tas to
his breast and kissed him. [27] Thereupon Artabazus cried:

"Heaven help us, Cyrus! The goblet you gave me is not of the fine gold
you have given Chrysantas now!"

"Well," said Cyrus, "you shall have the same one day."

"When?" asked the other.

"Thirty years hence," said Cyrus.

"I will wait," said Artabazus: "I will not die: be ready for me."

And then the banquet came to an end: the guests rose, and Cyrus stood up
with them and conducted them to the door.

[28] But on the morrow he arranged that all the allies and all who had
volunteered should be sent back to their homes, all except those who
wished to take up their abode with him. To these he gave grants of land
and houses, still held by their descendants, Medes for the greater part,
and Hyrcanians. And to those who went home he gave many gifts and
sent them away well content, both officers and men. [29] After this
he distributed among his own soldiers all the wealth he had taken at
Sardis, choice gifts for the captains of ten thousand and for his own
staff in proportion to their deserts, and the rest in equal shares,
delivering to every captain one share with orders to divide it among
their subordinates as he had divided the whole among them. [30]
Thereupon each officer gave to the officers directly under him, judging
the worth of each, until it came to the captains of six, who considered
the cases of the privates in their own squads, and gave each man what
he deserved: and thus every soldier in the army received an equitable
share. [31] But after the distribution of it all there were some who
said:

"How rich Cyrus must be, to have given us all so much!"

"Rich?" cried others, "what do you mean? Cyrus is no money-maker: he is
more glad to give than to get."

[32] When Cyrus heard of this talk and the opinions held about him, he
gathered together his friends and the chief men of the state and spoke
as follows:

"Gentlemen and friends of mine, I have known men who were anxious to
have it thought they possessed more than they really had, thinking this
would give them an air of freedom and nobility. But in my opinion the
result was the very opposite of what they wished. If it is thought that
a man has great riches and does not help his friends in proportion to
his wealth, he cannot but appear ignoble and niggardly. [33] There are
others," he went on, "who would have their wealth forgotten, and these I
look upon as traitors to their friends: for i