Page:History of Greece Vol IX.djvu/147

 WISH TO RETURN BY SEA. 12 asleep, like Odysseus." This pithy address being received with vehement acclamations, and warmly responded to by all, Cheiri- sophus offered, if the army chose to empower him, to sail forthwith to Byzantium, where he thought he could obtain from his friend the Lacedaemonian admiral, Anaxibius, sufficient vessels for trans- port. His proposition was gladly accepted ; and he departed to execute the project. Xenophon then urged upon the army various resolutions and measures, proper for the regulation of affairs during the absence of Cheirisophus. The army would be forced to maintain itself by marauding expeditions among the hostile tribes in the mountains. Such expeditions, accordingly, must be put under regulation ; nei- ther individual soldiers, nor small companies, must be allowed to go out at pleasure, without giving notice to the generals ; more- over, the camp must be kept under constant guard and scouts, in the event of surprise from a retaliating enemy. It was prudent also to take the best measures in their power for procuring vessels ; since, after all, Cheirisophus might possibly fail in bringing an ade- quate number. They ought to borrow a few ships of war from the Trapezuntines, and detain all the merchant ships which they saw ; unshipping the rudders, placing the cargoes under guard, and main- taining the crew during all the time that the ships might be re- quired for transport of the army. Many such merchant vessels were often sailing by ; l so that they would thus acquire the means of transport, even though Cheirisophus should bring few or none from Byzantium. Lastly, Xenophon proposed to require the Grecian cities to repair and put in order the road along the coast, for a land-march ; since, perhaps, with all their efforts, it would be found impossible to get together a sufficient stock of transports. All the propositions of Xenophon were readily adopted by the army, except the last. But the mere mention of a renewed land- march excited such universal murmurs of repugnance, that he did not venture to put that question to the vote. He took upon him- self, however, to send messages to the Grecian cities, on his own responsibility ; urging them to repair the roads, in order that the 1 Xen. Anab. v, 1, 3-13. how extensive was the Grecian commerce with the town and region of Pha sis, at the eastern extremity of the Euxine.
 * O/3<j d' kyu Tr/lota TTO^UKLC napairheovTa, etc. This is a forcible proof