I overheard at a local cafe that a lot of people were enjoying viewing superb owls today. I, too, am a fan of owls and thought I would share this superb owl with any other enthusiasts who might be at the hall.
Anabasis VIII: Treachery
By the time they reach the Great Zab river (the notes in my edition claim this is the ‘Zapatas’ mentioned last time), the Greek commander decides to try to address the mutual suspicion that he has been noticing growing between his army and the Persians. Clearchus asks for an interview with Tissaphernes, who readily grants it. Clearchus points out that, in spite of the oaths they have exchanged not to do each other harm, the two sides are watching each other like hawks. He thinks they might avoid trouble if they addressed this mistrust directly, in order to avoid the mutual suspicion sparking a conflict.
Clearchus points out that the oaths, which were taken before the gods, prevent them from being enemies, and that neglect of such oaths is deeply destructive to one's conscience. Therefore, he suggests, the two sides should trust the gods and each other's oaths and dispose of the suspicion. He gives further pragmatic arguments as to why Tissaphernes can trust the Greeks not to betray him.
Tissaphernes declares himself delighted with the proposal, praises Clearchus' reasoning, and gives several arguments about why the Greeks can also trust him (especially, that he might want to hire mercenaries someday). Tissaphernes then offers to host Clearchus and his captains at a feast at which he will reveal who has been slandering them and causing all this mistrust. Clearchus promises to attend, and to reveal any similar slander that comes to his attention. Tissaphernes then hosts him for dinner as his guest, creating a hospitality bond between them. These are honor bonds not readily broken, especially in the Middle East (Saladin would not harm a Crusader who had received even a cup of water from his hands; one time when a tribal leader in the Mahmudiyah Qada didn't offer us a drink of water or tea or coffee on arrival, I was very much on guard).
The next day Clearchus and his generals and captains went to the feast. The generals were invited inside Tissaphernes' tent, with the captains and other Greeks who had accompanied the group (to ferry back supplies) waiting outside. At a signal, the generals were all seized and a unit of cavalry rode in and slaughtered the captains all all of the other Greeks who had come with the party.
Tissaphernes executed Clearchus (for perjury, indeed on the claim that Clearchus had broken his oath to keep the peace), and then sent the other generals to the King of Persia who beheaded them. The native Persian allies who had marched with Cyrus alongside the Greeks now turned on them completely, and joined Tissaphernes to try to extort a surrender from the Ten Thousand. They were, again, refused.
In some respects this is the real beginning of the story of the Ten Thousand. From here on they have lost both their political leader, Cyrus, and their military leadership. What they do from this point is different, as they must now govern themselves rather than simply exercise military discipline.
Panic in the blue rooms
From the NYT, which incautiously allowed conservative-ish Bret Stephens to join in a round-table discussion:
Voters, including conservative ones, don’t want an authoritarian state. But liberals and progressives consistently failed to recognize the way in which their own side violated those norms, or sought to impose their own forms of authoritarianism.
Do any Democrats understand that trying to throw your opponent in jail, or bankrupt him with doubtful suits, or strike his name from the ballot, isn’t democratic? Do they understand that they can’t credibly talk about Trump’s threats to our governing traditions when they also are calling to pack the Supreme Court or end the Senate filibuster? Do they comprehend that trying to strong-arm Facebook into suppressing “misinformation” violated the spirit of the First Amendment?
Do they understand that lying about Joe Biden’s health was reminiscent of Soviet propaganda during the reigns of Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko? (Nothing to see here but a “cheapfake”!) Do they recognize the chilling effects of the progressive speech police? One of the reasons Trump won is that Democrats all but erased the difference between them and Republicans when it came to the question of adhering to “democratic norms.”
***
The Democratic Party has, to an astonishing degree, become the party of government workers and union workers. They should try to make inroads with the rest of us.When someone other than Stephens is speaking, it's mostly an inadvertent confirmation of his thesis. Long may they keep it up. Meanwhile, all those unaccountable billionaire wrong-thinking geeks are starting to explain why no one can perform a useful audit on federal spending: Treasury just writes a check for whatever the agencies requisition, and the money comes out of thin air--has done since we abandoned the gold standard in 1971. So, as soon as someone successful appeals the New York judge who denied access to the Treasury payment system by the Secretary of the Treasury, the evil billionaires can start figuring out a way to track payments and inform the public what the heck has been going on with the slush funds and the "incurable" national debt. (This editorial is behind a paywall, and I have no intention of subscribing, but if you hold down "Ctrl" and hit A then C quickly, you can copy the whole thing before the wall slams down, then paste it into a text field somewhere to read it.)
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