t they consented to be his subjects; and
his ordering of affairs was this:--In the early morning, and until the
time of the filling of the market he did with a good will the business
which was brought before him; but after this he passed the time in
drinking and in jesting at his boon-companions, and was frivolous and
playful. And his friends being troubled at it admonished him in some
such words as these: "O king, thou dost not rightly govern thyself in
thus letting thyself descend to behaviour so trifling; for thou oughtest
rather to have been sitting throughout the day stately upon a stately
throne and administering thy business; and so the Egyptians would have
been assured that they were ruled by a great man, and thou wouldest
have had a better report: but as it is, thou art acting by no means in a
kingly fashion." And he answered them thus: "They who have bows stretch
them at such time as they wish to use them, and when they have finished
using them they loose them again; for if they were stretched tight
always they would break, so that the men would not be able to use them
when they needed them. So also is the state of man: if he should always
be in earnest and not relax himself for sport at the due time, he would
either go mad or be struck with stupor before he was aware; and knowing
this well, I distribute a portion of the time to each of the two ways of
living." Thus he replied to his friends. It is said however that Amasis,
even when he was in a private station, was a lover of drinking and of
jesting, and not at all seriously disposed; and whenever his means of
livelihood failed him through his drinking and luxurious living, he
would go about and steal; and they from whom he stole would charge him
with having their property, and when he denied it would bring him before
the judgment of an Oracle, whenever there was one in their place;
and many times he was convicted by the Oracles and many times he was
absolved: and then when finally he became king he did as follows:--as
many of the gods as had absolved him and pronounced him not to be a
thief, to their temples he paid no regard, nor gave anything for the
further adornment of them, nor even visited them to offer sacrifice,
considering them to be worth nothing and to possess lying Oracles; but
as many as had convicted him of being a thief, to these he paid very
great regard, considering them to be truly gods, and to present Oracles
which did not lie. First in Sais