The reason why they were so desirous of taking Thyamis alive was this: Petosiris, who resided at Memphis, was his younger brother; by his artifices he had unlawfully deprived Thyamis of the priesthood, and hearing that he was now at the head of the pirates, he feared that he might take some opportunity to attack him, or that in time his treachery might be discovered; he was besides suspected of having made away with his brother, who nowhere appeared. For these reasons he proclaimed great rewards among all the nests of pirates in his neighbourhood, to any one who should capture him alive: they, stimulated by these offers, and in the heat of battle, not losing sight of gain, took him prisoner at the price of many of their lives. They sent him, under a strong guard, to the main land, he reproaching them all the while for their seeming lenity, and bearing bonds much more indignantly than he would have borne death. The rest proceeded towards the island in quest of treasures and spoil; but when, after a long and strict search, they found nothing of any consequence, some few things excepted, which out of hurry or forgetfulness were left out of the cavern, they set fire to the tents; and the evening coming on, fearing to remain there any longer, lest they should be surprised by the enemy whom they had driven thence, they returned to their companions upon the continent. [Footnote 1: Piracy was not in those times considered dishonorable; but the contrary.--Thucyd. B. i. 4.] [Footnote 2: Called by Herodotus, B. ii. 17, the Bucolic mouth. "It seems clear that the phrase was derived from the inhabitants of the region, a horde of piratical herdsmen, apparently of different race from the agricultural Egyptians. They haunted the most marshy part of the Delta, where the papyrus reeds effectually masked their retreats."--Blakesley's Herodotus.] [Footnote 3: ἐπὶ τρίτον ζωστῆρα--to the third wale. The wales are strong planks extending along a ship's side through the whole length at different heights, serving to strengthen the decks and form the curves. A passage in the Cyclops of Euripides may illustrate the above-- γάνυμας δὲ δαιτὸς ἤβης, σκάφος ὁλκὰς ὥς γεμισθεὶς ποτὶ σέλμα γαστρὸς ἂκρας.--Cyclops. 503. ] [Footnote 4: Indum sanguineo veluti violaverat ostro Si quis ebur.--Æn. xii. 67. ] [Footnote 5: ἤ γέγoνας πολέμου πάρεργον. The expression πολέμου πάρεργον means a by-work; something done by the by.--Thucyd. B. i. 112.] [Footnote 6: Iliad, B. i. 45.] [Footnote 7: A full description of the personal appearance of the buccaneers will be found in Achilles Tatius.--B. iii. c. 9.] [Footnote 8: Ή μὲν ταῦτα ἐπετραγῴδει.] [Footnote 9: For a further description of the buccaneer stronghold, see Achilles Tatius, B. iv. c. 14.