Page:Xenophon by Alexander Grant.djvu/69

Rh and advantage which would be thus gained for Greece; and personally, he doubtless thought of the position which he might himself hold as founder and ruler of a new Hellenic city, which could hardly fail to become rich, powerful, and important. A trifling obstacle, however, thwarted all his plans. Before communicating them to the soldiers, Xenophon, according to his usual custom, and in accordance with the advice of Socrates, determined to take counsel of the gods. He called on the chief soothsayer of the army, by name Silanus, to offer a sacrifice, and consult the omens as to his project of colonisation. Now it so happened that Silanus was in a different position from all the rest of the army; for while they were all returning with their pockets empty, Silanus had managed to bring safely through the march a sum of 3000 darics (£2600), which Cyrus had given him as a reward for a successful divination. Silanus then was of all things most anxious to get home at once, and to prevent anything which might detain the army and himself with it in Asia Minor. He dared not tell Xenophon that the omens were unfavourable to the main issue, as they were not so, and Xenophon knew all about the rules of divination. But he said that he discerned in the victims some collateral indications of a conspiracy against Xenophon. And he took care to prove the truth of these alleged indications, by prematurely divulging to the army a garbled account of the plans of Xenophon, and thus creating a prejudice against them.