The nobles, for
the sake of the pay, transform their porters, their bakers, and cooks
into knights--even the valets who served them at table, dressed them
or perfumed them. And so, although their armies were large, they were
of no service, as is apparent from the fact that their enemies
traversed the empire more freely than their friends. They no longer
dared to fight. The infantry as formerly was equipped with buckler,
sword, and axe, but they had no courage to use them. The drivers of
chariots before facing the enemy basely allowed themselves to be
overthrown at once or leaped down from the cars, so that these being
no longer under control injured the Persians more than the enemy. For
the rest, the Persians do not disguise their military weakness, they
concede their inferiority and do not dare to take the field except
there are Greeks in their army. They have for their maxim 'never to
fight Greeks without Greek auxiliaries on their side.'"
=Expedition of the Ten Thousand.=--This weakness was very apparent
when in 400 Cyrus, brother of the Great King Artaxerxes, marched
against him to secure his throne.
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