herodotus

mother was living with him still as his wife. But Astyages said thathe was not well advised in desiring to be brought to extremenecessity, and as he said this he made a sign to the spearmen of hisguard to seize him. So he, as he was being led away to thetorture,[126] then declared the story as it really was; and beginningfrom the beginning he went through the whole, telling the truth aboutit, and finally ended with entreaties, asking that he would grant himpardon.117. So when the herdsman had made known the truth, Astyages now caredless about him, but with Harpagos he was very greatly displeased andbade his spearmen summon him. And when Harpagos came, Astyages askedhim thus: "By what death, Harpagos, didst thou destroy the child whomI delivered to thee, born of my daughter?" and Harpagos, seeing thatthe herdsman was in the king's palace, turned not to any false way ofspeech, lest he should be convicted and found out, but said asfollows: "O king, so soon as I received the child, I took counsel andconsidered how I should do according to thy mind, and how withoutoffence to thy command I might not be guilty of murder against thydaughter and against thyself. I did therefore thus:--I called thisherdsman and delivered the child to him, saying first that thou werthe who bade him slay it--and in this at least I did not lie, for thoudidst so command. I delivered it, I say, to this man commanding him toplace it upon a desolate mountain, and to stay by it and watch ituntil it should die, threatening him with all kinds of punishment ifhe should fail to accomplish this. And when he had done that which wasordered and the child was dead, I sent the most trusted of my eunuchsand through them I saw and buried the child. Thus, O king, it happenedabout this matter, and the child had this death which I say." 118. SoHarpagos declared the truth, and Astyages concealed the anger which hekept against him for that which had come to pass, and first he relatedthe matter over again to Harpagos according as he had been told it bythe herdsman, and afterwards, when it had been thus repeated by him,he ended by saying that the child was alive and that that which hadcome to pass was well, "for," continued he, "I was greatly troubled bythat which had been done to this child, and I thought it no lightthing that I had been made at variance with my daughter. Thereforeconsider that this is a happy change of fortune, and first send thyson to be with the boy who is newly come, and then, seeing that Iintend to make a sacrifice of thanksgiving for the preservation of theboy to those gods to whom that honour belongs, be here thyself to dinewith me." 119. When Harpagos heard this, he did reverence and thoughtit a great matter that his offence had turned out for his profit andmoreover that he had been invited to dinner with happy augury;[127]and so he went to his house. And having entered it straightway, hesent forth his son, for he had one only son of about thirteen years