EXAMPLE 22. Chiomara.
It fell out that Chiomara, the wife of Ortiagon, was
taken captive with other women, in the time when the
Romans under Cneus Manlius overcame the Galatians of
Asia in battle. The centurion that took her made use
of his fortune soldier-like and defiled her; for he was, as
to voluptuousness and covetousness, an ill-bred and insatiable man, over whom avarice had gotten an absolute conquest. A great quantity of gold being promised by the
woman for her ransom, in order to her redemption he
brought her to a certain bank of a river. As the Galatians passed over and paid him the money in gold, and
received Chiomara into their possession, she gave an intimation of her pleasure to one of them by nod,—to smite
the Roman while he was kissing and taking his leave of
her. He obeyed her commands and cut off his head. She
takes it, wraps it up in her apron, and carries it with her;
and as she comes to her husband, she casts down the head
before him, at which being startled he said, O wife! thy
fidelity is noble. Yea, verily, replied she, it is a nobler
thing that there is now but one man alive that hath ever
lain with me. Polybius saith that he discoursed with this
woman at Sardis, and admired her prudence and discretion.