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the confident of all his fecrets, and, to fay all in a word, a fecond felf. Craterus only feemed to dispute this honour with him. A few words, which one day efcaped that prince, fhows the difference he made be tween thefe two courtiers. "Craterus," fays he, "loves the king, but Hephæftion loves Alexander." This expreffon fignifies, if I miftake not, that Hephæftion had devoted himfelf, in a tender and affectionate manner, to the perfon of Alexander; but that Craterus loved him as a king, that is, was concerned for his reputation, and fometimes was lefs obfequious to his will, than he was zealous for his glory and interest. An excellent character, but very uncommon.

Hephæftion was as much beloved by all the cour tiers, as by Alexander himself. Modeft, even-tempered, beneficent; free from pride, avarice, and jealoufy; he never abufed his credit, nor preferred himfelf to thofe officers, whofe merit made them neceffary to his fovereign. He was univerfally regretted: but his death threw Alexander into exceffive forrow, to which he abandoned himfelf in fuch a manner, as was unworthy fo great a king. He feemed to receive no confolation, but in the extraordinary funeral honours he paid to his friend at his arrival in Babylon, whither he commanded Perdiccas to carry his corpfe.

In order to remove, by bufinefs and employment, the melancholy ideas which the death of his favourite perpetually awakened in his mind, Alexander marched his army against the Coffei, a warlike nation inhabiting the mountains of Media, whom not one of the Perfian monarchs had ever been able to conquer. However, the king reduced them in forty days, afterwards paffed the Tigris, and marched towards Babylon.

SECT.

SECT. XVIII. Alexander enters Babylon, contrary to the finifter predictions of the Magi and other foothfayers. He there forms the plans of feveral voyages and conquefts. He fets about repairing the breaches made in the piers of the Tigris and Euphrates, and rebuilding the temple of Belus. He abandons himself to immoderate drinking, which brings him to his end. The univerfal grief /pread over the whole empire upon that account. Syfigambis is not able to furvive him. Preparations are made to convey Alexander's corpfe to the temple of Jupiter-Ammon in Libya.

"ALEXANDER being arrived within a league and a half of Babylon, the Chaldeans who pretended to know futurity by the stars, deputed to him fome of their old men, to acquaint him, that he would be in danger of his life, in cafe he entered that city, and were very urgent with him to go no farther. The Babylonifh aftrologers were held in fuch great reputation, that this advice made a prodigious impreffion on his mind, and filled him with confufion and dread. Upon this, after fending feveral of the grandees of his court to Babylon, he himfelf. went another way; and having marched about ten leagues, he stopped for fome time in the place where he had encamped his army. The Greek philofophers, being told the foundation of his fear and fcruples, waited upon him; when fetting, in the frongeft light, the principles of Anaxagoras, whofe tenets they followed, they demonftrated to him, in the ftrongeft manner, the vanity of aftrology; and made him have fo great a contempt for divination in general, and for that of the Chaldeans in particular, that he immediately marched towards Babylon with his whole army. He knew that there were arrived

N 5

in

d Arrian. lib. vii. p. 294-309. Q. Curt. lib. x. c. 4-7. Plut.

in Alex. p. 705-707.

e Diod. lib. xvii. p. 577-583. Justin.

lib. xii. c. 13—16.

in that city, ambaffadors from all parts of the world, who waited for his coming; the whole earth echoing fo much with the terror of his name, that the several nations came, with inexpreflible ardour, to pay homage to Alexander, as to him who was to be their fovereign. This view, which agreeably foothed the ftrongest of all his paffions, contributed very much to ftifle every other reflection, and to make him carelefs of all advice that might be given him; fo that he fet forward with all poffible diligence towards that great city, there to hold the ftates-general, in a manner, of the world. After making a moft magnificent entry, he gave audience to all the ambaffadors, with the grandeur and dignity fuitable to a great monarch, and, at the fame time, with the affability and politeness of a prince, who is defirous of winning the affection of all. He loaded thofe of Epidaurus with great prefents for the deity who prefides over their city, as well as over health, but reproached him at the fame time. "Efculapius," fays he, "has Ihowed me but very little indulgence, in not preferving the life of a friend, who was as dear to me as myself." In private, he discovered a great friendship for fuch of the deputies of Greece, as came to congratulate him on his victories, and his happy return; and he restored them all the ftatues, and other curiofities, which Xerxes had carried out of Greece, that were found in Sufa, Babylon, Paffagarda, and other places. We are told, that among these were the ftatues of Harmodius and Ariftogiton, and that they were brought back to Athens.

The ambaffadors from Corinth having offered him, in the name of their city, the freedom of it, he laughed at an offer which feemed altogether unworthy of one who had attained fo exalted a pitch of grandeur and power. However, when Alexander was told that Corinth had granted this privilege to Hercules only, he accepted it with joy; and piqued himfelf upon treading in his fteps, and refembling him in all things. But,

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cries* Seneca, in what did this frantic young man', with whom fuccefsful temerity paffed for virtue, refemble Hercules? The latter, free from all felf-interefted views, travelled through the world, merely to ferve the feveral nations he vifited, and to purge the earth of such robbers as infested it: whereas Alexander, who is juftly entitled the plunderer of nations, made his glory to confift in carrying defolation into all places, and in rendering himself the terror of mankind.

At the fame time he wrote a letter, which was to have been read publicly in the affembly of the Olympic games, whereby the several cities of Greece were commanded to permit all exiles to return into their native country, those excepted who had committed facrilege, or any other crime deferving death; and ordered Antipater to employ an armed force againft fuch cities as fhould refufe to obey. This letter was read in the affembly. But as for the Athenians and Etolians, they did not think themselves obliged to put orders in execution, which feemed to interfere with their liberty..

Alexander, after having dispatched thefe affairs, finding himself now at leifure, began to think of Hephæftion's burial. This he folemnized with a magnificence, the like of which had never been seen. As he himself undertook the management of this funeral, he commanded all the neighbouring cities to contribute their utmoft in exalting the pomp of it. He likewife ordered all the nations of Afia to extinguish what the Persians call the facred fire, till the ceremony of the interment fhould be ended; which was confidered as an ill omen, it being never practised in Perfia, except at the death of its monarchs. All the officers and courtiers, to please Alexander,

* Quid illi fimile habebat vefanus adolefcens, cui pro virtute erat felix temeritas? Hercules nihil fibi vicit. Orbem terrarum tranfivit, non concupifcendo, fed vindicando malorum hoftis, bonorum vindex, terrarum marifque pacator. At hic à pueritia latro gentiumque vaftator-fummum bonum duxit, terrori esse cun&tis mortalibus, ŜENEC. de Benef. lib. i. cap. 13.

Alexander, caufed images to be carved of that favourite, of gold, ivory, and other precious materials.

At the fame time the king, having procured a great number of architects, and fkilful workmen, firft caufed near fix furlongs of the wall of Babylon to be beat down; and, having got together a great number of bricks, and levelled the fpot defigned for the funeral pile, he had a moft magnificent monumental ftructure erected over it..

This edifice was divided into thirty parts, in each whereof was raised an uniform building, the roof of which was covered with great planks of palm-tree wood. The whole formed a perfect fquare, the circumference of which was adorned with extraordinary magnificence. Each fide was a furlong, or an hundred fathoms, in length. At the foot of it, and in the first row, were fet two hundred and forty-four prows of fhips gilded, on the buttreffes, or fupporters whereof, the ftatues of two archers, four cubits high, with one knee on the ground, were fixed; and two other ftatues, in an upright pofture, completely armed, bigger than the life, being five cubits in height. The fpaces between the prows were spread and adorned with purple cloth. Over thefe prows was a colonnade of large flambeaux, the fhafts of which were fifteen cubits high, embellished with crowns of gold at the part where they are held. The flame of those flambeaux ending at top, terminated towards eagles, which, with their heads turned downward, and extended wings, ferved as capitals. Dragons fixed near, or upon the base, turned their heads upwards towards the eagles. Over this colonnade stood a third, in the base of which was reprefented, in relievo, a party of hunting animals of every kind. On the fuperior order, that is the fourth, the combat of the Centaurs was reprefented in gold. Finally, on the fifth, golden figures, reprefenting lions and bulls, were placed alternately. The whole edifice terminated with military trophies,

* In Greek ETWTides or ears. These are two pieces of timber, which project to the right and left of the prow

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