himself with his best armour,[127] and in that dress to meet his end. He
proceeded to speak thus: 8. "Of the perjury and perfidy of the
Barbarians Cleanor has just spoken, and you, I am sure, are well aware
of it. If, then, we think of coming again to terms of friendship with
them, we must of necessity feel much distrust on that head, when we see
what our generals have suffered, who, in reliance on their faith, put
themselves into their hands; but if we propose to inflict on them
vengeance with our swords for what they have done, and, for the future,
to be at war with them at all points, we have, with the help of the
gods, many fair hopes of safety." 9. As he was uttering these words,
somebody sneezed, and the soldiers, hearing it, with one impulse paid
their adoration to the god;[128] and Xenophon continued, "Since,
soldiers, while we were speaking of safety, an omen from Jupiter the
Preserver has appeared, it seems to me that we should vow to that god to
offer sacrifices for our preservation on the spot where we first reach a
friendly country; and that we should vow, at the same time, to sacrifice
to the other gods according to our ability. And to whomsoever this seems
reasonable, let him hold up his hand." All held up their hands; and they
then made their vows, and sang the paean. When the ceremonies to the gods
were duly performed, he recommenced thus: 10. "I was saying that we had
many fair hopes of safety. In the first place, we have observed our
oaths made to the gods; but the enemy have perjured themselves, and
broken the truce and their oaths. Such being the case, it is natural
that the gods should be unfavourable to our enemies, and should fight on
our side; the gods, who are able, whenever they will, to make the mighty
soon weak, and to save the weak with ease, although they be in grievous
perils. 11. In the next place, I will remind you of the dangers in which
our ancestors were, that you may feel conscious how much it becomes you
to be brave, and how the brave are preserved, even from the greatest
troubles, by the aid of the gods. For when the Persians, and those
united with them, came with a numerous host, as if to sweep Athens from
the face of the earth,[129] the Athenians, by daring to oppose them,
gave them a defeat; 12. and having made a vow to Diana, that whatever
number they should kill of the enemy, they would sacrifice to her
divinity the same number of goats, and not being able to find enough,
they