MELPOMENE. 127

bands, and, dressed in the habits of the men, fre­
quently engage in battle.

CXVII. The Sauromatse use the Scythian lan­
guage, but their dialect has always been impure, be­
cause the Amazons themselves had learned it but im­
perfectly. With respect to their institutions concern­
ing marriage, no virgin is permitted to marry till she
shall first have killed an enemy. It sometimes there­
fore happens that many women die single at an ad­
vanced age, having never been able to fulfil the con­
ditions required.

CXVIII. To these nations, which I have described,
assembled in council, the Scy thian ambassadors were
admitted ;—they informed the princes, that the Per­
sian, having reduced under his authority all the na­
tions of the adjoining continent, had thrown a bridge
over the neck of the Bosphorus, in order to pass into
theirs: that he had already subdued Thrace, and con­
structed a bridge over the Ister, ambitiously hoping to
reduce them also. "Will it be just," they continued,
" for you to remain inactive spectators of our ruin ?
Rather, having the same sentiments, let us advance
together against this invader: unless you do this, we
shall be reduced to the last extremities, and be com­
pelled either to forsake our country, or to submit to
the terms he may impose. If you withhold your as­
sistance, what may We not dread ? Neither will you
have reason to expect a different or a better fate ; for
are not you the object of the Persian's ambition as
well as ourselves ? or do you suppose that, having
vanquished us, he will leave you unmolested ? That
We reason justly, you have sufficient evidence before
you. If his hostilities were directed only against us,
with the view of revenging the former servile condi­
tion of his nation, he would immediately have march­
ed into our country, without at all injuring or molest­
ing others; he would have shown by his conduct, that
his indignation was directed against the Scythians
only. On the contrary, as soon as ever he set foot
upon bur continent, he reduced all the nations which
he met, and has subdued the Thracians, and our
neighbours the Getae,"