Histories

Polycrates took the children and wives of the townsmen who were subject to him and shut them up in the boathouses, with intent to burn them and the boathouses too if their men should desert to the returned Samians.

When the Samians who were expelled by Polycrates came to Sparta [22.4417,37.0667] (Perseus) Sparta, they came before the ruling men and made a long speech to show the greatness of their need. But the Spartans at their first sitting answered that they had forgotten the beginning of the speech and could not understand its end.

After this the Samians came a second time with a sack, and said nothing but this: “The sack wants flour.” To this the Spartans replied that they were over-wordy with “the sack”;[*](It would have been enough (the Lacedaemonians meant) to say a)lfi/twn de/etai, without using the word qu/lakos.) but they did resolve to help them.