the cavalry general-第4章
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case of danger suddenly appearing in rear; then by the rear…rank men;
whose main idea is that to desert one's post is base。 A want of
orderly arrangement; on the contrary; leads to confusion worse
confounded at every narrow road; at every passage of a river; and when
it comes to fighting; no one of his own free will assigns himself his
proper post in face of an enemey。
'10' Lit。 〃where to ride;〃 i。e。 in what formation whether on the line
of march or in action。
The above are fundamental matters not to be performed without the
active help of every trooper who would wish to be a zealous and
unhesitating fellow…worker with his officer。'11'
'11' Cf。 〃Hiero;〃 vii。 2; 〃Cyrop。〃 II。 iv。 10。
III
I come at length to certain duties which devolve upon the general of
cavalry himself in person: and first and foremost; it concerns him to
obtain the favour of the gods by sacrifices in behalf of the state
cavalry; and in the next place to make the great procession at the
festivals a spectacle worth seeing; and further; with regard to all
those public shows demanded by the state; wherever held;'1' whether in
the grounds of the Acadamy or the Lyceum; at Phaleron or within the
hippodrome; it is his business as commander of the knights to see that
every pageant of the sort is splendidly exhibited。
'1' Cf。 Theophr。 〃Ch。〃 vii。 (Jebb ad loc。 p。 204; n。 25)。
But these; again; are memoranda。'2' To the question how the several
features of the pageant shall receive their due impress of beauty; I
will now address myself。
'2' Read {tauta men alla upomnemata}; or if with Pantazid。 {apla};
trans。 〃these are simply memoranda。〃
And first to speak of the Processions。'3' These will; I think; be
rendered most acceptable to Heaven and to earth's spectators were the
riders to ride round the Agora and temples; commencing from the
Hermae; and pay honour to the sacred beings; each in turn; whose
shrines and statues are there congregated。 (Thus in the great
Dionysia'4' the choruses embrace their gracious service to the other
gods and to the Twelve with circling dance。'5') When the circuit is
completed; and the riders are back again in front of the Hermae; it
would add; I think; to the beauty of the scene'6' if at this point
they formed in companies of tribes; and giving their horses rein;
swept forward at the gallop to the Eleusinion。 Nor must I omit to note
the right position of the lance; to lessen as far as possible the risk
of mutual interference。'7' Each trooper should hold his lance straight
between the ears of his charger; which in proportion to the
distinctness given to the weapon will rouse terror; and at the same
time create a vague idea of multitudinousness。'8'
'3' {tas pompas}。 See A。 Martin; op。 cit。 147; 160。
'4' Celebrated in March (Elaphebolion)。
'5' Or; 〃by dancing roundelays in honour of the gods; especially The
Twelve〃; and as to the Twelve cf。 Aristoph。 〃Knights;〃 235;
〃Birds;〃 95; Plat。 〃Laws;〃 654; Paus。 i。 3。 3; 40。 3; viii。 25。 3;
Plut。 〃Nic。〃 13; Lycurg。 198。
'6' Or; 〃it would be a beautiful sequel to the proceedings; in my
opinion; if at this point they formed in squadron column; and
giving rein to their chargers; swept forward at full gallop to the
Eleusinion。〃 See Leake; op。 cit。 i。 296。
'7' Lit。 〃nor will I omit how the lances shall as little as possible
overlap one another。〃
'8' Lit。 〃Every trooper should be at pains to keep his lance straight
between the ears of his charger; if these weapons are to be
distinct and terror…striking; and at the same time to appear
numerous。〃
As soon as they have ceased from the charge at full gallop; the pace
should at once be changed; and now; with footing slow; let them
retrace their course back to the temples。 In this way every detail
characteristic of knightly pageantry'9' will have been displayed to
the delight of god and man。 That our knights are not accustomed to
these actual evolutions; I am well aware; but I also recognise the
fact that the performances are good and beautiful and will give
pleasure to spectators。 I do not fail to note; moreover; that novel
feats of horsemanship have before now been performed by our knights;
when their commanders have had the ability to get their wishes readily
complied with。
'9' Lit。 〃everything that may be performed on a mounted horse。〃
Possibly; as Cobet suggests; {kala} has dropped out。 See
〃Horsemanship;〃 xi。 3; 6。
But now; let us suppose it is the occasion of the march…past;'10' in
the grounds of the Lyceum; before the javelin…throwing。 The scene
would gain in beauty if the tribal squadrons were to ride in line of
columns'11' as if for battle; in two divisions; five squadrons in the
one and five in the other; with the hipparch and the phylarchs at
their head; in such formation as to allow the whole breadth of the
racecourse to be filled。 Then; as soon as they have gained the top'12'
of the incline; which leads down to the theatre opposite; it would; I
think; be obviously useful here to show the skill with which your
troopers can gallop down a steep incline'13' with as broad a front as
the nature of the ground permits。 I am quite clear that your troopers;
if they can trust their own skill in galloping; will take kindly to
such an exhibition; while as certainly; if unpractised; they must look
to it that the enemy does not give them a lesson in the art some day;
perforce。
'10' {dielaunosin en Lukeio}。 See A。 Martin; op。 cit。 196; cf。 Arist。
〃Peace;〃 356。
'11' Or; as we might say; 〃in regimental order;〃 〃with the commanding
officer in front and their respective squadron…leaders〃; and for
the Lyceum see 〃Hell。〃 I。 i。 33; II。 iv。 27。
'12' Lit。 〃the apex of the confronting theatre。〃
'13' See 〃Horsemanship;〃 viii。 6; 〃Anab。〃 IV。 viii。 28。
To come to the test manouvres。'14' The order in which the men will
ride with showiest effect on these occasions has been already
noted。'15' As far as the leader is himself concerned; and presuming he
is mounted on a powerful horse; I would suggest that he should each
time ride round on the outer flank; in which case he will himself be
kept perpetually moving at a canter; and those with him; as they
become the wheeling flank; will; by turns; fall into the same pace;
with this result: the spectacle presented to the senate will be that
of an ever rapidly moving stream of cavaliers; and the horses having;
each in turn; the opportunity to recover breath; will not be overdone。
'14' {dokimasiais}; reviews and inspections。 See A。 Martin; op。 cit。
p。 333。
'15' Where? Some think in a lost passage of the work (see Courier; p。
111; n。 1); or is the reference to ch。 ii。 above? and is the scene
of the {dokimasiai} Phaleron? There is no further refernece to {ta
Phaleroi}。 Cf。 S。 1; above。 See Aristot。 〃Ath。 Pol。〃 49 (now the
locus classicus on the subject); and Dr。 Sandys ad loc。 The scene
is represented on a patera from Orvieto; now in the Berlin Museum;
reproduced and fully described in 〃The Art of Horsemanship by
Xenophon;〃 translated; with chapters on the Greek Riding…Horse;
and with notes; by Morris H。 Morgan; p。 76。
On occasions when the display takes place in the hippodrome;'16' the
best arrangement would be; in t