Book 3
1.22
Yes; but neither do I mean that simply recognizing their superiors makes people discreet, unless they are punished by those superiors, as my father now is.But said Cyrus, your father has not yet suffered the least harm; but he is afraid, to be sure, that he will suffer the worst.
1.23
Do you think, then, said Tigranes, thatFear of harm worse than the reality anything breaks a man’s spirit sooner than object fear? Do you not know that those who are beaten with the sword, which is considered the most potent instrument of correction, are nevertheless ready to fight the same enemy again; but when people really fear anyone very much, then they cannot look him in the face, even when he tries to cheer them? You mean to say, said he, that fear is a heavier punishment to men than real correction.
1.24
And you, said he, know that what I say is true; for you are aware that, on the one hand, those who are afraid that they are to be exiled from their native land, and those who on the eve of battle are afraid that they shall be defeated, and those who fear slavery or bondage, all such can neither eat nor sleep for fear; whereas those who are already in exile or already defeated or already in slavery can sometimes eat and sleep better than those enjoying a happier lot.
1.25
And from the following considerations it is still clearer what a burden fear is: some, for fear that they will be caught and put to death, in terror take their own lives before their time—some by hurling themselves over a precipice, other by hanging themselves, others by cutting their own throats; so does fear crush down the soul more than all other terrors. As for my father, he added, in what a state of mind do you think he is? For he is in dread not only for himself, but also for me, for his wife, and for all of his children.
