this exercise, ordered him, as we are told, a present suitable to his employment: viz. a basket of peas. 21. Alexander was of a sprightly disposition, was resolute, and very tenacious of his opinion, which never gave way to force, but at the same time would submit immediately to reason and good sense. It is very difficult to treat with persons of this turn of mind: Philip accordingly, notwithstanding his double authority of king and father, believed it necessary to employ persuasion rather than force with respect to his son, and endeavoured to make himself beloved rather than feared by him. 22. An accident made him entertain a very advantageous opinion of Alexander. There had been sent from Thessaly to Philip a war-horse; a noble, strong, fiery, generous beast called Bucephalus. The owner would not sell him under thirteen talents; an immense sum. The king went into the plains, attended by his courtiers, in order to view the perfections of this horse; but, upon trial, he appeared so very fierce, and pranced about in so furious a manner, that no one dared to mount him. 23. Philip being angry that so furious and unmanageable a creature had been sent him, gave orders for their carrying him back again. Alexander, who was present at that time, cried out, "What a noble horse we are going to lose, for want of address and boldness to back him!" Philip at first considered these words as the effect of folly and rashness, so common to young men ; but as Alexander insisted still more upon what he had said, and was very much vexed to see so noble a creature just going to be sent home again, his father gave him leave to try what he could do. 24. The young prince, overjoyed at this permission, goes up to Bucephalus, takes hold of the bridle, and turns his head to the sun, having observed, that the thing which frightened him was his own shadow; Alexander therefore first stroked him gently with his hand, and soothed him with his voice, then seeing his fierceness abate, and artfully taking this opportunity, he let fall his cloak, and springing swiftly upon his back, first slackened the rein, without once striking or vexing him; and when he perceived that his fire was cooled, that he was no longer so furious and violent, and wanted only to move forward, he gave him the rein, and spurring him with great vigour, animated him with his voice to his full speed. 25. While this was doing, Philip and his whole court, trembled for fear, and did not once open their lips; but when the prince, after having run his first heat, returned with joy and pride at his having broke a horse which was judged absolutely ungovernable, all the courtiers in general, endeavoured to outvie one another in their applauses and congratulations; and we are told Philip shed tears of joy on this occasion; and embracing Alexander, after he was alighted, and kissing him, he said to him, "My son seek a kingdom more worthy of thee, for Macedon is below thy merit. 26. Alexander, upon his accession to the throne, saw himself surrounded with extreme dangers; the barbarous nations with whom Philip contended during his whole reign, thought this change for their advantage, and despising the youth and inexperience of the young monarch, resolved to seize this opportunity of regaining their freedom, for satiating themselves with plunder; nor had he less to fear from the Greeks themselves, who now thought this a convenient opportunity to restore their ancient form of government, revenge their former injuries, and reclaim those rights which they had enjoyed for ages. 27. Alexander, however, resolved to prevent their machinations, and to give them no time to complete their confederacies against him. After taking revenge upon the conspirators against his father, whom he slew upon his tomb, he first conciliated the affections of the Macedonians to him by freeing them from a vexatious and bodily slavery, only commanding their service in his wars. 28. The Macedonians reflecting on his precarious situation, advised him to relinquish Greece, and not persist in his resolution of subduing it by force; to recover by gentle methods the barbarians who had taken arms; and to soothe, as it were, those glimmerings of revolt and innovation, by prudent reserve, complacency, and insinuations, in order to conciliate their affections. However, Alexander would not listen to these timorous counsels, but resolved to secure and support his affairs by boldness and magnanimity; firmly persuaded that should he relax in any point at first, all his neighbours would fall upon him; and that, were he to endeavour to compromise matters, he should be obliged to give up all Philip's conquests, and by that means confine his dominions to the narrow limits of Macedon. 29. He therefore made all possible haste to check the arms of the barbarians, by marching his troops to the banks of the Danube, which he crossed in one night. He defeated the king of the Triballi, in a great battle; made the Getæ fly at his approach; subdued several barbarous nations, some by the terror of his name, and others by force of arms: and notwithstanding the arrogant answers of their ambassadors, he taught them to dread a danger which they found but too well prepared to overwhelm them. 30. Whilst Alexander was thus employed at a distance against the barbarians, all the cities of Greece, who were animated more particularly by Demosthenes, formed a powerful alliance against him. A false report which prevailed of his death, inspired the Thebans with a boldness that proved their ruin. They cut to pieces part of the Macedonian garrison in their citadel. Demosthenes, on the other side, was every day haranguing the people; and fired with contempt for Alexander, whom he called a child and a hair-brained boy, he assured the Athenians, with a decisive tone of voice, that they had nothing to fear from the new king o. Macedon, who did not dare to stir out of his kingdom, but would think himself vastly happy could he sit peaceably on his throne, 31. At the same time he wrote letters upon letters to Attalus, one of Philip's lieutenants in Asia Minor, to excite him to rebel. This Attalus was uncle to Cleopatra, Philip's second wife, and was very much disposed to listen to Demosthenes' proposals. Nevertheless, as Alexander was grown very diffident of him, for which he knew there was but too much reason, he therefore, to eradicate from his mind all the suspicions he might entertain, and the better to screen his designs, sent all Demosthenes' letters to that prince: but Alexander saw through all his artifices, and thereupon ordered Hecatæus, one of his commanders, whom he had sent into Asia for that purpose, to have him assassinated, which was executed accordingly. Attalus' death restored tranquillity to the army, and entirely destroyed the seeds of discord and rebellion. 32. The object which seized Alexander's earliest ambition, was the conquest of Persia; and he now expected that he would have leisure and opportunity to prepare for so great an enterprise; but he was soon called to a new undertaking: the Athenians, Thebans, and Lacedæmonians united against him, hoping, by the assistance of Persia, to recover their former freedom. In order to persuade the Greeks to this, Demosthenes made use of a device, which had more cunning in it than wisdom. 33. He caused it to be reported that Alexander was slain in a battle against the Triballi; and he produced a man to the assembly who ventured to affirm, that he was present and wounded, when his general was slain. These false reports, which serve for a day, are but bad policy; like a false alarm in battle, the people may sometimes be mocked by them, but in the end the success will prove as ridiculous as the invention; for as those that find themselves at one time abused by such, at other times neglect the real call of truth; by being summoned without occasion, they fatally despise the hour of danger. 34. This unfortunate obstacle obliged Alexander to turn his sword from the Persians against the Greeks, of whose assistance he had just before assured himself. Expedition and activity were the characteristics of this monarch's conduct; he led his army against the Greeks with so much celerity, that his appear ance before them gave the first news of his preparation. 35. He appeared so suddenly in Boeotia, that the Thebans could scarce believe their eyes; and being come before their walls, was willing to give them time to repent; and only demanded to have Phoenix and Prothutes, the two chief ringleaders of the revolt, delivered up to him; and published by sound of trumpet, a general pardon to all who should come over to him. But the Thebans, by way of insult, demanded to have Philotas and Antipater delivered to them; and invited, by a declaration, all who were solicitous for the liberty of Greece, to join with them in its defence. 36. Alexander finding it impossible for him to get the better of their obstinacy by offers of peace, saw with grief that he should be forced to employ his power, and decide the affair by force of arms. A great battle was thereupon fought, in which the Thebans exerted themselves with a bravery and ardour much beyond their strength, for the enemy exceeded them vastly in numbers. But after a long and vigorous resistance, such as survived of the Macedonian garrison in the citadel coming down from it, and charging the Thebans in the rear; being surrounded on all sides, the greatest part of them were cut to pieces, and the city taken and plundered. 37. It would be impossible for words to express the dreadful calamities which the Thebans suffered on this occasion. Some Thracians having pulled down the house of a virtuous lady of quality, Timoclea by name, carried off all her goods and treasures; and their captain having seized the lady, and satiated his brutal lust with her, afterwards inquired whether she had not concealed gold and silver. 38. Timoclea, animated by an ardent desire of revenge, replying, that she had hid some, took him with herself only into her garden, and showing him a well, told him, that the instant she saw the enemy enter the city, she herself had thrown into it the most precious things in her possession. The officer overjoyed at what he heard, drew near the well, and stooping down to see its depth, Timoclea, who was behind, pushing him with all her strength, threw him in, and afterwards killed him with great stones, which she heaped upon him. She was instantly seized by the Thracians, and being bound in chains, was carried before Alexander. 39. The prince perceived immediately by her mien, that she was a woman of quality, and great spirit; for she followed those brutal wretches, with a very haughty air, and without discovering the least fear. Alexander asking her who she was, Timoclea, replied, "I am sister to Theagenes, who fought against Philip for the liberty of Greece, and was killed at the battle of Chæronea, where he commanded." The prince admiring her generous an swer, ana still more the actions she had done, gave orders that she should have leave to retire wherever she pleased with her children. 40. Alexander then debated in council how to act with regard to Thebes. The Phocians, and the people of Platæa, Thespiæ, and Orchomenus, who were all in alliance with Alexander, and had shared in his victory, represented to him the cruel treatment they had met with from the Thebans, who had also destroyed their several cities, and reproached them with the zeal which they had always discovered in favour of the Persians against the Greeks, who held them in the utmost detestation: the proof of which was the oath they had all taken to destroy Thebes, after they should have vanquished the Persians. 41. Cleades, one of the prisoners, being permitted to speak, endeavoured to excuse in some measure the fault of the Thebans ; a fault which in his opinion, should be imputed to a rash and credulous imprudence, rather than to depravity of will and declared perfidy. He remonstrated, that his countrymen, upon a false report of Alexander's death, had indeed too rashly broke into rebellion, not against the king, but against his successors. 42. That what crimes soever they might have committed, they had been punished for them with the utmost severity, by the dreadful calamity which had befallen their city; that there now remained in it none but women, children, and old men, from whom they had nothing to fear; and who were so much the greater objects of compassion, as they had been no ways concerned in the revolt. He concluded with reminding Alexander, that Thebes, which had given birth to so many gods and heroes, several of whom were that king's ancestors, had also been the seat of his father Philip's rising glory, and like a second native country to him. 43. These motives which Cleades urged, were very strong and powerful; nevertheless, the anger of the conqueror prevailed, and the city was destroyed. However, he set at liberty the priests; all such as had right of hospitality with the Macedonians; the descendants of Pindar, the famous poet, who had done so much honour to Greece; and such as had opposed the revolt. 44. But all the rest, in number above thirty thousand, he sold; and upwards of six thousand had been killed in battle. The Athenians were so sensibly affected at the sad disaster which had befallen Thebes, that being about to solemnise the festival of the great mysteries, they suspended them upon account of their extreme grief; and received, with the greatest humanity, all those who had fled from the battle, and the plunder of Thebes, and made Athens their asylum. 45. Alexander's so sudden arrival in Greece, had very much abated the haughtiness of the Athenians, and extinguished |