him, in the flower of his age, and the height of his fortune. The Macedonians imagined they faw Alexander, with a firm and intrepid air, ftill lead them on to battle, befiege cities, climb walls, and reward fuch as had diftinguished themselves. They then reproached themselves for having refused him divine honours; and confeffed they had been ungrateful and impious, for bereaving him of a name he so justly merited.

After paying him this homage of veneration and tears, they turned their whole thoughts and reflections on themselves, and on the fad condition to which they were reduced by Alexander's death. They confidered, that they were on the farther fide (with refpect to Macedonia) of the Euphrates, without a leader to head them; and furrounded with enemies, who abhorred their new yoke. As the king died without nominating his fucceffor, a dreadful futurity prefented itself to their imagination; and exhibited nothing but divifions, civil wars, and a fatal neceffity of still shedding their blood, and of opening their former wounds, not to conquer Afia, but only to give a king to it; and to raise to the throne perhaps fome mean officer or wicked wretch.

This great mourning was not confined merely to Babylon, but spread over all the province; and the news of it foon reached Darius's mother. One of her daughters was with her, who being ftill inconfolable for the death of Hephæftion her husband, the fight of the public calamity recalled all her private woes. But Syfigambis bewailed the feveral misfortunes of her family; and this new affliction awaked the remembrance of all its former fufferings. One would have thought that Darius was but just dead, and that this unfortunate mother folemnized the funeral of two fons at the fame time. She wept the living no less than the dead: "who now," would she say, "will take care of my daughters; Where fhall we find another Alexander?" She would fancy fhe faw them again reduced to a state of captivity, and that they had løft their king.

dom

dom a fecond time; but with this difference, that nove Alexander was gone, they had no refuge left. At lail, fhe funk under her grief. This princefs, who had, borne with patience the death of her father, her husband, of fourfcore of her brothers, who were murdered in one day by Ochus, and, to say all in one word, that of Darius her fon, and the ruin of her family; thought fhe had, I fay, fubmitted patiently to all these loffes, the however had not ftrength of mind fufficient to fupport herself after the death of Alexander, She would not take any fuftenance, and starved herself to death, to avoid her furviving this laft calamity.

After Alexander's death, great contentions arose among the Macedonians, about appointing him a fucceffor, of which I fhall give an account in its proper place. After feven days spent in confufion and, difputes, it was agreed that Arideus, baftard brother. to Alexander, fhould be declared king, and that in: cafe Roxana, who was eight months gone with child, fhould be delivered of a fon, he fhould fhare the throne in conjunction with Arideus, and that Perdiccas fhould have the care of both; for Arideus was a weak man, and wanted a guardian as much as a child.

The Egyptians and Chaldeans having embalmed the king's corpfe after their manner. Arideus was ap.. pointed to convey it to the temple of Jupiter-Ammon.

Two whole years were employed in preparing for this magnificent funeral, which made Olympias bewail the fate of her fon, who having had the ambition to rank himself among the gods, was fo long deprived of burial, a privilege allowed to the meaneft of mortals.

lian J. xiii. c. 30.

SECT. XIX. The judgment we are to form of Alexander.

THE

HE reader would not be fatisfied, if, after having given a detail of Alexander's actions, I fhould not take notice of the judgment we are to form of them; especially as authors have entirely differed in their opinions, with regard to the merits of this prince. Some have applauded him with a kind of extafy, as the model of a perfect hero, which opinion feems to have prevailed: others, on the contrary, have reprefented him in fuch colours, as at leaft fully, if not quite eclipfe, the fplendour of his victories.

This diverfity of fentiments denotes that of Alexander's qualities; and it must be confessed, that good and evil, virtues and vices, were never more equally blended, than in the prince whofe hiftory we have written. But this is not all; for Alexander appears very different, according to the times or feasons in which we confider him, as Livy has very juftly obferved. In the inquiry he makes concerning the fate of Alexander's arms, fuppofing he had turned them towards Italy, he † difcovers in him a kind of double Alexander; the one wife, temperate, judicious, brave, intrepid, but at the fame time prudent and circumfpect: the other immersed in all the wantonness of an haughty profperity;vain, proud, arrogant, fiery; softened by delights, abandoned to intemperance and exceffes; in a word, refembling Darius rather than Alexander; and having made the Macedonians degenerate into all the vices of the Perfians, by the new turn of mind, and the new manners he affumed after his conquefts.

*Luxuria, induftria; comitate, arrogantia; malis bonifque artibus,

mixtus. TACIT.

+ Et loquimur de Alexandro nondum merso fecundis rebus, quarum nemo intolerantior fuit. Qui fi ex habitu nova fortunæ, novique, ut ita dicam, ingenii, quod fibi viêter induerat, fpe&tetur, Dario magis fimilis quàm Alexandro in Italiam veniffet, & exercitum Macedonia oblitum, degeneran emque jam in Perfarum mores adduxiffet. Liv. 1. ix. n. 18.

I fhall have an eye to this plan, in the account I am now to give of Alexander's character, and shall confider it under two afpects, and in a manner, two æras; first, from his youth till the battle of Iffus, and the fiege of Tyre, which followed foon after; and fecondly, from that victory to his death. The former will exhibit to us great qualities with few defects (according to the idea the heathens had of thefe); the fecond will reprefent to us enormous vices; and, notwithstanding the fplendour of fo many victories, very little true and folid merit, even with regard to warlike actions, a few battles excepted, in which he fuftained his reputation.

1

FIRST PART.

We are firft to acknowledge and admire, in Alexander, a happy difpofition, cultivated and improved by an excellent education. He had a great, noble, and generous foul. He delighted in beftowing and doing fervice, qualities he had acquired in his infant years. A young lad, whose business it was to gather up and throw the balls when he played at tennis, to whom he had given nothing, taught him a good leffon on that fubject. As he always threw the ball to the other players, the king, with an angry air, cried to him, And am I then to have no ball?" "No, Sir," replied the lad, 66 you do not ask me for it." This witty and ready answer gave great fatisfaction to the prince, who fell a laughing, and afterwards was very liberal to him. After this, there was no occafion to excite him to acts of generofity; for he would be quite angry with fuch as refufed them at his hands. Finding Phocion continue inflexible on this head, he told him by letter, "that he would no longer be his friend, in cafe he refufed to accept of his favours."

Alexander, as if he had been sensible of the mighty things to which he was born, endeavoured to fhine on

I Plut. in Alex. p. 687.

all

all occafions, and appear more confpicuous than any other person. No one was ever fired with fo ftrong a love for glory; and it is well known, that ambition, which is confidered by Chriftians as a great vice, was looked upon by the heathens as a great virtue. It was that which made Alexander fupport with courage all the toils and fatigues neceffary for thofe who would distinguish themselves in the exercifes both of body and mind. He was accustomed very early to a sober, hard, plain way of life, uncorrupted with luxury or delicacy of any kind; a way of life highly advantageous to young foldiers.

I do not know whether any prince in the world had a nobler education than Alexander. He was very converfant in eloquence, poetry, polite learning, the whole circle of arts, and the most abstracted and most fublime fciences. How happy was he in meeting with fo greata preceptor! None but an Ariftotle was fit for an Alexander. I am overjoyed to find the difciple pay fo illuftrious a teftimony in refpect to his mafter, by declaring he was more indebted to him, in one sense, than to his father. A man who thinks and fpeaks in this manner, must be fully fenfible of the great advantages of a good education.

The effects of this were foon feen. Is it poffible for us to admire too much the great folidity and judgment which this young prince difcovered in his converfation with the Perfian ambaffadors?: His early wif dom, whilft, in his youth, he acted as regent during his father's abfence, and pacified the feuds which had broken out in Macedonia? His courage and bravery at the battle of Charonea, in which he so gloriously distinguished himself?

It is a pain to me, to fee him wanting in refpect to his father at a banquet, and employing fevere, infulting expreffions on that occafion. It is true, indeed, that the affront which Philip put upon Olympias, his. mother, in divorcing her, tranfported him in a manner out of himself; but ftill no pretence, no injuftice or

02

violence,