Many kings have treated anger like a royal privilege. Take Darius, who ruled the Persians and most of the East after overthrowing the Magian. When he declared war on the Scythians at the eastern border, an old nobleman named Oeobazus made a request. He had three sons and begged the king to let one stay home to comfort his aging father. He said the king could have the other two for military service. Darius promised more than the old man asked for. He said he would let all three sons stay home. Then he killed them and threw their bodies in front of their father.
Yet many kings have indulged their anger as though it were a privilege of royalty, like Darius, who, after the dethronement of the Magian, was the first ruler of the Persians and of the greater part of the East: for when he declared war[4] against the Scythians who bordered on the empire of the East, Oeobazus, an aged noble, begged that one of his three sons might be left at home to comfort his father, and that the king might be satisfied with the services of two of them. Darius promised him more than he asked for, saying that he would allow all three to remain at home, and flung their dead bodies before their father’s eyes.