herodotus

they were not likely to make any gain by it, the truth-teller wouldlie and the liar would speak the truth, with indifference. Whosoeverthen of the door-keepers shall let us pass by of his own free will,for him it shall be the better afterwards; but whosoever shallendeavour to oppose our passage, let him then and there be marked asour enemy,[63] and after that let us push in and set about our work."73. Then said Gobryas: "Friends, at what time will there be a faireropportunity for us either to recover our rule, or, if we are not ableto get it again, to die? seeing that we being Persians on the one handlie under the rule of a Mede, a Magian, and that too a man whose earshave been cut off. Moreover all those of you who stood by the side ofCambyses when he was sick remember assuredly what he laid upon thePersians as he was bringing his life to an end, if they should notattempt to win back the power; and this we did not accept then, butsupposed that Cambyses had spoken in order to deceive us. Nowtherefore I give my vote that we follow the opinion of Dareios, andthat we do not depart from this assembly to go anywhither else butstraight to attack the Magian." Thus spoke Gobryas, and they allapproved of this proposal.74. Now while these were thus taking counsel together, it was comingto pass by coincidence as follows:--The Magians taking counseltogether had resolved to join Prexaspes with themselves as a friend,both because he had suffered grievous wrong from Cambyses, who hadkilled his son by shooting him, and because he alone knew for acertainty of the death of Smerdis the son of Cyrus, having killed himwith his own hands, and finally because Prexaspes was in very greatrepute among the Persians. For these reasons they summoned him andendeavoured to win him to be their friend, engaging him by pledge andwith oaths, that he would assuredly keep to himself and not reveal toany man the deception which had been practised by them upon thePersians, and promising to give him things innumerable[64] in return.After Prexaspes had promised to do this, the Magians, having persuadedhim so far, proposed to him a second thing, and said that they wouldcall together all the Persians to come up to the wall of the palace,and bade him go up upon a tower and address them, saying that theywere living under the rule of Smerdis the son of Cyrus and no other.This they so enjoined because they supposed[65] that he had thegreatest credit among the Persians, and because he had frequentlydeclared the opinion that Smerdis the son of Cyrus was still alive,and had denied that he had slain him. 75. When Prexaspes said that hewas ready to do this also, the Magians having called together thePersians caused him to go up upon a tower and bade him address them.Then he chose to forget those things which they asked of him, andbeginning with Achaimenes he traced the descent of Cyrus on thefather's side, and then, when he came down to Cyrus, he related at