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they gave thanks to God for the wonders he had done with them. Now Tobit, when he lost his sight, was fifty-eight years old, and after eight years his sight was restored to him; and from then on he was more fearful of God and did what was good. And having grown to extreme old age, he says to his son, "Child, behold, I have grown old and am near to dying, but you, take your sons and go to Media; for I am convinced that all that Jonah foretold about Nineveh, that it will be overthrown, will come to pass, and that Jerusalem will be desolate and the temple will be burned down, and again God will have mercy on the city, and the people will return and rebuild it. But you, keep the law and be merciful and just." And having given such commands to his son, he died, being 1.224 one hundred and fifty-eight years old. And Tobias buried him and his mother with honor, and he went away with his wife to Ecbatana to Raguel his father-in-law; and he buried him also when he had grown old, and he inherited from him. And Tobias also died at the age of one hundred and twenty-seven years in Ecbatana of Media, and before he died he heard of the destruction of Nineveh, which was captured by Nebuchadnezzar and Ahasuerus. Therefore, the entire nation of the Hebrews, as has already been related, having been captured by the Assyrians, was resettled, and Jerusalem was left desolate, and they were not released from captivity before the rule of the Assyrians was overthrown by the Medes and Persians, according to the prophetic foretelling, and the seventy years had passed, which the prophet Jeremiah had proclaimed beforehand. But it would not be untimely to briefly go through the overthrow of the Assyrian kingdom, and to show the prophetic prediction coming true, which prophesied that it was destined to be destroyed by the Medes and Persians; and it is as follows. The kingdoms of the Medes and of the Persians were separate. And Astyages ruled the one, and Cambyses the Persians. And this one lived with the daughter of Astyages, named Mandane, who bore a son, Cyrus, to Cambyses; who, having been brought up in the laws of the Persians, became most courageous and most temperate, most prudent and most just. And the 1.225 customs of the Persians were such as Xenophon wrote. They had a so-called free marketplace, in which the palace and the other government offices had been built for them, from which merchandise and merchants and their tumult and shouts were excluded, so that it would not be mixed with the good order of the educated. And the free marketplace was divided into a tetrad of public buildings; of these, one was set apart for boys, another for youths, the next for adult men, and the last was assigned to those who were beyond the years of military service, and each group was present in their own spaces. And it was customary for the youths to sleep around the government buildings with their training arms, except for those who were married; and these were neither sought for, unless it was announced beforehand, nor was it permitted for them to be absent often. And for each group there were twelve rulers; for the Persians were divided into twelve tribes. The boys, then, attending the schools, learned justice, with their rulers judging them for most of the day. For indeed, there arose among boys against one another, just as among men, accusations of theft and violence and robbery and deceit and insolence and certain other things. And whomever of these they recognized as doing wrong, they punished; and whomever they found unjustly accusing, they chastised. And they taught the boys temperance, by having them pay attention to the elders living temperately, and they also taught self-control in food and drink. And when the boys were to be fed, they ate with their teacher, bringing bread from home and cress as a relish; and for a drink they took a cup of river water. And before eating they learned to shoot with a bow and to throw a javelin. The boys did these things until the age of sixteen or seventeen, 1.226 and from this point they were assigned to the youths, and for ten years they slept around the government buildings, and they also provided the

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ἀνθωμολογοῦντο τῷ θεῷ ἀνθ' ων ἐποίησε μετ' αὐτῶν θαυμασίων. Ην δὲ Τωβίτ, οτε τὴν ορασιν αὐτοῦ ἀπώλεσεν, ἐτῶν πεντήκοντα καὶ ὀκτώ, καὶ μετὰ ετη ὀκτὼ ἀποκατέστη πάλιν εἰς τὸ ὁρᾶν· καὶ ην μᾶλλον εκτοτε φοβούμενος τὸν θεὸν καὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐργαζόμενος. γεγηρακὼς δὲ εἰς εσχατον λέγει τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ "τέκνον, ἰδοὺ γεγήρακα καὶ πρὸς τῷ θανεῖν εἰμι, σὺ δὲ λάβε τοὺς υἱούς σου καὶ απελθε εἰς Μηδίαν· πέπεισμαι γὰρ οτι οσα προεῖπεν ̓Ιωνᾶς περὶ Νινευί, ὡς καταστραφήσεται, γενήσονται, καὶ οτι ̔Ιεροσόλυμα ερημα εσται καὶ ὁ ναὸς κατακαυθήσεται, καὶ πάλιν ἐλεήσει τὴν πόλιν ὁ θεός, καὶ ἐπιστρέψει ὁ λαὸς καὶ οἰκοδομήσει αὐτήν. σὺ δὲ τήρησον τὸν νόμον καὶ γίνου ἐλεήμων καὶ δίκαιος." καὶ τοιαῦτα ἐντειλάμενος τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ ἐξέλιπεν, ἐτῶν γενόμενος 1.224 ἑκατὸν πεντήκοντα καὶ ὀκτώ. καὶ εθαψεν αὐτὸν ἐντίμως Τωβίας καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀπῆλθε μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ εἰς ̓Εκβάτανα πρὸς ̔Ραγουὴλ τὸν πενθερὸν αὐτοῦ· καὶ εθαψε κἀκεῖνον γηράσαντα, καὶ ἐκληρονόμησεν αὐτόν. ἀπέθανε δὲ καὶ Τωβίας ἐτῶν ἑκατὸν εικοσι καὶ ἑπτὰ ἐν ̓Εκβατάνοις τῆς Μηδίας, καὶ ηκουσε πρὸ τοῦ θανεῖν τὴν ἀπώλειαν Νινευὶ αἰχμαλωτισθείσης ὑπὸ Ναβουχοδονόσορ καὶ ̓Ασουήρου. Τὸ μὲν ουν σύμπαν τῶν ̔Εβραίων εθνος, ὡς ηδη ἱστόρηται, δορυάλωτον παρὰ τῶν ̓Ασσυρίων γενόμενον μετῳκίσθη, καὶ ερημος ἡ ̔Ιερουσαλὴμ καταλέλειπτο, οὐ πρότερόν τε τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἐλύθη πρὶν ἡ τῶν ̓Ασσυρίων κατελύθη ἀρχὴ κατὰ τὴν προφητικὴν προαγόρευσιν ὑπὸ Μήδων τε καὶ Περσῶν, καὶ οἱ ἑβδομήκοντα παρῆλθον ἐνιαυτοί, ους ὁ προφήτης ̔Ιερεμίας προανεφώνησεν. οὐκ ακαιρον δ' αν ειη καὶ τῆς τῶν ̓Ασσυρίων βασιλείας ἐπιτετμημένως διεξελθεῖν τὴν καθαίρεσιν, καὶ δεῖξαι τὴν προφητικὴν ἀληθεύουσαν πρόρρησιν, τὴν ὑπὸ Μήδων καὶ Περσῶν μέλλειν αὐτὴν καταλυθήσεσθαι προθεσπίσασαν· εχει δὲ ουτως. Βασιλεῖαι καθ' ἑαυτὰς ησαν ἡ τῶν Μήδων καὶ ἡ τῶν Περσῶν. καὶ τῆς μὲν ηρχεν ὁ ̓Αστυάγης, ὁ Καμβύσης δὲ τῆς Περσῶν. συνῴκει δ' ουτος τῇ ̓Αστυάγους θυγατρὶ καλουμένῃ Μανδάνῃ, ητις παῖδα τῷ Καμβύσῃ τὸν Κῦρον ἐγείνατο· ος τοῖς τῶν Περσῶν νόμοις τραφεὶς ἀνδρειότατός τε καὶ σωφρονέστατος νουνεχής τε καὶ δικαιότατος γέγονε. τὰ δὲ 1.225 νόμιμα τῶν Περσῶν τοιάδε ησαν, ὡς Ξενοφῶν συνεγράψατο. ην αὐτοῖς ἀγορὰ ἐλευθέρα κεκλημένη, καθ' ην τά τε βασίλεια σφίσι καὶ τὰ αλλα ἀρχεῖα πεποίηντο, ων τὰ ωνια καὶ οἱ ἀγοραῖοι καὶ ἡ τούτων τύρβη καὶ αἱ φωναὶ ἀπελήλαντο, ινα μὴ τῇ τῶν πεπαιδευμένων εὐκοσμίᾳ μιγνύηται. διῄρητο δὲ ἡ ἐλευθέρα ἀγορὰ εἰς τετρακτὺν ἀρχείων· τούτων τὸ εν παισίν, αλλο δ' ἐφήβοις ἀφώριστο, τελείοις δ' ἀνδράσι τὸ ετερον, τοῖς δ' ὑπὲρ τὰ στρατεύσιμα γεγονόσιν ετη ἀπονενέμητο τὸ λοιπόν, καὶ εἰς τὰς ἑαυτῶν χώρας παρῆσαν εκαστοι. τοὺς δ' ἐφήβους καὶ περὶ τὰ ἀρχεῖα καταδαρθάνειν σὺν τοῖς οπλοις τοῖς γυμνητικοῖς ἐνενόμιστο πλὴν τῶν γεγαμηκότων· ουτοι δὲ ουτε ἐπεζητοῦντο, εἰ μὴ προείρητο, ουτ' ἀπεῖναι συχνάκις αὐτοῖς συγκεχώρητο. ησαν δ' ἑκάστοις αρχοντες δώδεκα· εἰς γὰρ δώδεκα φυλὰς οἱ Πέρσαι διῄρηντο. οἱ μὲν δὴ παῖδες εἰς τὰ διδασκαλεῖα φοιτῶντες δικαιοσύνην ἐμάνθανον, τῶν ἀρχόντων αὐτῶν τὸ πλεῖστον τῆς ἡμέρας δικαζόντων αὐτοῖς. ἐγίνοντο γὰρ δὴ καὶ παισὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ωσπερ ἀνδράσιν ἐγκλήματα καὶ κλοπῆς καὶ βίας καὶ ἁρπαγῆς καὶ ἀπάτης καὶ υβρεως καὶ αλλων τινῶν. ους δ' αν εγνων τούτων ἀδικοῦντας, ἐτιμωροῦντο· καὶ ους δ' αν ευρισκον ἀδίκως ἐγκαλοῦντας, ἐκόλαζον. ἐδίδασκον δὲ τοὺς παῖδας σωφροσύνην, προσέχοντας τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις σωφρόνως διάγουσιν, ἐδίδασκον δὲ καὶ τροφῆς ἐγκράτειαν καὶ ποτοῦ. καὶ οτε τραφήσεσθαι εμελλον οἱ παῖδες, παρὰ τῷ διδασκάλῳ ησαν σιτούμενοι, αρτον φέροντες οικοθεν καὶ κάρδαμον οψον· καὶ ποτὸν ἐλάμβανον ποταμίου υδατος κώθωνα. ἐμάνθανον δὲ πρὸ τοῦ σιτεῖσθαι τοξεύειν καὶ ἀκοντίζειν. μέχρι δὴ εξ ἐτῶν η ἑπτὰ πρὸς τοῖς δέκα ταῦτα οἱ παῖδες επραττον, 1.226 ἐκ τούτου δ' εἰς τοὺς ἐφήβους ἐτάττοντο, καὶ δέκα ετη περὶ τὰ ἀρχεῖα ἐκάθευδον, παρεῖχον δὲ καὶ τὴν