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Well, in truth, said Neiloxenus, the demand of the Ethiopian can hardly be called anything but a depressing cryptic dispatch, Cf. Bergk, Poet. Lyr. Graec. ii. p. 708, Archilochus, No. 89. The reference is to a well-known form of cipher message in use among the Spartans. A narrow leather thong was wrapped around a cylinder, and on the surface thus formed the message was written. When the thong was received it was applied to a duplicate cylinder kept by the recipient, and so the message was read. to borrow a phrase from Archilochus, but your friend Amasis is more civilized and cultivated in proposing such questions; for he bade the king name the oldest thing, the most beautiful, the greatest, the wisest, the most common, and besides these, as I can attest, to name also the most helpful thing and the most harmful, and the strongest and the easiest.
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Did the Ethiopian king give an answer and a solution for each of these questions?
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Yes, in his way, said Neiloxenus, but you must judge for yourselves when you hear his answers. For my king holds it to be a very important matter not to be caught impugning the answers falsely; and likewise, if the respondent is making any slip in these, he would not have this pass unquestioned. I will read the answers of the Ethiopian as he gave them:
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(a)What is the oldest thing? Time.
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(b)What is the greatest? The universe.
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(c)What is the wisest? Truth.
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(d)What is the most beautiful? Light.
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(e)What is most common? Death.
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(f)What is most helpful? God.
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(g)What is most harmful? An evil spirit.
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(h) What is strongest? Fortune.
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(i) What is easiest? Pleasure.
