The ship or the wishes (31-35)

ADIMANTUS

I’ll lead your cavalry, Samippus. Let Lycinus have the right wing. I deserve the best from you in return for all those bushels of minted gold I gave you.

SAMIPPUS

Let us ask the cavalry personally, Adimantus, if they will have you as commander. Gentlemen of the cavalry, those in favour of Adimantus as cavalry officer, raise your hands.

ADIMANTUS

They’ve voted unanimously, you see, Samippus.

SAMIPPUS

Well, you command the cavalry and let Lycinus have the right. Timolaus here shall take the left. I shall be in the centre as the law lays down for Persian kings when they are with their troops.

SAMIPPUS

Let us now advance to Corinth over the hills after a prayer to Royal Zeus; and when we have conquered all of Greece—we shall have no opposition to our enormous numbers and have an easy victory—we shall embark on triremes, putting the cavalry on horse-transports—enough corn and sufficient boats and everything else is ready at Cenchreae—let us cross the Aegean to

Ionia. There let us sacrifice to Artemis and capture the cities easily—they are unwalled—leave governors behind, and press on to Syria through Caria first, then Lycia, Pamphylia, Pisidia, Cilicia (both coast and hill areas), until we reach the Euphrates.

LYCINUS

Please, your Majesty, leave me behind as satrap of Greece. I’m a coward and I couldn’t bear to go far away from things at home. You seem to be pushing on to the Armenians and Parthians, warlike nations, good shots with the bow. So give the right wing to someone else and leave me in Greece like an Antipater. [*] I don’t want anyone to stick me with an arrow hitting some exposed part of my poor body when I’m leading your phalanx near Susa or Bactra.

SAMIPPUS

You’re deserting the levy, Lycinus, you coward. It’s the law to cut the head off anyone seen leaving the ranks. But now that we are at the Euphrates, the river has been bridged and all is safe in the rear and I’ve put prefects over each tribe to keep control of everything. Others meanwhile will go off for us to win over Phoenicia and Palestine and afterwards Egypt too.

SAMIPPUS

You cross first, Lycinus, with the right wing, then I, and Timolaus after me; last of all, Adimantus, bring the cavalry. Throughout Mesopotamia not an enemy has met us. They surrendered themselves and their strongholds quite voluntarily.

We came against Babylon unexpectedly and entered the walls and held the city. The King was busy at Ctesiphon when he heard of our approach. Then he came to Seleucia, and is summoning and making ready all the cavalry he can and bowmen and slingers. The scouts report about a million already mustered under arms, including two hundred thousand mounted archers. Yet the Armenians are not yet here nor those from the Caspian Sea nor the men from Bactra, only those from near at hand and the suburbs of the empire. See how easily he mustered all those thousands. Now it’s time for us to consider what to do next.

ADIMANTUS

I say you infantry must be off on the road to Ctesiphon while we cavalry stay here to guard Babylon.

SAMIPPUS

Are you playing the coward too, Adimantus, now you’re close to danger? What do you think, Timolaus?

TIMOLAUS

March against the enemy with your entire army and don’t wait until the arrival of allies from all around makes them better prepared. No, let us attack the enemy while they are still on the march.

SAMIPPUS

Good! What’s your opinion, Lycinus?

LYCINUS

I will tell you. We are tired with our hard travelling to Piraeus this morning, and now we have already done thirty stades I suppose, and the sun is hot—it’s about midday. Let’s go over to the olives and sit on that overturned stone there and have a breather. Then when we’re recovered we complete the rest of the way to the city.

SAMIPPUS

Bless you! Do you think you are still at Athens? You’re stationed on the plain near Babylon outside the walls, one of a mighty army, in a council of war.

LYCINUS

Thanks for the reminder. I thought I was sober and that the idea I was expressing was wideawake.