arious persons stood forward to
accuse him of having beaten and ill-used them. As commander of the
rear-guard, his duty was by far the severest and most difficult,
especially during the intense cold and deep snow; since the sick and
wounded, as well as the laggards and plunderers, all fell under his
inspection. One man especially was loud in complaints against him, and
Xenophon questioned him, as to the details of his case, before the
assembled army. It turned out that he had given him blows, because the
man, having been entrusted with the task of carrying a sick soldier, was
about to evade the duty by burying the dying man alive. This interesting
debate ended by a full approbation on the part of the army of Xenophon's
conduct, accompanied with regret that he had not handled the man yet
more severely.

The statements of Xenophon himself give us a vivid idea of the internal
discipline of the army, even as managed by a discreet and well-tempered
officer. "I acknowledge (said he to the soldiers) to have struck many
men for disorderly conduct; men who were content to owe their
preservation to your orderly march and constant fighting, while they
themselves ran about to plunder and enrich themselves at your cost. Had
we all acted as they did, we should have perished to a man. Sometimes
too I struck men who were lagging behind with cold and fatigue, or were
stopping the way so as to hinder others from getting forward: I struck
them with my fist, in order to save them from the spear of the enemy.
You yourselves stood by and saw me: you had arms in your hands, yet none
of you interfered to prevent me. I did it for their good as well as for
yours, not from any insolence of disposition; for it was a time when we
were all alike suffering from cold, hunger, and fatigue; whereas I now
live comparatively well, drink more wine and pass easy days--and yet I
strike no one. You will find that the men who failed most in those times
of hardship, are now the most outrageous offenders in the army. There is
Boiskus, the Thessalian pugilist, who pretended sickness during the
march, in order to evade the burden of carrying his shield--and now, as
I am informed, he has stripped several citizens of Kotyora of their
clothes. If (he concluded) the blows which I have occasionally given, in
cases of necessity, are now brought in evidence--I call upon those among
you also, to whom I have rendered aid and protection, to stand up and
testify in my favor.