Chapter 2

I come at length to certain duties which devolve upon the general of cavalry himself in person: and first and foremost, it concerns him to obtain the favour of the gods by sacrifices in behalf of the state cavalry; and in the next place to make the great procession at the festivals a spectacle worth seeing; and further, with regard to all those public shows demanded by the state, wherever held, (1) whether in the grounds of the Academy or the Lyceum, at Phaleron or within the hippodrome, it is his business as commander of the knights to see that every pageant of the sort is splendidly exhibited.

(1) Cf. Theophr. "Ch." vii. (Jebb ad loc. p. 204, n. 25).

But these, again, are memoranda. (2) To the question how the several features of the pageant shall receive their due impress of beauty, I will now address myself.

(2) Read {tauta men alla upomnemata}, or if with Pantazid. {apla}, trans. "these are simply memoranda."

And first to speak of the Processions. (3) These will, I think, be rendered most acceptable to Heaven and to earth's spectators were the riders to ride round the Agora and temples, commencing from the Hermae, and pay honour to the sacred beings, each in turn, whose shrines and statues are there congregated. (Thus in the great Dionysia (4) the choruses embrace their gracious service to the other gods and to the Twelve with circling dance. (5)) When the circuit is completed, and the riders are back again in front of the Hermae, it would add, I think, to the beauty of the scene (6) if at this point they formed in companies of tribes, and giving their horses rein, swept forward at the gallop to the Eleusinion. Nor must I omit to note the right position of the lance, to lessen as far as possible the risk of mutual interference. (7) Each trooper should hold his lance straight between the ears of his charger, which in proportion to the distinctness given to the weapon will rouse terror, and at the same time create a vague idea of multitudinousness. (8)

(3) {tas pompas}. See A. Martin, op. cit. 147, 160.

(4) Celebrated in March (Elaphebolion).

(5) Or, "by dancing roundelays in honour of the gods, especially The Twelve"; and as to the Twelve cf. Aristoph. "Knights," 235, "Birds," 95; Plat. "Laws," 654; Paus. i. 3. 3; 40. 3; viii. 25. 3; Plut. "Nic." 13; Lycurg. 198.

(6) Or, "it would be a beautiful sequel to the proceedings, in my opinion, if at this point they formed in squadron column, and giving rein to their chargers, swept forward at full gallop to the Eleusinion." See Leake, op. cit. i. 296.

(7) Lit. "nor will I omit how the lances shall as little as possible overlap one another."

(8) Lit. "Every trooper should be at pains to keep his lance straight between the ears of his charger, if these weapons are to be distinct and terror-striking, and at the same time to appear numerous."

As soon as they have ceased from the charge at full gallop, the pace should at once be changed; and now, with footing slow, let them retrace their course back to the temples. In this way every detail characteristic of knightly pageantry (9) will have been displayed to the delight of god and man. That our knights are not accustomed to these actual evolutions, I am well aware; but I also recognise the fact that the performances are good and beautiful and will give pleasure to spectators. I do not fail to note, moreover, that novel feats of horsemanship have before now been performed by our knights, when their commanders have had the ability to get their wishes readily complied with.

(9) Lit. "everything that may be performed on a mounted horse." Possibly, as Cobet suggests, {kala} has dropped out. See "Horsemanship," xi. 3, 6.

But now, let us suppose it is the occasion of the march-past, (10) in the grounds of the Lyceum, before the javelin-throwing. The scene would gain in beauty if the tribal squadrons were to ride in line of columns (11) as if for battle, in two divisions, five squadrons in the one and five in the other, with the hipparch and the phylarchs at their head, in such formation as to allow the whole breadth of the racecourse to be filled. Then, as soon as they have gained the top (12) of the incline, which leads down to the theatre opposite, it would, I think, be obviously useful here to show the skill with which your troopers can gallop down a steep incline (13) with as broad a front as the nature of the ground permits. I am quite clear that your troopers, if they can trust their own skill in galloping, will take kindly to such an exhibition; while as certainly, if unpractised, they must look to it that the enemy does not give them a lesson in the art some day, perforce.

(10) {dielaunosin en Lukeio}. See A. Martin, op. cit. 196; cf. Arist. "Peace," 356.

(11) Or, as we might say, "in regimental order," "with the commanding officer in front and their respective squadron-leaders"; and for the Lyceum see "Hell." I. i. 33; II. iv. 27.

(12) Lit. "the apex of the confronting theatre."

(13) See "Horsemanship," viii. 6; "Anab." IV. viii. 28.

To come to the test manouvres. (14) The order in which the men will ride with showiest effect on these occasions has been already noted. (15) As far as the leader is himself concerned, and presuming he is mounted on a powerful horse, I would suggest that he should each time ride round on the outer flank; in which case he will himself be kept perpetually moving at a canter, and those with him, as they become the wheeling flank, will, by turns, fall into the same pace, with this result: the spectacle presented to the senate will be that of an ever rapidly moving stream of cavaliers; and the horses having, each in turn, the opportunity to recover breath, will not be overdone.

(14) {dokimasiais}, reviews and inspections. See A. Martin, op. cit. p. 333.

(15) Where? Some think in a lost passage of the work (see Courier, p. 111, n. 1); or is the reference to ch. ii. above? and is the scene of the {dokimasiai} Phaleron? There is no further reference to {ta Phaleroi}. Cf. S. 1, above. See Aristot. "Ath. Pol." 49 (now the locus classicus on the subject), and Dr. Sandys ad loc. The scene is represented on a patera from Orvieto, now in the Berlin Museum, reproduced and fully described in "The Art of Horsemanship by Xenophon," translated, with chapters on the Greek Riding-Horse, and with notes, by Morris H. Morgan, p. 76.

On occasions when the display takes place in the hippodrome, (16) the best arrangement would be, in the first place, that the troops should fill the entire space with extended front, so forcing out the mob of people from the centre; (17) and secondly, that in the sham fight (18) which ensues, the tribal squadrons, swiftly pursuing and retiring, should gallop right across and through each other, the two hipparchs at their head, each with five squadrons under him. Consider the effect of such a spectacle: the grim advance of rival squadrons front to front; the charge; the solemn pause as, having swept across the hippodrome, they stand once more confronting one another; and then the trumpet sounds, whereat a second and yet swifter hostile advance, how fine the effect!--and once again they are at the halt; and once again the trumpet sounds, and for the third time, at the swiftest pace of all, they make a final charge across the field, before dismissal; after which they come to a halt en masse, in battle order; and, as now customary, (19) ride up to salute the senate, and disband. These evolutions will at once approve themselves, I think, not only for their novelty, but for their resemblance to real warfare. The notion that the hipparch is to ride at a slower pace than his phylarchs, and to handle his horse precisely in their style, seems to me below the dignity of the office.

(16) In the hippodrome near Munychia, I suppose.

(17) Lit. "... it would be beautiful to form with extended front, so as to fill the hippodrome with horses and drive out the people from the central space, beautiful to..." The new feature of the review would seem to have been the introduction of a sham fight in three parts, down to the customary advance of the whole corps, {epi phalaggos}. Cf. Virg. "Aen." v. 545 foll. But see Martin, op. cit. 197.

(18) Lit. "the anthippasia."

(19) "As is your custom." See "Mem." III. iii. 6.

When the cavalry parade takes place on the hard-trodden (20) ground of the Academy, I have the following advice to give. To avoid being jolted off his horse at any moment, the trooper should, in charging, lean well back, (21) and to prevent his charger stumbling, he should while wheeling hold his head well up, but along a straight stretch he should force the pace. Thus the spectacle presented to the senate will combine the elements of beauty and of safety.

(20) Cf. Thuc. vii. 27.

(21) See "Horsemanship," vii. 17.

IV

To pass to a different topic: on the march, the general will need to exercise a constant forethought to relieve the horses' backs and the troopers' legs, by a judicious interchange of riding and of marching. Wherein consists the golden mean, will not be hard to find; since "every man a standard to himself," (1) applies, and your sensations are an index to prevent your fellows being overdone through inadvertence.

(1) The phrase is proverbial. Cf. Plat. "Theaet." 183 B.

But now supposing you are on the march in some direction, and it is uncertain whether you will stumble on the enemy, your duty is to rest your squadrons in turn; since it will go hard with you, if the enemy come to close quarters when the whole force is dismounted. (2) Or, again, suppose the roads are narrow, or you have to cross a defile, you will pass, by word of mouth, the command to diminish the front; (3) or given, again, you are debouching on broad roads, again the word of command will pass by word of mouth, to every squadron, "to increase their front"; or lastly, supposing you have reached flat country, "to form squadron in order of battle." If only for the sake of practice, it is well to go through evolutions of the sort; (4) besides which it adds pleasure to the march thus to diversify the line of route with cavalry maneuvers.

(2) See "Hell." V. iv. 40 for a case in point.

(3) Or, "advance by column of route." See "Hell." VII. iv. 23.

(4) Or, "it is a pleasant method of beguiling the road." Cf. Plat. "Laws," i. 625 B.

Supposing, however, you are off roads altogether and moving fast over difficult ground, no matter whether you are in hostile or in friendly territory, it will be useful if the scouts attached to squadrons (5) rode on in advance, their duty being, in case of encountering pathless clefts or gullies, to work round on to practicable ground, and to discover at what point the troopers may effect a passage, so that whole ranks may not go blindly roaming. (6)

(5) {ton upereton} = "ground scouts," al. "orderlies." Ordonnances, trabans (Courier). See Rustow and Kochly, p. 140. "Cyrop." II. i. 21; II. iv. 4; V. iii. 52; VII. v. 18, and VI. ii. 13; "Anab." I. ix. 27; II. i. 9; where "adjutants," "orderlies" would seem to be implied.

(6) Al. "to prevent whole divisions losing their way." Cf. "Anab." VIII. iii. 18.

Again, if there is prospect of danger on the march, a prudent general can hardly show his wisdom better than by sending out advanced patrols in front of the ordinary exploring parties to reconnoitre every inch of ground minutely. So to be apprised of the enemy's position in advance, and at as great a distance off as possible, cannot fail to be useful, whether for purposes of attack or defence; just as it is useful also to enforce a halt at the passage of a river or some other defile, so that the men in rear may not knock their horses all to bits in endeavouring to overtake their leader. These are precepts known, I admit, to nearly all the world, but it is by no means every one who will take pains to apply them carefully. (7)

(7) See "Econ." xx. 6. foll.

It is the business of the hipparch to take infinite precautions while it is still peace, to make himself acquainted with the details, not only of his own, but of the hostile territory; (8) or if, as may well betide, he personally should lack the knowledge, he should invite the aid of others (9)--those best versed in the topography of any district. Since there is all the difference in the world between a leader acquainted with his roads and one who is not; and when it comes to actual designs upon the enemy, the difference between knowing and not knowing the locality can hardly be exaggerated.

(8) Or, "with hostile and friendly territories alike."

(9) Lit. "he should associate with himself those of the rest"; i.e. his colleagues or other members of the force.

So, too, with regard to spies and intelligencers. Before war commences your business is to provide yourself with a supply of people friendly to both states, or maybe merchants (since states are ready to receive the importer of goods with open arms); sham deserters may be found occasionally useful. (10) Not, of course, that the confidence you feel in your spies must ever cause you to neglect outpost duty; indeed your state of preparation should at any moment be precisely what it ought to be, supposing the approach or the imminent arrival of the enemy were to be announced. Let a spy be ever so faithful, there is always the risk he may fail to report his intelligence at the critical moment, since the obstacles which present themselves in war are not to be counted on the fingers.

(10) Cf. "Cyrop." VI. i. 39, where one of the Persians, Araspas, undertakes to play this role to good effect.

But to proceed to another topic. The enemy is less likely to get wind of an advance of cavalry, if the orders for march were passed from mouth to mouth rather than announced by voice of herald, or public notice. (11) Accordingly, in addition to (12) this method of ordering the march by word passed along the line, the appointment of file-leaders seems desirable, who again are to be supplemented by section-leaders, (13) so that the number of men to whom each petty officer has to transmit an order will be very few; (14) while the section-leaders will deploy and increase the front, whatever the formation, without confusion, whenever there is occasion for the movement. (15)

(11) i.e. "given by general word of command, or in writing." As to the "word-of-mouth command," see above, S. 3; "Hell." VII. v. 9; and for the "herald," see "Anab." III. iv. 36.

(12) Reading {pros to dia p.}, or if {pros to}... transl. "with a view to."

(13) Lit. pempadarchs, i.e. No. 6 in the file. See "Cyrop." II. i. 22 foll., iii. 21.

(14) Lit. "so that each officer may pass the word to as few as possible."

(15) Cf. "Anab." IV. vi. 6.

When an advanced guard is needed, I say for myself I highly approve of secret pickets and outposts, if only because in supplying a guard to protect your friends you are contriving an ambuscade to catch the enemy. Also the outposts will be less exposed to a secret attack, being themselves unseen, and yet a source of great alarm to the enemy; since the bare knowledge that there are outposts somewhere, though where precisely no man knows, will prevent the enemy from feeling confident, and oblige him to mistrust every tenable position. An exposed outpost, on the contrary, presents to the broad eye of day its dangers and also its weaknesses. (16) Besides which, the holder of a concealed outpost can always place a few exposed vedettes beyond his hidden pickets, and so endeavour to decoy the enemy into an ambuscade. Or he may play the part of trapper with effect by placing a second exposed outpost in rear of the other; a device which may serve to take in the unwary foeman quite as well as that before named.

(16) Lit. "makes plain its grounds of terror as of confidence."

Indeed I take it to be the mark of a really prudent general never to run a risk of his own choosing, except where it is plain to him beforehand, that he will get the better of his adversary. To play into the enemy's hands may more fitly be described as treason to one's fellow-combatants than true manliness. So, too, true generalship consists in attacking where the enemy is weakest, even if the point be some leagues distant. Severity of toil weighs nothing in the scale against the danger of engaging a force superior to your own. (17) Still, if on any occasion the enemy advance in any way to place himself between fortified points that are friendly to you, let him be never so superior in force, your game is to attack on whichever flank you can best conceal your advance, or, still better, on both flanks simultaneously; since, while one detachment is retiring after delivering its attack, a charge pressed home from the opposite quarter cannot fail to throw the enemy into confusion and to give safety to your friends.

(17) N.B. Throughout this treatise the author has to meet the case of a small force of cavalry acting on the defensive.

How excellent a thing it is to endeavour to ascertain an enemy's position by means of spies and so forth, as in ancient story; yet best of all, in my opinion, is it for the commander to try to seize some coign of vantage, from which with his own eyes he may descry the movements of the enemy and watch for any error on his part. (18)

(18) As, e.g. Epaminondas at Tegea. See "Hell." VII. v. 9.

Whatever may be snatched by ruse, thief fashion, (19) your business is to send a competent patrol to seize; or again where capture by coup de main (20) is practicable, you will despatch a requisite body of troops to effect a coup de main. Or take the case: the enemy is on the march in some direction, and a portion of his force becomes detached from his main body or through excess of confidence is caught straggling; do not let the opportunity escape, but make it a rule always to pursue a weaker with a stronger force. (21) These, indeed, are rules of procedure, which it only requires a simple effort of the mind to appreciate. Creatures far duller of wit than man have this ability: kites and falcons, when anything is left unguarded, pounce and carry it off and retire into safety without being caught; or wolves, again, will hunt down any quarry left widowed of its guard, or thieve what they can in darksome corners. (22) In case a dog pursues and overtakes them, should he chance to be weaker the wolf attacks him, or if stronger, the wolf will slaughter (23) his quarry and make off. At other times, if the pack be strong enough to make light of the guardians of a flock, they will marshal their battalions, as it were, some to drive off the guard and others to effect the capture, and so by stealth or fair fight they provide themselves with the necessaries of life. I say, if dumb beasts are capable of conducting a raid with so much sense and skill, it is hard if any average man cannot prove himself equally intelligent with creatures which themselves fall victims to the craft of man.

(19) e.g. defiles, bridges, outposts, stores, etc.

(20) e.g. a line of outposts, troops in billets or bivouac, etc.

(21) "It is a maxim, the quarry should be weaker than the pursuer."

(22) Zeune cf. Ael. "N. A." viii. 14, on the skill of wolves in hunting.

(23) For {aposphaxas} Courier suggests {apospasas}, "dragging off what he can."

V

Here is another matter which every horseman ought to know, and that is within what distance a horse can overhaul a man on foot; or the interval necessary to enable a slower horse to escape one more fleet. It is the business rather of the cavalry general to recognise at a glance the sort of ground on which infantry will be superior to cavalry and where cavalry will be superior to infantry. He should be a man of invention, ready of device to turn all circumstances to account, so as to give at one time a small body of cavalry the appearance of a larger, and again a large the likeness of a smaller body; he should have the craft to appear absent when close at hand, and within striking distance when a long way off; he should know exactly not only how to steal an enemy's position, but by a master stroke of cunning (1) to spirit his own cavalry away, and, when least expected, deliver his attack. Another excellent specimen of inventiveness may be seen in the general's ability, while holding a weak position himself, to conjure up so lively an apprehension in the enemy that he will not dream of attacking; or conversely, when, being in a strong position himself, he can engender a fatal boldness in the adversary to venture an attack. Thus with the least cost to yourself, you will best be able to catch your enemy tripping.

(1) Or, "sleight of hand"; and for {kleptein} = escamoter see "Anab." IV. vi. 11, 15; V. vi. 9.

But to avoid suspicion of seeming to prescribe impossible feats, I will set down, in so many words, the procedure in certain crucial instances.

The best safeguard against failure in any attempt to enforce pursuit or conduct a retreat lies in a thorough knowledge of your horse's powers. (2) But how is this experience to be got? Simply by paying attention to their behaviour in the peaceable manouvres of the sham fight, when there is no real enemy to intervene--how the animals come off, in fact, and what stamina they show in the various charges and retreats.

(2) {empeiria}, "empirical knowledge."

Or suppose the problem is to make your cavalry appear numerous. In the first place, let it be a fundamental rule, if possible, not to attempt to delude the enemy at close quarters; distance, as it aids illusion, will promote security. The next point is to bear in mind that a mob of horses clustered together (owing perhaps to the creatures' size) will give a suggestion of number, whereas scattered they may easily be counted.

Another means by which you may give your troop an appearance of numerical strength beyond reality consists in posting, in and out between the troopers, so many lines of grooms (3) who should carry lances if possible, or staves at any rate to look like lances--a plan which will serve alike whether you mean to display your cavalry force at the halt or are deploying to increase front; in either case, obviously the bulk and volume of the force, whatever your formation, will appear increased. Conversely, if the problem be to make large numbers appear small, supposing you have ground at command adapted to concealment, the thing is simple: by leaving a portion of your men exposed and hiding away a portion in obscurity, you may effect your object. (4) But if the ground nowhere admits of cover, your best course is to form your files (5) into ranks one behind the other, and wheel them round so as to leave intervals between each file; the troopers nearest the enemy in each file will keep their lances erect, and the rest low enough not to show above.

(3) Cf. Polyaen. II. i. 17, of Agesilaus in Macedonia, 394 B.C. (our author was probably present); IV. iv. 3, of Antipater in Thessaly, 323 B.C.

(4) Lit. "steal your troopers." See "Cyrop." V. iv. 48.

(5) Lit. "form your decads (squads of ten; cf. our 'fours') in ranks and deploy with intervals."

To come to the next topic: you may work on the enemy's fears by the various devices of mock ambuscades, sham relief parties, false information. Conversely, his confidence will reach an overweening pitch, if the idea gets abroad that his opponents have troubles of their own and little leisure for offensive operations.