Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1153IR // #c1153Synthesis

"He would go to one of his most intimate friends and bid him lay hands on the property of the offender, asserting that it was his own. Then of course the truants would appear at once crying out that they had been robbed."

— In our words · Source: Cyropaedia (Xenophon)

[Use when]

Key people keep skipping the meetings where decisions get made.

[Why it matters]

Nobles who skipped court came running once their property was at stake. Cyrus then delayed hearing them for days, gave the best tasks to people who turned up on time, and in the end handed a persistent truant's holdings to someone who came when called.

More from Cyropaedia

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