e same
way as the Cyrenaeans do now. [28] The fault of the system to his mind
was that the very flower of the army, if the picked men were in the
chariots, could only act at long range and so contribute little after
all to the victory. Three hundred chariots meant twelve hundred horses
and three hundred fighting-men, besides the charioteers, who would
naturally be men above the common, in whom the warriors could place
confidence: and that meant another three hundred debarred from injuring
the enemy in any kind of way. [29] Such was the system he abolished in
favour of the war-chariot proper, with strong wheels to resist the shock
of collision, and long axles, on the principle that a broad base is the
firmer, while the driver's seat was changed into what might be called
a turret, stoutly built of timber and reaching up to the elbow,
leaving the driver room to manage the horses above the rim. The drivers
themselves were all fully armed, only their eyes uncovered. [30] He had
iron scythes about two feet long attached to the axles on either side,
and others, under the tree, pointing to the ground, for use in a charge.
Such was the type of chariot invented by Cyrus, and it is still in use
to-day among the subjects of the Great King. Beside the chariots he had
a large number of camels, collected from his friends or captured
from the enemy. [31] Moreover, he decided to send a spy into Lydia to
ascertain the movements of the king, and he thought that the right man
for this purpose was Araspas, the officer in charge of the fair lady
from Susa. Matters had gone ill with Araspas: he had fallen passionately
in love with his prisoner, and been led to entreat her to be his
paramour. [32] She had refused, faithful to her husband who was far
away, for she loved him dearly, but she forbore to accuse Araspas to
Cyrus, being unwilling to set friend at strife with friend. [33] But
when at length Araspas, thinking it would help him in his desires, began
to threaten her, saying that if she would not yield he would have his
will of her by force, then in her dread of violence she could keep the
matter hid no longer, and she sent her eunuch to Cyrus with orders to
tell him everything. [34] And when Cyrus heard it he smiled over the man
who had boasted that he was superior to love, and sent Artabazus back
with the eunuch to tell Araspas that he must use no violence against
such a woman, but if he could persuade her, he might do so. [35] But
Artab