e king of the Egyptians
Psammenitos, who had been king for six months, to sit in the suburb of
the city, to do him dishonour,--him I say with other Egyptians he set
there, and he proceeded to make trial of his spirit as follows:--having
arrayed his daughter in the clothing of a slave, he sent her forth with
a pitcher to fetch water, and with her he sent also other maidens chosen
from the daughters of the chief men, arrayed as was the daughter of the
king: and as the maidens were passing by their fathers with cries and
lamentation, the other men all began to cry out and lament aloud, 16
seeing that their children had been evilly entreated, but Psammenitos
when he saw it before his eyes and perceived it bent himself down to the
earth. Then when the water-bearers had passed by, next Cambyses sent his
son with two thousand Egyptians besides who were of the same age, with
ropes bound round their necks and bits placed in their mouths; and these
were being led away to execution to avenge the death of the Mytilenians
who had been destroyed at Memphis with their ship: for the Royal Judges
17 had decided that for each man ten of the noblest Egyptians should
lose their lives in retaliation. He then, when he saw them passing out
by him and perceived that his son was leading the way 18 to die, did
the same as he had done with respect to his daughter, while the other
Egyptians who sat round him were lamenting and showing signs of grief.
When these also had passed by, it chanced that a man of his table
companions, advanced in years, who had been deprived of all his
possessions and had nothing except such things as a beggar possesses,
and was asking alms from the soldiers, passed by Psammenitos the son of
Amasis and the Egyptians who were sitting in the suburb of the city: and
when Psammenitos saw him he uttered a great cry of lamentation, and he
called his companion by name and beat himself upon the head. Now there
was, it seems, men set to watch him, who made known to Cambyses all that
he did on the occasion of each going forth: and Cambyses marvelled
at that which he did, and he sent a messenger and asked him thus:
"Psammenitos, thy master Cambyses asks thee for what reason, when thou
sawest thy daughter evilly entreated and thy son going to death, thou
didst not cry aloud nor lament for them, whereas thou didst honour with
these signs of grief the beggar who, as he hears from others, is not
in any way related to thee?" Thus he asked,