plish. But this he knew he could not do without the assistance of the Greeks; which, however, he hought he could the more easily procure for such an undertaking, as they had long burned with an ardent desire of revenging upon Persia the injuries they had received from it, and of working the total destruction of that empire. Philip, therefore, now proposing to lead them to such a glorious gratification of their revenge, they readily chose him generalissimo of their forces; and he, accordingly, began to make preparations for invading the dominions of the Persian monarch. But while Philip was thus successful in his public undertakings, the violent dissensions that reigned in his family destroyed all his private peace, and at last brought him to an untimely end. He had married Olympias, the daughter of the king of Epirus, and the carly part of their union was crowned with happiness; but as she was naturally of a peevish and vindictive disposition, a coldness first, and afterwards, a rooted aversion took place between them. This was probably hastened by the passion which Philip had conceived for Cleopatra, niece to Attalus, one of his principal officers. In a word, his love to this lady, and his aversion to Olympias, grew at last so strong, that he resolved to espouse the former, after having divorced the latter. In vain did Alexander his son remonstrate, that, by divorcing Olympias and engaging m a se cond marriage, he exposed him to the danger of contending with a number of competitors for the crown, and rendered his succession precarious. « My said the king, «< if I create you a number of competitors, you will have the glorious opportunity of exerting yourself to surpass them all in merit thus shall their rivalship only render you more worthy of the throne ». son », His marriage with Cleopatra was now declared in form, and celebrated with all the pomp and magnificence, which the occasion required. The young prince, however dissatisfied, was yet obliged to attend on these solemnities, and sat in silent indignation at that feast which proclaimed the disgrace of his mother. In such circumstances, his youthful and impetuous mind could not fail to take fire at any the least shadow of insult. Attalus, uncle to the new queen, was so unguarded, as, in the midst of the entertainment, to call aloud upon the Macedonian nobles, to pour out their libations to the gods, that they might grant the king the happy fruits of the present nuptials, and legitimate heirs to his throne. « Wretch! » cried Alexander, with his eyes sparkling with that indignation which he had till now suppressed, « dost thou then call me bastard»? And instantly darted his gobelet at Attalus, who returned the outrage with double vio lence clamour and confusion arose, and the king, in a sudden fit of rage, snatched his sword,. and flew directly towards his son. His precipitation, his lameness (for he had been wounded in the battle with the Triballi), and the quantity of wine in which he had indulged, happily disappointed his rash purpose: he stumbled and fell on the floor; while Alexander, with an unpardonable insolence, cried out, «< Behold, ye Macedonians! this is the king who is preparing to lead you into Asia; see where, in passing from one table to another, he is fallen to the ground Philip, however, did not lose sight of the conquest of Asia. Full of the mighty project, he consulted the gods, to know what would be the event of it; and the priestess replied, « The victim is already crowned, his end draws nigh, and he will soon be sacrificed ». Philip interpreted this oracle in his own favour; though the ambiguity of it might have made him suspectits meaning, and that it was as applicable to some other event as to the conquest of Asia. The fact is, it soon after appeared, that it was more applicable to himself than to the Persian monarch. For while he was celebrating the nuptials of his daughter Cleopatra, with Alexander, king of Epirus, and brother to his queen Olympias, he was suddenly stabbed, in the height of the solemnity and in the midst of his guards, by one Pausanias, a noble Macedonian, whom Attalus,` kis favourite general, had cruelly abused; and who having repeatedly demanded reparation of the king in vain, at last turned the edge of his resentment from the author of his wrong to his sovereign himself, and took this dreadful method of satiating his revenge. : Olympias is supposed to have instigated Pausanias to this desperate act. Certain it is, that when his dead body (for he was instantly dispatched by the guards) was hung up on a gibbet, it appeared next morning crowned with a golden diadem; a mark of respect, which no one could have ventured to shew to it but Olympias. In a few days after, she took a further occasion of publishing her triumph and exultation in her husband's fall, by paying the same funeral honours to Pausanias that were paid to Philip both bodies were burned on the same pile, and the ashes of both deposited in the same tomb. She is even said to have prevailed on the Macedonians to pay annual honours to Pausanias; as if she feared that the share, which he had in the death of Philip should not be known to the whole world; she consecrated to Apollo the dagger which had been the instrument of the fatal deed, inscribed with the name of Myrtalis, the name which she bore when their loves first began. Thus died Philip; prince possessed of great abilities both in peace and war, but much fonder of gaining his ends by dexterity and address than by force of arms. The news of his death was a joyful surprise in Greece, and particularly at Athens, where the people crowned themselves with garlands, and decreed a crown to Pausanias. They sacrificed to the gods for their deliverance, and sung songs of triumph, as if Philip had been slain by them in battle. But this excess of joy very ill became them, because it was altogether inconsistent with their late behaviour to that prince; for, when he was chosen generalissimo of the Greeks, and still more when he celebrated the nuptials of his daughter, the Athenians were the most forward and the most fulsome in their compliments. to him, and carried their adulation so far, as almost to exalt him to the rank of a God. CHAP. XIII. From the birth of Alexander to his setting out ALEXANDER, the son of Philip, ascended the throne upon the death of his father, and took possession of a kingdom rendered flourishing and powerful by the policy of the preceding reign. He came into the world the very day the celebrated temple of Diana at Ephesus was burnt; which gave occasion to Hegesias, the historian, to |