My story, then, is told of this handful of good
and true friends out of the many that memory first
supplied me with, so I will now descend from
the post of orator and leave the floor to you.
But
you had better be careful to make your Scythians out no worse than these, but a good deal better, unless you want to lose your right hand. You
must speak up like a man, for it would be an
absurd experience for you if, after having praised
Orestes and Pylades like a professional orator,
you should prove an indifferent speaker in behalf
of the Scythians. Toxaris It is all very well that you spur me
on to speak! Don't you care whether you lose


 

your tongue by defeat in the contest? But I will
begin directly without any of your phrase-making; that is not our way in Scythia, particularly
when the deeds speak louder than the words
that tell of them. You need not expect me to
follow you in elaborating the praises of a hero
who married a plain wife without a dowry, or another who gave two thousand dollars as a wedding-present to a friend's daughter, or even one
who offered himself for imprisonment with the
certainty of a speedy release. For all these are
trifles, and not one of them calls for exertion or
courage.