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But Croesus the Lydian, who was present at the meeting of the
chiefs, disapproved of this advice; he therefore rose, and thus
delivered his sentiments in opposition to it: "Oh! my king! I
promised thee long since, that, as Jove had given me into thy hands,
I would, to the best of my power, avert impending danger from thy
house. Alas! my own sufferings, by their very bitterness, have
taught me to be keen-sighted of dangers. If thou deemest thyself an
immortal, and thine army an army of immortals, my counsel will
doubtless be thrown away upon thee. But if thou feelest thyself to be
a man, and a ruler of men, lay this first to heart, that there is a
wheel on which the affairs of men revolve, and that its movement
forbids the same man to be always fortunate. Now concerning the matter
in hand, my judgment runs counter to the judgment of thy other
counsellors. For if thou agreest to give the enemy entrance into thy
country, consider what risk is run! Lose the battle, and therewith
thy whole kingdom is lost. For assuredly, the Massagetae, if they
win the fight, will not return to their homes, but will push forward
against the states of thy empire. Or if thou gainest the battle,
why, then thou gainest far less than if thou wert across the stream,
where thou mightest follow up thy victory. For against thy loss, if
they defeat thee on thine own ground, must be set theirs in like case.
Rout their army on the other side of the river, and thou mayest push
at once into the heart of their country. Moreover, were it not
disgrace intolerable for Cyrus the son of Cambyses to retire before
and yield ground to a woman? My counsel, therefore, is that we cross
the stream, and pushing forward as far as they shall fall back, then
seek to get the better of them by stratagem. I am told they are
unacquainted with the good things on which the Persians live, and have
never tasted the great delights of life. Let us then prepare a feast
for them in our camp; let sheep be slaughtered without stint, and the
winecups be filled full of noble liquor, and let all manner of dishes
be prepared: then leaving behind us our worst troops, let us fall back
towards the river. Unless I very much mistake, when they see the
good fare set out, they will forget all else and fall to. Then it
will remain for us to do our parts manfully."
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