DEATH OF PHILOTAS AND PARMENIO.

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DARK stain was fixed on the character of Alexander, by the asserted conspiracy of Phi lotas, his execution, and the murder of Par menio, his father. The account which Ar rian gives us of the conspiracy, and the proceedings against the conspirators, is short, unsatisfactory. and drawn from manifestly prejudiced sources of information. "It was here," says he, "that Alexander discovered the treasonable intentions of Philotas. Ptolemy and Aristobulus both inform us, that Alexander had been apprised of them while he was in Egypt, but that he refused to believe what was told him, he being full of confidence in the friendship which, from childhood, had subsisted with the son, and of respect and esteem for the father. Ptolemy elsewhere affirms, that Philotas was brought before the Macedonian general assembly; that he was vehemently accused by Alexander; that he essayed to justify himself; that witnesses were then brought forward, and that by their evidence, as well as by his own confession, he was convicted of having known that a plot was forming against the king, and of having concealed it from him, though he had to attend upon him twice a day in the royal tent. Upon this, Philotas and his accomplices were slain by the darts of the Macedonians."

To the lame and impotent narrative of Arrian, which, at the utmost, charges Philotas with only misprision of treason, it will be proper to add such supplementary particulars as are supplied by Curtius, Diodorus, and Plutarch. Curtius, indeed, has thrown an air of fiction over his tale by aiming at dramatic effect; but in the great outlines of the story, he accords with the Sicilian annalist, and the Charonean biographer. It is said that Dymnus, a Macedonian officer, of little note, and disgraced by unnameable vice, had entered. into a conspiracy against the life of Alexander, and strove to

induce his chosen companion, Nicomachus, to join the regicidal band. By feigning to yield assent, his worthless associate obtained from him the names of the conspirators. With this information Nicomachus hastened to his brother Cebalinus, desiring him to convey it to the king, as he was apprehensive that his own movements might be watched by the guilty parties. Not finding ready access to his sovereign, Cebalinus communicated the particulars to Philotas, who promised to disclose them to Alexander, but neglected to do so; and in this neglect he persisted, though he was again urged to perform his duty. Fearing that some other person might forestal him in divulging this important intelligence, Cebalinus resorted to Metron, one of the royal attendants, who immediately introduced him to the king. A party of guards was then sent to seize Dymnus, but he refused to surrender, and fell, mortally wounded, by his own hand, or by the weapons of the soldiers. On being interrogated as to his criminal silence, Philotas, confessing that his conduct had been injudicious, pleaded that the known worthlessness of Dymnus and Nicomachus, had led him to disbelieve the charge which was brought forward by the latter, and to imagine that he should only expose himself to ridicule by making it known to Alexander: Having apparently pardoned this fault, and sealed the pardon by giving his hand to the offender, Alexander convened a council, consisting wholly, or chiefly of the enemies of Philotas, among the foremost of whom was Craterus. The result of the deliberation was fatal to the son of Parmenio. Yet, even after his doom was thus decided, he was invited to supper by the monarch, who conversed with him familiarly. In the dead of the night he was dragged from his bed, and led in chains to the palace. There, before the assembled chiefs of the army, Alexander inveighed, with the utmost violence, not only against Philotas, but also against his father, both of whom he charged with treason. The language of the royal accuser was strong, but his arguments weak, and his proofs still weaker. As no satisfactory evidence of the guilt of Philotas could be obtained,

the severest torture was resorted to, and his sufferings, while he was writhing under them, were aggravated by every circumstance of insult and cruelty which baseness and malice. could suggest to his tormentors. His strength and courage at length sank under protracted agony, a confession was wrung from him, and his immediate death was the consequence.

Thus perished, in the prime of life, one of the most distinguished officers of the Macedonian army, who had held high command, both in Europe and Asia. He was the last of the three sons of Parmenio, Nicanor having died of fatigue in the campaign, and Hector having fallen in the service of Alexander. Whether he was really guilty of disloyalty, and, if so, to what extent, or whether his ruin was brought about by the machinations of his enemies, must ever remain a problem. To a confession, extorted by means at which humanity revolts, it is evident that little credence is due, and though Arrian, on the authority of Ptolemy, mentions witnesses, yet he is silent as to their names, their rank, and every circumstance which might enable us to form a just estimate of the value of their evidence. But, though the treason of Philotas may be doubtful, it appears to be certain that he had defects which excited hostile feelings against him. His father is said to have given him the emphatic but fruitless warning, "My son, lessen thyself." His generosity, and his strong attachment to his friends, were counterbalanced by ostentation, vanity, and arrogance. One of his recorded indiscretions, perhaps his crime, was the manner in which he often spoke of Alexander. He is affirmed to have contemptuously designated him as "a boy," and to have exclaimed, "What would Philip have been without Parmenio, or Alexander without Philotas?"

The father died without knowing the fate of his son. He himself was the next victim. Neither the remembrance of the friendship and confidence of Philip, which be had always enjoyed, nor his long and splendid services, nor his advanced age, availed to save, Parmenio from destruction. It is affirmed

by Diodorus, that he was regularly condemned by the Macedonian assembled leaders; and, by Curtius, that he was criminated in the confession of Philotas. That both these assertions are erroneous must be inferred from the brief account given by Arrian. Had they been true, it is not to be supposed that Aristobulus and Ptolemy would have failed to record the fact. It seems undeniable that there was not a shadow of proof against the veteran general; and the foul murder of him, for most foul it was, must be ascribed to Alexander alone. "Polydamas, one of the companions," says Arrian, "was despatched with letters to Cleander, Sitalces, and Menides, who were officers under Parmenio in Media, and Parmenio was in consequence put to death by them; either because Alexander could not believe him to be unparticipant of the crime of his son, or might deem it dangerous, after the death of Philotas, to let the father exist, who was possessed of so much influence over the Macedonians, whom he had often commanded, both in chief and otherwise, with high applause.

The space of at least seven hundred miles, which intervened between Zaranga and the Median capital, Polydamas traversed with such unslackening speed, that on the eleventh day he entered Ecbatana, and privately delivered to Cleander the mission of the regal assassin. The manner of effecting the murder was concerted between them, and the next day was appointed for the commission of the deed. The circumstances of the catastrophe, as stated by Curtius, are in harmony with the rest of the proceeding; the whole is marked by consistent baseness. Eager to see Polydamas, whom he numbered among his friends, Parmenio sent to hasten his coming. The murderers were already at their posts; they were walking in the palace garden with their unconscious. victim when Polydamas entered. The treacherous envoy hurried forward to embrace him, and then presented to him a letter from the king, and another which was forged in the name of Philotas. Parmenio had read the letter from Alexander, had expressed a wish that the monarch would be

more careful of his person, and was perusing the supposed communication from his son, when he was twice stabbed by Cleander. The aged warrior sank to the earth, and as he lay there, dead, or in the agonies of death, his body was gored with needless wounds by the companions of the mur

derer!

To be the friend of Philotas seems to have been equivalent to a sentence of proscription. On no other ground than their close intimacy with him, Amyntas, Polemon, Attalus, and Simmias, the sons of Andremon, were accused of being accomplices of the deceased general. Terrified by the fate of Philotas, Polemon had taken flight, and a semblance of probability was thus given to the surmises of their enemies