s got
the information he needed, he spoke to them as follows:

"Gentlemen, if any of you dislike hard blows and desire gentle treatment
at our hands, make it your business to provide twice as much meat and
drink in every tent as you have been wont to do, with all things that
are needed for a fine repast. The victors, whoever they are, will be
here anon, and will expect an overflowing board. You may rest assured
it will not be against your interests to give them a welcome they can
approve."

[38] At that the stewards went off at once and set to work with all zeal
to carry out their instructions. Then Cyrus summoned his own officers
and said to them:

"My friends, it is clear that we have it in our power, now that our
allies' backs are turned, to help ourselves to breakfast, and take our
choice of the most delicate dishes and the rarest wines. But I scarcely
think this would do us so much good as to show that we study the
interest of our friends: the best of cheer will not give us half the
strength we could draw from the zeal of loyal allies whose gratitude we
had won. [39] If we forget those who are toiling for us now, pursuing
our foes, slaying them, and fighting wherever they resist, if they see
that we sit down to enjoy ourselves and devour our meal before we know
how it goes with them, I fear we shall cut a sorry figure in their eyes,
and our strength will turn to weakness through lack of friends. The true
banquet for us is to study the wants of those who have run the risk and
done the work, to see that they have all they need when they come home,
a banquet that will give us richer delight than any gorging of the
belly. [40] And remember, that even if the thought of them were not
enough to shame us from it, in no case is this a moment for gluttony
and drunkenness: the thing we set our minds to do is not yet done:
everything is full of danger still, and calls for carefulness. We have
enemies in this camp ten times more numerous than ourselves, and they
are all at large: we need both to guard against them and to guard them,
so that we may have servants to furnish us with supplies. Our cavalry
are not yet back, and we must ask ourselves where they are and whether
they mean to stay with us when they return. [41] Therefore, gentlemen, I
would say, for the present let us above all be careful to avoid the
food and drink that leads to slumber and stupefaction. [42] And there is
another matter: this camp contains vast trea