T. Very well: Xenophon and the Greeks; the Greeks ascended. To what did they ascend? C. Against the Persian king: they ascended to fight the Persian king.
T. That is right … an ascent; but I thought we called it a descent when a foreign army carried war into a country? C. is silent.
T. Don't we talk of a descent of barbarians? C. Yes.
T. Why then are the Greeks said to go up? C. They went up to fight the Persian king.
T. Yes; but why up … why not down? C. They came down afterwards, when they retreated back to Greece.
T. Perfectly right; they did … but could you give no reason why they are said to go up to Persia, not down? C. They went up to Persia.
T. Why do you not say they went down? C. pauses, then … They went down to Persia.
T. You have misunderstood me.
A silence.
T. Why do you not say down? C. I do … down.