_T._ Very right; it means an ascent. Now how comes it to mean an ascent? What is it derived from? _C._ It comes from … (_a pause_). _Anabasis_ … it _is_ the nominative. _T._ Quite right: but what part of speech is it? _C._ A noun,—a noun substantive. _T._ Very well; a noun substantive, now what is the verb that _anabasis_ is derived from? _C. is silent._ _T._ From the verb ἀναβαίνω, isn’t it? from ἀναβαίνω. _C._ Yes. _T._ Just so. Now, what does ἀναβαίνω mean? _C._ To go up, to ascend. _T._ Very well; and which part of the word means _to go_, and which part _up_? _C._ ἀνά is _up_, and βαίνω _go_. _T._ βαίνω to go, yes; now, βάσις? What does βάσις mean? _C._ A going. _T._ That is right; and ἀνά-βασις? _C._ A going up. _T._ Now what is a going _down_? _C. is silent_. _T._ What is down? … Κατά … don’t you recollect? Κατά. _C._ Κατά. _T._ Well, then, what is a going _down_? Cat .. cat … _C._ Cat.… _T._ Cata … _C._ Cata.… _T._ Catabasis. _C._ Oh, of course, catabasis. _T._ Now tell me what is the future of βαίνω? _C._ (_thinks_) βανῶ. _T._ No, no; think again; you know better than that. _C._ (_objects_) Φαίνω, Φανῶ? _T._ Certainly, Φανῶ is the future of Φαίνω; but βαίνω is, you know, an irregular verb. _C._ Oh, I recollect, βήσω. _T._ Well, that is much better; but you are not quite right yet; βήσομαι. _C._ Oh, of course,. _T._ βήσομαι. Now do you mean to say that βήσομαι _comes from_ βαίνω? _C. is silent._ _T._ For instance: τύψω comes from τύπτω by a change of letters; does βήσομαιin any similar way come from βαίνω? _C._ It is an irregular verb. _T._ What do you mean by an irregular verb? does it form tenses anyhow and by caprice? _C._ It does not go according to the paradigm. _T._ Yes, but how do you account for this? _C. is silent_. _T._ Are its tenses formed from several roots? _C. is silent. T. is silent; then he changes the subject._ _T._ Well, now you say _Anabasis_ means an _ascent_. _Who_ ascended? _C._ The Greeks, Xenophon. _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 _de_scent 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_. _T._ You have got confused; you know very well. _C._ I understood you to ask why I did not say “they went _down_.”