We must, I mean, show that we do them good." "Yes, my child, but to do
good really at all seasons to those we wish to help is not always
possible: only one way is ever open, and that is the way of sympathy;
to rejoice with the happy in the day of good things, to share their
sorrow when ill befalls them, to lend a hand in all their
difficulties, to fear disaster for them, and guard against it by
foresight--these, rather than actual benefits, are the true signs of
comradeship. [25] And so in war; if the campaign is in summer the
general must show himself greedy for his share of the sun and the
heat, and in winter for the cold and the frost, and in all labours for
toil and fatigue. This will help to make him beloved of his
followers." "You mean, father," said Cyrus, "that a commander should
always be stouter-hearted in everything than those whom he commands."
"Yes, my son, that is my meaning," said he; "only be well assured of
this: the princely leader and the private soldier may be alike in
body, but their sufferings are not the same: the pains of the leader
are always lightened by the glory that is his and by the very
consciousness that all his acts are done in the public eye."

[26] "But now, father, suppose the time has come, and you are
satisfied that your troops are well supplied, sound in wind and limb,
well able to endure fatigue, skilled in the arts of war, covetous of
honour, eager to show their mettle, anxious to follow, would you not
think it well to try the chance of battle without delay?" "By all
means," said the father, "if you are likely to gain by the move: but
if not, for my own part, the more I felt persuaded of my own
superiority and the power of my troops, the more I should be inclined
to stand on my guard, just as we put our greatest treasures in the
safest place we have." [27] "But how can a man make sure that he will
gain?" "Ah, there you come," said the father, "to a most weighty