y age shall be no excuse to stand between me and
your orders. At least I am of full age, I take it, to avert misfortune
from my own head."

Such were the speaker's words; and the officers, when they heard, all,
with one exception, called upon him to put himself at their head. This
was a certain Apollonides there present, who spoke in the Boeotian
dialect. This man's opinion was that it was mere nonsense for any one
to pretend they could obtain safety otherwise than by an appeal to the
king, if he had skill to enforce it; and at the same time he began to
dilate on the difficulties. But Xenophon cut him short. "O most
marvellous of men! though you have eyes to see, you do not perceive;
though you have ears to hear, you do not recollect. You were present 27
with the rest of us now here when, after the death of Cyrus, the king,
vaunting himself on that occurrence, sent dictatorially to bid us lay
down our arms. But when we, instead of giving up our arms, put them on
and went and pitched our camp near him, his manner changed. It is hard
to say what he did not do, he was so at his wit's end, sending us
embassies and begging for a truce, and furnishing provisions the
while, until he had got it. Or to take the contrary instance, when
just now, acting precisely on your principles, our generals and
captains went, trusting to the truce, unarmed to a conference with
them, what came of it? what is happening at this instant? Beaten,
goaded with pricks, insulted, poor souls, they cannot even die: though
death, I ween, would be very sweet. And you, who know all this, how
can you say that it is mere nonsense to talk of self-defence? how can
you bid us go again and try the arts of persuasion? In my opinion,
sirs, we ought not to admit this fellow to the same rank with
ourselves; rather ought we to deprive him of his captaincy, and load
him with packs and treat him as such. The man is a disgrace to his own
fatherland and the whole of Hellas, that, being a Hellene, he is what
he is."

Here Agasias the Stymphalian broke in, exclaiming: "Nay, this fellow
has no connection either with Boeotia or with Hellas, none whatever. I
have noted both his ears bored like a Lydian's." And so it was. Him
then they banished. But the rest visited the ranks, and wherever a
general was left, they summoned the general; where he was gone, the
lieutenant-general; and where again the captain alone was left, the
captain. As soon as they were all met, they sea