4.13
Yet further, continued Socrates, in all the districts he resides in and visits he takes care that there are paradises, as they call them, full of all the good and beautiful things that the soil will produce, and in this he himself spends most of his time, except when the season precludes it.
4.14
Then it is of course necessary, Socrates, to take care that these paradises in which the king spends his time shall contain a fine stock of trees and all other beautiful things that the soil produces.
4.15
And some say, Critobulus, that when the king makes gifts, he first invites those who have distinguished themselves in war, because it is useless to have broad acres under tillage unless there are men to defend them; and next to them, those who stock and cultivate the land best, saying that even stout-hearted warriors cannot live without the aid of workers.
4.16
There is a story that Cyrus, lately the most illustrious of princes, once said to the company invited to receive his gifts, I myself deserve to receive the gifts awarded in both classes; for I am the best at stocking land and the best at protecting the stock.
4.17
Well, if Cyrus said that, Socrates, he took as much pride in cultivating and stocking land as in being a warrior.
4.18
Yes, and, upon my word, if Cyrus had only lived, it seems that he would have proved an excellent ruler. One of the many proofs that he has given of this is the fact that, when he was on his way to fight his brother for the throne, it is said that not a man deserted from Cyrus to the king, whereas tens of thousands deserted from the king to Cyrus.
4.19
I think you have one clear proof of a ruler’s excellence, when men obey him willinglyMem III. iii. 9. and choose to stand by him in moments of danger. Now his friends all fought at his side and fell at his side to a man, fighting round his body, with the one exception of Ariaeus, whose place in the battle was, in point of fact, on the left wing.Anabasis, I. ix. 31. Ariaeus fled when he saw that Cyrus had fallen.
