ng: "Artabanos, of human life, which is such
as thou dost define it to be, let us cease to speak, and do not remember
evils when we have good things in hand: but do thou declare to me
this:--If the vision of the dream had not appeared with so much
evidence, wouldest thou still be holding thy former opinion,
endeavouring to prevent me from marching against Hellas, or wouldest
thou have changed from it? Come, tell me this exactly." He answered
saying: "O king, may the vision of the dream which appeared have such
fulfilment as we both desire! but I am even to this moment full of
apprehension and cannot contain myself, taking into account many things
besides, and also seeing that two things, which are the greatest things
of all, are utterly hostile to thee."

48. To this Xerxes made answer in these words: "Thou strangest of men,
47 of what nature are these two things which thou sayest are utterly
hostile to me? Is it that the land-army is to be found fault with in
the matter of numbers, and that the army of the Hellenes appears to thee
likely to be many times as large as ours? or dost thou think that our
fleet will fall short of theirs? or even that both of these things
together will prove true? For if thou thinkest that in these respects
our power is deficient, one might make gathering at once of another
force."

49. Then he made answer and said: "O king, neither with this army would
any one who has understanding find fault, nor with the number of the
ships; and indeed if thou shalt assemble more, the two things of which
I speak will be made thereby yet more hostile: and these two things
are--the land and the sea. For neither in the sea is there, as I
suppose, a harbour anywhere large enough to receive this fleet of thine,
if a storm should arise, and to ensure the safety of the ships till it
be over; and yet not one alone 48 ought this harbour to be, but there
should be such harbours along the whole coast of the continent by which
thou sailest; and if there are not harbours to receive thy ships, know
that accidents will rule men and not men the accidents. Now having told
thee of one of the two things, I am about to tell thee of the other. The
land, I say, becomes hostile to thee in this way:--if nothing shall
come to oppose thee, the land is hostile to thee by so much the more
in proportion as thou shalt advance more, ever stealing on further and
further, 49 for there is no satiety of good fortune felt by men:
and this