tones.

The annual tribute of Solomon was 666 talents of gold, besides that
brought by the merchants, and the present from the Queen of Sheba of
120 talents; and the quantity of gold and silver used in the temple
and his house was extraordinary. Mr. Jacob, in his valuable work on
the precious metals, has noticed many of these immense sums, collected
in old times. Among them are the tribute of Darius, amounting to 9,880
talents of silver and 4,680 of gold, making a total of 14,560,
estimated at about $37,250,000; the sums taken by Xerxes to Greece;
the wealth of Croesus; the riches of Pytheus, king of a small
territory in Phrygia, possessing gold and silver mines, who
entertained the army of Xerxes, and gave him 2,000 talents of silver
and 4,093,000 staters of gold (equal to 23,850,000 dollars of our
money); the treasures acquired by Alexander, in Susa and Persia,
exclusive of that found in the Persian camp and in Babylon, said to
have amounted to 40,000 or 50,000 talents; the treasure of Persepolis
rated at 120,000 talents; that of Pasagarda at 6,000; and the 180,000
talents collected at the capture of Ecbatana; besides 6,000 which
Darius had with him, and were taken by his murderers. "Ptolemy
Philadelphus is stated by Appian to have possessed treasure to the
enormous amount of 740,000 talents;" either "890 million dollars, or
at least a quarter of that sum;" and fortunes of private individuals
at Rome show the enormous wealth they possessed. "Crassus had in lands
$8,072,915, besides as much more in money, furniture, and slaves;
Seneca, $12,109,375; Pallas, the freedman of Claudius, an equal sum;
Lentulus, the augur, $16,145,805; Caec. Cl. Isidorus, though he had
lost a great part of his fortune in the civil war, left by his will
4,116 slaves, 3,600 yoke of oxen, 257,000 other cattle, and in ready
money $2,421,875. Augustus received by the testaments of his friends
$161,458,330. Tiberius left at his death $108,984,375, which Caligula
lavished away in less than one year; and Vespasian, at his succession,
said that to support the state he required _quadrigenties millies_, or
$1,614,083,330. The debts of Milo amounted to $2,825,520. J. Caesar,
before he held any office, owed 1,300 talents, $1,279,375; and when he
set out for Spain after his praetorship, he is reported to have said,
that 'Bis millies et quingenties sibi deesse, ut nihil haberet,' or
'that he was $10,091,145 worse than nothing.' When he first entered
Rome,