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XENOPHON
On the Cavalry Commander.
Translated by Benjamin Jowett (1817-1893)
Xenophon was born in Athens about 431 B.
C. and was a student of Socrates. He was
hired as a mercenary by Cyrus, the younger
brother of the Persian king, Artaxerxes,
against whom he rebelled. When the rebellion
failed at the battle of Cunaxa, Xenophon
led the famous retreat of the Ten Thousand,
all the Greek mercenaries who were trapped
in Mesopotamia. On his return to Greece,
he worked as a mercenary for the Spartans
in their wars in Asia Minor and in Greece
against the Athenians. The Spartans rewarded
him with a country estate where he enjoyed
the life of the landed gentry. Xenophon lost
his estate in a war and settled in Corinth
for the remainder of his life. He died sometime
after 355 B. C. over 80 years old. Writings
on the Persians: His most famous work is
Anabasis, the story of the Ten Thousand.
It contains a lot of information about Cyrus
the Younger, Artaxerxes and the Persian army.
He also wrote this book Cyropaedia, about
the education and life of Cyrus
On the Cavalry Commander I.
[1] The first duty is to sacrifice to the
gods and pray them to grant you the thoughts,
words and deeds likely to render your command
most pleasing to the gods and to bring yourself,
your friends and your city the fullest measure
of affection and glory and advantage.
[2] Having gained the goodwill of the gods,
you have then to recruit a sufficient number
of mounted men that you may bring the number
up to the total required by the law, 1 and
also may prevent any decrease in the cavalry
establishment. Unless additional recruits
are enrolled in the force, the number will
constantly dwindle, for some men are bound
to retire through old age and others to drop
off for various reasons.
[3] While the ranks are filling up, you must
see that the horses get enough food to stand
hard work, since horses unfit for their work
can neither overtake nor escape. You must
see that they are docile, because disobedient
animals assist the enemy more than their
own side.
[4] And horses that kick when mounted must
be got rid of, for such brutes often do more
mischief than the enemy. You must also look
after their feet, so that they can be ridden
on rough ground, for you know that wherever
galloping is painful to them, they are useless.
[5] Having made sure that the horses are
in good condition, the next business is to
train the men. First they must learn to mount
from the spring, 2 since many before now
have owed their lives to that. Secondly,
they must practise riding over all sorts
of ground, since any kind of country may
become the area of war.
[6] As soon as they have acquired a firm
seat, your next task is to take steps that
as many as possible shall be able to throw
the javelin when mounted3 and shall become
efficient in all the details of horsemanship.
After that both horses and men must be armed,
so that, while they are themselves thoroughly
protected against wounds, they may have the
means of inflicting the greatest loss on
the enemy.
[7] Then you must contrive to make the men
obedient: otherwise neither good horses nor
a firm seat nor fine armour are of any use.
For ensuring efficiency in all these matters
the cavalry commander, as a matter of course,
is the principal authority.
[8] But, at the same time, the state thinks
it difficult for the cavalry commander to
carry out all these duties single-handed;
therefore, it also elects colonels of regiments
to assist him; and it has charged the Council
with the duty of taking a share in the management
of the cavalry. I think it well, then, that
you should encourage the colonels to be as
eager as yourself for the efficiency of the
cavalry, and should have suitable spokesmen
in the Council, that their speeches may alarm
the men--they will do better under the influence
of fear--and may also appease the wrath of
the Council, in case it shows indignation
at the wrong time.
[9] Here, then, you have brief notes on the
matters that demand your attention. I will
now try to explain how these duties may best
be carried out in detail. As for the men,
you must obviously raise them as required
by the law, from among those who are most
highly qualified by wealth and bodily vigour,
either by obtaining an order of the court
or by the use of persuasion.
[10] The cases that should be brought before
the court, I think, are those of men who
otherwise might be suspected of having bribed
you not to apply for a judgment. For the
smaller men will at once have a ground for
escaping, unless you first compel the most
highly qualified to serve.
[11] I think, too, that, by dwelling on the
brilliancy of horsemanship, you might fire
some of the young men with ambition to serve
in the cavalry, and that you might overcome
the opposition of their guardians by informing
them that they will be required to keep horses
by someone, if not by you, on account of
their wealth; whereas, if their
[12] boys join up during your command, you
will put an end to their extravagance in
buying expensive horses, and see that they
soon make good riders. And you must try to
suit your actions to your words.
[13] As for the existing cavalry, I think
that the Council should give notice that
in future double the amount of exercise will
be required, and that any horse unable to
keep up will be rejected. This warning would
put the screw on the men and make them feed
their horses better and take more care of
them.
[14] I think it would be well, too, if notice
were given that vicious horses would be rejected.
Under the stimulus of this threat men would
break in such animals more thoroughly and
would be more careful in buying horses.
[15] Again, it would be well to give notice
that horses found kicking at exercise will
be rejected. For it is impossible even to
keep such animals in line; in a charge against
an enemy they are bound to lag behind, and
the consequence is, that through the bad
behaviour of his horse, the man himself becomes
useless.
[16] For getting horses' feet into the best
condition, 4 if anyone has an easier and
cheaper method than mine, by all means adopt
it. If not, I hold--and I speak from experience--that
the right way is to throw down some stones
from the road, averaging about a pound in
weight, and to curry the horse on these and
to make him stand on them whenever he goes
out of the stable. For the horse will constantly
use his feet on the stones when he is cleaned
and when he is worried by flies. Try it,
and you will find your horses' feet round,
and will believe in the rest of my rules.
[17] Assuming that the horses are in good
condition, I will explain how to make the
men themselves thoroughly efficient. We would
persuade the young recruits to learn for
themselves how to mount from the spring;
but if you provide an instructor, you will
receive well-merited praise. The way to help
the older men is to accustom them to get
a leg-up in the Persian fashion.
[18] To ensure that the men have a firm seat,
whatever the nature of the ground, it is,
perhaps, too much trouble to have them out
frequently when there is no war going on;
but you should call the men together, and
recommend them to practise turning off the
roads and galloping over all sorts of ground
when they are riding to quarters or any other
place. For this does as much good as taking
them out, and it is less tedious.
[19] It is useful to remind them that the
state supports an expenditure of nearly forty
talents5 a year in order that she may not
have to look about for cavalry in the event
of war, but may have it ready for immediate
use. For with this thought in their minds
the men are likely to take more pains with
their horsemanship, so that when war breaks
out they may not have to fight untrained
for the state, for glory and for life.
[20] It is well also to give notice to the
men that you intend to take them out yourself
some day, and lead them over country of all
kinds. And during the manoeuvres that precede
the sham fight it is proper to take them
out to a different piece of country at different
times: this is better for both men and horses.
[21] As for throwing the javelin on horseback,
6 I think that the greatest number will practise
that if you add a warning to the colonels
that they will be required to ride to javelin
exercise themselves at the head of the marksmen
of the regiment. Thus, in all probability,
everyone of them will be eager to turn out
as many marksmen as possible for the service
of the state.
[22] Towards the proper arming of the men,
I think that the greatest amount of assistance
will be obtained from the colonels, if they
are persuaded that from the point of view
of the state the brilliance of the regiment
is a far more glorious ornament to them than
the brightness of their own accoutrements
only.
[23] It is likely that they will not be hard
to persuade in such matters, considering
that honour and glory were the attractions
that the colonelcy held out to them, and
they can arm the men in accordance with the
regulations laid down in the law without
incurring expense themselves, afterwards
compelling the men to spend their pay on
their arms, as the law ordains. 7
[24] To make the men who are under your command
obedient, it is important to impress on them
by word of mouth the many advantages of obedience
to authority, and no less important to see
that good discipline brings gain and insubordination
loss in every respect.
[25] The best way of inducing every colonel
to take pride in commanding a well equipped
regiment, I think, is to arm your company
of couriers as well as you can, to demand
of them constant practice in the use of the
javelin, and to instruct them in it after
making yourself proficient.
[26] And if you could offer prizes to the
regiments for skill in all the feats that
the public expects the cavalry to perform
at the spectacles, I think this would appeal
strongly to the spirit of emulation in every
Athenian. For evidence of this I may refer
to the choruses, in which many labours and
heavy expenses are the price paid for trifling
rewards. Only you must find judges whose
suffrage will shed lustre on a victory.
1 1,000; but, as we shall see, the number
had fallen to something like 650 at the time
Xenophon wrote.
2 A difficult feat, since the Greek rider
had no stirrups.
3 When attacking infantry in line the cavalry
never charged home; but only approached near
enough to throw the javelin with effect.
Hence the importance attached to an accomplishment
by no means easy to perform without stirrups.
See especially On Horsemanship chap. 12.
4 Horse-shoes being unknown; cf. On Horsemanship
chap 4.
5 Say 9,500 pounds as reckoned about the
year 1925. The pay is, of course, alluded
to. The expenditure would amount daily to
nearly 666 drachmae. The cavalryman's normal
pay was a drachma a day. Hence it looks as
if the number of the cavalry in 365 B. C.
had fallen to about 650.
6 At a suspended shield.
7 The reference is first to the "establishment
money" for horse and equipment, due
to recruits when they had passed the examination
by the Council. There is another allusion
to it in 9.5. This sum is independent of
the pay; and it is probable that on leaving
the service the cavalryman had to refund
it.
THE END
There are More Works by Xenophon in Athenaeum
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