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The number of complaints brought before him continually increasing, as
people learnt more and more the fairness of his judgments, Deioces,
feeling himself now all important, announced that he did not intend any
longer to hear causes, and appeared no more in the seat in which he had
been accustomed to sit and administer justice. "It did not square
with his interests," he said, "to spend the whole day in regulating
other men's affairs to the neglect of his own." Hereupon robbery and
lawlessness broke out afresh, and prevailed through the country even
more than heretofore; wherefore the Medes assembled from all
quarters, and held a consultation on the state of affairs. The
speakers, as I think, were chiefly friends of Deioces. "We cannot
possibly," they said, "go on living in this country if things
continue as they now are; let us therefore set a king over us, that so
the land may be well governed, and we ourselves may be able to attend
to our own affairs, and not be forced to quit our country on account of
anarchy." The assembly was persuaded by these arguments, and
resolved to appoint a king.
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