a larger force, but set about preparing the
equipment he had been asked for, and all was in readiness just about the
time when the Peers arrived from Persia at the head of their own troops.
[11] Then, so says the story, Cyrus called the Peers together and spoke
to them as follows: "Men of Persia, my friends and comrades, when I
looked at you first and saw the arms you bore and how you were all on
fire to meet the enemy, hand to hand, and when I remembered that your
squires are only equipped for fighting on the outskirts of the field,
I confess my mind misgave me. Few and forlorn they will be, I said to
myself, swallowed up in a host of enemies; no good can come of it. But
to-day you are here, and your men behind you, stalwart and stout of
limb, and to-morrow they shall have armour like our own. None could find
fault with their thews and sinews, and as for their spirit, it is for
us to see it does not fail. A leader must not only have a stout heart
himself; he must see to it that his followers are as valiant as he."

[12] Thus Cyrus spoke, and the Peers were well satisfied at his words,
feeling that on the day of battle they would have more to help them in
the struggle. [13] And one of them said, "Perhaps it will seem strange
if I ask Cyrus to speak in our stead to our fellow-combatants when they
receive their arms, and yet I know well that the words of him who has
the greatest power for weal or woe sink deepest into the listener's
heart. His very gifts, though they should be less than the gifts of
equals, are valued more. These new comrades of ours," he went on, "would
rather be addressed by Cyrus himself than by us, and now that they are
to take their place among the Peers their title will seem to them
far more secure if it is given them by the king's own son and our
general-in-chief. Not that we have not still our own duties left. We are
bound to do our best in every way to rouse the spirit of our men. Shall
we not gain ourselves by all they gain in valour?"

[14] So it came about that Cyrus had the new armour placed before him
and summoned a general meeting of the Persian soldiery, and spoke to
them as follows:

[15] "Men of Persia, born and bred in the same land as ourselves, whose
limbs are as stout and as strong as our own, your hearts should be as
brave. I know they are; and yet at home in the land of our fathers you
did not share our rights; not that we drove you out ourselves, but
you were banished by the com