whilst another part were putting the inhabitants to the fword, not fuffering the facred places to afford any protection. CXLVIII. Mæandrius leaving Samos, failed to Lacedæmon. On his arrival there with his wealth, he fet in order his goblets of gold and filver, and directed his fervants to clean them. Having entered into converfation with Cleomenes 163, fon of Anaxandrides, the king of Sparta, he invited him to his house. Cleomenes faw his plate, and was ftruck with aftonishment. Mæandrius defired him to accept of what he pleafed 164; but Cleomenes was 363 Cleomenes,]-Of this Cleomenes a memorable faying is preferved in the Apophthegms of Plutarch. It relates to Homer and Hefiod, the former he called the poet of the Lacedæmonians, the latter the poet of the Helots, or the flaves; becaufe Homer gave directions for military conduct, Hefiod about the cultivation of the earth.-T. -164 To accept of what he pleafed.]-This felf-denial will appear lefs extraordinary to an English reader, when he is informed, that according to the inftitutions of Lycurgus, it was a capital offence for a Spartan to have any gold or filver in his poffeffion. This we learn from Xenophon; and it is also ascertained by the following paffage from Athenæus, fee the fixth book of the Deipnofoph: "The divine Plato and Lycurgus of Sparta would not fuffer in their republics either gold or filver, thinking that of all the metals iron and brafs were fufficient." Plutarch, in the life of Lyfander, tells us of a man named Therax, who, though the friend and colleague of Lyfander, was put to death by the ephori, because fome filver was found in his house. The felf-denial, therefore, or rather forbearance of the ancient Romans, amongst whom no fuch interdiction existed, feems better entitled to our praife. This fumptuary law with respect M 4 ta '' 31 1 was a man of the ftricteft probity, and although Maandrius perfifted in importuning him to take fomething, he would by no means confent; but hearing that fome of his fellow-citizens had received prefents from Mæandrius, he went to the ephori, and gave it as his opinion, that it would be better for the interefts of Sparta to expel this Samian from the Peloponnefe, left either he himself, or any other Spartan, fhould be corrupted by him. The advice of Cleomenes was generally approved, and Meandrius received a public order to depart. CXLIX. When the Perfians had taken the Samians as in a net 165, they delivered the inland to Sylofon almoft without an inhabitant 166. After a certain interval, however, Otánes, the Perfian general, re-peopled it, on account of fome vifion which he had, as well as from a diforder which feized his · privities, CL. Whilft the expedition againft Samos was on foot, the Babylonians, being very well pre to gold and filver, took its rife from an oracle, which affirmed that the deftruction of Sparta would be owing to its avarice:-it was this, 165 As in a net.]-The Greek is cayevcartes, which was the cuftom of the Perfians, and was alfo done with refpect to the islands of Chios, Lefbos, and Tenedos, fee book vi. chap. 31, where their manner of doing it is defcribed.-T. 166 Without an inhabitant.]-Strabo imputes this want of inhabitants to the cruelty of Sylofon, and not to the feverity of e Perfians.Larcher. pared, pared, revolted. During the reign of the Magus, and whilst the seven were engaged in their confpiracy against him, they had taken advantage of the confufion of the times to provide against a fiege, and their exertions had never been discovered. When they had once refolved on the recovery of their liberties, they took this measure:-Excepting their mothers, every man chofe from his family the female whom he liked best, the remainder were all of them affembled together, and strangled 17. Their referve of one woman was to bake their bread 168 the reft were deftroyed to prevent a famine. ང་ d CLI. On the firft intelligence of this event, Darius affembled his forces, and marched against them: on his arrival before the city, he befieged it in form. This, however, made so little impreffion upon them, that they affembled upon the ramparts, amused themfelves with dancing, and treated Darius and his army with the extremeft contempt. One amongst them exclaimed, "Perfians, why do 200 167 Affembled together and strangled.]-Prideaux, making mention of this ftrange and unnatural action, omits informing his Το readers that the Babylonians made an exception in favour of their mothers; but by this barbarous action the prophecy of Ifaiah against this people was very fignally fulfilled But thefe two things fhall come to thee in a moment, in one day, the lofs of children and widowhood; they fhall come upon thee in their perfection, for the multitude of thy forceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments." Ifaiah, xlvii. 9. on 153 z odio porno di auly 168 Bake their bread.] This anciently was the employment of the women, fee book vii. chap? 187.-T. you " you you lose your time? if you be wife, depart. When mules produce young 169 fhall take Baby"lon." This was the fpeech of a Babylonian, not believing fuch a thing poffible.c: CLII. A whole year and feven months having been confumed before the place, Darius and his army began to be hopeless with refpect to the event. They had applied all the offenfive engines, and every stratagem, particularly thofe which Cyrus had before fuccefsfully used against the Babylonians; but every attempt proved ineffectual, from the unremitting vigilance of the befieged. CLIII. In the twentieth month of the fiege, the following remarkable prodigy happened to Zopyrus, 159 Mules produce young.]-Upon this paffage M. Larcher remarks, that mules but feldom engender. As I have never seen nor heard of any well-authenticated account of fuch a circumftance, I give the reader the following paffage from Pennant, with fome confidence of its being invariably the cafe. "Neither mules, nor the fpurious offspring of any other animal, generate any farther: all these productions may be looked upon as monfters; therefore, nature, to preferve the original fpecies of animals entire and pure, wifely ftops, in inftances of deviation, the powers of propagation." What Theophraftus or Pliny may have afferted, in contradiction to the above, will weigh but very little against the unqualified affertion of fo able a naturalift as Mr. Pennant. The circumftance was ever confidered as a prodigy, as appears from the following lines of Juvenal: Egregium, fanctumque virum fi cerno, bimembri fon fon of Megabyzus, who was one of the seven that dethroned the Magus: one of the mules employed to carry his provifions produced a young one; which, when it was first told him, he disbelieved, and defired to fee it; forbidding those who had witneffed the fact to disclose it, he revolved it ferioufly in his mind; and remembering the words of the Babylonian, who had faid the city fhould be taken when a mule brought forth, he from this conceived that Babylon was not impregnable. The faying itself, and the mule's having a young one, feemed to indicate fomething preternatural. CLIV. Having fatisfied himself that Babylon might be taken, he went to Darius, and enquired if the capture of this city was of particular importance to him. Hearing that it really was, he began to think how he might have the honour of effecting it by himself; for in Persia there is no more certain road to greatness, than by the performance of illuf. trious actions. He conceived there was no more probable means of obtaining his end, than firft to mutilate himself, and thus pafs over to the enemy. He made no fcruple to wound himself beyond the power of being healed, for he cut off his nose and his ears, and clipping his hair close, fo as to give it a mean appearance 17, he fcourged himself; and 170 To give it a mean appearance.]—I do not remember an inftance of the hair being cut off as a punishment; it was fre |