f husbandry, they have reaped and gathered
in their fruits, they bring tributes to the king; and whatsoever it
is which the king says or commands, it is done of necessity, and that
without any delay, while he in the mean time is satiated with all sorts
of food and pleasures, and sleeps in quiet. He is guarded by such as
watch, and such as are, as it were, fixed down to the place through
fear; for no one dares leave him, even when he is asleep, nor does any
one go away and take care of his own affairs; but he esteems this one
thing the only work of necessity, to guard the king, and accordingly to
this he wholly addicts himself. How then can it be otherwise, but that
it must appear that the king exceeds all in strength, while so great a
multitude obeys his injunctions?"

5. Now when this man had held his peace, the third of them, who was
Zorobabel, began to instruct them about women, and about truth, who said
thus: "Wine is strong, as is the king also, whom all men obey, but women
are superior to them in power; for it was a woman that brought the king
into the world; and for those that plant the vines and make the wine,
they are women who bear them, and bring them up: nor indeed is there any
thing which we do not receive from them; for these women weave garments
for us, and our household affairs are by their means taken care of, and
preserved in safety; nor can we live separate from women. And when we
have gotten a great deal of gold and silver, and any other thing that
is of great value, and deserving regard, and see a beautiful woman,
we leave all these things, and with open mouth fix our eyes upon her
countenance, and are willing to forsake what we have, that we may enjoy
her beauty, and procure it to ourselves. We also leave father, and
mother, and the earth that nourishes us, and frequently forget our
dearest friends, for the sake of women; nay, we are so hardy as to lay
down our lives for them. But what will chiefly make you take notice of
the strength of women is this that follows: Do not we take pains, and
endure a great deal of trouble, and that both by land and sea, and when
we have procured somewhat as the fruit of our labors, do not we bring
them to the women, as to our mistresses, and bestow them upon them? Nay,
I once saw the king, who is lord of so many people, smitten on the face
by Apame, the daughter of Rabsases Themasius, his concubine, and his
diadem taken away from him, and put upon her own head, while