In olden times there reigned over a certain country a great and wealthy king called Cr?sus. One day there chanced to visit Cr?sus a Greek philosopher named Solon, famed as a wise man and just.
Seated upon his throne, and robed in his most gorgeous apparel, Cr?sus asked of Solon: "Have you ever seen aught more splendid than this? "" Of a surety have I, " replied Solon. "Peacocks, cocks, and pheasants glitter with colours so diverse and so brilliant that no art can compare with them. "Then Cr?sus exhibited the whole of his riches before Solon"s eyes, and boasted of the number of foes he had slain, and the number of territories he had conquered. Then he said: "You have lived long in the world, and have visited many countries. Tell me whom you consider to be the happiest man living? "" The happiest man living I consider to be a certain poor man who lives in Athens, " replied Solon.
"Why do you say that? " asked Cr?sus.
"Because, " replied Solon, "the man of whom I speak has worked hard all his life, has been content with little, has reared fine children, has served his city honourably, and has achieveda noble reputation. "
When Cr?sus heard this he exclaimed :
" And do you reckon that I am not fit to be compared with the man of whom you speak? "To which Solon replied, " Often it befalls that a poor man is happier than a rich man. Call no man happy until he is dead. "The king dismissed Solon, for he was not pleased at his words. "A fig for melancholy! " he thought. "While a man lives he should live for pleasure. " So he forgot about Solon entirely.
Not long afterwards, one of the king"s sons died. Next, it was told to Cr?sus that the Emperor Cyrus was coming to make war upon him.
So Cr?sus went out against Cyrus with a great army; but the enemy won the battle, shattered the forces of Cr?sus, and penetrated to the capital.
Then the foreign soldiers began to sack and fire the city. One soldier seized Cr?sus himself, and was just about to stab him, when his son darted forward and cried aloud, " Do not touch him! That is Cr?sus, the king ! "So the soldiers carried Cr?sus away to the Emperor; but Cyrus was celebrating his victory at a banquet, and could not speak with the captive, so orders were sent out for Cr?sus to be executed.
In the middle of the city square the soldiers built a great burning-pile, and upon the top of it they placed King Cr?sus.
Cr?sus gazed around him, remembered the words of the Greek philosopher, and, bursting into tears, could only say, "Ah,Solon, Solon! "
The soldiers were closing in about the pile when the Emperor Cyrus arrived to view the execution. As he did so, he caught these words uttered by Cr?sus, but could not understand them. So he commanded Cr?sus to be taken from the pile, and inquired of him what he had just said.
Cr?sus answered, "I was but naming the name of a wise man- of one who told me a great truth-a truth that is of greater worth than all earthly riches, than all our kingly glory. "And Cr?sus related to Cyrus his conversation with Solon. The Emperor bethought him that he too was but a man, that he too knew not what Fate might have in store for him. So in the end he had mercy upon Cr?sus, and became his friend.
From the Russian of Tolstoy
Author.-Leo Nikolaievitch, Count Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian novelist and social reformer. Among his published works are Childhood, Boyhood and Youth, War and Peace, Anna Karenina.
General.-What was the "great truth " that Solon told to Cr?sus? Would you sooner have or be? Argue the point.
