happiness whose dearest possession she boasts of being, and who belongs to her alone.  The women only do that which pleases us! but the Egyptian men understand the art of making us pleased with that which is really good, and with that alone.  On the shores of the Nile, Phocylides of Miletus and Hipponax of Ephesus would never have dared to sing their libels on women, nor could the fable of Pandora have been possibly invented here!”

[Simonides of Amorgos, an Iambic poet, who delighted in writing satirical verses on women.  He divides them into different classes, which he compares to unclean animals, and considers that the only woman worthy of a husband and able to make him happy must be like the bee.  The well-known fable of Pandora owes its origin to Simonides.  He lived about 650 B. C. The Egyptians too, speak very severely of bad women, comparing them quite in the Simonides style to beasts of prey (hyenas, lions and panthers).  We find this sentence on a vicious woman:  She is a collection of every kind of meanness, and a bag full of wiles.  Chabas, Papyr. magrque Harris. p. 135.  Phocylides of Miletus, a rough and sarcastic, but observant man, imitated Simonides in his style of writing.  But the deformed Hipponax of Ephesus, a poet crushed down by poverty, wrote far bitterer verses than Phocylides.  He lived about 550 B. C.  “His own ugliness (according to Bernhardy) is reflected in every one of his Choliambics.” ]

“How beautifully you speak!” exclaimed Bartja.  “Greek was not easy to learn, but I am very glad now that I did not give it up in despair, and really paid attention to Croesus’ lessons.”

Who could those men have been,” asked Darius, “who dared to speak evil of women?”

“A couple of Greek poets,” answered Amasis, “the boldest of men, for I confess I would rather provoke a lioness than a woman.  But these Greeks do not know what fear is.  I will give you a specimen of Hipponax’s Poetry: 

              “There are but two days when a wife,
               Brings pleasure to her husband’s life,
               The wedding-day, when hopes are bright,
               And the day he buries her out of his sight.”

“Cease, cease,” cried Ladice stopping her ears, that is too had.  Now, Persians, you can see what manner of man Amasis is.  For the sake of a joke, he will laugh at those who hold precisely the same opinion as himself.  There could not be a better husband.

“Nor a worse wife,” laughed Amasis.  “Thou wilt make men think that I am a too obedient husband.  But now farewell, my children; our young heroes must look at this our city of Sais; before parting, however, I will repeat to them what the malicious Siuionides has sung of a good wife: