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SECT. II. Alexander, after the death of Philip, afcends the throne at twenty years of age. He fubjects and reduces the nations contiguous to Macedon who had revolted. He goes into Greece to diffolve the alliance formed against him. He poffeffes himself of, and deStroys Thebes, and pardons the Athenians. He gets himfelf nominated, in the diet or affembly at Corinth, generaliffimo of the Greeks against Perfia, He returns to Macedon, and makes preparations for carrying his arms into Afia.

•DARIUS and Alexander began to reign the fame year the latter was but twenty when he fucceeded to the crown. His firft care was to folemnize the funeral obfèquies of his father with the utmost pomp, and to revenge his death.

Upon his acceffion to the throne, he faw himfelf furrounded with extreme dangers. The barbarous nations againft whom Philip had fought during his whole reign, and from whom he had made feveral conquefts, which he had united to his crown, after having dethroned their natural kings, thought proper to take the advantage of this juncture, in which a new prince, who was but young, had afcended the throne, for recovering their liberty, and uniting against the common ufurper. Nor was he under lefs apprehenfions from Greece. Philip, though he had permitted the feveral cities and commonwealths to continue their ancient form of government, had however changed it in reality, and made himself abfolute master of it. Though he were abfent, he nevertheless ruled in all the affemblies; and not a fingle refolution was taken, but in fubordination to his will. Though he had fubdued all Greece, either by the terror of his arms, or the fecret machinations of policy, he had not had time fufficient to subject and accustom it to his power, but had left all things in it in great ferment

o A. M. 3668. Ant. J. C. 336. Plut. in Alex. p. 670, 672. Diod. -1. xvä. p. 486–489. Arrian, 1. i. de Expedit. Alex, p. 2—23.

ferment and diforder, the minds of the vanquished not being yet calmed nor moulded to fubjection.

The Macedonians reflecting on this precarious fituation of things, advised Alexander to relinquifh Greece, and not perfift in his refolution of fubduing it by force; * to recover by gentle methods the Barbarians who had taken arms, and to footh, as it were, thofe glimmerings of revolt and innovation by prudent referve, complacency, and infinuations, in order to conciliate affection. However, Alexander would not liften to these timorous counfels, but refolved to fecure and fupport his affairs by boldness and magnanimity; firmly perfuaded, that should he relax in any point at firft, all his neighbours would fall upon him; and that were he to endeavour to compromise matters, he fhould be obliged to give up all Philip's conquefts, and by that means confine his dominions to the narrow limits of Macedon. He, there fore, made all poffible hafte to check the arms of the Barbarians, by marching his troops to the banks of the Danube, which he croffed in one night. He defeated the King of the Triballi in a great battle; made the Getæ fly at his approach; fubdued feveral barbarous nations, fome by the terror of his name, and others by force of arms; and notwithstanding the arrogant + anfwer of their ambaffadors, he taught them to dread a danger ftill more near them than the falling of the fky and planets.

Whilft Alexander was thus employed at a distance against the Barbarians, all the cities of Greece, who were animated more particularly by Demofthenes, formed a powerful alliance againft that prince. A falfe report, which prevailed of his death, infpired the Thebans with a boldness that proved their ruin. They cut to pieces part of the Macedonian' garrifon, in their citadel. Demofthenes,

* Θεραπεύειν τας αρχάς των νεωτερισμών.

+ Alexander, imagining that his name only had ftruck these people with terror, afked their ambaffadors what things they dreaded moft? They replied, with a haughty tone of voice, that they were afraid of nothing but the falling of the sky and stars.

Demofthenes, on the other fide, was every day haranguing the people; and fired with contempt for Alexander, whom he called a child, and a* hair-brained boy, he affured the Athenians, with a decifive tone of voice, that they had nothing to fear from the new King of Macedon, who did not dare to ftir out of his kingdom; but would think himself vaftly happy, could he fit peaceably on his throne. At the fame time he writ letters upon letters to Attalus, one of Philip's lieutenants in Afia Minor, to excite him to rebel. This Attalus was uncle to Cleopatra, Philip's fecond wife, and was very much difpofed to liften to Demofthenes's propofals. Nevertheless, as Alexander was grown very diffident of him, for which he knew there was but too much reafon; he, therefore, to eradicate from his mind all the fufpicions he might entertain, and the better to fcreen his defigns, fent all Demofthenes's letters to that prince. But Alexander faw through all his artifices, and thereupon ordered Hecatæus, one of his commanders, whom he had fent into Afia for that purpofe, to have him affaflinated, which was executed accordingly. Attalus's death reftored tranquillity to the army, and entirely destroyed the feeds of difcord and rebellion.

When Alexander had fecured his kingdom from the Barbarians, he marched with the utmost expedition towards Greece, and passed the Thermopyla. He then fpoke as follows to thofe who accompanied him: "Demofthenes called me, in his orations, a child, when I was in Illyria, and among the Triballi; he called me a young man when I was in Theffaly; and I must now fhow him, before the walls of Athens, that I am a man grown." He appeared fo fuddenly in Boeotia, that the Thebans could fcarce 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 púb lished,

Æfchin. contra Ctefiph. p. 453. A. M. 3670. Ant. J. C. 334. * It is μappens in Greek, a word which fignifics many things in that language.

lifhed, by found of trumpet, a general pardon to all who thould come over to him. But the Thebans, by way of infult, demanded to have Philotas and Antipater delivered to them; and invited, by a declaration, all who were follicitous for the liberty of Greece, to join with them in its defence.

Alexander, finding it impoffible for him to get the better of their obftinacy by offers of peace, faw with grief, that he fhould be forced to employ his power, and decide the affair by force of arms. Α great battle was thereupon fought, in which the Thebans exerted themfelves with a bravery and ardour much beyond their ftrength, for the enemy exceeded them vaftly in numbers: but after a long and vigorous refiftance, fuch as furvived of the Macedonian garrifon in the citadel, coming down from it, and charging the Thebans in the rear, furrounded on all fides, the greateft part of them were cut to pieces, and the city was taken and plundered.

It would be impoffible for words to express the dreadful calamities which the Thebans fuffered on this occafion. 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 feized the lady, and fatiated his brutal luft with her, afterwards inquired whether fhe had not concealed gold and filver. Timoclea, animated by an ardent defire of revenge, replying that he had hid fome, took him with herself only into her garden, and fhowing him a well, told him, that the inftant fhe faw the enemy enter the city, the herself had thrown into it the most valuable things in her poffeffion. The officer overjoyed at what he heard, drew near the well, and ftooping down to fee its depth, Timoclea, who was behind, pufhing him with all her ftrength, threw him into the well, and afterwards killed him with great ftones which fhe threw upon him. She was inftantly feized by the Thracians, and being bound in chains, was carried before Alexander. The prince perceived immediately by her mien that the was a woman of quality and great fpirit, for the followed

thofe

thofe brutal wretches with a very haughty air, and without difcovering the leaft fear. Alexander afking her who fhe was, Timoclea replied, I am fifter to Theagenes, who fought against Philip for the liberty of Greece, and was killed in the battle of Charonea, where he commanded. The prince, admiring the generous answer of that lady, and ftill more the action that she had done, gave orders that she fhould have leave to retire wherever the pleafed with her children.

Alexander then debated in council, how to act with regard to Thebes. The Phocæans and the people of Platæ, Thefpiæ, and Orchomenus, who were all in alliance with Alexander, and had fhared in his victory, reprefented to him the cruel treatment they had met with from the Thebans, who alfo had deftroyed their feveral cities; and reproached them with the zeal which they had always difcovered, in favour of the Perfians against the Greeks, who held them in the utmost detestation; the proof of which was, the oath they all had taken to deftroy Thebes, after they fhould have vanquifhed the Perfians.

Cleades, one of the prifoners, being permitted to fpeak, endeavoured to excufe in fome measure the revolt of the Thebans; a fault, which, in his opinion, should be imputed to a rafh and credulous imprudence, rather than to depravity of will, and declared perfidy. He remonftrated, that his countrymen, upon a falfe report of Alexander's death, had indeed too rafhly broke into re bellion, not against the king, but against his fucceffors. That what crimes foever 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 fo much the greater objects of compaffion, as they had been no ways concerned in the revolt. He concluded with reminding Alexander, that Thebes, which had given birth to fo many gods and heroes, feveral of whom were that king's ancestors, had also been the

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