and the other answered
as follows: "O son of Cyrus, my own troubles were too great for me to
lament them aloud, but the trouble of my companion was such as called
for tears, seeing that he has been deprived of great wealth, and has
come to beggary upon the threshold of old age." When this saying was
reported by the messenger, it seemed to them 19 that it was well spoken;
and, as is reported by the Egyptians, Croesus shed tears (for he also,
as fortune would have it, had accompanied Cambyses to Egypt) and the
Persians who were present shed tears also; and there entered some pity
into Cambyses himself, and forthwith he bade them save the life of the
son of Psammenitos from among those who were being put to death, and
also he bade them raise Psammenitos himself from his place in the suburb
of the city and bring him into his own presence.

15. As for the son, those who went for him found that he was no longer
alive, but had been cut down first of all, but Psammenitos himself they
raised from his place and brought him into the presence of Cambyses,
with whom he continued to live for the rest of his time without
suffering any violence; and if he had known how to keep himself from
meddling with mischief, he would have received Egypt so as to be ruler
of it, since the Persians are wont to honour the sons of kings, and even
if the kings have revolted from them, they give back the power into the
hands of their sons. Of this, namely that it is their established rule
to act so, one may judge by many instances besides and especially 20
by the case of Thannyras the son of Inaros, who received back the power
which his father had, and by that of Pausiris the son of Amyrtaios, for
he too received back the power of his father: yet it is certain that no
men ever up to this time did more evil to the Persians than Inaros and
Amyrtaios. As it was, however, Psammenitos devised evil and received the
due reward: for he was found to be inciting the Egyptians to revolt; and
when this became known to Cambyses, Psammenitos drank bull's blood and
died forthwith. Thus he came to his end.

16. From Memphis Cambyses came to the city of Sais with the purpose of
doing that which in fact he did: for when he had entered into the palace
of Amasis, he forthwith gave command to bring the corpse of Amasis forth
out of his burial-place; and when this had been accomplished, he gave
command to scourge it and pluck out the hair and stab it, and to do to
it disho