Cyrus' friends

Hence it was that he had a greater following than any other one man of our time of friends who eagerly desired to entrust to him both treasure and cities and their very bodies.

When he died, namely, all his bodyguard of friends and table companions died fighting in his defence, with the exception of Ariaeus;

and surely he of all men distributed gifts most generously among his friends, with an eye to the tastes of each one and to whatever particular need he noted in each case.

After this Cyaxares attended to his dinner, while Cyrus collected those of his friends who were most able to think and to co-operate with him when occasion demanded, and addressed them as follows:

Or again, if you in your kindness of heart were to tell one of your friends to take whatever of yours he wanted, and if he, accepting your offer, should make off with everything he could and enrich himself with what belonged to you, while you had not even enough left for moderate use, could you consider such a one a blameless friend?

Do not, however, aim at displaying to us the arguments that you will address to each one of them, but set to work with the feeling that those who are persuaded by any one of you will show what they are by what they do.