【英文原著类】The Cavalry General(骑兵队长).pdf

The Cavalry General
The Cavalry General
By Xenophon
Translation by H. G. Dakyns
1
The Cavalry General
Xenophon the Athenian was born 431 . He was a pupil of Socrates.
He marched with the Spartans, and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gave
him land and property in Scillus, where he lived for many years before
having to move once more, to settle in Corinth. He died in 354 .
The Cavalry General is a discourse on the merits a cavalry general, or
hipparch, in Athens should have. Xenophon also describes the
development of a cavalry force, and some tactical details to be applied in
the field and in festival exhibition.
2
The Cavalry General
The Cavalry General
I
Your first duty is to offer sacrifice, petitioning the gods to grant you
such good gifts[2] as shall enable you in thought, word, and deed to
discharge your office in the manner most acceptable to Heaven, and with
fullest increase to yourself, and friends, and to the state at large of
affection, glory, and wide usefulness. The goodwill of Heaven[3] so
obtained, you shall proceed to mount your troopers, taking care that the
plement which the law demands is reached, and that the normal
force of cavalry is not diminished. There will need to be a reserve of
remounts, or else a deficiency may occur at any moment,[4] looking to the
fact that some will certainly umb to old age, and others, from one
reason or another, prove unserviceable.
[1] For the title, etc., see Schneid. "Praemon. de Xeno." {Ipp}.
Boeckh, "P. E. A." 251.
[2] Or, "with sacrifice to ask of Heaven those gifts of thought and
speech and conduct whereby you will exercise your office most
acceptably to the gods themselves, and with . . ." Cf. Plat. "Phaedr."
273 E; "Euthr." 14 B.
[3] The Greek phrase is warmer, {theon d' ileon onton}, "the gods
being kindly and propitious." Cf. Plat. "Laws," 712 B.
[4] Lit. "at any moment there will be too few." See "Les Cavaliers
Atheniens," par Albert Martin, p. 308.