fisherman, delighted with his reception, returned to his houfe. The fervants proceeding to open the fifh, found in its paunch the ring of Polycrates; with great eagerness and joy they haftened to carry it to the king, telling him where they had met with it. Polycrates concluded that this incident bore evident marks of divine interpofition; he therefore wrote down every particular of what had happened, and tranfmitted it to Ægypt.

XLIII. Amasis, after perufing the letter of his friend, was convinced that it was impoffible for one mortal to deliver another from the deftiny which awaited him; he was fatisfied that Polycrates could not terminate his days in tranquillity, whofe good fortune had never fuffered interruption, and who had even recovered what he had taken pains to lofe. He fent therefore a herald to Samos, to difclaim all future connection 52; his motive for doing which was

the

meanest rank to folicit and obtain an audience of his prince, diminishes the act of condefcenfion which is here recorded, and which to a modern reader may appear ridiculous.-T.

52 Future connction.]This may be adduced as one amongst numerous other inftances, to prove, that where the human mind has no folid hopes of the future, nor any firm bafis of religions faith, the conduct will ever be wayward and irregular, and although there may exist great qualities, capable of occafionally fplendid actions, there will alfo be extraordinary weaknesses, irreconcileable to common fenfe or common humanity. Diodorus Siculus, however, gives a very different account of the matter, and afcribes the behaviour of Amafis to a very different motive: The Egyptian," fays he, " was fo difgufted

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the apprehenfion, that in any future calamity which might befall Polycrates, he, as a friend and ally, might be obliged to bear a part.

XLIV. Against this Polycrates, in all things fa profperous, the Lacedæmonians undertook an expedition, to which they were induced by thofe Samians who afterwards built the city of Cydon in Crete ". To counteract this blow, Polycrates fent privately to Cambyfes, who was then preparing for hoftilities against Ægypt, entreating him to demand fupplies and assistance of the Samians. With this Cambyfes willingly complied, and fent to folicit, in favour of Polycrates, fome naval force to ferve in his Ægyptian expedition. Those whofe principles and intentions he most fufpected the Samian prince felected from the reft, and fent in forty triremes to Cambyfes, requesting him by all means to prevent their return.

XLV. There are fome who affert that the Samians fent by Polycrates, never arrived in Egypt, but that as foon as they reached the Carpathian fea they confulted together, and determined to proceed

with the tyrannical behaviour of Polycrates, not only to his subjects but to ftrangers, that he forefaw his fate to be unavoidable, and therefore was cautious not to be involved in his ruin.”—T. 53 Cydon in Crete.]-This place is now called Canea: fome fay it was at firft called Apollonia, because built by Cydon the fon of Apollo. Paufanias fays, it was built by Cydon, fon of Tegetes. It was once a place of great power, and the largest city in the island; for a defcription of its prefent condition, fee Savary's Letters on Greece.-T,

no further. Others, on the contrary, affirm, that they did arrive in Ægypt, but that they escaped from their guards, and returned to Samos: they add, that Polycrates met and engaged them at fea, where he was defeated; but that landing afterwards on the ifland, they had a fecond engagement by land, in which they were totally routed, and obliged to fly to Lacedæmon. They who affert that the Samians returned from Ægypt, and obtained a victory over Polycrates, are in my opinion mistaken; for if their own force was fufficient to overcome him, there was no neceffity for their applying to the Lacedæmonians for affiftance. Neither is it at all confiftent with

probability, that a prince who had fo many forces under his command, compofed as well of foreign auxiliaries as of archers of his own, could poffibly be overcome by the few Samians who were returning home. Polycrates, moreover, had in his power the wives and children of his Samian fubjects: thefe were all affembled and confined in his different harbours; and he was determined to deftroy them by fire, and the harbours along with them, in cafe of any treafonable conjunction between the inhabitants and the Samians who were returning.

XLVI. The Samians who were expelled by Polycrates immediately on their arrival at Sparta obtained an audience of the magiftrates, and in the language of fuppliants fpoke a great while. The anfwer which they first received informed them, that the commencement of their difcourfe was not remembered, and the conclufion not understood.

At the fecond interview they fimply produced a bread-basket, and complained that it contained no bread; even to this the Lacedæmonians replied, that their obfervation was unneceffary $4;-they determined nevertheless to affift them.

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XLVII. After the neceffary preparations, the Lacedæmonians embarked with an army against Samos: if the Samians may be credited, the conduct of the Lacedæmonians in this business was the effect of gratitude, they themselves having formerly received a fupply of fhips against the Meffenians. But the Lacedæmonians affert, that they engaged in this expedition not fo much to fatisfy the wishes of thofe Samians who had fought their affistance, as to obtain fatisfaction for an injury which they had formerly received. The Samians had violently taken away a goblet which the Lacedæmonians

54 Obfervation was unnecessary.]—The Spartans were always remarkable for their contempt of oratory and eloquence. The following curious examples of this are recorded in Sextus Empiricus:- -"A young Spartan went abroad, and endeavoured to accomplish himself in the art of speaking; on his return he was punished by the Ephori, for having conceived the defign of ¿'eluding his countrymen. Another Spartan was fent to Tissaphernes, a Perfian fatrap, to engage him to prefer the alliance of Sparta to that of Athens; he said but little, but when he found the Athenians employed great pomp and profufion of words, he drew two lines, both terminating in the fame point, but one was ftraight, the other very crooked; pointing these out to Tiffaphernes, he merely faid, "Choose." The story here related of the Samians, by Herodotus, is found alfo in Sextus Empiricus, but is by him applied on a different occafion, and to a different people, -T.

were carrying to Crofus, and a corfelet, which was given them by Amafis king of Egypt. This 44 latter incident took place at the interval of a year after the former: the corfelet was made of linen, but there were interwoven in the piece a great number of animals richly embroidered with cotton and gold; every part of it deferved admiration; it was compofed of chains, each of which contained three hundred and fixty threads diftinctly vifible. Amafis presented another corfelet, entirely resembling this, to the Minerva of Lindus.

XLVIII. To this expedition against Samos the Corinthians alfo contributed with confiderable ardour. In the age which preceded, and about the time in which the goblet had been taken, they had been affronted by the Samians. Periander 56, the fon

55 A corfelet.]-Some fragments of this were to be feen in the time of Pliny, who complains that fo curious a piece of workmanship should be fpoiled, by its being unravelled by different people, to gratify curiofity, or to afcertain the fact here afferted.-T.

56 Periander.]-The life of Periander is given by Diogenes Laertius; from which I have extracted fuch particulars as feem most worthy the attention of the English reader,

He was of the family of the Heraclide; and the reason of his fending the young Corcyreans, with the purpofe mentioned by Herodotus, was on account of their having killed his fon, to whom he wished to refign his power. He was the first prince who used guards for the defence of his perfon. He was by fome efteemed one of the feven wife men; Plato, however, does not admit him amongst them. His celebrated faying was, that Perfeverance may do every thing."