THE SCENE: In his epitaph, King Darius the Great, the famous enemy of the Athenians at Marathon, reveals himself to be a ruler obsessed with his reputation for prudence and justice.
THE TEXT: By the grace of Ahuramazda, I am a friend of the right, of wrong I am not a friend. It is not my wish that the weak should have harm done him by the strong, nor is it my wish that the strong should have harm done him by the weak.
The right, that is my desire. To the man who is a follower of the lie I am no friend. I am not hot-tempered. What things develop in my anger, I hold firmly under control by my thinking power. I am firmly ruling over my own impulses.
The man who is cooperative, according to his cooperation thus I reward him. Who does harm, him according to the harm I punish. It is not my wish that a man should do harm; nor indeed is it my wish that if he does harm he should not be punished.
What a man says against a man, that does not convince me, until I hear the sworn statements of both.
What a man does or performs, according to his ability, by that I become satisfied with him, and it is much to my desire, and I am well pleased, and I give much to loyal men.
O man, let that not be made to seem false to you, which has been done by me. That do you behold, which has been inscribed. Let not the laws be disobeyed by you.
– Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions, 4th Century BC (http://www.livius.org/…/achaemenid-royal-inscriptions/dnb/?)
