I'm sure Harpagus must have given advice like this to the Persian king. The king got angry and served Harpagus his own children for dinner. He kept asking if Harpagus liked how they were prepared. When he saw that Harpagus was filled with horror at his own tragedy, the king brought out the children's heads. Then he asked how Harpagus enjoyed the meal. The poor man didn't lose his ability to speak. His face didn't change. "Every kind of dinner is pleasant at the king's table," he said. What did he gain from this groveling?
I have no doubt that Harpagus must have given some such advice to the king of the Persians and of himself, in anger at which the king placed Harpagus’s own children before him on the dinner-table for him to eat, and asked him from time to time, whether he liked the seasoning. Then, when he saw that he was satiated with his own misery, he ordered their heads to be brought to him, and asked him how he liked his entertainment. The wretched man did not lose his readiness of speech; his face did not change. “Every kind of dinner,” said he, “is pleasant at the king’s table.” What did he gain by this obsequiousness?