the assistance of the Greeks, which, however, he thought 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 accomplishing the total destruction of that empire. 20. 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. 21. But while the Macedonian monarch 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 Olym'pias, daughter of the king of Epi'rus, and the early 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. 22. A woman, indeed, of less fiery and vindictive passions, might well have been displeased at the continual augmentation of her husband's wives and concubines; and her son Alexander was not only indignant at the neglect with which his mother was treated, but saw his succession to the throne rendered precarious by the increased number of competitors. At the nuptials of Philip with Cassan'dra, the daughter of At talus, one of his favourite generals, the father and son came to an open rupture, and were never again completely reconciled. 23. Meantime the preparations for the invasion of Persia proceeded, when the dagger of an assassin suddenly deprived Macedon of her greatest monarch. For while Philip was celebrating the nuptials of his daughter Cleopa'tra, with Alexander king of Epi'rus, and brother to his queen Olym'pias, he was suddenly stabbed in the height of the solemnity, and in the midst of his guards, by one Pausa'nias, a noble Macedonian, whom At'talus, his 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 1. 24. Thus died Philip, a 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. His character has been thus drawn by an able historian: "Philip of Macedon was by much the most sagacious prince of his age. He had a perfect idea of the state of his own country, the condition of Greece, and the weakness of the Persian empire. He was secret without affecting reserve; eloquent without either being ready to speak or vain of speaking; obliging in his deportment as a king, and yet never departing from his dignity as a sovereign. In the field he was a complete general, and expert engineer, and an indefatigable soldier. He studied war as an art, and acted as coolly in an engagement as at a review. He was learned, and a great patron and lover of learning. On the other hand, his ambition was boundless; his treaties always gave way to his interest; he was the most finished dissembler of his time; extremely severe to those who opposed his designs, and addicted to vices which bring great disgrace upon his memory." 25. 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 Pausa'nias. They sacrificed to the gods for their deliverance, and sung songs of triumph, as if Philip had The instigator of this rash act is not known; some say that Pausa'nias was instigated by Olym'pias; others that he was bribed by the Persian king. This latter opinion derives some confirmation from the fact of Alexander having alleged in his declaration of war, that the assassination of his father was one of the causes for his invading the Persian empire. 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. Questions. 1. How did Demosthenes succeed at Thebes? 2. By what means did Philip endeavour to terrify the allies? 3. How did Demosthenes frustrate this? 4. Where was the decisive engagement fought? 5. In what respects was Philip's army superior to that of the allies? 6. How were the armies drawn out at Charoneia ? 7. By whom was the sacred Theban band subdued? 8. Were the Athenians at first successful? 9. How was this advantage lost? 10. By what tactics did Philip decide the fate of the day? 1. What was the loss of the confederates? 12. Did Philip exhibit any clemency to the defeated army? 13. What different representations are given of Philip's conduct after the victory? 14. On what conditions was peace granted? 15. Is there any strange account of the death of Isocrates? 16. What became of Lysicles? 17. Was Chares put to death? 18. Did the people punish Demosthenes for having advised this unfor tunate war? 19. What was the great object of Philip's ambition? 20. Did he succeed? 21. Had Philip any domestic uneasiness? 22. What were the causes of these family quarrels ? 23. What was the death of Philip ? 24. What was his character ? 25. How was the news received in Greece ? CHAPTER XIII. From the Birth of Alexander to his Departure for Asia. 1. We have now arrived at a period when the Greeks, united as one people, and under the guidance of a single commander, extended their sway over central Asia, and for a brief space possessed one of the most splendid empires recorded in history. Every thing in the career of Alexander is so extraordinary; the magnitude and rapidity of his conquests apparently so far transcend his limited means his political wisdom seeming to have formed plans beyond what should have been expected from the knowledge of the age—his valour as a soldier, his skill as a general, his wisdom as a statesman, and even his weaknesses as a man, require us to pay more attention to him individually, than is usually given to a single person in historical summaries. This, indeed, is the more requisite in the present instance, as the Grecian history for several years is completely identified with the exploits of Alexander, and we shall therefore give some account of the education and early life of a monarch who is to occupy so great a share of our attention. 2. Alexander was born at Pella, on the very day that the temple of Diana at Eph'esus was burned to the ground. (B. C. 356.) Those who interpret omens by subsequent events remarked, that the conflagration of the greatest ornament of Asia symbolized the destruction which at a future period he should bring on the Asiatic empires ; others declared that Diana, in her capacity of "goddess of childbirth," was so busy in bringing a hero into the world, that she neglected the preservation of her own temple. On the day of his birth, Philip received the news of a victory obtained by his general Parme'nio, over the Illyrians, and of his horses having obtained the first prize at the Olympic games. These coincidences, in an age of superstition, were supposed to be certain types of future greatness, and Philip took the most efficacious means to ensure their accomplishment, by giving his son the best possible education. 3. Of his progress up to his fifteenth year, nothing certain is recorded, but at that age he was placed under the tuition of Aristotle, one of the greatest philosophers of antiquity. (B. C. 342.) The mutual attachment of the philosopher and pupil was equally creditable to both; Aristotle opened to his pupil all his vast stores of wisdom, and Alexander availed himself of these advantages to the utmost. 4. The poems of Homer were, however, the principal objects of his youthful admiration; with the character of Achilles he was more peculiarly struck; he proposed it as an example for his own imitation, but unfortunately we shall find that he copied the defects as closely as the virtues of that hero. 5. At an early age he was introduced by his father into public life; he received the Persian ambassadors when not quite sixteen, and astonished them by his pertinent inquiries respecting the political condition and revenues of Persia. Soon after he was appointed regent of Macedon, while his father was besieging Byzan'tium; two years after he commanded the left wing of the Macedonian army at |