ee were removed,
Since he shall first utter speech in an evil day of misfortune."

Now when the fortress was being taken, one of the Persians was about to
slay Croesus taking him for another; and Croesus for his part, seeing
him coming on, cared nothing for it because of the misfortune which was
upon him, and to him it was indifferent that he should be slain by the
stroke; but this voiceless son, when he saw the Persian coming on, by
reason of terror and affliction burst the bonds of his utterance and
said: "Man, slay not Croesus." This son, I say, uttered voice then first
of all, but after this he continued to use speech for the whole time of
his life.

86. The Persians then had obtained possession of Sardis and had taken
Croesus himself prisoner, after he had reigned fourteen years and had
been besieged fourteen days, having fulfilled the oracle in that he had
brought to an end his own great empire. So the Persians having taken him
brought him into the presence of Cyrus: and he piled up a great pyre
and caused Croesus to go up upon it bound in fetters, and along with him
twice seven sons of Lydians, whether it was that he meant to dedicate
this offering as first-fruits of his victory to some god, or whether
he desired to fulfil a vow, or else had heard that Croesus was a
god-fearing man and so caused him to go up on the pyre because he wished
to know if any one of the divine powers would save him, so that he
should not be burnt alive. He, they say, did this; but to Croesus as
he stood upon the pyre there came, although he was in such evil case, a
memory of the saying of Solon, how he had said with divine inspiration
that no one of the living might be called happy. And when this thought
came into his mind, they say that he sighed deeply 99 and groaned aloud,
having been for long silent, and three times he uttered the name of
Solon. Hearing this, Cyrus bade the interpreters ask Croesus who was
this person on whom he called; and they came near and asked. And
Croesus for a time, it is said, kept silence when he was asked this,
but afterwards being pressed he said: "One whom more than much wealth I
should have desired to have speech with all monarchs." Then, since his
words were of doubtful import, they asked again of that which he said;
and as they were urgent with him and gave him no peace, he told how once
Solon an Athenian had come, and having inspected all his wealth had made
light of it, with such and such words;