ey make each march
so short that no man need wonder at their abstinence.

[12] In the old time they went out to hunt so often that the chase gave
enough exercise and training for man and horse alike. But when the day
came that Artaxerxes and all his court were the worse for wine, the old
custom of the king leading the hunt in person began to pass away. And if
any eager spirits hunted with their own followers it was easy to see the
jealousy, and even the hatred, aroused by such superiority.

[13] It is still the habit to bring up the boys at the palace-gates, but
fine horsemanship has disappeared, for there is no place where the lads
can win applause by their skill. The old belief that the children of
Persia would learn justice by hearing the judges decide the cases has
been turned upside down: the children have only to use their eyes and
they see that the verdict goes to the man with the longest purse. [14]
Children in former times were taught the properties of plants in order
to use the wholesome and avoid the harmful; but now they seem to learn
it for the mere sake of doing harm: at any rate, there is no country
where deaths from poison are so common. [15] And the Persian to-day is
far more luxurious than he was in the time of Cyrus. Then they still
clung to the Persian style of education and the Persian self-restraint,
merely adopting the Median dress and a certain grace of life. But now
the old Persian hardihood may perish for all they care, if only they
preserve the softness of the Mede. [16] I might give instances of their
luxury. They are not content with soft sheets and rugs for their beds,
they must have carpets laid under the bed-posts to prevent any jarring
from the floor. They have given up none of the cooked dishes invented
in former days; on the contrary, they are always devising new ones, and
condiments to boot: in fact, they keep men for the very purpose. [17] In
the winter it is not enough to have the body covered, and the head and
the feet, they must have warm sleeves as well and gloves for the hands:
and in the summer they are not content with the shade from the trees or
the rocks, they must have servants standing beside them with artificial
screens. [18] To have an endless array of cups and goblets is their
special pride: and if these are come by unjustly, and all the world
knows it, why, there is nothing to blush for in that: injustice has
grown too common among them, and ill-gotten gain. [19] Forme