ere best made at home, Anacharsis said, "Well
then, do you, who are at home, enter into friendship with me." Solon,
admiring the man's cleverness, received him kindly, and kept him for
some time in his house. He was at this time engaged in politics, and was
composing his laws. Anacharsis, when he discovered this, laughed at
Solon's undertaking, if he thought to restrain the crimes and greed of
the citizens by written laws, which he said were just like spiders'
webs; for, like them, they caught the weaker criminals, but were broken
through by the stronger and more important.

To this Solon answered, that men keep covenants, because it is to the
advantage of neither party to break them; and that he so suited his laws
to his countrymen, that it was to the advantage of every one to abide by
them rather than to break them. Nevertheless, things turned out more as
Anacharsis thought than as Solon wished. Anacharsis said too, when
present at an assembly of the people, that he was surprised to see that
in Greece wise men spoke upon public affairs, and ignorant men decided
them.

VI. When Solon went to Thales at Miletus, he expressed his wonder at his
having never married and had a family. Thales made no answer at the
time, but a few days afterwards arranged that a man should come to him
and say that he left Athens ten days before. When Solon inquired of him,
whether anything new had happened at Athens, the man answered, as Thales
had instructed him, that "there was no news, except the death of a
young man who had been escorted to his grave by the whole city. He was
the son, they told him, of a leading citizen of great repute for his
goodness, but the father was not present, for they said he had been
travelling abroad for some years." "Unhappy man," said Solon, "what was
his name?" "I heard his name," answered the man, "but I cannot remember
it; beyond that there was much talk of his wisdom and justice." Thus by
each of his answers he increased Solon's alarm, until he at last in his
excitement asked the stranger whether it were not Solon's son that was
dead. The stranger said that it was. Solon was proceeding to beat his
head and show all the other marks of grief, when Thales stopped him,
saying with a smile, "This, Solon, which has the power to strike down so
strong a man as you, has ever prevented my marrying and having children.
But be of good courage, for this tale which you have been told is
untrue." This story is said by H