The confusion spread wider and wider . Each man smote down his brother , and was himself smitten down before he had time to exult in his victory . The trumpeters , all the while , blew their blasts shriller and shriller ; each soldier shouted a battle cry , and often fell with it on his lips . It was the strangest spectacle of causeless wrath , and of mischief for no good end , that had ever been witnessed ; but , after all , it was neither more foolish nor more wicked than a thousand battles that have since been fought , in which men have slain their brothers with just as little reason as these children of the dragon 's teeth . It ought to be considered , too , that the dragon people were made for nothing else ; whereas other mortals were born to love and help one another . Well , this memorable battle continued to rage until the ground was strewn with helmeted heads that had been cut off . Of all the thousands that began the fight , there were only five left standing . These now rushed from different parts of the field , and , meeting in the middle of it , clashed their swords , and struck at each other 's hearts as fiercely as ever . `` Cadmus , '' said the voice again , `` bid those five warriors sheathe their swords . They will help you to build the city . '' Without hesitating an instant , Cadmus stepped forward , with the aspect of a king and a leader , and extending his drawn sword amongst them , spoke to the warriors in a stern and commanding voice . `` Sheathe your weapons ! '' said he . And forthwith , feeling themselves bound to obey him , the five remaining sons of the dragon 's teeth made him a military salute with their swords , returned them to the scabbards , and stood before Cadmus in a rank , eyeing him as soldiers eye their captain , while awaiting the word of command . These five men had probably sprung from the biggest of the dragon 's teeth , and were the boldest and strongest of the whole army . They were almost giants indeed , and had good need to be so , else they never could have lived through so terrible a fight . They still had a very furious look , and , if Cadmus happened to glance aside , would glare at one another , with fire flashing out of their eyes . It was strange , too , to observe how the earth , out of which they had so lately grown , was incrusted , here and there , on their bright breastplates , and even , begrimed their faces ; just as you may have seen it clinging to beets and carrots , when pulled out of their native soil . Cadmus hardly knew whether to consider them as men , or some odd kind of vegetable ; although , on the whole , he concluded that there was human nature in them , because they were so fond of trumpets and weapons , and so ready to shed blood . They looked him earnestly in the face , waiting for his next order , and evidently desiring no other employment than to follow him from one battlefield to another , all over the wide world .
But Cadmus was wiser than these earth-born creatures , with the dragon 's fierceness in them , and knew better how XXXXX use their strength and hardihood .
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