well-beloved by him: no mean figure to look at, and in soul like a man
of noble birth. Now he spoke as follows:

[8] "Cyrus, friends, and Persians, I hold to the belief that on this
day we all start equal in that race where valour is the goal. I speak of
what I see: we are trained on the same fare; we are held worthy of the
same comradeship; we contend for the same rewards. All of us alike are
told to obey our leaders, and he who obeys most frankly never fails
to meet with honour at the hands of Cyrus. Valour is no longer the
privilege of one class alone: it has become the fairest prize that can
fall to the lot of any man. [9] And to-day a battle is before us where
no man need teach us how to fight: we have the trick of it by nature,
as a bull knows how to use his horns, or a horse his hoofs, or a dog
his teeth, or a wild boar his tusks. The animals know well enough," he
added, "when and where to guard themselves: they need no master to tell
them that. [10] I myself, when I was a little lad, I knew by instinct
how to shield myself from the blow I saw descending: if I had nothing
else, I had my two fists, and used them with all my force against my
foe: no one taught me how to do it, on the contrary they beat me if they
saw me clench my fists. And a knife, I remember, I never could resist:
I clutched the thing whenever I caught sight of it: not a soul showed me
how to hold it, only nature herself, I do aver. I did it, not because I
was taught to do it, but in spite of being forbidden, like many another
thing to which nature drove me, in spite of my father and mother both.
Yes, and I was never tired of hacking and hewing with my knife whenever
I got the chance: it did not seem merely natural, like walking or
running, it was positive joy. [11] Well, to-day we are to fight in
this same simple fashion: energy, rather than skill, is called for, and
glorious it will be to match ourselves against our friends, the Peers of
Persia. And let us remember that the same prizes are offered to us
all, but the stakes differ: our friends give up a life of honour,
the sweetest life there can be, but we escape from years of toil and
ignominy, and there can be no life worse than that. [12] And what fires
me most of all, my friends, and sends me into the lists most gladly, is
the thought that Cyrus will be our judge: one who will give no partial
verdict. I call the gods to witness when I say that he loves a valiant
man as he loves his own sou