THALIA. 25

M supper." The fisherman, delighted with his recep­
tion, returned to his house. The servants proceeding
to open the fish, found in its paunch the ring of Po-
lycrates ; with great eagerness and joy, they hastened
to carry it to the king, telling him where they had
met with it. Polycrates concluded that this incident
bore evident marks of divine interposition; he there­
fore wrote down every particular of what had hap­
pened, and transmitted it to Egypt.

XLIII. Amasis, after perusing the letter of his
friend, was convinced that it was impossible for one
mortal to deliver another from the destiny which
awaited him; he was satisfied that Polycrates could
not terminate his days in tranquillity, whose good
fortune had never suffered interruption, and who had
even recovered what he had taken pains to lose. He
sent therefore a herald to Samos, to disclaim all fu­
ture connexion; his motive for doing which, was the
apprehension, that in any future calamity which
might befall Polycrates, he, as a friend and ally, might
be obliged to bear a part.

XLIV. Against this Polycrates, in all things so
prosperous, the Laceda?monians undertook an expe­
dition, to which they were induced by those Samians
who afterwards built the city of Cydon in Crete. To
counteract this blow, Polycrates sent privately to
Cambyses, who was then preparing for hostilities
against Egypt, entreating him to demand supplies
and assistance of the Samians. With this Cambyses
willingly complied, and sent to solicit, in favour of
Polycrates, some naval force to serve in his Egyptian
expedition. The Samian prince selected those from
the rest whose principles and intentions he most sus­
pected, and sent them in forty triremes to Cambyses,
requesting him by all means to prevent their return.

XLV. There are some who assert, that the Sami­
ans sent by Polycrates, never arrived in Egypt, but
that as soon as they reached the Carpathian sea they
consulted together, and determined to proceed no
further. Others, on the contrary, affirm, that they
did arrive in Egypt, but that they escaped from their
guards, and returned to Samoa: they add, that Poly-
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