasus, which is about a hundred feet in breadth. Two days after they discovered the Phasians, the Chalybes, and the Taochians, who kept the pass of the moun tain to prevent their descending into the plain. They saw it was impossible to avoid coming to a battle with them, and resolved to give it the same day. 73. Xenophon, who had observed that the enemy defended only the ordinary passage, and that the mountain was three leagues in extent, proposed the sending a detachment to take possession of the heights that commanded the enemy, which would not be difficult, as they might prevent all suspicion of their design by a march in the night, and by making a false attack by the main road to amuse the barbarians. This was accordingly executed, the enemy put to flight, and the pass cleared. Thus, after twelve or fifteen days'march, they arrived at a very high mountain, called Tecqua, from whence they descried the sea. The first who perceived it raised great shouts of joy for a considerable time, which made Xenophon imagine that the vanguard was attacked and went in all haste to support it. 74. As he approached nearer, the cry of," The sea! the sea!" was heard distinctly; and the alarm changed into joy and gaiety; and when they came to the top, nothing was heard but a confused noise of the whole army crying out together, "The sea! the sea!" whilst they could not refrain from tears, nor from embracing their generals and officers, and then, without waiting for orders, they heaped up a pile of stones, and erected a trophy with broken bucklers and other arms. 75. From thence, they advanced to the mountains of Colchis, one of which was higher than the rest, and of that the people of the country had possessed themselves. The Greeks drew up in battle at the bottom of it to ascend: for the access was not impracticable. Xenophon did not judge it proper to march in line of battle, but by defiles; because the soldiers could not keep their ranks from the inequality of the ground, that in some places was easy, in others difficult to climb, which might discourage them. That advice was approved, and the army formed according to it. 76. The heavy armed troops amounted to four-score files, each consisting of about one hundred men; with eighteen hundred light armed soldiers, divided in three bodies; one of which was posted on the right, another on the left, and the third in the centre. After having encouraged his troops, by representing to them, that this was the last obstacle they had to surmount, and implored the assistance of the gods, the army began to ascend the hill. The enemy were not able to support their charge, and dispersed. They passed the mountain, and encamped in villages where they found provisions in abundance. 77. A very strange accident happened there to the army, which put them in great consternation; for the soldiers finding |