wisdom of Egypt had been exhausted, judged it very
ridiculous to expose a king to the ferocity of wild
beasts in order to be married. He acknowledged
that he considered the possession of Formosanta of
inestimable value, but he believed that if the lion
should strangle him, he could never wed this fair
Babylonian. The king of India held similar views
to the king of Egypt. They both concluded that the
king of Babylon was laughing at them, and that
they should send for armies to punish him—that
they had many subjects who would think themselves
highly honored to die in the service of their masters,
without it costing them a single hair of their sacred
heads—that they could easily dethrone the king of
Babylon, and then they would draw lots for the fair
Formosanta.
This agreement being made, the two kings sent each an express into his respective country, with orders to assemble three hundred thousand men to carry off Formosanta.
However, the king of Scythia descended alone into the arena, scimitar in hand. He was not distractedly enamored with Formosanta's charms. Glory till then had been his only passion, and it had led him to Babylon. He was willing to show that if the kings of India and Egypt were so prudent as not to tilt with lions, he was courageous enough not to decline the combat, and he would repair the honor of diadems. His uncommon valor would not even allow him to avail himself of the assistance of his
