“There is Boiscus the boxer, a Thessalian, what a battle he fought then to escape carrying his shield! so tired was he, and to-day I am told he has stripped several citizens of Cotyora of the clothes on their backs.  If then you are wise, you will treat this personage in a way the contrary to that in which men treat dogs.  A savage dog is tied up on the day and loosed at night, but if you are wise you will tie this fellow up at night and only let him loose in the day.

“But really,” he added, “it does surprise me with what keenness you remember and recount the times when I incurred the hatred of some one; but some other occasions when I eased the burden of winter and storm for any of you, or beat off an enemy, or helped to minister to you in sickness and want, not a soul of you remembers these.  Or when for any noble deed done by any of you I praised the doer, and according to my ability did honour to this brave man or that; these things have slipped from your memories, and are clean forgotten.  Yet it were surely more noble, just, and holy, sweeter and kindlier to treasure the memory of good rather than of evil.”

He ended, and then one after another of the assembly got up and began recalling incidents of the kind suggested, and things ended not so unpleasantly after all.

BOOK VI

I

After this, whilst waiting, they lived partly on supplies from the 1 market, partly on the fruit of raids into Paphlagonia.  The Paphlagonians, on their side, showed much skill in kidnapping stragglers, wherever they could lay hands on them, and in the night time tried to do mischief to those whose quarters were at a distance from the camp.  The result was that their relations to one another were exceedingly hostile, so much so that Corylas, who was the chief of Paphlagonia at that date, sent ambassadors to the Hellenes, bearing horses and fine apparel, and charged with a proposal on the part of Corylas to make terms with the Hellenes on the principle of mutual forbearance from injuries.  The generals replied that they would consult with the army about the matter.  Meanwhile they gave them a hospitable reception, to which they invited certain members of the army whose claims were obvious.  They sacrificed some of the captive cattle and other sacrificial beasts, and with these they furnished forth a sufficiently festal entertainment, and reclining on their truckle beds, fell to eating and drinking out of beakers made of horn which they happened to find in the country.

But as soon as the libation was ended and they had sung the hymn, up got first some Thracians, who performed a dance under arms to the sound of a pipe, leaping high into the air with much nimbleness, and brandishing their swords, till at last one man struck his fellow, and every one thought he was really wounded, so skilfully and artistically 6 did he fall, and the Paphlagonians screamed out.  Then he that gave the blow stripped the other of his arms, and marched off chanting the “Sitalcas[1],” whilst others of the Thracians bore off the other, who lay as if dead, though he had not received even a scratch.