22 THALIA.

tion of Crassus, but ho would not forgive the disobedi­
ence of his servants, who were accordingly executed.

XXXVII. He perpetrated many things of this kind
against the Persians and his allies, whilst he stayed
at Memphis: neither did he hesitate to violate the
tombs, and examine the bodies of the dead. He ones
entered the temple of Vulcan, and treated the shrine
of that deity with much contempt. The statue of
this god exceedingly resembles the Pataici, which the
Phoenicians place at the prow of their triremes: they
who have not seen them, may suppose them to resem­
ble the figure of a pigmy. Cambyses also entered
the temple of the Cabiri, to which access is denied to
all but the priests. He burned their statues, oiler
exercising upon them his wit and raillery. These
statues resemble Vulcan, whose sons the Cabiri are
supposed to be.

XXXVIII. For my own part, I am satisfied that
Cambyses was deprived of his reason; he would not
otherwise have disturbed the sanctity of temples, or
of established customs. Whoever had the oppportu-
nity of choosing for their own observance, from all the
nations of the world, such laws and customs as to
them seemed the best, would, I am of opinion, after
the most careful examination, adhere to their own.
Each nation believes that their own laws are by far
the most excellent; no one, therefore, but a madman,
would treat such prejudices with contempt. That all
men are really thus tenacious of their own customs,
appears from this, amongst other instances: Darius
once sent for such of the Greeks as were dependent
on his p.ower, and asked them what reward would in­
duce them to eat the bodies of their deceased parents;
they replied that no sum could prevail on them to
commit such a deed. In the presence of the same
Greeks, who by an interpreter were informed of what
passed, he sent also for the Callatiae, a people of India
known to eat the bodies of their parents. He asked
them for what sum they would consent to burn the
bodies of their parents. The Indians were disgusted
at the question, and entreated him to forbear such
language. Such is the force of custom; and Pindar