Xenophon, Cyropaedia
Walter Miller, Ed.

In the first place, then, he showed at all times¹ as great kindness of heart as he could; for he believed that just as it is not easy to love those who seem to hate us, or to cherish good-will toward those who bear us ill-will, in the same way those who are known to love and to cherish good-will could not be hated by those who believe themselves loved. [2]

During the time, therefore, when he was not yet quite able to do favours through gifts of money, he tried to win the love of those about him by taking forethought for them and labouring for them and showing that he rejoiced with them in their good fortune and sympathized with them in their mishaps; and after he found himself in a position to do favours with money, he seems to us to have recognized² from the start that there is no kindness which men can show one another, with the same amount of expenditure, more acceptable than sharing meat and drink with them. [3] In this belief, he first of all arranged that there should be placed upon his own table a quantity of food, like that of which he himself regularly partook, sufficient for a very large number of people; and all of that which was served to him, except what he and his companions at table consumed, he distributed among those of his friends to whom he wished to send remembrances or good wishes. And he used to send such presents around to those also whose services on garrison duty or in attendance upon him or in any other way met with his approval; in this way he let them see that he did not fail to observe their wish to please him. [4]

He used also to honour with presents from his table any one of his servants whom he took occasion to commend; and he had all of his servants' food served from his own table, for he thought that this would implant in them a certain amount of good-will, just as it does in dogs. And if he wished to have any one of his friends courted by the multitude, to such a one he would send presents from his table. And that device proved effective; for even to this day everybody pays more diligent court to those to whom they see things sent from the royal table; for they think that such persons must be in high favour and in a position to secure for them anything they may want. Moreover, it is not for these reasons only that that which is sent by the king gives delight, but the food that is sent from the king's board really is much superior in the gratification also that it gives. [5] That this, however, should³ be so is no marvel. For just as all other arts are developed to superior excellence in large cities, in that same way the food at the king's palace is also elaborately prepared with superior excellence. For in small towns the same workman makes chairs and doors and plows and tables, and often this same artisan builds houses, and even so he is thankful if he can only find employment enough to support him. And it is, of course, impossible for a man of many trades to be proficient in all of them. In large cities, on the other hand, inasmuch as many people have demands to make upon each branch of industry, one trade alone, and very often even less than a whole trade, is enough to support a man: one man, for instance, makes shoes for men, and another for women; and there are places even where one man earns a living by only stitching shoes, another by cutting them out, another by sewing the uppers together, while there is another who performs none of these operations but only assembles the parts. It follows, therefore, as a matter of course, that he who devotes himself to a very highly specialized line of work is bound to do it in the best possible manner. [6]

Exactly the same thing holds true also in reference to the kitchen: in any establishment where one and the same man arranges the dining couches, lays the table, bakes the bread, prepares now one sort of dish and now another, he must necessarily have things go as they may; but where it is all one man can do to stew meats and another to roast them, for one man to boil fish and another to bake them, for another to make bread and not every sort at that, but where it suffices if he makes one kind that has a high reputation—everything that is prepared in such a kitchen will, I think, necessarily be worked out with superior excellence. [7]

Accordingly, Cyrus far surpassed all others in⁴ the art of making much of his friends by gifts of food. And how he far surpassed in every other way of courting favour, I will now explain. Though he far exceeded all other men in the amount of the revenues he received, yet he excelled still more in the quantity of presents he made. It was Cyrus, therefore, who began the practice of lavish giving, and among the kings it continues even to this day. [8] For who has richer friends to show than the Persian king? Who is there that is known to adorn his friends with more beautiful robes than does the king? Whose gifts are so readily recognized as some of those which the king gives, such as bracelets, necklaces, and horses with gold-studded bridles? For, as everybody knows, no one over there is allowed to have such things except those to whom the king has given them. [9] And of whom else is it said that by the munificence of his gifts he makes himself preferred above even brothers and parents and children? Who else was ever in a position like the Persian king to punish enemies who were distant a journey of many months? And who, besides Cyrus, ever gained an empire by conquest and even to his death was called “father” by the people he had subdued? For that name obviously belongs to a benefactor rather than to a despoiler. [10] Moreover,⁵ we have discovered that he acquired the so-called “king's eyes” and “king's ears” in no other way than by bestowing presents and honours; for by rewarding liberally those who reported to him whatever it was to his interest to hear, he prompted many men to make it their business to use their eyes and ears to spy out what they could report to the king to his advantage. [11] As a natural result of this, many “eyes” and many “ears” were ascribed to the king. But if any one thinks that the king⁶ selected one man to be his “eye,” he is wrong; for one only would see and one would hear but little; and it would have amounted to ordering all the rest to pay no attention, if one only had been appointed to see and hear. Besides, if people knew that a certain man was the “eye,” they would know that they must beware of him. But such is not the case; for the king listens to anybody who may claim to have heard or seen anything worthy of attention. [12] And thus the saying comes about, “The king has many ears and many eyes”; and people are everywhere afraid to say anything to the discredit of the king, just as if he himself were listening; or to do anything to harm him, just as if he were present. Not only, therefore, would no one have ventured to say anything derogatory of Cyrus to any one else, but every one conducted himself at all times just as if those who were within hearing were so many eyes and ears of the king. I do not know what better reason any one could assign for this attitude toward him on the part of people generally than that it was his policy to do large favours in return for small ones. [13]

That he, the richest man of all, should excel⁷ in the munificence of his presents is not surprising; but for him, the king, to exceed all others in thoughtful attention to his friends and in care for them, that is more remarkable; and it is said to have been no secret that there was nothing wherein he would have been so much ashamed of being outdone as in attention to his friends. [14] People quote a remark of his to the effect that the duties of a good shepherd and of a good king were very much alike; a good shepherd ought, while deriving benefit from his flocks, to make them happy (so far as sheep can be said to have happiness), and in the same way a king ought to make his people and his cities happy, if he would derive benefits from them. Seeing that he held this theory, it is not at all surprising that he was ambitious to surpass all other men in attention to his friends. [15] And, among other proofs, Cyrus is said to have⁸ given Croesus one splendid practical demonstration of the correctness of this theory, when the latter warned him that by giving so much away he would make himself poor, whereas he was in a position to lay up in his house more treasures of gold than any other man.

“And how much gold, pray,” Cyrus is said to have asked, “do you think I should have by this time, if I had been amassing it, as you propose, ever since I have been in power?” [16]

Croesus named some large sum.

“Well, then, Croesus,” said Cyrus in reply, “send along with Hystaspas here a man in whom you have most confidence. And you, Hystaspas,” said he to him, “go the round of my friends and tell them that I need money for a certain enterprise; for, in truth, I do need more. And bid them write down the amount they could each let me have, and affix their seals to each subscription, and give it to Croesus's messenger to deliver here.” [17]

And when he had written down what he had said, he sealed the letter and gave it to Hystaspas to carry to his friends. And he included in it also a request that they all receive Hystaspas as his friend.

And when he had made the round and Croesus's messenger had brought in the subscriptions, Hystaspas said: “King Cyrus, you should treat me also henceforth as a rich man; for, thanks to your letter, I have come back with a great number of presents.” [18]

“Even in this man, Croesus,” said Cyrus, “we have one treasure-house already. But as for the rest of my friends, look over the list, and add up the amounts, and see how much money is ready for me, if I need any for my use.”

Then Croesus is said to have added it up and to have found that there was many times as much subscribed as he had told Cyrus he should have in his treasury by this time, if he had been amassing it. [19] And when this became apparent, Cyrus is said to have remarked: “Do you observe, Croesus,⁹ that I, too, have my treasures? But you are proposing to me to get them together and hoard them in my palace, to put hired watchmen in charge of everything and to trust to them, and on account of those hoards to be envied and hated. I, on the other hand, believe that if I make my friends rich I shall have treasures in them and at the same time more trusty watchers both of my person and of our common fortunes than any hired guards I could put in charge. [20] And one more thing I must tell¹⁰ you: even I cannot eradicate from myself that passion for wealth which the gods have put into the human soul and by which they have made us all poor alike, but I, too, am as insatiate of wealth as other people are. [21] However, I think I am different from most people, in that others, when they have acquired more than a sufficiency, bury some of their treasure and allow some to decay, and some they weary themselves with counting, measuring, weighing, airing, and watching; and though they have so much at home, they never eat more than they can hold, for they would burst if they did, and they never wear more than they can carry, for they would be suffocated if they did; they only find their superfluous treasure a burden. [22] But I follow the leading of the gods and am always grasping after more. But when I have obtained what I see is more than enough for my needs, I use it to satisfy the wants of my friends; and by enriching men and doing them kindnesses I win with my superfluous wealth their friendship and loyalty, and from that I reap as my reward security and good fame—possessions that never decay or do injury from overloading the recipient; but the more one has of good fame, the greater and more attractive and lighter to bear it becomes, and often, too, it makes those who bear it lighter of heart. [23]

“And let me tell you, Croesus,” he continued, “I do not consider those the happiest who have the most and keep guard of the most; for if that were so, those would be the happiest who keep guard on the city walls, for they keep guard of everything in the city. But the one who can honestly acquire the most and use the most to noble ends, him I count most happy.”

And it was evident that he practised what he preached. [24]

Besides this, he had observed that most people¹¹ in days of health and strength make preparations that they may have the necessaries of life, and they lay up for themselves what will serve to supply the wants of healthy people; but he saw that they made no provision at all for such things as would be serviceable in case of sickness. He resolved, therefore, to work out these problems, and to that end he spared no expense to collect about him the very best physicians and surgeons and all the instruments and drugs and articles of food and drink that any one of them said would be useful—there were none of these things that he did not procure and keep in store at his palace. [25] And whenever any one fell sick in whose recovery he was interested, he would visit him and provide for him whatever was needed. And he was grateful to the physicians also, whenever any of them took any of his medical stores and with them effected a cure. [26]

These and many other such arts he employed in order to hold the first place in the affections of those by whom he wished to be beloved.

And the games, in which Cyrus used to announce contests and to offer prizes from a desire to inspire in his people a spirit of emulation in what was beautiful and good—these games also brought him praise, because his aim was to secure practice in excellence. But these contests also stirred up contentions and jealousies among the nobles. [27]

Besides this, Cyrus had made a regulation that¹² was practically a law, that, in any matter that required adjudication, whether it was a civil action or a contest for a prize, those who asked for such adjudication must concur in the choice of judges. It was, therefore, a matter of course that each of the contestants aimed to secure the most influential men as judges and such as were most friendly to himself. The one who did not win was always jealous of those who did, and disliked those of the judges who did not vote in his favour; on the other hand, the one who did win claimed that he had won by virtue of the justice of his cause, and so he thought he owed no thanks to anybody. [28]

And those also who wished to hold the first place in the affections of Cyrus were jealous of one another, just like other people (even in republics), so that in most cases the one would have wished to get the other out of the way sooner than to join with him in any work to their mutual interest.

Thus it has been shown how he contrived that the most influential citizens should love him more than they did each other.