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Thus the nations over that whole extent of country obtained the
blessing of self-government, but they fell again under the sway of
kings, in the manner which I will now relate. There was a certain
Mede named Deioces, son of Phraortes, a man of much wisdom, who
had conceived the desire of obtaining to himself the sovereign power.
In furtherance of his ambition, therefore, he formed and carried into
execution the following scheme. As the Medes at that time dwelt in
scattered villages without any central authority, and lawlessness in
consequence prevailed throughout the land, Deioces, who was already a
man of mark in his own village, applied himself with greater zeal and
earnestness than ever before to the practice of justice among his
fellows. It was his conviction that justice and injustice are engaged
in perpetual war with one another. He therefore began his course of
conduct, and presently the men of his village, observing his
integrity, chose him to be the arbiter of all their disputes. Bent on
obtaining the sovereign power, he showed himself an honest and an
upright judge, and by these means gained such credit with his
fellow-citizens as to attract the attention of those who lived in the
surrounding villages. They had long been suffering from unjust and
oppressive judgments; so that, when they heard of the singular
uprightness of Deioces, and of the equity of his decisions, they
joyfully had recourse to him in the various quarrels and suits that
arose, until at last they came to put confidence in no one else.
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