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In the reign of Psammis, ambassadors from Elis arrived in Egypt,
boasting that their arrangements for the conduct of the Olympic Games
were the best and fairest that could be devised, and fancying that not
even the Egyptians, who surpassed all other nations in wisdom, could
add anything to their perfection. When these persons reached Egypt,
and explained the reason of their visit, the king summoned an assembly
of all the wisest of the Egyptians. They met, and the Eleans having
given them a full account of all their rules and regulations with
respect to the contests said that they had come to Egypt for the
express purpose of learning whether the Egyptians could improve the
fairness of their regulations in any particular. The Egyptians
considered awhile and then made inquiry, "If they allowed their own
citizens to enter the lists?" The Eleans answered, "That the
lists were open to all Greeks, whether they belonged to Elis or to
any other state." Hereupon the Egyptians observed, "That if this
were so, they departed from justice very widely, since it was
impossible but that they would favour their own countrymen and deal
unfairly by foreigners. If therefore they really wished to manage the
games with fairness, and if this was the object of their coming to
Egypt, they advised them to confine the contests to strangers, and
allow no native of Elis to be a candidate." Such was the advice
which the Egyptians gave to the Eleans.
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