Page:History of Greece Vol IV.djvu/230

 212 HISTORY OF GREECE. Artaxerxes attacked him on an open plain of ground, there was no advantage of position on either side ; though the invaders were taken rather unawares in consequence of their extreme confidence, arising from recent unopposed entrance within the artificial ditch. This anecdote is the more valuable as an illustration, because all its circumstances are transmitted to us by a discerning eye- witness. And both the two incidents here brought into compari- son demonstrate the recklessness, changefulness, and incapacity of calculation, belonging to the Asiatic mind of that day, as well as the great command of hands possessed by these kings, and their prodigal waste of human labor. 1 We shall see, as we advance in this history, farther evidences of the same attributes, which it is essential to bear in mind, for the purpose of appre- ciating both Grecian dealing with Asiatics, and the comparative absence of such defects in the Grecian character. Vast walls and deep ditches are an inestimable aid to a brave and well com- manded garrison ; but they cannot be made entirely to supply the want of bravery and intelligence. In whatever manner the difficulties of approaching Babylon may have been overcome, the fact that they were overcome by Cyrus is certain. On first setting out for this conquest, he was about to cross the river Gyndes (one of the affluents from the East which joins the Tigris near the modern Bagdad, and along which lay the high road crossing the pass of Mount Zagros from Babylon to Ekbatana), when one of the sacred white horses, which accompanied him, insulted the river 2 so far as to march in and try to cross it by himself. The Gyndes resented this insult, and the horse was drowned : upon which Cyrus swore in his wrath that he would so break the strength of the river as that women in future should pass it without wetting their knees. Accordingly, he employed his entire army, during the whole summer season, in digging three hundred and sixty artificial channels to disseminate the unity of the stream. Such, accord- 1 Xenophon, Cyropaed. iii, 3, 26, about the -xo/.vxeip a of the barbaric kings. 8 Herodot. 189202. EV&OVTU ol ruv rtf IpHiv Irriruv TUV tVKuy inrb vfipiof a3uf if rbv irorafiov, dtaftaiveiv l7reipu.ro ...... Kupra re tya/cxaite 7^ Ko'uuv o KCpof TOVTO i'Spicavri, etc.