Page:Xenophon by Alexander Grant.djvu/155

Rh vellian policy, which of course is to be considered as an idea of Xenophon's, and not as historical, is in accordance with the ancient Greek notions that society must be based on slavery. It is also akin with the Spartan principle that the government must be for the interests of a ruling caste, while an outlying caste (like the Helots) is to be treated as a mere instrument, with no rights of its own, in the state arrangements.

The policy of Cyrus in governing "dependencies" (for such was Babylon when first conquered) is represented as consisting in constant conciliation of the upper classes, who were to be drawn closely round the monarch; while all the rest were to be equitably treated, but held at a distance. Thus Xenophon describes him as spending infinite trouble and tact on personal attentions to the nobles, who were by these means to be captivated, and turned more and more into friends of the king. All this is interesting, and might be compared, or contrasted, as the case may be, with the action of England (too often without a theory) in relation to its dependencies, such as Ireland of old and India in later times.

After the settlement of Babylon came the division of the whole Persian empire into satrapies, which is better related by Herodotus. And then there were various journeys of Cyrus to revisit his home, where his father and mother were now dead. From his uncle Cyaxares, whom Cyrus had made the head of the greatest empire in the world, he received the hand of a daughter in marriage, with the throne of Media for her dower.