To hear thy son within thy palace speak!
Better for thee that pleasure to forego—
The day he speaks will be a day of woe."
When the city was taken, one of the Persians, not knowing Crœsus, was about to kill him; Crœsus, though he saw him approach, took no heed of him, caring not if he should die by the blow; but this speechless son of his, when he saw the Persian advancing against him, through dread and anguish, burst into speech, and said: "Man, kill not Crœsus." These were the first words he ever uttered; but from that time he continued to speak during the remainder of his life. So the Persians got possession of Sardis, and made Crœsus prisoner, after he had reigned fourteen years, been besieged fourteen days, and lost his great empire, as the oracle had predicted. The Persians, having taken him, conducted him to Cyrus; and he, having heaped up a great pile, placed Crœsus upon it, bound with fetters, and with him fourteen young Lydians; designing either to offer this sacrifice to some god, as the first fruits of his victory, or wishing to perform a vow; or perhaps, having heard that Crœsus was a religious person, he placed him on the pile for the purpose of discovering whether any deity would save him from being burned alive. When Crœsus stood upon the pile, notwithstanding the weight of his misfortunes, the words of Solon recurred to him, as spoken by inspiration of the deity, that "No living man could be justly called happy." When this occurred to him, it is said, that after a long silence he recovered himself, and uttering a groan, thrice pronounced the name of Solon; when Cyrus heard him, he commanded his interpreters to ask Crœsus whom it was he called upon; Crœsus for some time kept silence; but at last, being constrained to speak, said: "I named a man, whose discourses I more desire all tyrants might hear, than to be possessor of the greatest riches." When he gave them this obscure answer, they again inquired what he said, and were very importunate; he at length told them that Solon, an Athenian, formerly visited him, and having viewed all his treasures, made no account of them; telling, in a word, how every thing had befallen him as Solon had warned him, though his discourse related to all mankind as much as to himself, and especially to those who imagine themselves happy. The pile now was kindled, and the outer parts began to burn; when Cyrus, informed by the interpreters of what Crœsus had said, relented, considering that being but a man, he was yet going to burn another man alive, who had been no way inferior to himself in prosperity; and moreover, fearing retribution, and reflecting that nothing human is constant, commanded the fire to be instantly extinguished, and Crœsus, with those who were about him, to be taken down. But they with all their endeavors were unable to master the fire. Crœsus, perceiving that Cyrus had altered his resolution, when he saw every man endeavoring to put out the fire, but unable to get the better of it, shouted aloud, invoking Apollo, and besought him, if ever any of his offerings had been agreeable to him, to protect and deliver him from the present danger. And the Lydians relate, as he with tears invoked the god, on a sudden clouds were seen gathering in the air, which before was serene, and that a violent storm burst forth and vehement rain fell and extinguished the flames; by which Cyrus perceiving that Crœsus was beloved by the gods, and a good man, when he had had him taken down from the pile, asked him the following question: "Who persuaded you, Crœsus, to invade my territories, and to become my enemy instead of my friend?" He answered: "O king, I have done this for your good but my own evil fortune, and the god of the Greeks who encouraged me to make war is the cause of all. For no man is so void of understanding as to prefer war before peace; for in the latter children bury their fathers; in the former, fathers bury their children. But, I suppose, it pleased the gods that these things should be so."
Cyrus, having set him at liberty, placed him by his own side, and showed him great respect. But Crœsus, absorbed in thought remained silent; and presently turning round and beholding the Persians sacking the city of the Lydians, he said, "Does it become me, O king, to tell you what is passing through my mind, or to keep silence?" Cyrus bade him say with confidence whatever he wished; upon which Crœsus asked him, "What is this vast crowd so earnestly employed about?" He answered, "They are sacking your city, and plundering your riches." "Not so," Crœsus replied, "they are neither sacking my city, nor plundering my riches, for they are no longer mine; they are ravaging what belongs to you." The reply of Crœsus attracted the attention of Cyrus; he therefore ordered all the rest to withdraw, and asked Crœsus what he thought should be done in the present conjuncture. He answered: "Since the gods have made me your servant, I think it my duty to acquaint you, if I perceive anything deserving of remark. The Persians, who are by nature overbearing, are poor. If, therefore, you permit them to plunder and possess great riches, you may expect the following results; whoso acquires the greatest riches, be assured, will be ready to rebel. Therefore, if you approve what I say, adopt the following plan: place some of your body-guard as sentinels at every gate, with orders to take the booty from all those who would go out, and to acquaint them that the tenth must of necessity be consecrated to Jupiter; thus you will not incur the odium of taking away their property; and they, acknowledging your intention to be just, will readily obey." Cyrus was exceedingly delighted at this suggestion, and ordered his guards to carry it out, then turning to Crœsus, he said: "Since you are resolved to display the deeds and words of a true king, ask whatever boon you desire on the instant." "Sir," he answered, "the most acceptable favor you can bestow upon me is, to let me send my fetters to the god of the Greeks, whom I have honored more than any other deity, and to ask him, if it be his custom to deceive those who deserve well of him." Certain Lydians were accordingly sent to Delphi, with orders to lay his fetters at the entrance of the temple, and to ask the god, if he were not ashamed to have encouraged Crœsus by his oracles to make war on the Persians assuring him that he would put an end to the power of Cyrus, of which war such were the first-fruits (commanding them at these words to show the fetters), and at the same time to ask if it were the custom of the Grecian gods to be ungrateful. When the Lydians arrived at Delphi, and had delivered their message, the Pythian is reported to have made this answer: "The god himself even cannot avoid the decrees of fate; and Crœsus has atoned for the crime of Gyges his ancestor in the fifth generation, who, being one of the body-guard of the Heraclidæ, murdered his master, Candaules, and usurped his dignity, to which he had no right. But although Apollo was desirous that the fall of Sardis might happen in the time of the sons of Crœsus, and not during his reign, yet it was not in his power to avert the fates; but so far as they allowed he accomplished, and conferred the boon on him; for he delayed the capture of Sardis for the space of three years. Let Crœsus know, therefore, that he was taken prisoner three years later than the fates had ordained; and in the next place, he came to his relief, when he was upon the point of being burnt alive. Then, as to the prediction of the oracle, Crœsus has no right to complain; for Apollo foretold him that if he made war on the Persians, he would subvert a great empire; and had he desired to be truly informed, he ought to have sent again to inquire, whether his own or that of Cyrus was meant. But since he neither understood the oracle, nor inquired again, let him lay the blame on himself. And when he last consulted the oracle, he did not understand the answer concerning the mule; for Cyrus was that mule; inasmuch as he was born of parents of different nations, the mother superior, but the father inferior. For she was a Mede, and daughter of Astyages, king of Media; but he was a Persian, subject to the Medes." When Crœsus heard this reply of the priestess of Apollo, he acknowledged the fault to be his and not the god's.
The customs of the Lydians differ little from those of the Greeks. They are the first of all nations we know of that introduced the art of coining gold and silver; and they were the first retailers. The Lydians themselves say that the games which are now common to themselves and the Greeks, were invented by them during the reign of Atys, when a great scarcity of corn pervaded all Lydia. For when they saw famine staring them in the face they sought for remedies, and some devised one thing, some another; and at that time the games of dice, knucklebones, ball, and all other kinds of games except draughts, were invented, (for the Lydians do not claim the invention of this ancient game,) and having made these inventions to alleviate the famine, they employed them as follows: they used to play one whole day that they might not be in want of food; and on the next, they ate and abstained from play. Thus they passed eighteen years; but when the evil did not abate, but on the contrary, became still more virulent, their king divided the whole people into two parts, and cast lots which should remain and which quit the country, and over that part whose lot it should be to stay he appointed himself king; and over that part which was to emigrate he appointed his own son, whose name was Tyrrhenus. Those to whose lot it fell to leave their country went down to Smyrna, built ships, and having put all their movables which were of use on board, set sail in search of food and land, till having passed by many nations, they reached the Ombrici, where they built towns, and dwell to this day. From being called Lydians, they changed their name to one after the king's son, who led them out; from him they gave themselves the appellation of Tyrrhenians.
CHAPTER V.
HISTORY OF THE MEDES TO THE REIGN OF CYRUS.
My history hence proceeds to inquire who Cyrus was that overthrew the power of Crœsus, and how the Persians became masters of Asia. In which narration I shall follow those Persians, who do not wish to magnify the actions of Cyrus, but to relate the plain truth; though I am aware that there are three other ways of relating Cyrus's history. After the Assyrians had ruled over Upper Asia five hundred and twenty years, the Medes first began to revolt from them; and they it seems, in their struggle with the Assyrians for liberty, proved themselves brave men; and having shaken off the yoke, became free: afterward the other nations also did the same as the Medes. When all throughout the continent were independent, they were again reduced under a despotic government. There was among the Medes a man famous for wisdom, named Deioces, son of Phraortes. This Deioces, aiming at absolute power, had recourse to the following plan. The Medes were at that time distributed into villages, and Deioces, who was already highly esteemed in his own district, applied himself with great zeal to the exercise of justice; and this he did, since great lawlessness prevailed throughout the whole of Media, and he knew that injustice and justice are ever at variance. The Medes of the same village, observing his conduct, chose him for their judge; and he, constantly keeping the sovereign power in view, showed himself upright and just. By this conduct he acquired no slight praise from his fellow citizens, so much so that the inhabitants of other villages, hearing that Deioces was the only one who judged uprightly, having before met with unjust sentences, when they heard of him gladly came from all parts to Deioces, in order to submit their quarrels to his decision; and at last they would commit the decision to no one else. In the end, when the number of those who had recourse to him continually increased as men heard of the justice of his decisions, Deioces, seeing the whole devolved upon himself, would no longer occupy the seat where he used to sit to determine differences, and refused to act as judge any more, for it was of no advantage to him to neglect his own affairs, and spend the day in deciding the quarrels of others. Upon this, rapine and lawlessness growing far more frequent throughout the villages than before, the Medes called an assembly and consulted together about the present state of things, but, as I suspect, the partisans of Deioces spoke to the following purpose: "Since it is impossible for us to inhabit the country if we continue in our present condition, let us constitute a king over us, and so the country will be governed by good laws, and we ourselves shall be able to attend to our business, nor be any longer driven from our homes by lawlessness." By some such words they persuaded them to submit to a kingly government. Upon their immediately putting the question, whom they should appoint king, Deioces was unanimously preferred and commended: so that at last they agreed that he should be their king. But he required them to build him a palace suitable to the dignity of a king, and give him guards for security of his person. The Medes accordingly did so: and built him a strong and spacious palace in the part of the country that he selected, and permitted him to choose guards for his person out of all the Medes. Being thus possessed of the power, he compelled the Medes to build one city, and having carefully adorned that, to pay less attention to the others. As the Medes obeyed him in this also, he built lofty and strong walls, which now go under the name of Ecbatana,[4] one placed in a circle within the other; and this fortification was so contrived, that each circle was raised above the other by the height of the battlements only. The situation of the ground, rising by an easy ascent, was very favorable to the design. There were seven circles altogether, the king's palace and the treasury, situated within the innermost of them. The largest of these walls was about equal in circumference to the city of Athens; the battlements of the first circle were white, of the second black, of the third purple, of the fourth blue, of the fifth bright red. Thus the battlements of all circles were painted with different colors; but the two last had their battlements plated, the one with silver, the other with gold.[5]
Deioces then built these fortifications for himself, and round his own palace; and he commanded the rest of the people to fix their habitations round the fortification; and when all the buildings were completed he, for the first time, established the following regulations: that no man should be admitted to the king's presence, but every one should consult him by means of messengers, and, moreover, that it should be accounted indecency for any one to laugh or spit before him. He established such ceremony about his own person, in order that those who were brought up with him, and of no meaner family, nor inferior to him in manly qualities, might not, when they saw him, grieve and conspire against him; but that he might appear to be of a different nature to those who did not see him. When he had established these regulations, and settled himself in the tyranny, he was very severe in the distribution of justice. And the parties contending were obliged to send him their case in writing. All other things were regulated by him: so that, if he received information that any man had injured another, he would send for him, and punish him in proportion to his offence. For this purpose he had spies and eaves-droppers in every part of his dominions.