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Thus was Sardis taken by the Persians, and Croesus himself fell
into their hands, after having reigned fourteen years, and been
besieged in his capital fourteen days; thus too did Croesus fulfill
the oracle, which said that he should destroy a mighty empire by
destroying his own. Then the Persians who had made Croesus prisoner
brought him before Cyrus. Now a vast pile had been raised by his
orders, and Croesus, laden with fetters, was placed upon it, and
with him twice seven of the sons of the Lydians. I know not whether
Cyrus was minded to make an offering of the to some god or other, or
whether he had vowed a vow and was performing it, or whether, as may
well be, he had heard that Croesus was a holy man, and so wished to
see if any of the heavenly powers would appear to save him from being
burnt alive. However it might be, Cyrus was thus engaged, and
Croesus was already on the pile, when it entered his mind in the depth
of his woe that there was a divine warning in the words which had come
to him from the lips of Solon, "No one while he lives is happy."
When this thought smote him he fetched a long breath, and breaking his
deep silence, groaned out aloud, thrice uttering the name of Solon.
Cyrus caught the sounds, and bade the interpreters inquire of Croesus
who it was he called on. They drew near and asked him, but he held
his peace, and for a long time made no answer to their questionings,
until at length, forced to say something, he exclaimed, "One I
would give much to see converse with every monarch." Not knowing what
he meant by this reply, the interpreters begged him to explain
himself; and as they pressed for an answer, and grew to be
troublesome, he told them how, a long time before, Solon, an
Athenian, had come and seen all his splendour, and made light of it;
and how whatever he had said to him had fallen out exactly as he
foreshowed, although it was nothing that especially concerned him, but
applied to all mankind alike, and most to those who seemed to
themselves happy. Meanwhile, as he thus spoke, the pile was
lighted, and the outer portion began to blaze. Then Cyrus, hearing
from the interpreters what Croesus had said, relented, bethinking
himself that he too was a man, and that it was a fellow-man, and one
who had once been as blessed by fortune as himself, that he was burning
alive; afraid, moreover, of retribution, and full of the thought
that whatever is human is insecure. So he bade them quench the blazing
fire as quickly as they could, and take down Croesus and the other
Lydians, which they tried to do, but the flames were not to be mastered.
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