"'Tis pure gold--massive gold," was the news he had spread in every
direction. But the very cupidity he provoked was against his plan; for
the Gauls fell out to plunder. He had to put off the assault until the
morrow. The night was passed in irregularities and orgies.

The Greeks, on the contrary, prepared with ardor for the fight. Their
enthusiasm was intense. Those barbarians, with their half-nakedness,
their grossness, their ferocity, their ignorance, and their impiety, were
revolting. They committed murder and devastation like dolts. They left
their dead on the field, without burial. They engaged in battle without
consulting priest or augur. It was not only their goods, but their
families, their life, the honor of their country, and the sanctuary of
their religion, that the Greeks were defending, and they might rely on
the protection of the gods. The oracle of Apollo had answered, "I and
the white virgins will provide for this matter." The people surrounded
the temple, and the priests supported and encouraged the people. During
the night small bodies of AEtolians, Amphisseans, and Phocidians arrived
one after another. Four thousand men had joined within Delphi, when the
Gallic bands, in the morning, began to mount the narrow and rough incline
which led up to the town. The Greeks rained down from above a deluge of
stones and other missiles. The Gauls recoiled, but recovered
themselves. The besieged fell back on the nearest streets of the town,
leaving open the approach to the temple, upon which the barbarians threw
themselves. The pillage of the shrines had just commenced when the sky
looked threatening; a storm burst forth, the thunder echoed, the rain
fell, the hail rattled. Readily taking advantage of this incident, the
priests and the augurs sallied from the temple clothed in their sacred
garments, with hair dishevelled and sparkling eyes, proclaiming the
advent of the god: "'Tis he! we saw him shoot athwart the temple's vault,
which opened under his feet; and with him were two virgins, who issued