Custom and country

Explanation

this proverb is said because each people uses its own customs. The Persians deliberate when drunk, and worship their kings as gods; equals kiss one another, but inferiors only attain the cheeks of the greater; their newborn children they do not see for four years. There are other customs of theirs which they alone use according to their peculiar fashion. The Gordians choose as king the fattest of themselves. The Syracoi give the diadem to the tallest. As some say, to him who has the largest head. The Stymphali honour the woman who has consorted with the greatest number of men. The Mountain-Massagetae lie together in the streets. The Sauromatae sell their daughters at drinking-bouts. The Mazousian does not lie with a woman unless he has captured her in war. The Tibareni, when their wives bear children, themselves bind their heads and lie down. Among the Cercetaeans labourers carry their loads about until someone shall buy them. The Issedones eat their parents, save the head; the head they gild. The Trausi weep at births, but rejoice over the dying. The Bacchirii, if they recover from a sickness, throw themselves to the dogs. The Orgempaei have no houses, nor do they eat anything that has had life. They are also bald, women and all, owing to the nature of the water they drink. The Thyssagetae sacrifice the bones to the gods, themselves eating the flesh. The Tauroscythians sacrifice human beings. The inland Byzonoi milk their oxen and use only this for food. The Iberians of our part of the world keep packs of dogs in place of sheep. The Ethiopians called Colchians keep hyenas. For these reasons the proverb is said.