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He was mad also upon others besides his kindred; among the rest, upon
Prexaspes, the man whom he esteemed beyond all the rest of the
Persians, who carried his messages, and whose son held the office -
an honour of no small account in Persia - of his cupbearer. Him
Cambyses is said to have once addressed as follows: "What sort of
man, Prexaspes, do the Persians think me? What do they say of
me?" Prexaspes answered, "Oh! sire, they praise thee greatly in
all things but one - they say thou art too much given to love of
wine." Such Prexaspes told him was the judgment of the Persians;
whereupon Cambyses, full of rage, made answer, "What? they say
now that I drink too much wine, and so have lost my senses, and am
gone out of my mind! Then their former speeches about me were
untrue." For once, when the Persians were sitting with him, and
Croesus was by, he had asked them, "What sort of man they thought
him compared to his father Cyrus?" Hereon they had answered,
"That he surpassed his father, for he was lord of all that his father
ever ruled, and further had made himself master of Egypt, and the
sea." Then Croesus, who was standing near, and misliked the
comparison, spoke thus to Cambyses: "In my judgment, O son of
Cyrus, thou art not equal to thy father, for thou hast not yet left
behind thee such a son as he." Cambyses was delighted when he heard
this reply, and praised the judgment of Croesus.
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