f
 
 CRITICAL INQUIRY 
 
 INTO THE 
 
 LIFE 
 
 O F 
 
 ALEXANDER the GREAT, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORIANS: 
 From the FRENCH of the BARON DE St. CROIX: 
 
 WITH 
 
 NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS, 
 
 By Sir RI C HA RD CLAYTON, Bart. 
 
 Illuftrated with a Map of the Marches of Alexander the Great. 
 BATH: 
 
 PRINTED BY S. HAZARD: 
 
 For G. G. and J. ROBINSON, Pater-noster-Rovv, London. 
 
 M.DCCtXCIII.
 
 <1
 
 V: 
 
 T O T H E 
 RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 The earl of DERBY, 
 
 LORD LIEUTENANT and GUSTOS ROTULORUM 
 
 OF THE 
 
 COUNTY PALATINE OF LANCASTER. 
 
 M Y L R D, 
 
 FROM the Friendlliip, with which you 
 have long honoured me, I have no hefitation to 
 whom I fhould addrefs the following Work. Per- 
 mit me then to place your name at the head of it, 
 and at the fame time to offer it to your Lordfhip, 
 as a trifling teftimony of the attachment and regard 
 of 
 
 YOUR FAITHFUL HUMBLE SERVANT, 
 
 RICHARD CLAYTON. 
 
 Sept. 12»'' 1793. 
 
 J316133
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 JL HE Critical Examination of the Ancient Hiftorians 
 of Alexander the Great, which now appears in 
 an EngHfh Drefs, was firft ufhered into the World at 
 the French Academy "des Infcriptions et Belles Let- 
 tres," where it obtained the Premium from that learned 
 Society in the Year 1772. After an interval of three 
 years the Author publifhed it with additions and im- 
 provements; but the Impreflion was rapidly bought 
 up, and there is not at prefent a fmgle copy to be pro- 
 cured without difficulty upon the Continent. I have 
 reafon to believe that a knowledge of it has been hither- 
 to confined within a narrow circle in Great Britain, 
 and that when it has crofled the Channel, it hath been 
 to pafs only into the hands of a few perfons of Tafte 
 and Erudition. Of the Original the French Aca- 
 demy
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 demy hath expi effed its unquaUfied approbation : of 
 the Tranflation it becomes not me to fpeak. In juf- 
 tke however to the Baron de St. Croix, I ought to 
 acknowledge that fome akerations have been made, 
 and for thefe I am refponfible. Some redundancies I 
 may have alio pruned off, but I flatter myfelf the full 
 vigour of the leading Shoot hath been preferved. If 
 I have deviated from the Original, in the introdu6lion 
 of the quotations from the different Writers, that have 
 been cited, I may not poffibly have occafion for much 
 apology. The learned Reader will readily forgive a 
 number of his old Acquaintances being again brought 
 immediately before his eye, and when Authors are 
 referred to, they are undoubtedly the beft Comment 
 on themfelves. On turning indeed to the Greek Wri- 
 ters, I was not particularly fatisfied with the French 
 Verfions of the paffages in queftion. Some of them 
 were loofej in others the fenfe appeared to have been 
 
 miftaken ;
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 miftaken; and, in thefe inftances, I confidered the 
 produ6lion of the evidence, on which I formed my 
 opinions, to be a duty, from which I could not 
 honourably difengage myfelf. The references in many 
 places have been by thefe means corre6led; where 
 they were wanting, they have been added ; and from 
 their number, the Work has taken infenfibly a 
 new fhape. The Notes and Obfervations will be 
 found in general connefted with the Subjeft. Some- 
 times I may have wandered beyond the limits, that 
 perhaps I fhould ha\^ prefcribed to myfelf, yet I ftill 
 truft the excurfions are not of unpardonable extent.
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 55 Note 
 
 line 
 
 2 
 
 for Kafter 
 
 read Kulter 
 
 61 Text 
 
 line 
 
 12 
 
 Eldrifi 
 
 
 Eldrifi 
 
 Note T 
 
 
 
 Eldrifi 
 
 
 Eldrifi 
 
 76 Note^ 
 
 
 
 Ulher. 
 
 
 Ufferii 
 
 78 Note'^ 
 
 line 
 
 1 
 
 quinxe 
 
 
 quinze 
 
 80 Text 
 
 line 
 
 7 
 
 Phacelides 
 
 
 Phafelides 
 
 82 Note 
 
 line 
 
 6 
 
 aucun 
 
 
 aucune 
 
 Note 
 
 line 
 
 9 
 
 certain 
 
 
 certaine 
 
 1 1 5 Note ' 
 
 line 
 
 5 
 
 Boyle 
 
 
 Bayle 
 
 122 Note^ 
 
 
 
 Port 
 
 
 Poft 
 
 136 7«^« 
 
 line 
 
 7 
 
 Tapfacus 
 
 
 Thapfacus 
 
 A^oie 
 
 line 
 
 1 
 
 after Guides 
 
 infert 
 
 are 
 
 147 A^Il/6'° 
 
 
 
 Uflierii 
 
 
 Ufferii 
 
 156 Note' 
 
 line 
 
 1 
 
 'oî. 
 
 
 h% 
 
 2x6 Texi! 
 
 line 
 
 2 
 
 Le Brun 
 
 
 Le Bruyn 
 
 A^oie'' 
 
 
 
 de le Brun 
 
 
 de le Bruyn 
 
 217 Note"' 
 
 
 
 de la Bruy 
 
 n 
 
 de le Bruyn 
 
 261 Afo<«» 
 
 line 
 
 I 
 
 BaftiAov; 
 
 
 BaCyXwvi 
 
 301 Texi 
 
 line 
 
 11 
 
 dele to 
 
 
 
 310 Note^ 
 
 line 
 
 1 
 
 Onne 
 
 
 Omne 
 
 383 TeA* 
 
 line 
 
 4 
 
 Atheneus 
 
 
 Athenaeuj 
 
 389 Text 
 
 line 
 
 3 
 
 Labour 
 
 
 Lahore 
 
 400 T^xi 
 
 line 
 
 3 
 
 Cophina 
 
 
 Cophena 
 
 423 7««« 
 
 line 
 
 17 
 
 miftakes 
 
 
 miftake 
 
 For Volga ; 
 
 read Wolga p 
 
 <ajjim 

 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 '!>>-» ^»„.^^ MMWM— ^ ,i|, q— Mii^^— ^ ,fl.<j^< ,,., 
 
 T 
 
 H E ftate of letters depends in every country upon its 
 political conftitution. Public liberty gives birth and animation 
 to talents of every denomination : defpotifm (Irangles them at 
 
 once. Sparta, forgetful of the fage maxims of its legiflator, 
 
 and Athens, intoxicated with its fucceffes, negle6led their com- 
 mon fafety, from principles of mutual diflrufc. The Pelopon- 
 nefian war having wafted their forces, and the momentary glory 
 of Thebes having expired with Epaminondas, Philip embraced 
 the opportunity of the Grecian diflentions to diffolve their fede- 
 ral government, and to reduce the people that had fo long refift- 
 ed the arms of Alia. In vain was the eloquence of Demofthenes 
 exerted to roufe his countrymen from their fliameful lethargy. 
 Their morals were corrupted, luxury had annihilated every man- 
 ly fentiment, and the great exploits of fo many heroes who had 
 immortalized themfelves in the fields of Marathon and Platœa, 
 and in the naval viftories near Salamis, inftead of reviving in the 
 breafts of the Athenians their antient enthufiafm for military vir- 
 
 B tue,
 
 2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tue, fervcd only by flattering their pride and vanity, to render 
 
 them felf-ruHicient and prcfumptuous. National effeminacy 
 
 had gradually prepared the Perfian monarcljy for its ruin, and 
 on the death of Philip, Alexander mounted the throne and put a 
 period to that empire. The death of this prince in its turn pro- 
 duced another revolution, which was attended with effefts equal- 
 ly melancholy and fatal to the general repofe, and to the progrefs 
 of fcience and of literature. At intervals the Greeks became the 
 fport of ambition and of the caprices of Alexander's fuccefTors, 
 and thofe proud and fpirited republicans were rapidly metamor- 
 phofcd into a degraded herd of flaves. Even the tribune where 
 Demoflhenes had thundered, foon only echoed with decrees dic- 
 tated by adulation and fervility. One little fpark of freedom 
 
 was indeed flill cheriflied in a part of the Peloponnefus, and the 
 zeal of Aratus, the valour of Philopaemon, and the wifdom of 
 Lycortas gave celebrity to the Achaean league, and fupported it 
 in its delicate and diftreffing circumftances. The corruption 
 however had extended too far to be checked, and the ver)' vitals 
 of the Grecian conftitution were infefted with the general depra- 
 vity. Calliflhenes and his partifans made no fcruple of felling 
 their country to the Romans, and this wary and crafty people, 
 who had always the art of concealing the fervitude, to which 
 they reduced the neighbouring nations, under the fpecious ap- 
 pearances of alliances and friendfhip, completed its fubjeftion. 
 But Greece, by the deftruftion of the Achaeans, had indeed de- 
 molifhed the laft rampart of its liberty. 
 
 The
 
 •I N T R O D U C T I O i\. 3 
 
 The arts and fciences did not long furvive the lofs, and def- 
 potifm opened for them with the fame hands one common tomb. 
 Tragedy, whofe pecuHar province it was to call down the public 
 deteftation upon tyranny, and the ancient comedy, which had the 
 happy privilege of holding up the abufe of power to contempt 
 and irony, and of correfting by thefe means any exceffes of the 
 democratic fpirit, loft at once their influence, and along with it 
 their brilliancy. The Gymnaftic games, fo proper for the exer- 
 cife of mufcular ftrength, and to form foldiers in the times of 
 peace, became but an ufelefs fpeftacle, and the individuals who 
 diftinguiflied themfelves on thefe occafions were principally re- 
 markable for their fcandalous deportment. That fublime art, 
 which animated the ftatues of Harmodius and Ariftogiton droop- 
 ed and languiflied, when it was to figure but the images of flaves 
 and parafites. Even the philofopher, who from having direfted 
 the inftruftion of the fuperior order of his fellow-citizens de- 
 fcended into their fycophant, was at laft diftinguiflied only by the 
 habit of the ancient fefts, which fo many great names had dig- 
 nified. Here let us paufe upon the fate of hiftory in thefe 
 
 difaftrous days. 
 
 That enchanting harmony of ftyle, with the art of giving energy 
 to the moft trifling details, which charafterizes the works of He- 
 rodotus ; the fublime and fimple graces of Xenophon, uniting 
 the mofl; profound political knowledge with all the talents of an 
 able general and of a philofopher worthy of the friendfliip of 
 Socrates ; the manly eloquence and ftern virtue of Thucydides 
 
 B 2 had
 
 . INTRODUCTION. 
 
 4 
 
 had difappcared, and ^vc find but very ^ew, if any, traces of 
 their mallerly produdions in the writers who followed them in 
 the liiaoric line.— Yet Theopompus, Philiftus, Ephorus and Ti- 
 mœus enJ0)'ed a great fliare of popular applaufo, though their 
 fcvcral works are deficient both in method and materials.— The 
 civil revolutions undoubtedly occafioned this ftriking difference, 
 and there are three remarkable eras, that fliould be particularly 
 attended to.— The firft is the prccife period when Philip had 
 rendered himfelf the mafter of Greece. 
 
 Tyranny naturally produces different effefts on different difpo- 
 fitions and charafters. Weak and pulillanimous fome bend 
 immediately beneath the blaft, and lofing on the firfl mo- 
 ment of attack every idea of refiftance, they kifs with trembling 
 adoration the hand which is lifted up for their oppreffion. With 
 a fuperior force of mind, and indignant at the profpe6l of thofe 
 evils, which arbitrary power hath always following at its heels, 
 others endeavour to exafperate their country by virulent invec- 
 tives againft its new mafters, and alternately exaggerate their 
 vices, and diminifli the little virtue, that they may accidentally 
 poffefs. Such was the influencé" of the Macedonian power, 
 and it is vifible both in the condu6l of thofe who were at the head 
 of the Grecian fiâtes, and the writings of the times. 
 
 The reign of Alexander may be reckoned the fécond flage of 
 I the decline of hiftory. Greece being accuftomed to the Mace- 
 donian yoke, and dazzled by the viaories of the conqueror of 
 
 Afia,
 
 INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 Afia, in whicli it was in fome fort interefted from the glory re- 
 flefted on it, the fermentation whicli Philip's enterprifes had ex- 
 cited in its repdbUcan brcafts gradually cooled. Their hatred 
 and animofity were at length fucceeded by enthufiafm, and the 
 fplendid aftions of the Macedonian warrior made an impreffion 
 on the fpetlators too forcible and powerful to be refilled. The 
 later writers, who have taken up the fame fubjeft, have but too 
 often imbibed their fentiments. They lived indeed under the 
 Roman jurifditlion, but in the miferable thnes when the univerfe 
 became a prey to the caprices of thofe fanguinary wretches, who 
 filled fo difgracefully the throne of the Cscfars. This is the third 
 epoch of the change in the hiftoric chara6ter, and it will be after- 
 wards entered into at large. 
 
 The total extinction of the democratic form of government 
 involved in it the fall of literature, and more particularly of 
 hiftorv, which admits of no cultivation with fuccefs under arbi- 
 trary power. Truth was then buried under a mafs of fabulous 
 and contradiftory traditions, and the penetrating fagacity of 
 the philofopher can alone diftinguifh it from fallity, and re- 
 concile the ftatements of various and jarring recitals. — It would 
 be the height of folly to imagine, that in the following treatife 
 the way hath been clearly feen amidft the darknefs in which ages 
 are enveloped, or that fafts have been at all times fufficiently 
 difcriminated, which have been magnified beyond their juft pro- 
 portion by adulation, and by that love of the marvellous, which 
 was a prevailing paffion amongfl the Greeks, and a foible from 
 
 which
 
 Q INTRODUCTION. 
 
 which even their bcfl writers are not exempt. In the purfuit of 
 the fuccccding inquiries the truth hath not only been endeavoured 
 to be difcovered, but according to Ariftotle's advice the probabi- 
 Uty. In fome inftances, it hath been necefTary to fubflitute con- 
 jetlures for proofs, and where the reality hath been totally con- 
 cealed to be fatisfied with reafonable fuppofitions. Diodorus 
 
 Siculus, Plutarch, Arrian, Q. Curtius and Juftin are the principal 
 hillorians, who have prcferved at any length the aftions in the 
 reign of Alexander. A minute examination of each of thefe 
 writers would be unavoidably embarraffed with their repetitions 
 and obfcurities. The route, that hath been chalked out, appears 
 likely to fecure it againft thefe inconveniences, and to leave the 
 full libertv of beftowing every degree of attention on the fafts in 
 chronological order. On this plan, the obfervations may be ex- 
 tended not only to the writers of the life of Alexander, but to 
 every thing that antiquity hath tranfmitted to us relative to this 
 celebrated conqueror. — In the firfl feftion, the fources, from which 
 the feveral hillorians have drawn their information, and the degree 
 of authority, that is their due, will be examined. The fécond will 
 be confined to the military exploits of Alexander, and in the 
 third, thofe aftions will be treated of, that particularly delineate 
 his charafler. The fourth will be fet apart for fome geographi- 
 cal details, which his different expeditions naturally furnifh. 
 
 CRITICAL
 
 CRITICAL INQUIRY 
 
 r 
 
 RELATING TO THE 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORIANS 
 
 WHO HAVE WRITTEN OF 
 
 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 a\. F T E R the lafl figli of expiring Liberty in any State, 
 patriotifm in its language ceafes to convey to us the fame idea ; 
 and having loft its influence, no longer warms the frozen breafts 
 of the inhabitants. Though united within the fame walls, they 
 concern themfelves no farther with public affairs than as their 
 own private interefts are immediately affe6led, and enjoying the 
 prefent hour without any care of futurity, they are ever ready 
 
 to
 
 8 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 to become the Oaves of that mafter, who bids highcft for their 
 purchaib. Sclf-intereft dries up the fource of every focial virtue, 
 and as the love of their country, which once infpircd them with 
 every great and noble fentiment for the public good, no longer 
 aétuaies them, men of letters frequently employ their talents on 
 fubjeds equally devoid of fpirit and utility. Taken in this light 
 the annals of a conqueror cannot agitate the reader, like thofe 
 fublime and pathetic traits which are perpetually occurring in the 
 hiftory of a Free People. A fingle individual afts and tri- 
 umphs, and a few divided rays of glory are faintly fcattered on 
 his troops. In a Republic, on the contrary, each member of the 
 community hath a fliarc more or lefs confiderable in every event ; 
 and the happinefs or mifery of the public, from his relation to 
 it, becomes that of his own family. The aftions of his fellow- 
 citizens are hereditary diflinftions tranfmitted to his children, and 
 the national and private glory are the fame. 
 
 In turning over the hiflories of the ancient Free dates, not- 
 Avilhftanding the diftance of time, and a revolution in the man- 
 ners and forms of government, the events ftill faften on the mind, 
 and affeft it \\^it]i the liveliell emotions. Greece, however, when 
 overpowered with the preffure of the Macedonian )'oke, and af- 
 terwards with that of the Romans, paid little attention to public 
 meafures. The vigour of its hiftorians Avas foon loft in the 
 drudgery of their fervile pens, and their genius vaniflied with the 
 bright days of their country. Dionyfms of Halicarnaffus, after 
 having mentioned that harmonious elocution which marked the 
 
 ftyle
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 9 
 
 ftyle of the ancient Grecian writers, adds " There is not onr 
 of the moderns that hath beftowed the lead regard on it, or 
 confidered it as either neceflary or adding elegance to their per- 
 formances. The numerous writings therefore, which they have 
 left us, are of fuch a nature as few readers have the patience to 
 go through them. In this clafs are to be included Phylarchus, 
 Duris, Polybius, Saon, Demetrius Calantianus, Hieronymus, 
 Antilochus, Heraclides, Hegefias the Magnefian, and many others, 
 whofe names a whole day would not allow me to enumerate."* 
 
 In proportion as the weight of fervitude was felt, the human 
 mind (lirunk within itfelf, and the ftream of light, which letters- 
 
 G had 
 
 ' "Ton Se liSTxyitiTt^ois mmt/, ir^fiv of^iyait' xfotw S lifif» iravrawa^i» rifjLtXr.i^' xjii e^sic uin St;» atxy 
 tixiof atJTQ Eiva-ty nos (rv^xWi(j-^xt rt tu itxXXn ruvXoyutv, TaiyxfTot rotxvTxs cTvvrx^Ets KXTsXiTrovy oixi 
 kSeis I'Tsofj-tni l^tXÎ' "Ofi"'^"^ SirASt/»' (JyjXa^jjov \iyu, kxi Amç-iv, h<xi UoM^iov, xxt 'ixmx, run 
 TO» KaXa»T(a»ov Ai/iiTfio», \i^an\nj.ai re xai AïtAoj^o», K«i Hç-axAe/Si)», k«i 'Hyixria» V^xymx, xai 
 at>.?vt;f fLv^tas' ^^ a-TTxyra^v rx ovofj,xrx st (^nXr.t^.rtv Ksyetv^ eviXsi^n f/.s o T>jf vif^s^as %^ovo?," Dion» 
 Halicarn. de ftru't'jrâ orat. 39, 40. cd. Upton. 8^" 1728. 
 
 The following is the French Verfion of this P.tflltgCj " Elle fut dans les temps poflerieurs 
 fort negligee. Perfonnc n'a pcnfée fans doute a faire ce parallèle, (de cette nouvelle clocutioi) 
 avec Tancienne) il ne fouticndroit pas jufque à la fin la leflure de tous les ouvrages que nous onr 
 laiiTe Plutarque, Diiris, Polybe, &c. &c." The millake of Plutareh for Phylarchus is aloue 
 fufficient to prove the indifpenfable neceffuy of the 
 
 ■' Integros accedtre fontes,"^ 
 
 (Lucret. i.-g'^G.) 
 
 and of tracing authiiriiies up to their fourcc. The Baron de St. Croix wilhc-s to ful.(Ut;i'.c 
 
 the word 'ixf^m for *aa'»a, and 10 appl)' it to Duri», who he fays, was always diftinguifhcd by 
 this addition, but for this reading, a violent tranfpolition will be rcquifite, as well as a correction 
 of the Text, and there is not certainly any occafion for cither, as Diodorus Siculus exprefsly 
 mentions an Hiftorian of this nauie, '' ^xxv oj l VXhxtxis-j! rai xiro rum iix^t^xiAta^ vfx^eis sy^x- 
 4-5/3(S'Aiif Tfiot;jo»Ta.'' Diod. SicuL E.iogacx Lib. 21.-490. Tom. 2. Ed. Wl-IT. Arnill. 17.56.
 
 lO CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 had poured upon it, gradually receded, till it was totally ex- 
 linguilhcd in obfcurity. That wretched fpecies of adulation, 
 which blafts every appearance of genius and cramps the intellec- 
 tual faculties, was lavifhly adopted under the Roman Emperors, 
 and made a rapid progrefs towards general currency and ufage. 
 Aftions almoft below notice became the fubjefts of the declama- 
 tions of the fophifls, who defcribed the molt trifling circumftances 
 in the mod unnatural colours, and in a pomp of language wholly 
 inconfiftent with them. Lucian hath compared this phrenfy to 
 the epidemical fever of the Abderites, '' who ran about the flreets 
 
 after 
 
 '' The A/Sîipa xaAi) m'un airomst was however proverbial, Voffius hath thus explained it. 
 " Teii cognita ubertate et àmœnitate foli Abderitici, hanc fuam coloniam pulchram appellarunt, 
 ideoque omnes illuc migrarunt. Sed poftea cognoverunt earn foli aerifque in hoc tradu efle na- 
 turam, ut non tantum equi etjumentain vicinis pafcuis degentes, aut bibentes ex Coflîneto flu- 
 mine in rabicm agcrentur, verum etiam ipfos homines fipe corripi infaniâ, plurimofque ibi nafci 
 délires. Hinc ironice diaum Abdera, pulchra Teiorum colonia." I. Voffius ad P. Melam. 
 Lib. 2. C. 2. 
 
 Lucian hath endeavoured to account for this general phrenfy on more rational principles, by 
 fuppofing the Andromeda to have been reprefented by Archelaus a very popular tragedian, in the 
 midltoffummer, and under the influence of burning weather, to fuchcrouded audiences as occafion- 
 ed a violent fever in mofl of the fpeflators, who had the image of the Andromeda fo ftrongly im- 
 preflcd on the brain, that in their delirium they were perpetually repeating it, " AiT/a» h imi 5o- 
 x»< TB ToiBTB ■Sja^BUTX^", Afx'''»©' » TfaywSor, ttSox/fxiiy tote, fj^stran®- ^ifus ev ooXXoi ru ÇXoy/i« 
 TfayuàiK^xs avrois Ttt A>Sfo/«Sa», is ■avft^xi re xtio ru Biar^n rus -noKKHS, k, a.tx'^anas ifsf» ff Ww 
 Tfxyucixf tja^j<r^amiv, twiitot^u iitXfiXo^uftumi -ms AvXfo/«5as m ij.rriijt.yi ocuruv, >^ m risf crsif tri o-j» Tn 
 MfÎBffn, -m» «tjts-B ytu/xnt 'snfimnfityu'" Quomod. Hift. Confcrib. fit. Torn. 2. 2.-3. 4'° 
 Amft. 1743. 
 
 Athenx'us hath prefer%cd the Fragment which was principally vociferated, and the curious rea- 
 der may not be difpleafed to find it.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. H 
 
 after the reprefentation of the Andromeda of Euripides, repeat- 
 ing with violent agitations particular verfes of this poet. Some 
 extraordinary fymptoms attended the complaint, but it was con- 
 fined to the heats of fummer and ended with it. 
 
 On the flighteft fkirmifhes, details of them were given without 
 end, teeming with incidents, that had no exiftence whatever, but 
 in the difordered imaginations of their authors. Adding igno- 
 rance to effrontery, thefe chroniclers committed the moft egregi- 
 ous faults, and erred in the moll unguarded manner both againft 
 the laws of geography and taftics. After a moft defperate battle, 
 when vi6lory had been long doubtful, the lofs of the enemy was 
 reprefented as immenfe, whilft that of the Romans was barely 
 perceptible ; and in one of thefe lingular engagements, the former 
 were ftated to have had feventy thoufand, and thirty-fix " men 
 
 C 2 killed, 
 
 H jii.1 SiJaiTXc rx xxf^x Çlciu^Oxi xaAa, 
 H Toir [[uiriii wv (TV ^■/ifj.mvfyos si, 
 
 Kxt rxvrx /mv Sfoiy tiijais 'hiois tcri, 
 
 Ml) Ofwv I'Ti'xvr-jU Ttt onx^xivOxi (piXeiv, 
 
 A^xift9n(m ^xftTxs xis rijj.u(7i cs"" 
 
 Athenœus, Lib, 13. 561. Fol. Lugd. 1612. 
 
 ' 111 the French Text the number Hands at, feven thoufand, two hundred and thirty-fix. 
 Lucian's words are, '• Tm ij.i/ nr'yf.if/.iuv, xitodxizii (Av^ixits 'fnrx, xxi Tfixy.ivrx, yjsi l^ Trpos ^laxomois. 
 Pw/xa/wv h, (t.mus Suo, I'.aii Tfai'/AseT/aj yîrfyôai ty«a." (Quomod. Hift. confcrib. fit. Tom. 2.— 29.) 
 but his Editors and Annotators have differed on the calculation. Reilzius hath tranflatcd the 
 paflagc, " Hoftium quidem cecidiffe trecenties, et feptuagies mille duccntos et fex : Romanorura 
 
 vero
 
 1 2 
 
 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 killfd, and the latter, only two men killed and nine wounded. 
 From an immoderate rage for defcription, m'c have a laboured 
 difplay of arms and military weapons, of folTes, baltions and 
 bridges ; and the common accidents of war are worked up in 
 fuch a ftylc, as to be more proper for the fock and bufkin. In 
 Ihort, the writers of thefe times disfigured their relations with 
 fo man>-, and fuch extravagances, as often to have placed, to 
 borrow one of Lucian's expreffions, the head of the Rhodian 
 Coloffus " on the diminutive body of a dwarf. 
 
 This lively and judicious writer, thathathbeenjuft cited, after 
 expofing with his ufual poignancy the errors and defeCls of the 
 hiftorians of his days, hath ellabliflied more folid rules, and point- 
 ed out a clearer method for fuch compofitions. With a view of 
 cppofing a new and lafting barrier to the contagion of the times, 
 
 and 
 
 vero folos duo, faucios auCem faEtos novem." Gefner in his note upon the paflTage hath with 
 more modefty reduced the number to feventy thoufand, two hundred and thirty-fix, but he adds 
 with fome plcafantry, " Qui mentiuntur, tales minutias non curant." 
 
 <i " Ta 'PwSiaiy KoAoo-ffS mv )is(paXm vam^ii auij-xn swiTioevTaj." (Ouomod. liift. confcrib. 
 fit. Tom. 2.--32.) The Rhodian Coloffus, (for an account of which fee Plin. Hift. Nat. 
 Lib. 34. Seel. 18. — Strabo. Lib. 14. — Philoftr. Vit. Apol. and alfo Scaliger, Animadverfiones 
 in Eufebii Chronicon. No. 1794.-137. ) was the work of Chaves Lindius, the difciplc of Ly- 
 fippus, on which he was employed twelve years. It was finilTied about 278 years before Chrift, 
 and after ftanding lifty-fix years, was overturned by an earthquake. Its remains ftill exifted as 
 late as the 672"'' year of the Chriftian Era, when they were fold, on the capture of Rhodes by 
 the Saracens. Notwithftanding the injuries this ftatue mull have fuffcred, and the numerous de- 
 predations it mud have been expofed to, the brafs is faid to have then loaden no lefs than nine 
 liijndred camels. Allowing each camel a load of eight hundred pounds, (Monf. Volney reckon» 
 the ufual burthen about 750,) the whole mull have weighed above 700,000 pounds.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I3 
 
 and wifliing to flrip the fafliionable ftyle of the afcendency, which 
 it had ufurped over the public opinions, his two books of real 
 liifiory were profenedly undertaken. This work, which may be 
 confidered as an imaginary flcetch, from its aflonifhing fecundity 
 in thofe burlefque and gigantic ideas, which are fcattered through 
 it, with a prodigaHty ahnoft without example, is in faft an in- 
 genious ficlion, intended to expofe to general opprobrium thofe 
 flrange and monftrous produttions, which were made up of hif- 
 tory and romance, without being flriclly either. 
 
 To fix perhaps the prccife value of the works of every author,' 
 fome knowledge of the age in which he lived is neceffary, in 
 order to appreciate the advantages that he was poffelfed of, what 
 he owed merely to his own ingenuity and exertions, and to thofe 
 of his cotemporaries. The obfervations on the fate of letters, 
 as connetled with the civil revolutions of ftates and governments 
 that have been already made, appear to have partly anfwered 
 the firll of thefe ends, at leail, as far as the hiflorians of the life 
 of Alexander are concerned ; to the fécond, the refult of a more 
 particular examination of the hiflorians themfelves, will be more 
 immediately applicable. But previous to any differtation on 
 thefe different hiflorians, it may be requifite to eflimate the de- 
 gree of credit to which they are feverally entitled, and to eflablifli 
 it with any certitude, the authorities from which they derived 
 their informations mufl; be reforted to. Where fatls alfo reft 
 upon traditions, whether oral or written, there will be an indif- 
 
 penfable
 
 14 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 penrablc neceffity of purfuing them back as far as poflible, and of 
 afcending to the firft evidences which are accefhble. 
 
 That cnthufiafm, which is born in feafons of profperity, and dies 
 when they difappear, that enthufiafm, which, in moments of na- 
 tional intoxication, produces fuch rapid and aftonifliing fuccefles, 
 had undoubtedly fired the imaginations of the companions of 
 Alexander's arms and their cotemporaries. Yet this faftitious and 
 temporary fervour was but in reality the phofphorus, which ex- 
 hibits an apparent flame without its mod eflential qualities. 
 
 It naturally occafioned a multitude of writings, where the mar- 
 vellous rather feduced the underftanding than affefted it with 
 any powerful emotions, and amazed it, without leaving on it any 
 
 durable or Lifting impreflions. Strabo informs us, that this 
 
 love of the marvellous had fo captivated almofl all the hiftorians 
 of Alexander, that there were not any of them wholly free from 
 this epidemic infeftion, or who made any hefitation at the facri- 
 fice of truth to it, wherever they interfered " with each other. 
 
 Callifthenes, ' Oneficritus, Hegefias and Clitarchus, feem to 
 
 have 
 
 ' " Get amour du Merveilleux s'etoit emparé, felon Strabon, de la plume de prefque tous les 
 hiftoricns du conquérant de lAfie ; aucun d'eux ne fut entièrement exempt de ce défaut epidemi- 
 quc." Strabo's cxpreffion in the paffage referred to, is, '• rixvr es /Aiy yx^ o< -ncfi AÂt|a»Sfov, to 
 fiai'/Aaro» atri Tx>.yi9o:s anoliypnxi." (Lib. 15.-1O22.) A fcntiment that I have added. 
 
 ' Callifthenes fucceeded Ariftolle as preceptor to Alexander, and afterwards attended him 
 ill his oriental expedition. Cicero had but a mean opinion of his hiftorical talents, as may be 
 
 gathered
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I5 
 
 have been the authors of numerous miftakes, and we know by 
 experience, that they are always propagated in proportion to 
 their antiquity, and to the number and difpofition of the fuc- 
 ceeding writers who tranfcribe them or adopt them. At this dif- 
 tance, we mufl rely on the judgment which the ableft critics of 
 the ancients have pafTed on their refpeftive works, and the opi- 
 nions which they entertained of them. It was undoubtedly 
 
 the intention of Callifthenes^ to magnify the aftions of Alex- 
 ander, and to augment his glory by a ftyle as little adapted to 
 hiftory as to real eloquence. " Some expreffions of Callift- 
 henes," fays Longinus, " do not fhine like ftars, but glare like 
 meteors." ■■ The judicious criticifm of Polybius, on his de- 
 fcription of the battle of Iffus, fhall be hereafter mentioned. — 
 With equal ignorance in ta6lics, and fuperftition, which in a 
 philofopher is extraordinary, Calliflhenes relates, according to 
 Strabo, that " Alexander having learnt that Perfeus and Hercu- 
 les had vifited the Oracle of Jupiter Ammon, began his march 
 with the fame emulation, from Parcetonium, and though flrong 
 
 foutherly 
 
 gathered from two of his expreffions. " Callifthenes comes Alexandri, fcripfit hiftoriam; et hic 
 quidem rhetorico pêne more." (De oratore, Lib. ii. Sec. 14.) "Itaque ad Callifthenem ct Phi- 
 liftum redeo : in quibus tc video volutatum. Callifthenes quidem, vulgare et notum ncgotium." 
 Epift. ad Q. Fratrem. Lib. n. Epift. 13. 
 
 s ^^ Ovxovv avros xÇi^Hxt aJTr'AAc^avo^oy Jo^atv KTtjo-o^Evor, deXA^z fxEivon ffxAe* ts avôpuTrous Troi-nTMv, 
 KOii ovv icxi rou miou rriv fAsrovatoiv AXs^ccvdpu ovx t^ wi- OXviAittxs v^sp rvis yevEosuJS avrov ^u'^Erxt xwio- 
 T^ffQxtj aXA ££ uv «V a'JTOs vTTep AXï^avo^ov ovyyfx-^as s^tnyK^ es avQ^uwovs.*^ Arrian. de Exped, 
 Alex. Lib. 4. Cap. 10. 283. 8"° Edit. Amft. 1757. 
 
 ^ Smith's Longinus. Sect. 3"''-lO. " Kai tivx rm K«\Ai3evks, ovra a;^ t/4-i>'« «XA* 
 
 ^ET«wf«," Dion. Long. Sec. 3. 40. 4"" Lond. 1724.
 
 l6 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 loiitherly winds oppofed his progrefs, and he loil his way amidft 
 clouds of fand, he was preferved by lowers of rain and by two 
 ravens, wlio ferved him for guides and pointed out to him the 
 road. ' Thcfe circumftances were diaated by flattery, and the 
 following ones refemble them. The Monarch had alone the privi- 
 lege allowed him, of entering the temple in his ufual drefs, the 
 left of his companions being ordered to change theirs, and to 
 wait the anfwer of the Oracle at the doors.— Its refponfes inflead 
 of being delivered by the prieft verbally, like thofe of Delphi 
 and Branchus, were in a great meafure communicated by figns 
 and nods, in imitation of the Jupiter of Homer." 
 
 Who fpoke, and awful bent h.is fable brows, 
 Shook his ambrofial curls, and gave the nod. 
 The (lamp of fate, and fanftion of the God. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 " The Monarch was however exprefsly told, that he was 
 the fon of Jupiter. In a more tragic and exaggerated ftyle, 
 
 CallilUienes 
 
 ' A modern etl>iyift miyht fpin o>it a curious dincrtation on (he fubject of thefc ^•.■inged pio- 
 neers. I am in doubt whether crows (Sec Langliorn's Plutarch Vol. 4. 260.) or ravens are to 
 l)e underftood, but the latter being more refpcftable Gentlfmcn, I have made choice of them for 
 the office. Plutarch, without fpecifying theirnuraber hath given us more at large the ftory of the 
 crows or ravens, and their fervices, lut he obferves they were raiher wonderful, an indireft me- 
 thod of attacking the credit of the who'.e. "ETrsiT^e tkv ôçaiv ôi wï^- »r«v tois ôJ/iyoïr trvy^vOsvricv, k. 77?ii- 
 
 6ati(x«5riwTOTO>, us Ka>A/o-9s»))j Çnir.y, rais Çutxn, a»axa?i(J^|ixs»i)i rovs Trf^atiiifmitivs wuru^, -/i. xXa^ovrsf, 
 tis ix'os naBifavxy Tijr ■no^iixs." De vit. Alex. Tom. 1.-680. Ed. Francf. 1620.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I7 
 
 Callifthenes adds, that Apollo had deferted the Oracle of Bran. 
 chus fince the temple had been pillaged by the followers of 
 Xerxes, when its fountain failed; that it had again flowed, and 
 that fome Milefian envoys had brought to Memphis many of the 
 Oracle's prédirions, relative to Alexander the fon of Jupiter, his 
 future vittory at Arbela, the death of Darius, and the Lacedae- 
 monian political commotions. Athenais of Erythrea, another 
 Erythrean Sibyl had before fpoken of Alexander's illuftrious 
 origin. '' 
 
 Was it by fuch a medley of fables and credulity, that Callift- 
 henes flattered himfelf he fliould immortalize the Conqueror of 
 Afia, and could fuch a ridiculous and turgid narrative bear any 
 comparifon whatever with that hero's aftions ? The philofopher 
 
 ^ indeed 
 
 k " 'O '/(ft Ka^^l!r^£^'J! fia» to» AXt^avJfo» ipiXo^o^riaxi f^xXi^a, «tiX^m n im ro ^^rv^ni, t-netl-n lù 
 
 Sai* ■siXxtufn-iyov I' iiTTo ra KOtioçTS a!u%v»i yivaij.t)ii>otJ.Sfvy, >^ ivoi» M^axut yiyna-aciJittxt rm oSo», Jiîi tb- 
 rut KoXcaavTixjus Xcyoiuvm roixvra Si -^ rx c^ris' (aosu y«f Ss t« /3ai7(A« rov i£f e* tmr^i^ai wawASa» at 
 TO» >£«» fA«T« TTis avn^uf 5-oA))j, tus S'aXXus /xiTiyS-jtai mt £o-3j)Ta, t|ai3£» t£ tijj Sf^/s"f/af axeoccaaa^ai 
 rairas oXn» AA£|avSf«, tbto» S'ïvSoSe» mxi' isy^' iiami^ h ^tXipon, k, B^xy^^iSais ras amo^tczmrfis hx 
 Aeyaiv, «XA« «f^ai k, (Tj^xISoAou to raXto»* us Kj uaf ' O/nnf 41, 
 H, >^ xva«5i(7-(» iw'offi/ci »£fat KfoHwy, 
 Tb ■KTfoÇ'jTa to» Aia Jraoxfj»0|UE»a* tbto ixivtoi ^rus aisHi rot a»9ç«iro« Wfor to» 0xo-i\ta, In nri Ai©, 
 îi©.* nfos-f»7wS« &£ TBToif Ô KaXA(o-9£»)iJ, in Ta A'TroXAw»®. to £» B^a.'yyf^iSxis /Mxtretot ixXtXoiiror®" if 
 •T« TO 11^0» tma ran Bçayj^/Sai» (TimXyiro mi Et^^a Wffff/aayT»/», fxAfXoiTi'/a; Si j^ Tnf xfi)»»;, tot< n T» 
 x^>i»>l a»a(rj^oi, ;^ ^a>T»a croXAa oj MiAij(7w» ■zj^iaffeis xoijiia^nrts fis Mija^i» tngi Tns tx Ai®u yttitrtus ru 
 AA£ja»Sf«, >^ T5if KToiiins zji^i AçCïiAa »ix>iî, 1^ t« Aafwa 3a»aTa, ^ t«» e» Aaxt$a//M>; »iurtei^jAu»' 
 Wifi 5e tw £wy£»a«f, >^ Ti)» EfuSfaia» A%va/Sa (pJio-j» ayei'JTen' ^ yaj T«tT>)» ôjM.sii yma^ai ri) waAaj» 
 îifvAX>) T)) Efi^ga/a. ' Strabo. Lib. 17.--I168J 1169,
 
 l8 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 indeed dcTigncd to render the fame of Alexander dependent on 
 his own abilities, and fubfervient to his interefts ; but led aftray 
 by his own vanity, he erred in the choice of his plan, and fell 
 into difgrace. Yet we mufl do him the juflice to acknowledge 
 that he difcovercd great firmnefs of mind, when Alexander in- 
 fifted on excelTive and divine honours from his fubjefts, Callift- 
 henes then comes forward as the augufl: proteftor of the injured 
 religion of his country, and the laft and only champion of its 
 liberty. But a moment's refle61ion on the precife period of this 
 e\'ent, which was fo foon followed by his imprifonment, ^vill 
 convince us, that he had no more to hazard, when he fo cou- 
 rageoufly refilled the Macedonian monarch's inclinations, whofe 
 indio-nation he had already roufed. A ftriking and a memora- 
 ble lefTon for the writers of every age, who, forgetful of the duties, 
 which they owe to their own times, to pofterity, and to them- 
 felves, in vain endeavour to ally the low and little intrigues of 
 the courtier with philofophical integrity and freedom ! 
 
 t 
 Oneficritus of ^gina, a follower of Diogenes the Cynic, ac- 
 cording to Diogenes Laertius, who feems to have been a mere 
 compiler without tafte, and to have confounded the firll; and fé- 
 cond Cyrus, had written a hiftory of Alexander on the model of 
 the Cyropcedia, which he probably fuppofed to be fiftitious ; but 
 nis falfities and fables have not left us any poflTibility of com- 
 paring him with the fage Xenophon. In imitation of the difci- 
 ple of Socrates, who compofed the memoirs of the younger 
 
 Cyrus,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 19 
 
 Cyrus, the fcholar of Diogenes entered on tliofe of Alexander. 
 Though he had an excellent original, it was miierably copied ; ' 
 and Strabo hath admitted that, of all the hiftorians of Alexander, 
 this cynic philofopher had advanced with the mofl confummatr 
 afTurance, tales and paradoxes the mofl; fmgular and abfurd. '" 
 But perhaps it was by thefe means, that he expefted to continue 
 in the favour of the Macedonian monarch, who entertained him 
 at his court, and carried him along with him, for the declared 
 
 purpofe of writing his hiflory. From fuch venal hands, have 
 
 we to expeft any thing but diftorted fafts in the narrative of 
 Alexander's expeditions ! Truth cannot fl:oop to any bribes, and 
 where rewards are begged with importunity, they are notorioufly 
 the wages of corruption, 
 
 Hegefias, the Magnefian, firft introduced into Greece, as 
 Strabo informs us, " the Afiatic ft;yle of eloquence, which waflies, 
 
 D 2 like 
 
 ' Diogenes Laertius hath paHTed a lefs fevere judgment oit tliis unfortunate liiftorian, " Kai tm 
 £f(i»veia St wafa')r?,»!0'(Of toXd» oT( aif «Troyfaipof E^ apj^ETfiroy Jsi/TEfsMi." (Lib, 6. Tom. I.—QCA. 4'» 
 Amft, 1709.) Little of the Archetype however feem? to have been vifible. 
 
 "> Arrian hath recorded a very particular inftance of the hillorical fidelity of Oneiicrilus, and 
 in a faft, of which there could be no doubt. " Tiif Se avrm yexs xf^EjwiTur Owjo-iKfiror, is st m J^y- 
 7f»Ç>? IV Tiï« ling AAe|a»Sçou |i'»E7fa4.E, naii rovTo i-\,sv7xro, vxvx^^m iavrot eivai yfx-^as, xviSeomyii 
 i»rx." (De Exped. Alex. Lib. 6. C. 2.— 409.) Strabo ftyles him, •' Ovit AXt^auSfw f^xyXat ti rut 
 îrafaSo^a^ï Af j^ixt(3Ffv>iT»i/." and adds, " t-mgiiy.yXii^xi Se Sowi tous Toa-OKTot'ç exeikos T-r, te JaroXsyi». ' ' 
 Strabo, Lib. 15.— 1022. 
 
 " "Hvifiar T£ 'a puTug, is r,^^!. m .\<Tiayav Xrp/j.-Mv i-v>.ov, ■B«^a^Se<gas to y.otrz'^myM e3os t» At. 
 !!«•" Strabo, Lib. 14.— 959.
 
 aO CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 like a courtezan, every artifice to enliven the pafTions that habi- 
 tude hath palled. He was an orator and an hiftorian, two pro- 
 feflions which form at all times a dangerous combination, where 
 a correft tafte is not generally eftablifhed, and its limits perfeftly 
 defined. His orations were equally faulty in fentiment and in 
 expreffion ; and when he exercifed himfelf on hiftory, his ftyle 
 was broken and unequal, and full of puerile embellifhments. " 
 Photius hath preferved fome fragments of Agatharcides, in which 
 he had keenly cenfured the works of Hegefias, and ridiculed 
 both his defcription of the fiege and capture of Thebes, and his 
 method of deploring the misfortunes of its inhabitants. " Ad- 
 verfity rendered the place mute that was vociferous." — " Thou 
 haft a6led, Alexander, in deftroying Thebes, as if Jupiter had 
 torn the moon from one quarter of the heavens." " The Ma- 
 cedonian phalanx having entered the walls of Thebes, fword in 
 hand, deprived the city of exiftence : here was its grave, there 
 was death." ■" 
 
 It 
 
 " This is nearly Cicero's opinion. " Et is quidem non minus fententiis peccat quam verbis." 
 (Deorat. 67. Tom. 1.-478.) " Charifii vult Hegefias fimilis elTe. At quid eft tam fradum, 
 tarn minutum, tam in ipfâ, quam tamen confequitur, concinnitate puerile." (De Claris oratoribus 
 83. Tom. 1.— 406.) Plutarch hath handed down to us one of thefe puerile conceits relative to 
 the temple of Diana at Ephefus, which was burnt in the night that Alexander was born. "Eixo- 
 T«i yaf r^ xaiTixÇAtj^Sïjvai Tov VE4;», Tijs AfTEpiiSoj aj^oXoi)(AE»iis iri^t tin AXz^xvifov ftMiuo'it'" The 
 obfervation thathe makes is, " EinCmniMi xaratrfica-ai mt ■av^naiati cxsm.ti lira -^fvyjjixi Siva/xtvov." 
 (De vit. Alex. Plut, opera, Tom. 1.-665.) ^ '^° """^ know whether the obfervation on the fen- 
 timent, or the fentiment itfelf, is mofl exceptionable. 
 
 r ^' Ton yaç ijuyi^a ÇutfKTXtra roTioy, a^unot ri o^■j^ApiJf« ■zjfjToitixc'" ''O/ao/ov zjnroifixas, 
 
 Ayixail^i, ©>)(3« KiouKTxx-i'as, us a» u ô Zvjs ex Ti)f Murx Oif «kj> /ixEf iSoj zx^nKoi rm (7iA»)»r,v'"
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 21 
 
 It is not without fome reafon, that Agatharcides hath obferved, 
 this miferable fophift appears to have mentioned this event rather 
 to difplay his own wit, than to commiferate the lamentable for- 
 tune of the Thebans. '' 
 
 Longinus tells us, that Hegefias appeared in his own opinion 
 to confider himfelf as infpired, but inflcad of being influenced by 
 any divine impulfe, he trifled like a child ; ' and in fhort, Diony- 
 fius Halicarnaflus pretends, that there is not a fmgle well-turned 
 period in all his works. ' A fragment is felefted on the fiege of 
 Gaza and punifiiment of Betis, as an example of his poverty of 
 ftyle ; and he compares his relation of the tragical end of Betis, 
 with Homer's account of the ignominious treatment of Heftor's 
 
 dead 
 
 >,£iis,ivTxv^xh^ayxros-" (Photji Bibliotheca, 1336. 1337. Ful. Roihomag. 1653.) The 
 
 three paflages are here given in the fame order as the reader will find them on a reference to 
 Photius. The Baron de St. Croix had tranfpofcd them. "Arracha la vie à cette ville," are 
 the words of the French tranflation. The Greek, original may bear the hyperbole, but I have 
 foftened the expretlion. 
 
 1 " E^o; fAEV ovv (TxwTTTE.v y.xi trof ;rnr Soxs; Sise TOUT-v» ovk oAoipufEo-Sixi t«v sjo/'.e.v» tu» rvy^m'" (Plio- 
 bii Bibliotheca, 1336.) Himeriiis feems to have copied Hegefias in his defcription of the cap- 
 ture of Thebes, (Photii Bibliotheca, 1080.) but the exploits of Alexander have been a fruitful 
 fubjeft for general declamation. The rhetorical flourifhes of the elder Seneca, " Délibérât Alex- 
 ander an oceanum naviget." (Suafor, Tom. 3. Amft. 8"° 1672.) "Délibérât Alexander an 
 Babyloniam intret, cum denuntiatum effet illi refponfo auguris periculum," (Suafor, 4. Tom, 3.) 
 are well known. 
 
 ' " rioXAaj^Byaf É»S«<7i«ï iafToif SoxanTEj BjSaxp^Ei^striv «XXa wa/Çao-iv'" Dion. Longinus, Seiïl. 3. 
 
 ' " Ewyotin rais rocavrais y^a^xn us x«Ta>.£Xo/'n'Ev ««if , f*;«> mx. av lufoi tj« aiXiSa <rvïx,Ufji,i»yiv vjt"- 
 ^ur" Dion. Halicarnaff. de ftruaurâ orationis, 144.
 
 22 
 
 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 dead body bv Achillea, in th. Iliad, which the Magnefian fophift 
 had ridiculovillv iniitatcd. ' Q. Curtius' fecms not to have fuf- 
 fercd this Nvork ol' llcgclias to have efcaped his attention: he 
 hath, nolNvithllanding, touched on the event without entering 
 into 'any of its dilgulling circumftances. Clitarchus, the fon 
 of Dinon, acquired fonic reputation in his own times, by the 
 puhHcaiion of his work on Alexander's expeditions; but a bloat, 
 •ed Itylc produces regularly exaggerated fads. " Clitarchus comes 
 
 under 
 
 ' Dionjflun MiUcai-iiiiVii» haiti give;i us li.e puffjge at full length. " 'O h pao-.^.tw £;^i» n (tjv^ 
 r».yi>.x tJjoBVl.To, K, V!Xi iti?^>.y.TO tk» i!Jo;,-'i«..i'» ro.f açi^-'^-f ncirxtTX» ucrii^v. raro yx^ iyvu;To, it^xTr.- 
 irxfit Ins irf«xpaX>.jiy k, to zj?.r.O^. H i^'.v on û.ttis ivrn î-j/eS^ï/xe» eu to toX/xjs., irs AXt^xya^o, /xd- 
 ii CTOTB x:t'Siyiivxi CTj-oTEs-o» éiTi'»". xtn^ yx^ ruv -ssir.'Muiy, E;r yjvirjt nyx.xiJ.Ç.^tn , iloh rsr' A>.i^x,T)f^ 
 ttiî Ixfriixs ctcxx is^x^xi. n^'tt/jLsv^ S'EfyM, f,iixfov cxtivii to |.Ç®- luyy.xvTos iito Tx zsTifxr/tx ra ^i.'- 
 MiMf, art ytttv9x4 K^ T»iv zjXtiyy» ov y.aijiiTaDiv. AXXx Ttv fxtu xvtos xvuKiat, xxtx xi^xXris TvuruJi 
 Tr /jixyx-ex' ras TxWas ^f'/H Z}(ot^xt^ I'Hqj.-rr^xro iriu yx^ iKXi-» Tov eXeov eIestice» i) t» ToX/xyi^xv- 
 7;i xTinoix, Ta:v (/isnSivriii», Tiiv à'xx!i3-xtTi;v' ITS E^iKi^-j^.XiBs î'TTo Tm crxXTity^x EXE/WIV Tij» iix^j3xeat 
 ■ixTxxomixi. To» f*s»T3i iixtri>.£x x-jTot xnyxyov l^uiyTx AEivjcT©- j<^ inXaiTxs. i^uy Je ■noXi'S'afxo», x^ fts- 
 yj», ij (S^EXifaTairo»" /xE>.a;f 7»^ >i» K^ ro y_^:^(j.x- (j.ia-ii(7xs tf'ais e^bSbXivto, ty to ei^os, ixsXeivi ^ix 
 TiD» rooSu» ;^a>.xB» 4''''^*" oisi^xtTXS, l\y.iii xtxX» yv/xviv, ^i^Kf^e»®- di xxxois sjc^i -aoXXxs r^xy^vrr,- 
 rxs tx^x^ty, xvro S'nv ô Xeyn, to avixy^y avflfaoras. e'seteoe /ixsv yxf ■cjovif. ^xçSx^ot ^'cSox SftrjroT))», 
 1t^ I'xETEfai»* -/eXji» Îe ô iToKoixKJixos siroiei. to Se rf^^îf 59 to xitos this yx^^os, cnÇ>xm BxSvXutiot ^uoy 
 tTtfot àti^ot. ô ;x£» ou» o;^Xât EvETrai^E, rfïTiiirixii» ûoçi» ùojiÇi'», £<t)s^9v) ît^ t« Tç'o'jrw irxxiot i^O^ot." 
 (De ftruflurâ orat. 146.) But I do not find the obfervation that "II compare cette mani- 
 ère de raconter les faits aux tr.iiljmens ignominieux qu'Achille fait elTuyer an corps d'Hector," 
 is well founded, and 1 have therefore adopted the fenfe of the Greek, original. Dionyfius Hali- 
 carnaiTus drew only a parallel between the two defcriptions of the puniflmient of Betis, and the 
 indignity offered to Hedlor's body, and had no intention whatever of comparing the fophift's 
 manner of relating fadls, to the difgraceful conduct of Achilles. He adds indeed and with ftriift 
 juftice, " Clsat Mxyvris EiÇTixE», us liro yjyxixiiit t) xxTixyirut xy^^it^it^y ^.tyotr^xv^ xxt ovO£ rt^ruv f/.s- 
 rx jT7(;S>jf, aXA'ETXi ^\cvx(7ij.m xxi xxTxyiXuTi." De ftrufturâ orat. 153. 
 
 " Q. Curtius, Lib. 4. C. 6.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 23 
 
 under this cenfure," fays Loiiginus, " flill more, who bluflers and 
 blows, as Sophocles exprefles it," 
 
 " Loud founding blafls, not fweeten' d by the flop." ' 
 
 The judicious author of the treatife, attributed to Demetrius 
 Phalereus, hath confirmed with his authority the opinion of 
 Longinus, and hath laughed at this writer's unnatural conceits 
 and pomp. *' Cicero exprefsly reproaches Sifenna "^ with his pu- 
 erile manner, and declares that this Roman chronicler feemed, of 
 all the Greek authors, to have been only acquainted with Clitar- 
 chus, whom he had imitated, and whofe defe6ls included in all 
 likelihood, that glare, which hath been improperly termed inge- 
 nuity, and which hath often corrupted talents of more than com- 
 mon expeftation. The narrative of Clitarchus was moft probably 
 full of this feduftive glitter, fo fatal to the progrefs of letters, 
 
 and 
 
 ■^ Smith's LonginuSj lO. " Kxi in ^aW.o» K>.iiTa^y(^u' >f>v'j<:uSr,f yaç ô xyt;^, xaj ^v^uv xxTX rat 
 
 ■ (po^Suxs S'aTjf." Longinus, Soft. 2. 
 
 Cicero in his cpiftles to Atticus, (Lib. 2. Epift. 16.) hath cited the whole palTage. 
 
 AAA'atyf(ais Cvcj-xiai Ço^ffïixs S'atTEj*" 
 
 " A pompous defcription of the wafp or hornet is particularly cenfured. " 'O KXtiTx^^os ttt- 
 ÇI Ttis TE»&f>iSo»®- Xs'ywv, ^uu iJ,eXi<T<m loixoTos, yMrauiAirxi, //.iv lp7i(Ti, rm a^tivm' a^jmrarxi 5e us ras 
 xjot^ots OÇW— a/ffvs^ "S^E^t l3oos txy^m ft Ttf E^t'^a:v9j4; ksctt^h Xeyx'Vj aXX'tt^/ zjt^i jtAEA/aoT;? riyas'" Deme- 
 trius Phalereus, Seft. 330. 331. 
 
 ' " Is tamen neque orator in numéro veflro unquam eft habitus, et in hiftorià puerile quiddam 
 confeftatur: ut unum Clitarchum, neque praeterea quemquam, de Gncis le.aifle videatur : eum ta- 
 men velleduntaxatimitari," Ciceroj delegibus, Lib. i.Sed. 2. Tom. 3. --117. Ed. Olivet. 4'° 1740.
 
 24 CRI ne AL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 and alwa)s announcing their decline ; and it is perhaps in this 
 Tcnfe. that Ouiniihan is to be underftood, when he informs us 
 ihat this hiltorian of Alexander was admired for his genius, though 
 
 liis \eracit)' was univerlîilly decried. ' But the Rhetoricians 
 
 arrogated to themfelves, if we are to believe Cicero, " the privi- 
 Icf^e of lying with impunity, from the avowed motives of giving 
 fpirit to their works ; and Clitarchus juftifies the propriety of the 
 obfcr\ation, as ma)- be proved from many inftances, that Strabo, 
 Plim", and a crowd of the ancient authors have recorded of him. 
 All thefe fabulous traditions, exaggerated fa6ls, hyperboli- 
 cal and improbable relations, with the imaginary defcriptions of 
 battles and of lieges, that Alexander's hiflorians adopted, were in 
 general borrowed from Callifthenes, Hegefias, Clitaixhus, One- 
 ficritus, Megafthenes and Daimachus, and they were more eager- 
 ly reforted to from the corruption of the public talle, and the 
 numerous admirers of fuch extravagances, whofe clamorous ap- 
 plaufes overpowered any cenfures of their folly and abfurdity. 
 
 It is not undoubtedly from this tribe of writers that we are 
 
 to be fupplied with any faithful memoirs of the life and aftions 
 
 of Alexander. They will form a feparate and diftinft clafs, 
 
 which muft be afterwards confidered. Let not however the 
 
 mod audacious Pyrrhonifm pretend to confound the authentic 
 
 monuments 
 
 • •' Clitarchi probatur ingenium fides infamatur." Quintil. lull. oral. Lib. lO. C. 1.--500. 
 Ed. Gefncr. 4"'. 1738. 
 
 ° " ConcelTum eft rhetoribus ememiri in hiftoriis, ut aliquid dicere pofTint argutiùs. —Sic 
 Clitarchus." Cicero, de Claris oratoribus. Sea. 11. Tom, 1.--345.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 25 
 
 monuments that have been left us, with thofe, which adulation 
 and a love of the marvellous have alone ere6led. Without en- 
 deavouring to difcriminate truth and falfehood, but willingly 
 acquiefcing in the malicious inclination of blending them both 
 together, let us not fuppofe the exploits of the conqueror of Aha 
 to have been as fabulous as the labours of Hercules ; nor give 
 credit to what has been afferted in a moment of paradoxical de- 
 lirium, that the Macedonian hero never penetrated into India. 
 
 The memoirs of' Ptolemy and of Ariftobulus, deferve the firft 
 places amongft thofe works which have any pretenfions to dif- 
 tinftion : having been eye-witneffes of the fafts, which they relate, 
 thefe two generals of Alexander's army delayed their publicati- 
 ons till this Prince's death, in order that flattery might not have 
 any undue influence over them ; and that truth might appear in 
 their relations without either reftriftion or difguife. Thefe pru- 
 dential reafons, which we have on the faith of Arrian, ' refute 
 at once Lucian's fl:ory, that Alexander having lift;ened to Arifto- 
 bulus 's account of his combat Math Porus, enraged at fuch a mafs 
 of fables, ordered him to be thrown into the Hydafpes, crying 
 out, " Thus ought you to have been ferved yourfclf, for pretend- 
 ing to defcribe my battles, and killing half a dozen elephants 
 
 E with 
 
 •^ " E/J.01 nroKciJ.xi®^ re xai Afifo^ouAoî CTij-oTsfoJ mo^xv a Tr,v xpriynom- /j.t)f, on n-vvi-fxrii.'j-e /3a- 
 diXsi AXs|av5f!iJ, A^içoÇovKos, nnXijAxios us, zj^os tu ^■jfgxrtvtrxi, on x.xi xvm \Zx'ji\si nri xi<j-/_^t- 
 Tefo» VI ru a?\\u ■^vjvx'jixi m, «(/.(pui îî, on TîTîÂîuTiîxoTof »jî>! AXî^aiSfoi; t'-'.y^x^pnTn. ôrs airi>ii irt 
 avayr.11 XXI Ô (Aiaôof Tov aMa'f T/, ri us avnvt^^, ^'ly^x-i^xi wnnt-' Airian. P(>clat. Exp. Alex. 2>
 
 26 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 wiih a fiivle dart.'"* Lucian moft probably intended to allude 
 
 lo Oiicricritus, as he mentions a few pages afterwards, a conver- 
 fation ' of the Macedonian Monarch's with this philofopher, in 
 which lie iininiadverted on the fulfome flattery of his biogra- 
 phers ; and appeared anxious to know the fentiments that poflerity 
 would entertain of him, and of his aftions, Alexander, it is well 
 known, carried Oneficritus along with him as his hiflorian, and 
 the name of Ariflobulus may have been inferted inftead of that 
 of the cynic philofopher, from fome miftake of the author or his 
 
 copyifts. This conjefture feems to be ftrengthened alfo by 
 
 what Lucian fays of the age of Ariflobulus, who reached the ex- 
 tended period of ninety years, and with a wonderful fl;rength of 
 underftanding, entered on the compofition of his hiftory at eighty- 
 four. ' Is it credible that Ariflobulus at this advanced age, could 
 have followed the Conqueror of Aha over fuch immenfe regions 
 to the banks of the Hydafpes ? 
 
 A journal of Alexander's exploits, had been reduced into form 
 by Diodotus of Erythrya, and by Eumenes of Cardia, who fliared 
 with Hephaeflion the favours of his mafl;er, and was one of the 
 
 ablefl: 
 
 ^ Franklin"s Lucian, Vol. 2.-277. 8"* EJit. '■ Kx, tri os irus t^i^y, ^ Af/fo/îot-Af, roixvra 
 ^«? ''*«fr«>'"'(^X'*»'f*i ""' '^'<?»«Tas £» axOTTiwÇovEjovTa-" Lucian. Quomodo. Hift. confcribenda 
 fit. Scfl. 12. Tom. 2.-17. 
 
 ■54- 
 
 « Lucian. Quomodo. Hift. confcribenda fit. Sea. 40. Tom. 2.- 
 
 ' Et compofa fon hiaoire à 8a. " Tnv ,Vof,«* Se nrx^n, x«< ovUxorw et®. vEyovwj fi^turo 
 «.'yjaçi,,," (Lucian. Macrobii, Sed. 22. Tom. ,3.-224.) which I have followed.
 
 OP ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 2/ 
 
 ablefl and mofl unfortunate generals of his age. If we are to 
 judge of this work, by the numerous fragments of it in feveral 
 authors of antiquity ; * it was both a very accurate and circum- 
 ftantial narrative of the pubHc and private life of the Macedonian 
 Prince. 
 
 The itinerary of Alexanders army, by Diognetus and Beton, 
 employed by this Monarch in the meafurement of his marches, 
 and the furvey of the countries, that he paffed through, would 
 naturally have thrown a confiderable fliare of light on the expe- 
 ditions of the Conqueror of Afia, and the geography of the Eaft. 
 But this valuable work, which was not indeed neglefted either by 
 Ariflobulus or Ptolemy, hath not efcaped the ravages of time ; 
 and the defcriptions, which Alexander direéled to be made of the 
 different provinces of his empire by able and experienced perfons, 
 have been equally unfortunate. — Patroclus affures us, that thefe 
 memoirs had been communicated to him by Xenocles the King's 
 treafurer ; *■ and it is doubtlefs of thefe papers that the illuftrious 
 Corfmi thus exprefTes himfelf, "The very exaft defcriptions, which 
 Alexander direfted to be made of his conqucfts, would have been 
 ofvaft fervice to geography, and rendered it much more perfeft." ' 
 
 E 2 It 
 
 s Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. Clup. 25. — Plularcli. Vit. Alex. Tom. 1.-706. — Sympo- 
 fuicon. Lib. 1. Tom. 2. —62,3. — Aiheiiicus, Lib. 10.— 434. — /Elian. Var. Hilt. Lib. 3. C. 23, 
 
 '' Slrabo, Lib. 2. Tom. i.-l2D. 
 
 ' "Les defcrîpiions Ex.cles ijifAlcxandic cut foin de faire de fc": coiuiiictesj donnereni. une 
 
 fonne
 
 28 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 It is even reafonable to imagine, that a colleftion of Alex- 
 ander's letters remained long after his death ; at lead it mull be 
 allowed, that many of them had been made public, as they are 
 cited by a number of the ancient authors, " If this correfpondence 
 had defcended to us, it would certainly have placed in a flill 
 clearer point of view the military allions of this Prince, and 
 unfolded to us more diflinftly, the fecret motives, that influenced his 
 condu61, his manners and his charafter, Patroclus, Eratoflhenes 
 and Strabo, had feverally made their obfervations on the hiftori- 
 ans of Alexander, but thefe treatifes have alfo perifhed. Their 
 labours would probably have rendered any other attempts of this 
 kind ufelefs ; and the age, in which they lived, undoubtedly af- 
 forded them fuperior advantages for fuch difcufhons. The fabu- 
 lous traditions, which defcend from one generation to another, 
 gradually obfcure the light of truth ; our efforts to difcover it are 
 enfeebled by our diftance from the different events ; the gloom 
 augments ; doubts accumulate ; fyflems rife ; our difficulties in- 
 creafe ; and we lofe even by the flux of time thofe fuccours, with 
 which it is impolTible to be again fupplied. 
 
 Cephalon, a native of Gergetha ' in the Troad, abridged uni- 
 
 verfal 
 
 forme beaucoup plus parfaite à la geographic." De l'origin. et des progrès de l'Adronom, Acad. 
 des Sciences Ane. Mem. Tom. 8. --13. 
 
 ^ Plutarch. Vit. Alex. Tom. 1.-688. 689. 691. 696. 697. 
 
 Vit. Phocion. Tom. 1.-749. 
 
 De fui laude. Tom. 2.-545. 
 
 Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. Chap. 24.-^534. 
 
 ' Strabo, Lib. 13. Tom. 2.-882, Suidas hath confouiided him with Cephalon the Rhetori-
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 29 
 
 verfal hiftory ; and the work was diftinguiflied by accuracy and 
 by precifion. Every digreffion was ftudioufly avoided in it, and 
 every recital that had not an immediate conneftion with the fa£ls, 
 that he had to explain or to defcribe. This hiftory written in the 
 Ionic dialeft, and after the manner of Herodotus divided into 
 nine books, each of which bears the name of one of the Nine Mufes, 
 was the fruit of unwearied application and immenfe refearches. 
 The laft book, which had the title of Erato, '" contained the ex- 
 ploits of the conqueror of Darius, and had been extrafted with 
 Herculean perfeverance from no lefs than thirty different authors. 
 What a rich banquet might it not have furnifhed ? 
 
 A comparifon of different and various evidence is the foul of 
 -■' > rational inquiry. Truth often rifes amidft the fliock of con- 
 tending and contradiftory opinions ; whilft impofture acquires its 
 only credit from the carelefs filence, or the accommodating con- 
 currence of hiftorians. Sopater made great ufe of Cephalon's 
 abridgment in his account of Alexander, but even his refearches 
 
 have 
 
 cian, who lived under Adrian. Vide Suidas, Tom. 3.-305. Ki^a^iuv. and alfo Voffius, de hift. 
 Graecis. Lib. 11. Chap. 12. 
 
 ™ " Le dernier livre intitule Uranie." I have correifted this error, for on turning to the paf- 
 fage in Photius, which was referred to, the Greek fentence appeared to me to be evidently mif- 
 taken ; " IviA.Tri^aiiyirxi Se xvre n sço^tx £» Kcyois 9', xxr'itTumiji,ixv ran O'Maa-uv, Khems, 0a?.£;aj-, 
 TloP^v/Ayiias, Us\-!tofAins , li^^iyjy^s, EiiTEfwis, KaXA/oOTt, EfaTBs-, OvqxMms, EÏ 4, (that is irof») 
 XJH Ta x»Ta AAE^avScov TOI/ MaexESova Sis/lsjo-m." (Biblioth. lOi.) I was happy afterwards to find 
 I had the beft of all authorities, the authority of Photius himfelf, for this conftruflion. Speak- 
 ing of Sopater, he fays, " 'O ^Exar©- h (nn9§oi<r^7i ix rs tb KsÇaX/w»©. EgxTKs, tiaXafA-^xtuenis ra 
 xxrx AXslajSfo»." Biblioth. 541.
 
 30 
 
 CRITICAL IKQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 have not reached us. Chares, Anticlides, Philo the Theban, 
 Ilccateus of Erctria, Duris of Samos, Nearchus and Timogenes 
 have a juft claim to the charadcr of authentic writers, and their 
 tcflimony is unexceptionable. If their fucceflbrs had formed 
 thcnifclvcs after their example, and had employed. the materials 
 vhich they left them, we (liould have had great reafon to have 
 applauded their difcernment ; but the farther they deviated from 
 thcfe indifputablc records, the more their authority becomes fuf- 
 
 petled. In taking a view of what is not to be doubted on the 
 
 fubjeft of Alexander's hillorians, it may be neceffary to enter into 
 fomc circumftances relating to them. 
 
 Arrian of Nicomedia " lived under Adrian, Antoninus Pius, and 
 Marcus Antoninus ; " and from having frequented the fchool of 
 Epicletus he was a zealous advocate for its tenets. The fame 
 maderly hand, which flcetched out the moral differtations of Epic- 
 tetus, is eafily perceptible in the hiflory of the Macedonian Con- 
 queror ; and even the fpeech, which Arrian puts into the mouth 
 of Dandamis, '' contains many of the fentiments, which are to be 
 
 met 
 
 ■> Sec Tilleinont. Hift. des Emp. Tom. 4.-453. Ed. 12™° aiid atfo Voffius, de Hiit. Grac. 
 Lib. c. Chap. 1 1. 
 
 • Phoiii Bibliotheca. 53.'^Eufebius Chron. Canon. Suidas. As'fio»®-. Tom. 1 .—320. 
 
 r " Dans la bouche de Calanus." There is a fort of conftitutional vivacity, which fometimes 
 hurries away men of real erudition, and occafions them a multitude of inadvertencies. With 
 the French, this lively volatility is remarkable, and enters largely into the mercurial charafler 
 of the nation. It is into the mouth of Dandamis that Arrian hath put this fpeech, and Calanus 
 
 is
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 31 
 
 met with in the colleftion of thofe of the Stoic Phiiofopher, ^ 
 The mofl celebrated cities took an early opportunity of acknow- 
 ledging his merit, and of enrolling him amongft their citizens. — 
 Athens and Rome conferred this honour on him ; ' and the latter 
 intrufted him with the command of a body of its forces. The 
 government of Cappadocia was given to him : and his courage 
 and capacity were equally confpicuous in the proteftion of the 
 Province from the Alani, ' who made an irruption into Afia Mi- 
 nor, in the 17'" )ear of the reign of Adrian, and 134 years after 
 
 Chrift. Arrian's fer\ices were afterwards rewarded witli the 
 
 Confular dignity. ' 
 
 The 
 
 Is only celebrated for the firm and undainitcd manner, in which ho voluntarily committed liimfelf 
 to tlie flames, on tlie approach of infirmity and fickncf!, ; " ïlçiv nvos is crs/fav i>Aiv zjxOnuxros h 
 ri rasp i^xvxyxxn airiv fASTxr^x/Mit rm zj^oj-Sm ^txirx»-" Arrian hath fairly Hated, " Ov rmx //,«- 
 ;jra S» xvrov axparofx Meyxa-Ssvris any^x^iv" but his method of winding up the aiicfling tragedy, 
 '•'OvTu^ri iiTiSxtrx Ty)zr.^x, x.xrxxKi6mxi iA.it ii KO^i/.a, o^xtrOxi St ■a^os 1111! j-^xtixs ^vj/Litxavs. — Txu- 
 T« KXi nixvTx t'lri^ KaXawoi' tw IvÎou Ixxm xyx'/iy^x^xo-iy, ovx xy(^^tix 'STxtrx ct avOfuTtxs, arm yviva» 
 £7ri;*f?its, on us y.x^ri^oy rs tri xx, xtixxroy yiuiij-n xA^'jium i, ri zyif s9sKoi s^i^yxirxtzSxi." (Lib. 7. 
 Chap. 3.-48], 482.} feems to intimate that he did not altogether agree in opinion with Megaf- 
 «her.es. 
 
 Strabo hath given a long account of thefe ancient Bramins, but Dandamis hath there the name 
 of Mandanis. Lib. 15. Tom. 2.— 1042, 1043. 1044' 
 
 *» EpiiSetus, Tom. 1. Lib. 1. Chap. 25. 
 
 ' Arriauus de venatione. C. i.--igO.EJ. 8^° Amft.1633. — Lucian Pfcudomant. Tom. 2.--20Q. 
 
 ' V^'ithout any diminution of ,\rrian's merit, we are informed by Dion. Caffius, that the 
 perfuafive arguments ot Volgxfius had alfo their influence: "T«v AT^iSxyuiv tx /xcv AflPOIJ vvo tw 
 Ow^oyxitrov ■aiia&iyTM, rx, 5e xoh 4>X»/3i5ip Af f iatvo» to» thî KawirxSox/as x^^osrx f OfSjjflj» ra.»- ' ' (Lib. 69. 
 15. Tom. 2.— 1163.) The Alani are here called "Twï AAjSstvtu»," and there is a very learned 
 note upon the paflage. 
 
 ' Suidas, Affiatci, Tom. 1.—320,— Photii Bibliotheca. 53.
 
 32 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 The philofopher contemplates the conduft, the manners, and 
 the genius of mankind, and takes into confideration the motives 
 of human aftions with the means, that are employed in their ex- 
 ecution: his fcrutinizing eye develops the rife, the progrefs 
 and the fall oi" empires ; but fome military knowledge, joined to 
 pra6tical experience, feems necelTary to defcribe the march of 
 armies, and the operations of viftorious generals. Few perfons 
 perhaps pofleflcd thefc qualifications in a fuperior degree to Arri- 
 an ; and his treatife upon taftics is an excellent abridgment of all 
 that Greece knew upon the fubjeft. * The details, on the regu- 
 lation and evolutions of the phalanx, into which he enters, are 
 juflly the admiration of all military men" for their perfpicuity 
 and prccifion ; and the fragment, ^vhich remains, relating to his 
 march and the order of battle againfh the Alani, evidently proves 
 that he had taken up his theory from real fer vice. Knowledge 
 and talents of fuch magnitude are not eafily concealed, and they 
 difcover thcmfelves in the whole hiflory of Alexander. Yet it is 
 extraordinary, that the luminous manner, in which Arrian hath 
 explained the manœuvres of the Macedonian army, hath even 
 called his veracity in queftion. An able profeffional writer hath 
 had the boldnefs to advance, that Arrian endeavours to give 
 Icffons upon taaics at the expence of truth, in the defcription of 
 the battle of Gaugamele that he hath left us. " If our account 
 of this battle," fays he, "was a real exercife on the art of war, the 
 
 application 
 
 - See .he preface of Monf. Guifcard to his trannation of A.rian's Tadtics. .9. 
 
 ' Mémoire. „,ili,aires des Grecs et Romains par Monf. Guifcard, Difc. Prelim. 38.
 
 or ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 33 
 
 application of all its grand principles could not be better brought 
 
 before the eye." '' But becaufe an army, when oppofed to an 
 
 undifciplined multitude upon equal ground, is faid to have made 
 the moft judicious movements ; are we to infer from this fimplc 
 circumftance, that the account, which hath been given us by a 
 mailer in the art of war, is the fruit only of his imagination, and 
 the mere refult of his own fyftems ? Mons' Guifcard adds, " That 
 he (hould never have attempted to doubt the authenticity of jhe 
 circumftances of this battle, if Polybius had not treated the ac- 
 count of the battle of Iffus by Calliflhenes in the fame manner."' 
 If Polybius hath however detefted the impofitions of Cal- 
 liflhenes, does the conclufion follow, that Arrian, who had the 
 advantage of the memoirs of the generals of Alexander's army, 
 hath forged what he related? With more juflicc podibly he may 
 be open to fome cenfure on his exceflive vanity. It is indeed 
 with fingular oflentation, that he tells us there was not any ne- 
 ceffity of his mentioning himfelf ; that his birth, his country, and 
 employments, were all well known ; and in (hort, that he flood 
 as high amongfl the Grecian writers of eminence, as Alexander 
 
 F did 
 
 » "Cette bataille," fays he, "/ut-cUe un vrai thème pour la théorie de l'art delà guerre?' 
 Tout cela ne prefenteroit pas mieux fous un feul coup d'œil. l'application ëe ces grands princi' 
 pes." Mémoires milit. fur les Grecs et les Romains, Tom. i.--j8i, 
 
 ^ '-Qu'il ne fe feroit jamais avife de repondre des doutes fur l'autlienticitc des tirconlVances 
 de cette bataille, . . fi Polybc ne traitoit pas de même le récit que donne un certain Callillhenfr 
 de la batailIe-d'IfTus.'' Mcm. milit. &c. &c. Tom. 1.-280.
 
 34 
 
 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 did in a military line. " But perhaps this open and undifguifed 
 axrknowledgmeni of his own confcioufnefs of his literary merit 
 
 haih fome little claim to our indulgence. It may be founded 
 
 on fome plaufible prctenfions to general approbation, and is in 
 faa a weaknefs, that increafes not unfrequently with the reputa- 
 tion, that a writer acquires in the public eftimation. Arrian 
 concludes his work with the information, that he had not incon- 
 fideratcly engaged in it, but had been animated by a divine im- 
 pulfe to the enterprife. - In this fpecies of fuperftitious enthufi- 
 afm we difcover at once the prieft of Ceres, whofe fundions 
 Arrian had himfelf exercifed. ' 
 
 Ptolemy, the chief of the Lagides, ^ and Ariftobulus were the 
 principal guides, that Arrian followed; and Ptolemy feems to 
 have had the preference/ though he has not copied either of 
 
 them 
 
 lui fff», ouSf TO '/«or TO e/xo», owSt ti Si; Tita Afy^ri» e» T» s/Mivrov Kf^a. xMi f!ri tmSe avx. aTix^iu 
 
 rut tjf»iT« f» m Cum -n 'EAAaSi, tiirig oiv xxi AAtxavSjor rv» ty ms oitMis. Arrian, Exped, 
 Alex. Lib. i. Chap. 12.--5O. 
 
 •> " Ovît a»tu ©Mu'" Arrian. Lib. 7. Chap. 30.--546. 
 
 - See Dodwell, de state, Peripli maris Euxini. Seift. 8. 
 
 •■ *' Ptolemy's mother was Arfînoe. Being with child by Philip of Macedon, flie was married 
 10 Lagus, and Ptolemy was in confequence called the fon of Lagus. He had a principal com- 
 mand under Alexander, and afterwards obtained the kingdom of Egypt," Paufanias, Attica, 14.15. 
 
 ' "'flî J^iyii nroXt/Miios ô Aayof, ii fuiKif* cyu sVo/a»!'" Arrian, Exped, Alex, Lib, 6. Chap, 2.-409,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 35 
 
 ilicm fervilely, or without confideratlon. He hath extrafted alfo 
 from oth.r hiftorjans every thing relating to Alexander, that he 
 thought worthy of prefervation, and not altogether delUtute of 
 
 probability, though only founded on report. '' This may not 
 
 be flritlly juftifiable; but the proper moments for invefligation 
 are not thofe of enthufiafm, when the fever of imagination runs 
 too high for calm and difpaflionate inquiry. 
 
 Arrian informs us there was not any perfon that had fo many 
 hiftorians, or fo many contradictory ones as Alexander, and he 
 finifhes his preface with the following fentence; " And if any now 
 wonder why, after [o many writers of Alexander's a6ts, I alfo 
 attempt the taflc, and endeavour to elucidate the fame, after he 
 has perufed the reft, let him proceed to the reading of mine, and 
 
 he will find lefs caufe of wonder than before." ^ Drawing our 
 
 F 2 obfervations 
 
 ' "Lorfqu'ils ont rapporté des chofcs dignes d'être coiifervccs, et qui pouvoicnt pafler pour 
 croyable, parce que felon lui, elles conceriioient Alexandre, voila une logique pitoyable," I 
 flatter myfiilt I have correctly given Arrian 's lentiments, and I confefs I fee nothing of that mi- 
 ferable logic, with which he is reproached. He does not mean to fay, that he believed the re- 
 ports becaule they related to Alexander, bat that they did not appear to be entirely improbable, 
 though lounded only on common tame. "Ep Ss â x^ TOfss a^^w» i,\ir/iy^xij.(i.iix, in >^ avrx a|i- 
 «pjjyTjTjs T£ f«i (oo^m, yÇj a zjxjtii ami'^x, us ?.iyo^£iia (iovov iwff AAelaïSf'*, «vfyfa-J^a." (Exped. 
 Alax.Lib. 2.) In the learned note on this paiïage in the edition of Arrian's Expeditio AlexandrijS^" 
 Amft. 1757. the diltindlion between the "Ta Afyof*.'»» jAovoy" mere reports, and the "Ta onx" 
 real faâs, is extiemely well explained. Tacitus, a. is judicioufly obferved, hatb nearly the fame 
 idea. "Ut conquirere fabuiofa et fidis obleclare legentium animos, procul gravitate cœpti operi» 
 crediderim: ita vulgatis traditifquedemere fidem non aufim." Tacit. 2. 50. 3. 
 
 « Rooke'sArrian. Preface. Vol. 1.--2. " 'Oru Se ^xunaairxi «(S'ôra mi roa-ois Jt avsy^ttpiva-t, ty 
 
 71.".
 
 36 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 obfervaiions from this pafTage along with that, which hath been 
 already alluded to; the real motives, which engaged him to un- 
 dertake the hiftory of Alexander, maybcguefTed at. The work 
 
 itfelf is divided into fcven books, but the lad hath only comedown 
 to us in a crippled (talc. There is a deficiency, though not a 
 very confidcrable one, which mult have contained the flight of 
 Harpalus, as appears from the abridgment, that Photius-hath 
 given us of this book, which in his time was ftill perfeft and 
 unimpaired. 
 
 This ingenious critic hath beltowed very liberal encomiums on 
 Arrian's noble fimphcity and clearnefs of ftyle ; and confidering 
 it as a ver}' exa6t imitation of Zenophon, he will not allow of 
 ^ his being inferior to any of the great writers in hiltory, that had 
 previoudy diltinguifhed themfelves. — Photius commends alfo the 
 narrative of Arrian for its precifion without any tedious digreffi- 
 ons ; though perhaps that, which relates to the military bridges 
 of the Romans, is not entirely clear of this obje6tion. The pa- 
 renthefes, he adds, do not interrupt the narrative, which hath 
 ftrong marks of eloquence ; and indeed the harangue of Ccenus 
 in the name of the Macedonian foldiers, fatiated with conquefts 
 and with glory, is certainly both very affedting and pathetic. Pho- 
 tius after having given Arrian a decided preference to all the other 
 hiftorians of Alexander, finilhes his account of his writings with 
 
 the 
 
 ru." (Arrian, Exped. Alex. 2, 3.) The Baron de St. Croix would read 'Oure, but Arrian af- 
 terwards makes ufe of the fame expreffion. " 'Ofij h xax-Çw AA£|«»Sfi»— -bt« h txXcy.^eir^w." 
 Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. C, 30.--545.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 37 
 
 the declaration, that on weighing Iiis merits with thofc of the an- 
 cient hiftorians in general, many of them will be found unequal 
 
 to him \ Yet it would be uncandid to conceal, that Arr'an's 
 
 inclinations to exalt his Hero, to reprefent as favourably as poffi- 
 ble thofe aftions of the Macedonian Monarch, which may be 
 juftly ccnfured, and to exaggerate his fuccefles, are very evident. 
 — Not fatisfied with raifmg Alexander above all other conquer- 
 ors, he affures us that he is no lefs illuftrious than Minos, Eacus, 
 and Rhadamanthus, the fons of Jupiter ; and fuppofing even this 
 comparifon of his Hero with the venerable judges of the (hades 
 dill gave too faint an idea of him, he extends it to Thefeus the 
 fon of Neptune, and Ion, the fon of Apollo. — Allowing for this 
 momentary glow of enthufiafm, Arrian on the whole feems to 
 have pofTeffed a found and difcriminating underllanding in the / 
 difcufïïon of the fevcral fa6ls, which he hath related ; to have 
 adopted them only after a cautious examination of them ; and 
 even in fome inflances to have condemned Alexander with feve- ' 
 rity. On the fubjetl of a letter, written by the Prince to Cleo- 
 menes, who then commanded in Egypt, in which, though he 
 difapproved of his conduft, he affurcd him of a pardon not only 
 for thofe crimes that he had already committed, but for any fu- 
 ture 
 
 •■ " Photius après avoir placé Arrian au-deflus même de plufieurs anciens hiftoriens finit par lui 
 donner la preference fur tous ceux qui avoient écrit l'hiftoire d'Alexandre." The fad is fubllan- 
 tially exad, but is not correilly related. Photiusfîrllcxprcireshimfelf of Arrian, '^'Ovnsoc attr^Tlu 
 zmcifT-M ccfji^imi^ Ta xxTX AXc^a>i(ovniiMax.(^o>x'" (Biblioth. 52.) And he finillics what he fays 
 of him with " Kai airbus, ti ris yucr'avro» 11:1 rms Ito^ikovs «vap^flsi» Xv/ovs, 'ssoYM-j! xai rut acç^aïut 
 iSoi ■nis aura Ta|twî iVaf*"!>fj TaTTEiyoTff ov'" (Biblioth. 228.) which is the arrangement that I have 
 obferved.
 
 38 CRITICAL iNOriRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 ture ones, provided he found at his return temples and monu- 
 ments erefled to the memory and in honour of Hœpheftion, 
 Arrian rifes indignant at fuch a fhameful compromife, and declares 
 vith an honeft zeal, tliat he cannot palliate a promife of this fort 
 to fuch a culprit. But this is not the fingle inftance in which he 
 hath refletted on the Conqueror of Afia : he concludes in the 
 following terms, " And though I take the freedom 4n this hiflory 
 of his aftions, fometimcs to cenfure him, yet I cannot but own 
 myfclfan admirer of them altogether: I have, however, fixed a 
 mark of reproach upon fome of them, as well for the fake of 
 truth, as the public benefit ; upon which account, by the aflif- 
 tance of Providence, I undertook this work." ' ^A few geogra- 
 phical errors occur undoubtedly in Arrian, but if we compare 
 them with the multitude, that all the other hiftorians have fallen 
 into, they will appear very trivial, and we fliall be rather fur- 
 prifed they are fo trifling and fo few ; confidering the difficulties, 
 that he had to llruggle with, and the intricacies in which his prede- 
 ceffors had involved him. — Without any hefitation we may there- 
 fore give him a decided preference, and after having difliinguiflied 
 himfelf as a writer, a general, and a philofopher, he may be 
 juftly reckoned the firll hifl;orian of Alexander's aftions, and the 
 only one on whofe authority any confidence is to be placed. 
 
 Without 
 
 ' Rooke's Arrian, Vol. 1.-.200, 201. " Eirs, kxi mm f^5;^4.a,/.w Er-v a ev tm Kyjap^ to» AAe?- 
 ii{yfxifry" Arrian. Exped, Alex. Lib. 7. Chap. 30.--546,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 39 
 
 Without entering into any argument, as to the precife time 
 when Plutarch hved ; it may be fufficient to obfer\'e, that Eufe- 
 bius mentions this philofopher in the 224"' Olympiad, 120 years 
 after Chrifl: ; and that the particular circumftances relating to him, 
 
 are too well known to be repeated. His life of Alexander 
 
 cannot be fuppofed by any means to be a regular and continued 
 hiftory of this Prince's aftions ; thofe of great men being in 
 general a fort of portraits, where the colouring is very high, and 
 the likenefs hath frequently a brilliancy, which exceeds even that 
 
 of the original. The great hiflorian feems to colle6l fa6ls for 
 
 the fole purpofe of giving leflures on moralit}', and relates only 
 that he may have an opportunity and a pretence for his refléti- 
 ons. A plan of this nature is inconfiflent with hiftorical accuracy, 
 and it hath neceflarily confufed his different recitals. The prin- 
 cipal public events are often abandoned, or barely touched upon, 
 that more pains may be taken with the private life of the Hero ; 
 but it muff at the fame time be acknowledged, that the Monarch's 
 inclinations and his charafter are diftinftly marked, notwithflanding 
 the hiflorian's vifible partiality for him, and the many fables that 
 
 efcape from him. Aware of the probability of being accufed 
 
 of an exceffive minutenefs in his details ; he endeavours to ex- 
 plain away the objeftion in fome preliminary remarks, which may 
 ferve as a preface to the lives of Alexander and of Caefar. " We 
 fhall only premife, that we hope for indulgence though we do not 
 give the aftions in full detail and with a fcrupulous exaftnefs, 
 but rather in a Ihort fummary ; fmce we are not writing hiftories 
 
 but
 
 40' CRîrrcAi. inquiry into the life 
 
 but lives, Koi- iî it always in the moft diftinguifhed achieve- 
 ments that men's virtue; dr vices may be beft difcerned ; but very 
 often an ailion of fmall note^ a fliort faying, or a jeft, fliall dif- 
 tinguifli a porfon's real character more than the greatefl fieges o? 
 the mod important battles. Therefore, as painters in their por- 
 traits labour the likcnefs in the face, and particularly about the 
 eyes, in which the peculiar turn of miad moft appears, and run 
 over the reft with a more carelefs hand ; fo we muft be permit- 
 ted to ftrike oft" the features of the foul, in order to give a real 
 llkenefs of thefe great men, and leave to others the circumftantial 
 detail of their labours and achievements.'"' 
 
 Amongft many other authors, Callifthenes, Ariftobulus, and 
 Oneficritus appear to have furniflied Plutarch with his materials 
 
 for the life of Alexander. His parallel of this Prince with 
 
 Cijcfar hath unfortunately peridied, but Appian, who in fa6t 
 merely compiled his work from Plutarch's hiilorical produ6lions, 
 hath in fome meafure fupplied the lofs by the comparifon, that 
 
 he 
 
 •^ Lin^horn'N PUuarch, Vol. 4. --423. " OtS» aXXo «jj-osj'of/iEv, n wafaiTîjs-o/AtSj! row a>ayi>Do- 
 xtitrxs, latv /aii cthto!, ixriôi xao'lKaro» iiji^yx(Tiji.itus n rm ■BjEpij3o>)T«» «xiralyEWiOfAt», (zkXx ivircixyotTes 
 ra oXsira, (xi o-Jxo{iavT£iV ovTi yxq ifofas y^xÇio/At)/, aKKx^ms' mrt rxis tTripxtcTxrx,! Z7^x%i<7i zsxt- 
 tus tvtfi Sr!>jdiiis x^iTni 1 lucxjjxf, x>Xx ■a^xyij.x 8^xy(ii uoXXasxir y.xi ^■nfJ.x, xxi ijxi^ix ris tfAÇxiritf n^ovi 
 nrr,ir,5-£» (/J1XÂ0», D fAij^ai (Aiçio»£xfoi, >ixi Tsx^xTx^iis it lAiyirxi, y.xi cjrAio^xia CJoXfi'V «15 si^ my 01 
 Ca'/j-a^oj TX! ôfAOïoTSTas xvo ts ziçoauirov, xxi rm zji^i rnt o^it tiom. ô/î tij.(pxmrxi to n^o!, avx>.xiJ.- 
 BxMva-it, (kxy(/rx run Xot-nm fjA^m Ç^im^onts' omtus, ri/xit Soteov lis rx rr,s vj-fj^lf «rrj/xeiat fxaXXov s»- 
 ivtvBtu, Kzi Six Tovrut tiSoircitiy Toy (xarof (3/ov, ixax^Txs srseois TX i^jycSri xjxi Tovs etyuyxs'' Plu- 
 (arch, dc Vil. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom, J.-664. 665,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 41 
 
 he hath left us of the two Conquerors, which is apparently an 
 extraft. ' 
 
 Two difcourfes concerning Alexander remain to be taken no- 
 tice of, that have been attributed to" this philofophical hiftorian. 
 In the firft, the Macedonian Prince is fuppofed to anfwer the 
 reproaches of fortune for the obhgations, which fhe had confer- 
 red upon him, from whom he is unwilling to acknowledge that 
 he had received any favours. The Monarch is afterwards com- 
 pared to the mofl: eminent philofophers : his words and aftions 
 are faid to» have been formed on the pureft principles, and his 
 praftice to have been fuperior to the theory of their firil and mod 
 celebrated fchools. 
 
 The fécond contains only a flat and fulfome panegyric on 
 nearly the fame fubjeft, in the form of a tedious and infipid dif- 
 fertation. Its author is determined to prove his Hero fuperior to 
 the fickle deity, who is reprefented as Alexander's implacable 
 enemy ; but fome circumftances are introduced, that have no 
 connexion with the objeft immediately in view, and particularly 
 thofe concerning Dionyfms of Syracufe, and Clearchus the tyrant 
 of Heraclea. The Macedonian Monarch is made to rival Aga- 
 memnon, and the iflue of the conteft may be eafily divined. 
 
 G With 
 
 ' " Aftipw yap ytvctririv Ç:\oriiAora.ra te zjayru» >cxi ■CToAf/AixwTaTi;, xxi rx So^^vTa: ettexSe/v rxyy- 
 rxru, -ETfof TE x;Ȕt'KJt'S 'aa.^xPoXurxrui, xxi rts o-w/AOtTos ape/Sfrarai, Ka; e rpaTwyia stewo/Sote y.xhX<n, 
 ■n rof.ij.-n xui rv^ri-" Appian. Hift. Rom. de bellis civilibus. Lib. 2.-849. ^^' ^''° Amll. 1670. 
 Where the parallel is cominucd to a great length.
 
 42 CRITICAL I N O U I R Y I N T O THE LIFE 
 
 With tlic ancients indeed, as well as the moderns, this rhetorical 
 figure feenis to have been adopted, as an eafier method of adding 
 to their Hero's reputation, or the indireft means of raifing it at 
 the prejudice of the chara6ler, which is brought into competi- 
 tion with it. — Whoever may have been the author of the latter 
 treatife, it contraditls mod certainly Plutarch in many inflances ; 
 and from thence it may be inferred to have been rather fome later 
 fophift's, who wifhed to give it fome little credit by paflTmg it on 
 the public for Plutarch's. The catalogue which Lamprias, the 
 fon of Plutarch, hath given us of all his father's works, in which 
 onlv one of thefe difcourfes on the fortune of Alexander, is 
 mentioned, probably a juvenile performance, feems to flrengthen 
 
 this fuppofition. From the life of Alexander, Plutarch hath 
 
 an undoubted right to a diftinguiflied rank amongft this Prince's 
 hiftorians, and he may juftly be confidered as the fécond author 
 on the fubjeft. Many of the tranfaftions, which he relates, may 
 be very fer\'iceable in determining our opinions of the charafler 
 of the Conqueror of Afia ; but ftill the writer's prepoffefhons 
 muft be guarded againft, and what he advances muft be received 
 with caution, where the accuracy is of any moment. 
 
 Diodorus Siculus, a native of Agyria in Sicily, flourifhed un- 
 der Julius Caefar : any further inquiries concerning his perfon or 
 his writings would be fuperfluous. "' Pliny tells us, that he was 
 the firft Grecian author who turned his thoughts towards ferious 
 
 thmgs, 
 
 "> See Voffius, de Hift. Graecis. Lib. ii. C. 1 1.— Fabricii Biblioth. Gric. Lib. 3. C. 31.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 43 
 
 things, and abandoned trifling ones ; " but this judgment is cer- 
 tainly a ftrange one, as the firft five books of this hiftorian are 
 full of fables. Being fuperftitioufly devoted to the doftrines of 
 Euemerus, " he ranlacked the annals of various nations, and col- 
 lected their religious traditions to ftrengthen only, by their autho- 
 rity, his own erroneous fyftem. The firlt books of Diodorus 
 Siculus, precious as they are from the fa6ls which they have pre- 
 ferved, are ftill replete with a multitude of conjeftures and con- 
 tradiftions, that greatly reduce their value ; and in the defcription 
 of the countries that he mentions, he appears in general both a 
 credulous naturalifl;, and an ignorant philofopher. Sometimes 
 he doubts apparently of the truth of what he relates, whilfl he 
 does not hefitate immediately afterwards to give credit to the mofl 
 extravagant abfurdities. Under this impreflion, it is not unfair 
 to fufpeft his accuracy ; and it may be reafonably fuppofed, that 
 he hath mifreprefented the feveral authors, to whom he was in- 
 debted for his information, from the manner that a paflage of 
 Herodotus relative to the Medes hath fuffered in his hands, which 
 
 G 2 . may 
 
 " "Que cet écrivain eft le ;->rcinier inrmi las Grecs, que fc foit occupe de cliofes fericufcs, et 
 qui ait abandonne les bagatelles." 1 am in doubt whether the " Apud Gr^cos defiit iiH-«^?ADio- 
 dorus, et /3j,3Aioâ»>niî hilloriam fuam inftripfit." (Pliii. Nat. Hill. Lib. i. Tom. \.— xQ.\ war- 
 rants this aflertion in its extended feiife. 
 
 ° A philofopher of ih; Cyrenaic feiS, for an account of whom, fee Voflius, de Hid. 
 Grascis, Chap. ii. — Dc Poetis Gra-cis, Chap. 8. — Fabricii Biblioth. Gric. Tom. i. Lib. 3. 
 Chap. 28.-694, 717. — Brucker:. lift. Crit. Philof. Tom. i. P. 2. Lib. 2. Chap. 3. de fec- 
 lâ Cyrenaicâ, 604, 606. — ind alfo, Dr. Eiifidd's valuable hiftory of Philofophy, Vol. 1. 
 i8g. with the authors referred to.
 
 44 
 
 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 may be compared with the original. '' We are at a lofs for the 
 motives on which the Roman naturalift founded his favourable 
 fentiments of Diodorus, but perhaps he formed his opinion of the 
 work from its preface. It offers to us, without a doubt, a correft 
 plan of a great ftyle of hiftory ; but unfortunately the interior 
 parts of the edifice do not by any means correfpond with its 
 external magnificence and grandeur. In the other books, after 
 a long excurfion, he confines himfelf more clofely to his fubjetl, 
 and there are fewer defefts to be obferved, or faults to cenfure. 
 Yet the diftance between this author and the ancient hiftorians 
 of Greece is ftill great, and the interval, that feparates them, is 
 immenfe. 
 
 The feventeenth book relates more particularly to Alexander, 
 b^'t the ftyle is paltry, and the refleflions, though kw, are trivial. 
 Diodorus Siculus never refers to any authority for the truth of 
 what he advances ; there are not any of the fources mentioned 
 from whence he derived his intelligence ; he is often inexaft ; and 
 is not happy in the arrangement of his fa6ls. In the firft part 
 of this book, which contains the events previous to the battle of 
 Gaugamele, more pains have been beftowed, and more care hath 
 cert.ainly been taken : in the latter, an uncommon degree of neg- 
 ligence is very vifible, and there is great difficulty in difcovering 
 any connexion of the fafts, and preferving the order of the 
 
 marches 
 
 P Hiftoirede I'Acad, des Infcript. et des Belles Lettres. Tom, 23.--31.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 45 
 
 marches and expeditions of the Macedonian army. Chronology 
 is alfo totally overturned, and the chafm in it naturally augments 
 the obfcurity, that arifes from this confufion. The Scythian war, 
 the Sogdian revolt, the death of Clitus with that of Callifthenes, 
 the marriage of Roxana, and the early part of the Indian expe- 
 dition are wanting in the text of Diodorus Siculus, and there 
 hath not been any manufcript yet difcovered, by which the de- 
 ficiency hath been repaired.^ 
 
 Truths and falfehoods are generally told in the fame tone by 
 Diodorus Siculus, who feems neither folicitous to dazzle, nor 
 anxious to furprife. If he poffeffes the merit of being direfted 
 in fome moments by able and experienced conduftors ; at others, 
 he hath wandered unconcernedly with Callifthenes, and hath faith- 
 fully copied his fabulous extravagances. '' Notwithflanding thefe 
 objeftions, this part of Diodorus Siculus may be ufeful in afcer- 
 taining many events of Alexander's life ; and with a proper and 
 continued attention, fome real advantages may be reaped from 
 it. Taking the whole together, Diodorus Siculus appears to be 
 entitled to the third place amongft the Conqueror's hiftorians. 
 
 The Latin authors, who undertook the hiflor)'^ of Alexander, 
 had not the benefit of happier times than the Grecian writers, 
 
 who 
 
 ■i See Diodorus Siculus, Tom, 2. --21 8. and W^cflelirg's note on the " 'O xx}.iirai //.£v A»%.i- 
 S«."" and alfo Tom. 2.— 230. with Weffeling's notes on the "'Otras iKKxi^iKamnetr" and the 
 "T«ir Se xtmyu»'"
 
 46 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 who preceded them in the fame career, and whofe materials they 
 employed. That verbofe and tumid fpecies of eloquence, which 
 paffed out of Aha to Athens, and like a malignant ftar had fpread 
 its contagious influence ' amidfl iM the young men of ingenuity 
 and talents, made its way at laft to the Roman citizens, who 
 were then governed with a rod of iron. A rage for declama- 
 tion ruined the public tafle, and added to it the laft corruption, 
 that it could poITibly receive. Far from imitating the fchools, 
 where only the figures of the firft and fineft forms, and thofe of 
 the beft mufcular proportions, are introduced as models, ' the 
 Romans contemplated in preference the fervile attitude of fome 
 effeminate and affefted courtier, and eagerly adopted a corref- 
 ponding frivolous and unmanly method of expreiïion. To the 
 fpecies of hiftory immediately before us, the prevailing fafhion 
 was foon extended; and the Satirift Juvenal addreffed himfelf 
 to its admirers in the following paflage, 
 
 " What luckier fate 
 Does on the works of grave hiftorians wait ? 
 More time they fpend, in greater toils engage ; 
 Their volumes fwell beyond the thoufandth page : 
 
 For 
 
 ' Venlofa iilhxc et enormis loquacitas ex Afiâ commigravit, aiiimofque juvenum ad ma'^na 
 furgentes, vclmi peftilenti quodam fidere afflavit. Petron. Arbit. Chap. 2.-11, 
 
 • "An vero ftatuamm artifices, piaorefquc clariffimi cum corpora fpeciofiffima fingendo, pin- 
 gcndove efficere cuperent, nunquam in hanc inciderunt errorcm, ut Bagoam aut Megabyzum ali- 
 qucm in exemplum operis fumèrent fibi, fed Doriphoron ilium aptum vel militia vel paleflra-, 
 aliorumque juvcii jm bcUicoforum et athktarum corpora, qua; elTe decora vere exiftimarint." 
 
 Quiiuilian, Iiid. orat. L:b. 5. Chap. 12,-245.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 47 
 
 For thus the laws of hiftory command. 
 
 And much good paper fuffers in their hand.'" 
 
 Dryden's Translation. 
 
 It was perhaps by thefe hillorical amplifications that Q. Curtius 
 
 \s'as feduced. The learned world hath been much divided as 
 
 to the exacl period, in which this hiftorian lived ; and it has been 
 fuppofed, though the fuppofition can have only few advocates, 
 that he wrote his hiftory in the lafl years of Conftantine the 
 Great." Voiïius fixe^ it with more probability under the reign 
 of Vefpafian, " and the learned Tillemont, '' in that of Claudius ; 
 but without any decifion of this queftion, it is fufficient to ob- 
 ferve, that the ftyle leaves us not any room to doubt of its being 
 written, when the public tafte was on its decline. 
 
 Father Tel lier, of fome memory, accufes Q. Curtius of having 
 frequently reverfed the order of geography and hiftory ; of an 
 ignorance of taftics ; of indifcriminately fubfcribing to truth and 
 falfehood without either the inclination or abilities to feparate 
 
 them ; 
 
 ' " Vefter porro labor fcecundior, hiftoriarum 
 Scriptorcs: petitur plus temporis atque olei plus: 
 Namque oblita moJi inilleluna pagina furgit 
 Omnibus, et crefcit multa damnofa papyro. 
 Sic ingens rerum numerus jubet, atque operum lex." 
 
 Juvenalis, Sat. y. Lib. 3.— g8. 
 
 « L'Hiftorico Ragionamento della gente Curzia et dcU'eta di i^. Ciirzio, del Conte Bagnolo. 
 
 =■ G. Vodius de Hill. Lat. Lib. 1. Chap. 33. 
 
 ' Hilt, dti Enipcr. 370.
 
 48 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 tlicm ; of attaching himfelf rather to probabilities than realities; 
 OÏ affefting little pointed witticifms, and ridiculous fubtilties in 
 his maxims ; and in fliort, of lavifhing a profuhon of poetical 
 flowers in his defcriptions ; and converting his harangues into 
 declamations. '" This is a judgment which carries no inconfi- 
 derable (hare of cenfure, but it is the judgment of a commentator, 
 and we cannot reafonably tax it with extraordinary feverity. Yet 
 we muft not refufe to Q. Curtius the merits of a brilliant and 
 fruitful imagination ; of a warm and pifturefque mode of colour- 
 ing ; and of a grace and energy, which hardly any of the modern 
 
 languages can make their own. The fpeeches of the perfons, 
 
 that he brings forward on the ftage, are not ever without intereft, 
 and they are fometimes moving and pathetic, Thefe are beauties, 
 which would certainly command our approbation in any other 
 work, where the ftern aufteritv f^f hiftory did not confider them 
 as inadmiffible. , 
 
 .'- ..ill I 
 
 Q. Curtius ingenuoufly avows, that he hath tranfcribed more 
 events than he believed, and that he meant not to be refponfible 
 for thofe of which he doubted, but was unwilling to fupprefs. " 
 
 After 
 
 ^ " GcographJE nonnunquam et hiftoila; rationes turbafle; parum fcienter in prjeliis defcriben- 
 ilis fuiffe verfatum ; non fatis accurate deledu vera difcrevifle â falfis ; fpeciofa magis, quam cer- 
 tiora, feaatumenre; fententiarum aculeos afFeaaflepIufculum ; defcriptionibus quandoque poeticos 
 flores; oratioiiibus declamatorium colorera adfperciffe ! " Prsf. in edit. Q. Curtii, ad ufum 
 Dclphini. ^ 
 
 Equidem plura tranfcribo quam credo: nam nee affirmare fuftineo, de quibus dubito; nee 
 fubduccre qui accepi." Q. Curtius, Lib. 9. Chap. 1. Tom, 2.-676.
 
 OF ALEXANDERTHEGREAT. 49 
 
 After fuch an acknowledged intimation, have we to expeft any 
 thing but a monllrous and mixed aflemblage of truth and falfe- 
 hood ? Many learned men have imagined that he borrowed moll 
 of his relations from Diodorus Siculus, but it feems more proba- 
 ble, that Clitarchus, an author well known to the Romans, as 
 appears from feveral paffages in Cicero and Pliny, had been 
 
 equally copied by thefe hillorians. Q. Curtius however only 
 
 cites him twice : in the firft inflance it is to refute Ptolemy. The 
 valuable memoirs of this illudrious fucceffor of Alexander were 
 then, it feems, in being ; but led aflray by his love of the mar- 
 vellous and a fondnefs for fables, Q. Curtius had given the pre- 
 ference to the recitals of Clitarchus, which agreed more with his 
 own chara6ler and genius. 
 
 We are told that Nero gilt *''p ftatue of Alexander by Lyfip- 
 pus imagining to en' ce lue : " Q. Curtius afted on the 
 
 fame principle, when he fu^ ^ a that the flowers of his imagi- 
 nation would add a frefh wreath of glory to Alexander's laurels. 
 
 But the Hero and the Artift loft by thefe foolifli decorations. 
 
 The Roman hiftorian gives way to an exceftive paflion for de- 
 fcriptions ; and without confidering whether they are connefted 
 with the incidents of which he treats, he frequently introduces 
 
 H them 
 
 * "Fecit et Alexandruin Magnum. — Quam ftatuam inaurari juffit Nero princeps, delegatus ad- 
 modum ilia. Dein cum pretio pcriiTet gratia artis, detraftum eft aurum: pretiofiorque talis exifti- 
 matur, etiair. cicatricibus operis atque concifuris, in quibus aurum haeferat, remanentibus," Plin, 
 Hift, Nat. Lib, 34. C. 19. Tom, 5.-117. 4"' Par. 1685. i.
 
 50 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 them abruptly. In endeavouring to make his pi6lures brilliant 
 they are incorreft : in attempting to enrich them, they become 
 confufed. When Lucian, in his dircftions for hiftorical compo- 
 fition, recommended a fober chaftity of exprelfion in the account 
 of mountains and rivers, ' the ingenious critic in all likelihood 
 had Q. Curtius before his eye, and particularly the epifodical 
 details, into which he enters refpefting the courfes of the rivers 
 Marfyas, ■" Pafitigris, * and Zioberis in Hyrcania, ^ which engroff- 
 cd his attention in preference to events of real confequence. 
 From an infatiable fondnefs for thefe defcriptions many important 
 circumftances are neglefted; and the war between Alexander and 
 the nephew of King Porus is fcarcely noticed, ^ though both Ar- 
 rian and Strabo have mentioned it. — In the laft two books, 
 he pafFes indeed with fuch rapidity from one tranfa6lion to 
 another, that we have reafon to apprehend many effential faé^s 
 
 have been either totally forgotten, or very much negledled. 
 
 The feafons, in which the different events happened, are only 
 
 marked 
 
 foxaXwj «raife'jriSaitvi'O-Sai SoxoiWj 19 to o-aura ^gav, tsagets rr» i^ogiat," Lucian, Quom. Hift, con- 
 fcrip. C. 57. Tom. 2.-65. 
 
 * Q. Curtius. Lib. 3. C, ». Tom. 1.--52. 
 
 = Lib. 5. C. 3. Tom. 1.--328. 
 
 f . Lib. 6. C. 4. Tom. 1.--406. 
 
 « "Hinc Poro amnique fuperato." (Q. Curt. Lib, 9. 0, 1, Tom, 2.— 67O.) See Frienf- 
 heim'i note upon the paiTage,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 51 
 
 ijiarked in a vague and obfcure manner,'' and of the feveral years 
 We have not any indication whatever, but this diforder proceeds 
 from his inaccuracy. Still is he lefs attentive to any geographical 
 information, ' and his authority in this refpe6l may be with i\n6i 
 propriety rejefted, whilft the explication, that he hath given of 
 the eclipfe of the moon, before the battle of Gaugamele, proves 
 inconteftably his ignorance of the common principles of agrono- 
 my. " — Adding to thefe obfervations the fables and exaggerations 
 
 H 2 fo 
 
 •" The Baron de St. Croix hath produced the expreffion of " Sub ipfum Vergiliarum fidiis," 
 (Lib. 5. Chap. 6. Tom. 1.--352.) as one inftaiice of the uncertainty and obfcurity of Q. Cur- 
 tius. The Commentators have been much divided as to this expreffion, and have doubted, whe- 
 ther the rifing or the fetting of the Pleiades was to be underftood. Their fetting is now general- 
 ly fuppofed to be intended, and indeed the patfage of Plutarch in his life of Alexander, " B<s>io- 
 IXÎVOS ^e T«f r^jtTiOJTaf stvxXxpEiv {^xxiyx^ vjf ^Ez/xwy^ w^a:) rsa-a-xpzs fjLriVxs avroQi oiytyxysv*** (Tom. 1. 
 686.) feems to elucidate it very plainly, as Pliny informs us the "Vergiliarum occafus hyemem 
 inchoat, quod tempus in 3. Id. Novembris incidere confuevit." Hilf. Nat. Lib. 2. Chap. 47. 
 Tom. 1.—200. 
 
 ' "De Curtio non laboramus, fipe in gco.;raphicis aberrante." Cellar. Geograph. Antiq. 
 Tom. 2.-3. Le Clerc with more feverity faj'S, "Immania ctiam funt peccata, qu;E in eum ad- 
 miflt Curtius." Clerici Ind. de Curtio, Ars Critica. Tom. 2.-433. 
 
 ^ Monf, Dupuy remarks that Q. Curtius, "Apres avoir décrit la confternation qui rcpanJil 
 dans l'armée d'Alexandre une eclipfe de lune, obferve que les divins Egyptiens, que ce prince fit 
 confulter, favoient fort bien la raifon de ce phénomène, mais qu'ils tcnoient cachée au vulgaire." 
 "Atilli," "ce font fes paroles," "qui fat is fcirent temporum orbes implere deftinatas vices, 
 lunamque deficere quam aut terra fubiret, aut foie pemeretur, raiionem quidem ipfis perceptam 
 non edocent vulgus." (Lib. 4. Chap. lO. Tom. i.— 241.) "L'Hiftorien a-t-il cii une idée 
 bien nette de la caufe des eclipfes lunaires? Il femble, à l'entendre, que la lune peut s'cclipfer 
 en deux cas; ou lorfque " terram fnbit," ou lorfque " premilur â foie." On petit donner un 
 bon fens a la premiere expreffion, parce qu'efFeftivement la lune s'eclipfe lorfqu'elle paffe fous la 
 terre, " terram fubit^" qui eft entre elle et le foleil : mais qu'a-t-il prétendu, lorfqu'il a dit que 
 la lune fouffre eclipfe " cum foie premilur," lorfqu'rlle cft prelféc par le foleil, Hift. de l'Arad,' 
 des Infcriptions. Tom. 29.--324. The
 
 r2 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 D 
 
 fo familiar to him, perhaps there is not a fingle author of antiqui- 
 ty, that fliould be read with more referve, or with greater care 
 againft the feduèlions of his language. His evidence for thefe 
 rcafons is to be received with very limited credit, and cannot 
 poffibly be oppofed to that of the other hiftorians of Alexander, 
 and of Arrian in particular. 
 
 Juflin, who may be referred to the age of Antoninus Pius, ' hath 
 left us an abridgment of the more extenfive compilation of Tro- 
 gus Pompeius ; but he figns his own fentence of condemnation, 
 in his prefervation of the order and method of the original. Con- 
 fufion in the narrative, and inaccuracy in the fafts are the common 
 faults of this Latin writer, who hath devoted the eleventh and 
 twelfth chapters of his work to the exploits of Alexander. Pre- 
 
 cihon 
 
 The Jcfuit Rader hath endeavoured to vindicate the hiftorian, and to explain his meaning. 
 '• Curtius non rudis mathefeos, phyficas rationes adfert defeflionis lunae, unam cum terram fubit, 
 alteram cum folc premitur. Una efficit eclipfem, altera filentium luna;. Eclipfis fit in plenilu- 
 nio, filentium in novilunio. Terram fubit, cum in umbram terrje incurrit, non cum defcendit 
 ad inferius cilum, infra finitorem, quem Graeci 'O^il^ovrx dicunt. Sole premeretur, ficut et ipfa 
 vicilBm folem prcmit, cum fol infra terram eft, et luna fupra radio libraraento, cum in umbra ter- 
 ri eft, unde fortalTe, eft quod Lucretius dixit : 
 
 " Et opprelTum folem fuper ipfa tenere." 
 
 (Lucret. Lib. 5.-762.) 
 Quamvis Lucretius de terra interjeflâ loquatur." (Q. Curtius Raderi, 203.) But with all his 
 fubtilly, though we may allow of the poetic licence of the 
 
 "Defeflus folis varios lunjeque labores," 
 
 (Virgil. Georg. Lib, 2."478.) 
 in the cold and corrcft page of Hiftoiy, the expreflSon is an aukward one. 
 
 ' G, Voffius, dc hift, Lat. Lib. 1. Chap. 31.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. f^^ 
 
 cilion ought indifpenfably to chara£terize an abridgment of every 
 denomination, but when he fpeaks of Alexander's actions, he is 
 extremely fuperficial. Exclufive of thefe defefts, his authority 
 is very queftionable, in comparifon with that of the other hifto- 
 rians of the Macedonian Monarch, that have been already mention- 
 ed, the text is very incorreft ; and the names of the towns and 
 people, that he hath introduced, are disfigured to a degree that 
 renders them almofl; unintelligible. 
 
 The Lower Empire memorable for its darknefs, its barbarity 
 and fupcrftition, hath notwithftanding produced fome authors, 
 that have taken notice of Alexander, Exceptionable as their 
 teftimony is, even when relating to the events, of which they were 
 fpeftators, undoubtedly it deferves lefs credit refpefting thofe, 
 which pafled in more remote ages, and in times previous to their 
 exiftence. There is not therefore any light to be procured from 
 them, relative to any public tranfaftions before the tranflation of 
 the feat of Empire ; and their performances are in general crude 
 and ill-digefted compilations, fcraped together without learning, 
 and collefted without tafte. 
 
 George Syncellus makes Alexander to arrive in the middle of Af- 
 fyria "" immediately after the engagement at Iflus, and places Arbela 
 
 and 
 
 ■" " E» laiTU T»j KiXimas avru ctoXe^e/ Aagtiu' xai ri>.fjTixit»i ii7u ^u^ti r-^s A^a-v^ias'" G. Syn- 
 cellus, 210. Folio. Venet, 172g.
 
 54 
 
 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 and the field of battle known under its name in Media;" and 
 afTures us, that this Prince having reached Caucafus, reduced all 
 the neighbouring barbarous nations under his fubjedion as far as 
 the Palus Msotis, ° and that after this expedition he extended his 
 
 conquefts over India, and came to the Ganges. " Such is the 
 
 accuracy of the writers of the Lower Empire ! 
 
 From the multifarious additions, with which the Lexicon of 
 Suidas hath been gradually loaden, many grofs errors have been 
 inferted in it ; and as the article of Alexander '' itfelf is not ex- 
 empt 
 
 n "H t» AjS/jXtiis Tuf M.iS;x»î «xA" ('•«Z"'" G. Syncellus. 208. 
 
 o The French text ftands as follows, "Et nous alTure que ce prince partit des Palus Mïcotis." 
 but Syncellus fays, " Vimfi'.ns h y.xi e» Kxikxtoi k^xth run auroQi /Saf/Sajo)» jj.îx^t MaiwnSos \iit.nc 
 £>,94i»'" (G. Syncellus. 21O.) which has a very different import, and I have adopted it. 
 
 P " KaxdSsv ixirxyx^ncrxi, eiri tks IvSbî CTa»Tor te xfaT»j5-a;j sCuef Iv^/xH lun^i raoras^ou Jàyya im- 
 Xi» aix%iv^tviTi oix m hSa uora^B fi.Ey.5'1 tjjî h'Siy.r,; ^xKxirriS." (G. Syncellus. 210.) Both thefe 
 paiTages are to be found in the fame words in Eufebius, Kfowjtwy. Lib. 1.— 57. 
 
 1 The account of Alexander hath motl certainly increafed in magnitude and length as it de- 
 fcended. The Baron de St. Croix confiders the whole of it from the " 'On AXi^xt^gis ô Maxe- 
 Su»" to the " AtiToj oxrao-ioij a»Sfao-;v'" (Suidas, Tom. i.— 102.) as an interpolation, and it muft 
 be allowed, it bears ftrong fymptoms of fufpicion. Roxana, he judicioufly obferves, is there 
 faid to be the daughter of Darius, which is a dired contradidion of what Suidas had before ad- 
 vanced, where flie is called the daughter of Oxyartes; that the adventure of Candace is evident- 
 ly taken from the chronicle of Malala; that the anecdote concerning the muûc of Timotheus oc- 
 curs in the fame words under "Ti^oflsaij," which is the proper place for it; and that the paflage 
 refpetting the naval viftory over the Lacedtemonians, the Ilrudure of the wall round the Piraeus, 
 and the feftival given to the Athenians, as copied from Athenaeus, and to be found again in the 
 fame words under "a9iï»i®.," (Suidas, Tom. 1.--71.) had been applied to Alexander by foine 
 
 ignorant
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. ^^ 
 
 cmpt from them, it can be of but little fervice to us in the Iiiflory 
 of this Prince. 
 
 Cedrenus hath entered into details of fome length on the Ma- 
 cedonian Monarch's expedition. And he fuppofes him after the 
 reduftion of Judea and the capture of Cyrene, to have marched 
 into Egypt, and from thence by a branch of the Nile to have 
 advanced into Affyria, preffed on towards Paropamifus and the 
 country watered by the Thermodon, and penetrated afterwards 
 
 to Phafis, ' the Straits of Gibraltar, and even into Britain. ' 
 
 The whole geography of the ancient world is by this means to- 
 tally deranged, and there is not even the leaft hiftorical refem- 
 blance attempted to be preferved. Amongft thefe events, he 
 takes care however, to report Alexander's vifit to Jerufalem, with 
 
 the 
 
 ignorant tranfcriber, (the name of Coiion having been accidentally effaced) and afterwards added 
 to Suidas. Katler, in his note on the word "AXf^avOj-M," (Suidas, Tom. i.— 103.) admits the fal- 
 fity of thefe laft aiïertions, but in that on the word "Afinva»®-," (Suidas, Tom. 1.-71.) he 
 doubts whether Suidas or fome of his copy ids are refponCblc for it. "Qua; hie de Alexandre 
 Magno referantur, Athenaeus, unde locus Suidae depromptus eft, Cononi et quidem reile tribuit 
 Ratio diverfitatis eft, quod apud Suidam omiflTa fint verba qusdam (ipfiufne Suidsc an vero alio- 
 rum culpa baud facile dixeris) quas apud Athensum leguntur." Thefe interpolations the Baron 
 de St. Croix hath laid to the charge of the writers of the middle age, who borrowed liberally 
 from the oriental authors, and he adds that the contradiflory ftatement of Roxana's birth was an 
 Eaftern tradition, arifing from the Perfian name of Rawlhanc (the daughter of Darius, and mar- 
 ried to Alexander, according to Abulpharagius) which had been confounded with that of Rox- 
 ana, from fome little fimilitude in the pronunciation. 
 
 ' In Cedrenus, Phafis is called Aphafis. " Exs/Se» oc TOfor AÇxa-iy xa/ ToiStifx, \ai ra /3f€TTa»i- 
 <7i» sc») ymfAcvos'" G. Cedrenus, 321. 
 
 ' G, Cedrenus, 151, 352. J53.
 
 ^6 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 the principal circumftances imagined by the Jews, and with ex- 
 prefTions," that cannot reafonably be attributed to Dexippus," 
 devoted to Polytheifm, of a facerdotal family, and a prieft him- 
 
 felf fingularly zealous and attached to his own creed. Scaliger 
 
 liath apparently deceived himfelf in the fuppofition that the author 
 of thefe recitals was Dexippus ; but this great fcholar did not re- 
 colleft that Cedrenus only cites ^ this celebrated writer on Alex- 
 ander's 
 
 * '■ Em Tiiv IsSaiw sXSiiy, xai rauTuv eXwv, tiro Ta Af^iEf laj AÎSa t/^iiSe/î Sua-aj Ti' 0£.v, wi ■jrxfav- 
 T» T»iw i)ixHf/.£»»v ■rafoatiAnpi'S"" G. Cedrenus, 121. 
 
 " Publias Hercnnius Dexippus lived in the y^ age of the vulgar era, and was in rotation ho- 
 noured with all the principal offices at Athens. He was celebrated alfo as a rhetorician and hif- 
 torian, and acquired a very extenfive reputation from his literary labours. On the fubjeft of 
 univerfal hiflory, his application was unwearied, and with a fort of intuitive fagacity he pene- 
 trated into the inmoft and obfcureft recefles of antiquity. His children were authorized, by a 
 decree of the Areopagus and the council of 750, to erett a monument to his glory, and the in- 
 fcription ftill fubfifts. 
 
 "OixoSe» lEfE» Tlatayvi' 
 Kxt ay^yo^srri(7aT>rx Tuv iJJEyxX^ijv TïxvxQvjyaiuy 
 Avoças ûcyxvj.strtîs TET^oipE Ksx^o'JTiy] 
 'n» cvxKxs As^nrvov, as Wo^ixv lax^^rxrxs 
 Aiwvoi ooXiyriv ar^îHÊUS s^acasv 
 Kai Tat fA£v xvros cTTEi^E TXOEK (3i(3\uy avx7\,E^xs 
 Ht^xro zjxvToiviv içoqivts arçx'rrov 
 H iMîyxxXcivos xtn^ os tu xvo {xv^im Ofx.y.x 
 i" . . _ ExTEiïaj, y^Çùtius Z!^^ixs i^ijAXÔit," 
 
 Ed. Chandler, Infcript. Antiq. Pars 2,-56. Oxon. Folio. 1774. 
 " The Baron de St. Croix obferves that on a comparifon of St. Jerom's tranHation of the 
 chronicle of Eufebius, with the pretended Greek text, which Scaliger uftiered under his name 
 into the world, the conviflion will naturally follow, that many of its fupplemental parts are fla- 
 grant contradictions of Eufebius. Cedrenus, according to his opinion only cites Dexippus con- 
 ccrnmg the education of Alexander. The learned reader will exercife his own judgment on the 
 
 paffage,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 bl 
 
 
 ander's educatiorij and that the reft of what relates to tliis Prince 
 cannot be confidered as an extraft, and much lefs as a fragment 
 
 I of 
 
 paffage, with the introduiflory and following fentences. " Afn îs tb <I>iXi7r7r« ra -na/Soj AA«|a»- 
 Sf« mi TTit axiAW rris iXixixs ■nrfosAOo>Tof, ôi CTfOTo/ rut Mxxioovuv xvnt acifovtTxi sis 0x<7i\ii!x.' titi Se m 
 TJiv afX"' "SfrnX^it Af.c^xt^pos, xar'a/^Coit to yetos vrtj/.nK*' eît yaf tri» iv^ii» s» o-aivn Ta xoir/Aw ««So* 
 T(!3-«To<f xaToçâ»>^3t(ri 'crXE!>yEKToa»Tai' «js yaf Ae^iiriros iroff, «jaaa» ao-x>i3-jy »j(7x»^i o'w/iAaTixiiv AfjroTt- 
 Abj ywjiTiwTaTOf yiyovus ÇoiTrirns, lis ro Myus api^os xxi tis ifyx BTrxnufAiMS Iff e9»i' tx Ss zsaXi/xixa Saa- 
 lAX-uis l-nOâiii zjiihas x%ix Si£Tr^a|£ro' Bxy/^Euo-aj yjt/; yj/ntus oxru, ras MaxsSovar xai IXAuf/af, ksh 
 0f axasî vmTX?,i, rm 'EAXaSas xarEff ^4'^ ' x'"" tbï t« zsxt^os Çi»txs ri/j.a!^rit7xiji.stis, xxi tous Uxioyxs xiro- 
 Txtxs tin T»jv AtTixt tixzii^x' XXI Tr,« rif/a^a ctoAiv, xa/ Taj e» AtSia Saf^Eir Liriroc^xs iiri KiXixixt 
 xpmsiTxr" (Cedronus. 121.) In Scaliger's edition of the chronicle of Eufebius, the account of 
 Alexander's entry into Judea and his interview with the Jewifh high prieft, is there introduced 
 with " Ex TB Ai^iTrrra' AXE*a>SfOf IXXt>fi8f xxi B^xxxs iiKV €>ri(3xs xxria-xxyl-e tb Ax^eia rexrriyas iiri 
 T^xvixcJ zyorx[j.ii Av^in ctix^ut, 2x^^iis eiAe" Tufov ETroXioçxns-î»' la^xixv zj^otrtXxfftTo, xxi rot xpviceex, 
 laSSs» tri[xri!TS ^va-xs rù Qew as Z!X^ avm oixKixsvm ôfj.iXoyuv ■zjx^îiXtiÇisvxr" [K^onx^v. Lib, 1.— c6 
 57.) There is a detail afterwards of many circumftances concerning the Macedonian Monarch 
 which is alfo prefaced with the "Ex ru AeI/wttb," and fwells to fome extent. I am ignorant of 
 the precife authority on which Scaliger fuppofed them to be extrafls from Dexippus, but being 
 printed within inverted commas, they carry with them every typographical appearance of quota- 
 tions. In fupport however of the Baron de St. Croix's opinion, it may be obferved that tlie ex- 
 preflion "f!f yx^ Ae^iwwos- iVoje/," does not imply an exaft quotation, but in a larger fenfe may 
 fignify that the relation correfponded with that of Dexippus. Syncellus alfo firft fpeaks of 
 Alexander's entry into Judea and his interview with the Jewifli high prieft, without faying any 
 thing of Dexippus. To quote the paifage would be to repeat that already cited from Eufebius, 
 for it is literally the fame, with the fingle exception of " laSSaj" infteadof "laîîs»." He then re- 
 lates fome farther particulars of Alexander, and gives a fort of hiftory of the Hcraclides, and of 
 various other pcrfons and events, and returning to the Macedonian Monarch, he tells us, '^AAe*- 
 ««Ofoj o-jy X xyx'v etoj, xxrx An*ii7Vtn. zixaxv a^xMo-,, 5j!rx»/*Ewof o-.V(X«rix)i», a:,Ta te ynmjrxr-.s A^u- 
 rokXes y&rjjs rov Ixifjjniiuyros Çoir^rns mi Tr,v îiœTfa;av -aa^X^e (SxinXsiXi'" (Syncellus, 210.) 
 It is remarkable that the fame paflage occurs in Eufebius, (Kfowxw». Lib, 1--57.) and that the 
 three accounts of Alexander's entry into Judea, and his interview with the Jewifh high prieft 
 by the hiftorians, that have been referred to, are delivered in nearly the fame words, from * 
 which there arifes a ftrong inference that they copied them from fome other writer. The '-©u- 
 axs ru- 0£a, us z!x^ euim oixuf/.i-jm, &c." is to be found in all of them, but Cedrcnus makes 
 thchighprieft ^^A^o:ii," inftead of "laoSsv." EufebiusandSyncellusgive us "Tovx^x'^f.xsriiMmrs," 
 but Cedrenns, with a greater allowance foi" human fears and apprchcnfions. hath "'Ywo tb A^^'- 
 
 C=tUlS TllJ-ri^CIS,"
 
 nH CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 of Dcxippus, whom Pholius " hath not fcrupled to compare with 
 Thucydides. 
 
 Paulus Orofius can only be reckoned the copyifl of Juftin, 
 and Zonares ^ in his turn feems to have derived his information 
 from Diodorus Siculus. His abridgment however of Alexander's 
 expeditions is not without merit, and is more correft, than might 
 have been expe6led from a writer of the twelfth century, who 
 quitted a court from fuperftitious motives, to bury himfelf within 
 a cloifter. With the produftions of thefe writers, the works of 
 Eufebius of Caefarea are not to be confounded, and important 
 both to literature and to religion, they have undoubted pretenfi- 
 ons to particular diftinftion. Yet it muft not be diffembled, that 
 
 his difcernment was not always equal to his erudition. ^ This 
 
 laborious writer is not very exaft in his chronicle concerning 
 Alexander, and it was after the death of Darius, according to his 
 ideas, that the Grecian Hero made himfelf the mafter of Babylon, " 
 notwithflanding it was previous to the affafiination of the Perfian 
 Monarch, Eufebius informs us alfo, that the Macedonian Prince 
 having fubdued the Hyrcanians and the Medes, returned and 
 
 founded 
 
 ' " Efi St T>iv ipcaa-i» am^tiros te, xa. oyxw ymi afiw/A«TJ X"'?'"'! "*' ('^f«* ''"'S' t'Toi) aXX©- ^ra 
 Tins aa^mxs Guxt/S/Sv" Photii Biblioth. 20O. 
 
 ^ Zonares. Annales, 13'^, 1^8. 
 
 To/j loyiAjuTit EyS«s-sfoj'" Photii Biblioth. 12. 
 ' "Obtinuit Babylonem interfefto Dario." Eufebius. 34.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 59 
 
 founded Paraetonium ' in the country of Amnion ; but this city 
 was in being before Alexander, " and he never returned from the 
 extremities of the Eafl into Lybia. 
 
 Athenagoras, " and after him St. Auguftin ' and St. Cyprian, ' 
 relate that Alexander informed his mother by letter, that the priefts 
 of Heliopolis, of Memphis, and of Thebes, had confeffed to him, 
 that their gods were originally men, whom they had deified ; " a 
 fentiment difproved by the evidence of the priefts themfelves,' 
 and which could not poffibly be conciliated with the effence of 
 Egyptianifm. I 2 
 
 St. 
 
 ■^ "Alexander Hyrcanos et Medos capit: revertcns in AmmOiic condidit Panetonium." Eii- 
 febius. 34. Sec Scaliger's note on this paflagc. Scaligeri Animad. ad Eiifebium, 126. 
 
 ^ Scylax. Peripl. 40. apud gcograp. minores. Tom. i. 
 
 ' Legal, pro Chrifl. ad Cal. St. Juftin. 325. 
 
 ' De Civitate Dei. L. 8, 6, 27. L. 12, 6. 10. 
 
 Ï "Hoc ita effe Alexander Magnus infigni volumine ad matrem fuam fcribit. Metu fuà potjf- 
 tatis proditum fibi de Diis hominibus â facerdotibus fecretum: quod majorum et regum memoiia 
 fervata fit, inde colendi ct facrificandi ritus infolverit." St. Cyprian, de Idd. Vauit. 9. Amfl. 
 Folio. 1700. 
 
 '■ This opinion however liath been formally attacked by one, ■ who hatli looked deep 
 into antiquity. "On a prétendu qu'ils avoient établi pour faire voir que les Dieux etoi- 
 ent tous des hommes, qui avoient été déifiés a caufe des fervices, qu'ils avoient rendus 
 au genre humain. Mais il faudroit, pour que cela put être adopté, qu'on en trouvât de 
 preuves dans l'antiquité, ce qui eft impolTible, l'antiquité n'ayant jamais déifié des hommes." 
 
 Monde Primitif, par M. Court de Gebelin, 311. 
 
 i Herodotus. i20. 10 132,
 
 6o CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 St. Clcmeni ' and St. C)'rill, ' the patriarchs of Alexandria, 
 accufe the Pagans with having acknowledged Alexander for their 
 thirteenth deity ; but fuch » rank had never been alTigned him, 
 and even the Athenians had the reiblution to fine the orator De- 
 mades ten talents, for propofing to infcribe the Macedonian Mo- 
 narch in the number of their divinities. "' It is notwithftanding 
 very certain, that Alexander's I'uccelTors ordered divine honours 
 to be paid to him, " and that the Romans ere6led temples ° in- 
 fcribed with his name ; though there was not, as St.. Chryfoflom ■■ 
 
 hath 
 
 ris ©eo», Ô» ffxSv)\.ut vXst^i tix^of" Clement. Alex. Cohort, ad Gent. Tom. i.— 77. Oxon. 1715. 
 ' "AAeJa»Xfo» Se to» ^ifjirna r^is xxi uixxnu sSoxti ©so» otoixa^iit roa xxr'cxtiyo xai^a'" Cyrill 
 contra Julianum, Lib. 6. Juliani opera, Tom. 2.-205. Fol'o- Lipf- 1696. 
 
 ■" The Baron de St. Croix might have added the fentence of death againft Evagoras, as related by 
 AthcnsEUS. " AniJMSm Ss ^ixa rx^anois s^rtiAiuirx» or; ©so» si(nyyicj-xra AXiixi/^^n. xai Et^yofoj» ît x-nm- 
 T£/»a», ÔT/ CTs-eo-i^E-jw» wj (3ao-;XEa ■sTfoo-scumo-E» auTo»-" (Lib. 6. 251.) Plutarch hath preferved a Bon 
 Mot on this occafion, ' ' Vi\J^txs in jj-siçxxwv ut, iraf ixSeï «vtej <uv rois ■etej 1 AJ^c^xy^^ov y^xlpojAtvois -^-/iÇkt- 
 lAxan' imoyros Se tivos, Iv »eoj uv roXii^s XEysi» ctej 1 -nhixovruv ; xxt (/.ni, Aht^xtt^as, tmiv, it -J-npiÇEo-ÔE 
 010», tfjLii mre^as cs-i'" (Apothegm .Tom. 2.-187.) Such a farcaftic reply as the Baron de St. 
 Croix hath obferved, feems of itfelf fufficient to have rendered ufelefs and ineftciflual all the 
 intrigues and eloquence of Demades. Yet he had made rather a ferious appeal to the Athenians. 
 "Videte," inquit, "ne dum cslumcuftoditis, terram amittatis." (Val. Max. Lib. 7. 62.— 638. 
 4«> Lcid. 1726.) Lucian however, ftill feems to intimate it, " 'Etiot os xai rots ou^txx ^iois zj^oçi- 
 Scires, xaj »£wj o(xoSo(AB(«voi «a/ Sdovtej." Lucian. Dial. Mort. 13. Tom. 1.— 391. 
 
 " La Diflertation de Monf. L'Abbe Belley. Mémoires de l'Académie des Infcriptions et 
 des Belles Lettres. Tom, 32.-685. See alfo Barthiusad Statium. Tom. 1.-403, 404. 
 
 " It was in one of thefe temples that Alexander Severus was born according to Lampridius. 
 "Alexander nomen accepit, quod in templo, dicato apud Arcenem urbem Alexandro Magno. na- 
 tus cflet." Hiftoriîe Anguftae Scriptores. Tom. 1.— 88g. 
 
 f Homil. 26. in Epift. ad Corinthios.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 6l 
 
 hath aflcrted, any obhgation by a decree of the Senate, to offer 
 him adoration as their thirteenth deity. The worfliip of the 
 deities of other nations was in fa6l often prohibited at Rome, 
 fornetimes barely tolerated, and refpeftful allowances are to be 
 made for writings, in which fuch things are recorded, without 
 either an outrage to veracity in a ctilpable filence, or inattention 
 to them. 
 
 The memory of the exploits of the Macedonian Conqueror is 
 ftill treafured up with veneration in the regions of the Eaft. Both 
 the Perfian, and Arabian authors, often fpeak of him under the 
 name of Efcander, and he figures as a principal Hero of their 
 romance. Eldrifi '' confounds him with Hercules, Abulpharagius 
 and Ebnbatric ' trace his defcent from one of the Kings of Egypt ; 
 and others affirm that the Empire of Iran, or of the Perfians, 
 became his property by hereditary right, rather than by the force 
 of arms. ' Amidft all thefe fables, and a multitude of others, 
 fome fliining traits are diftinftly vifible, which mark the Conqueror 
 of Darius and of Afia ; and many of his aftions, though they 
 may have fuffered alterations, clearly point out the fplendid Per- 
 fonage to whom they were applied. 
 
 < Eldrifi. Geograph. Nub, 148. 
 
 ' Abulpharagius. Hift. Dynaft. ex Vcrf, Pocock. 57. 
 
 ' Mirkhoud. Sed. 20. 
 
 SECT.
 
 62 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 SECTION. II. 
 
 JLJL APPY are the People, in whofe annals neither the enterprifes 
 of an ambitious Prince, nor the exploits of a Conqueror are to 
 be traced, which feldom fail of being deplorable misfortunes for 
 the fubjeft. The hiftory of Macedon affords us a ftriking inftance 
 of this truth, in the melancholy fpeftacle of the mifery, that 
 
 followed fo immediately the moments of its glory. Philip's 
 
 power was the fatal fource of repeated wars and numerous revo- 
 lutions. His Succeffor reaped the fruit of all his toils, and re- 
 alized with ardour and adlivity thofe ideal conquefts, with which 
 the Macedonian Monarch was occupied, when he died fuddenly, 
 in the firft year of the 1 1 1"" Olympiad, during the chief magif- 
 tracy of Pythodemus, " 418 years before the foundation of Rome, 
 
 and 
 
 • We have this informaiion from Airian, (Exped. Alex. Lib. i. Chap. 1.--5-6.) but he 
 prefaces it with "AtytTai 5e." The Athenian Archon was the Chief of the nine magiftrates, and 
 the Athenian year was diftinguiflied by his name like the Roman year by that of their confuls, 
 •*EÇiopoi ^£ raTt «XAa oiQixntTi Ta cTta^yiS fjLxXiTa ot^tX) y-^i wafExovTai roy EWwyt-'/xov ; aaOa ^v yjx.i a3>)- 
 yaiCii Ta'y xaXtf/xEyoJv iv^EJt tirun'^'js £fiy tts ap^:*:^'" (Paufanius. Laconic. 231. 232.) Thefe nine 
 
 maginratcs
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 63 
 
 and 336 before the vulgar era. The young Prince took the reins 
 of government into his hands in the following year, according to 
 Diodorus Siculus, when Even^etus was Archon,*" but this hiflorian 
 contradifts himfelf afterwards, when he relates that Alexander 
 reigned twehe years and feven months, ' which carries back the 
 time that Alexander became pofFefTed of the throne of his an- 
 ceftors to the fifth month of the chief magiftracy of Pythodemus. 
 
 Dionyfius of Halicarnaffus, refers the commencement of Alex- 
 ander's reign to the preceding year, when Phrynicus was Archon, 
 in the fourth year of the 110"' Olympiad, as he afTures us that 
 Demofthenes pronounced his oration on the crown under Arifto- 
 phon, the third year of the 112"' Olympiad, and fix '' years after 
 
 Philip's 
 
 magiftratcs according to Julius Pollux bore the following ii.imes, '^ Afy(^x'v, Bxa-iXivs, no>.vij.x^^oi, 
 i^ 'hiaiM^irai." (Lib. 8.) Julius Pollux hath alfo given the Archon the addition of "Ton tiixvru 
 fiTi'Vt'iM.or," which Selden hath tranflated "Anni fignator.'' (Marmon. Arund.) The Englifli 
 reader may learn many particulars of thefe offices from Potter's Grecian Antiquities, Vol. i .-76. 
 and the fcholar may be gratified with more curious information by turning to Petit. Leges. Attic. 
 236. and Budaeus, Cominent. Grxc. Linguae. 172. &c. &c. 
 
 ^ ^^E'Jr'a^^ovTos yx^ A^yivrio'ty Ei'xtnrti AKe^x^oços uixos^xfjiiy^ Tr,y i3ac^iKstxv." Diod. 
 
 Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 161. 
 
 ' "Toy zs^oci^ijitioi r^oTiit tTiXevtri, ^xai'Atiaxi trn ^wStxa axi fj.y)txs ivrx'" Diod. Sicul. Lib. i". 
 Tom. 2.-253. 
 
 ^ "Huit ans après la mort de Philip." Dionyfius of Halicarnaflus, in the pafTage referred to, 
 fpeaking of the oration, "nsfi t« ft^avs," fays, ''Ovtos yxf ixons as ^ixxçtiçiot curcMt^u^e» ia.stx 
 Tov WfiXE/iAOy cn' AçifoÇuiTus a^^oyros, oySow fxit lyixvru )j.nx Tu» !v Xxi^uiystx ixxyrny, mro: Je iJ.nx T>iv 
 «tAiTTwa nXivT-ny'" (Dionyfius Halicarnaffus. Epiif. ad Ainma-um. Tom. 6.-746.) I have cor- 
 refted the error, but the Greek text is fo very plain, and the eight years relate fo very clearly 
 to the battle of Chîeronaca, that I mull confefs the millake created in me fome little indignation.
 
 64 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Philip's death. This calculation however does not appear to be 
 correft, for Philip died during the magiftracy of Pythodemus, in 
 the Macedonian month Dius, which was the firft month of their 
 Solar )ear, and anfwered to that of Puanepfion in the Attic 
 )ear. The certainty of this date is afcertained by the twelve years 
 and eight months, which Arrian allots to Alexander's reign, who 
 died, as we fliall find afterwards, at the end of the month Thar- 
 galion. Eratoflhenes hath alfo fettled the period of this reign, 
 who reckons thirty-five' years between Philip's death and the bat- 
 tle of Leu6lra, which happened according to the chronicle of 
 Paros ' in the chief magiftracy of Phraficlides, the fécond year of 
 the 102"'' Olympiad, and this evidently fixes Philip's death in the 
 Archonfhip of Pythodemus. 
 
 The defeat of the Triballians, the Thracians, the Getae, the 
 Autoriates, the Tralentians, and of the Agrionians, and the re- 
 du6lion of the different people, who made on the death of Phihp 
 an effort to recover their hberty, with fome flattering expeftations 
 from the youth of his Son, were Alexander's firfl exploits. ^ 
 
 Both 
 
 ' Ap. Clement. Alex. Sirom. Lio. 1. To:n. 1,-402. Apud Morell. 
 ' Epoch. 73. 
 
 B Plutarch hath very briefly given iis an account of the difficulties, with which .Mcxander was 
 embarraffed on the death of Philip. '■•nxcsXx^i /xs» ovt ntt ysyonus oma-i t>iv ^xa-iXmxv, Ç^ôvovs 
 fuyxXms ^ Sena lAicrr, j^ xj»Si;»ovf r^xnaya^iv eyov^xv' ivrt yxf rx /3af/3af« -^ ifffoo-oiKa ystn Ttiv SoiXw 
 c/v «îtftv, troSowTa Tar ■axr^iovs ^aa-i\sixr ovrt Trjv 'EWx^x x^«r-/)<rxs tois iwXois (piXfTnros. im xxra^Bv- 
 |s tC, rSxa-iva-ai j^fovo» ^X"' xMjc ij.oiiov lAtru^xXui tCj ra^x^xs rx lafxyiJiMTx, ■ctcAvv a-x^.ot e^!)»Ta 
 K, xirn<Tit Jwo avjSanf, aTiihiTnf" Vit. Alex. Piut. Opera. Tom. 1.— 670.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 6 g 
 
 Both Diodorus and Plutarch pafs haftily over thefe expeditions, 
 in which the young Monarch's military talents were firft unfolded : 
 Arrian is the only writer, that hath extended an account of them 
 to any fatisfa6lor\' length, " and it even ftill includes fome diffi- 
 culties. Thrace was the theatre of war, and it is fcarcely to be 
 conceived, that the Taulentians, the inhabitants of a little traft 
 of country northward of Epirus, fhould have been expofed to 
 any mifunderftanding with Alexander, and fliould have come from 
 fuch a dillance to have joined his enemies. Perhaps by the Tau- 
 lentians, the lUyrians are to be underflood, over whom Glaucias 
 the King of the Taulentians had ftretched his Empire, and who 
 were afterwards confidered as the fame people with their con- 
 querors, and diftinguiflied by one common name. This conjec- 
 ture appears to be authorized by the text of Arrian,' and hath 
 been adopted by the learned Palmer in his obfervations upon 
 ancient Greece. " 
 
 The Celtes, whofe country bordered on the Ionic gulph, now 
 the Adriatic fea, difpatched ambaffadors to Alexander, and in a 
 converfation with them he inquired what was the greatefl objeft 
 
 K of 
 
 ^ Arrian, Expcd. Alex. Lib. i. Chap, i, 2, 3, 4, 6. — 7, 30. 
 
 ' And it feems to be confirmed by what Arrian fays of the Athenian cmbalTy, to congratulate 
 Alexander on his profperous return from his expedition againft the lUyriansand Tribullian% "'Otj 
 Ti (TWOS' e| I^"?'"' )$ Tf//3aX\«v ETaMiXSs'" (Exped. Alex. Lib. 1. Cliap. 10.— 43.) Thucydi- 
 des hath alfo called the Taulentians " UAuf ;xo» sSy©-." Thucydides, Lib. 1.--20. 
 
 Pal 
 
 mer Gracia: Antiq. Defcriptio, Lib. 1. Chap. 18.
 
 66 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 of their fears, imagining that the terror of his exploits had already 
 reached them. ' Of the fall of the (ley, was fuppofed to have 
 been their fpirited reply. This flory which Arrian hath extra6led 
 from Ptolemy's memoirs, as appears by Strabo, "" was in all like- 
 lihood an epifode invented as an ornament to the hillory of Alex- 
 ander. It is not probable that thefe Celtes, who were the ancient 
 Boians or Senones, in poflelfion of a country inaccefTible in point 
 of fituation, and at a diflance from the contending nations, fhould 
 without any motive have fent ambaffadors to court the friendfhip " 
 of a Prince, with whom they had not either any connexion or 
 concern. 
 
 Juftin ° relates, that Alexander felefted the different tributary 
 Kings, whofe abilities and talents were likely to be formidable to 
 
 him. 
 
 TO ourrov Kj is Kt^Tixous j^ et: ■aqonuri^ui iivsi'" Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. i. Chap. 4.— 20. 
 
 "* "*uo-/ Se riroXE^ajoj ô Aayof, xxrx rxurrii rm f^xraecv (tvix/ju^xi rai AXi^xvS^u Ke^tbi- raszu^i 
 Tt* AoçtaVj ÇtXtas Ké ^svixs X^f 'V o£^xfÀ.syov de avT8s ÇiXoÇ^ovus Toy (3xffiXsx, E^e^ai tjxç rov "aorov^ ri ixx- 
 Xi^x «u 5 Ço/3oivTo, M(x/ÇovTJs auTo» Ef «»• xurmis Se x-noxfina^xi, ouSena, « f*tj x^x à ov^xks xvtois tWiCjEcroi'" 
 
 Strabo. Lib. 7.-462. 
 
 ° The Baron de St. Croix's expreffion is "Seroient ils venus fans aucun motif prollitucr leur 
 hommage." Arrian does not warrant this idea, by the "4>iX/aj Se wavTEj tw AAExavSfOf fp/E//.£- 
 »oi'" (Expcd. Alex. Lib. 1. Chap. 4,-20.) There is a wide difference between the defire of 
 a friendfhip and alliance with a Monarch, and the flavifh offer of paiïive and unlimited obedience 
 to him. The latter did not form any part of the Celtic charader, and was utterly inconfillent 
 with the genius of that bold and warlike nation. 
 
 • "Reges ftipendiarios confpeftiorisingenii ad commilitium fecum trahit: fegnioris ad tuielam 
 regni reliquit." (Juftin. Lib. 11. Chap. 5,--265.) If we are to credit Juftin, Alexander afted
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 6y 
 
 him, and carried them away with him. Frontinus ■" tells us, that 
 the vanquifhed princes and even the principal perfons of the con- 
 quered countries were taken, on the fame refined plan of policy, 
 into Afia, as honourable attendants upon Alexander ; but the reft 
 of the hiftorians, without any obfervation on the fubjecl, pafs it 
 over in profound filence. — Policy made it neceflary for Alexander 
 to affure himfelf of the fidelity of Greece by fome great ftroke 
 before he quitted it, and the revolt of Thebes, afforded him an 
 ample opportunity, in every refpeft favourable to his wifhes. The 
 
 K 2 city 
 
 on a ftill more barbarous principle, and to enfure the fafety of his government, cut off without 
 exception all his own family relathons, who from a proximity of blood, or their high rank, might 
 have taken the advantage of his abfence and endeavoured to have feated themfelves upon hi;, 
 throne. " Proficifcens ad Perficum bellum, omnes novercje fux cognatos, quos Philippus in ex- 
 celflorem dignitatis locum provehens, imperils pra;fecerat, interfecit. Sed ncc fuis, qui apti reg- 
 no videbantur, pepercif, ne qua materia feditionis, procul fe agente, in Macedonia rcmaneret," 
 (Lib. 11. Chap. 5.-265.) In the crooked and corrupted fchool of politics, fuch unhappy vic- 
 tims of imperial policy have frequently been flaughtered, but rcafon and humanity huve always 
 raifed their voices againft this dreadful wafte of human blood. In proportion as the mild fpi- 
 rit of Chriftianity hath been attended to, thefe fcenes have difappcared, and it is fome confola- 
 tion to refletl, that the hiftorians of a future century will have fewer extravagant inftances of ty- 
 ranny and cruelty either to record, or to lament. 
 
 ? "Frontine ne fait point cette diftinftion : il pretend que tous les princes vaincus fuhirent un 
 pareit fort." I have been under the indifpenfable neceflity of varying this fentence. Frontinus 
 on the contrary, proves as far as his evidence hath any weight, that Alexander purfued the fame 
 fyftem of retaining his fovereignty over the conquefts, that he had made, by the removal of every 
 individual, capable of creating either danger or difturbance. '"Alexander, deviilâperdomiiâque 
 Thraciâ, petens Aiiam, veritus, ne port ipfiUs decelTus fumèrent arma, reges eorum, pnfeftofque, 
 et omnes, quibus videbantur inelTe cura detrafta: libertatis, fecum, velut honoris caufà, traxit, 
 ignobilibus autera reliétis plcbeios pricfecit; confecutus, ubi principe^ beneficiis ejusobftriâi, ni- 
 hil novare vellent ; plebs vero ne polTet quidem, fpo'iata principibus," I. Frontinus. Stratc- 
 gcmjt. Lib. 2. Chap. 11. --298, 299. 8*° L. B. 1731
 
 68 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 city was bcncgcd and totally dcftroyed. Every germ of a war, 
 which might have retarded, and perhaps have put a flop to the 
 vad projctls of this Prince, was thus blafled to its root, and Thebes 
 in its ruins exhibited an awful and tremendous fpeflacle, whicli 
 fprcad an impredlve condernation over all Greece. 
 
 Thebes was taken by dratagem according to Polya:nus, '' but 
 Ptolemy, ' who was prefent at the fiege, informs us that the be- 
 fieged had radily advanced too far in a fally, and on being repul- 
 fed by the Macedonian phalanx, the befiegers entered the town 
 with them in their confudon. Diodorus Siculus' hath confirmed 
 
 Ptolemy's 
 
 n/»t auns »iyt» fii ras 'X^?'" '"'^ Toituf Qx^xtoi Sj f7ri^r}X^i>t, xxi •a^os mt ô^ a</*Evr)> ^vva/xi» ouk atycy- 
 tius avriira^trsctrmtn' Avrmxr^®' t» tu xaifw t»ij /ax^/is mi Kixff/itu!» Stmayw.!/ atXTnirixt, xkkXw cts- 
 çi«?.5w» ii o-aSfo» Kcci ««pi/XaxTo» Jiv to ti/j^®-, rai/r» KariXxpiro rrit zsoXir" PolyiEiius. Slrat. Lib. 4. 
 --333- 
 
 ■ *' Aryii TlToXtiuxitis i \xyi>v or/— — — — AX«f«»Sf ©< tow jtAtavrov Çivyasrxs xaritut, row Qri^xiovs Si 
 y,i?wMTai tt Tn tm%u T>iï Ta|i», t^x'KKn t! xvtovs avtrirayiAim rn (pxXafyi' 'Oi h u^ova-iv rovs &n- 
 Bxiovs tiiru Tu» ■avXut' xxi rois Çtri^xioit ts toj-mSj v ^uyri ^ojSt^x tytynro, irt Si» Twv ■troXo;» wSi>i/-iE»i)i 
 rs Tn» CToXi», ot'x iCiaua-at» miyxXiitrxt ras zmXas' a>.>,x m'viTtriVTOva-i yaf xvtois cktcu Toy Tiixpvs, iaoi 
 Tw» MaxiSoKu» iryvi CtvyoiTw» b;^o»to'" Arrian. Expcd. Alex, Lib, 1. Chap, 8.-34, 35, 36. 
 
 Aniri{|3X>iTH Sj t>js ^iXori/xia; yivofxini;, ô Sx(ri>.tvs, xaratoyiirxs Tivx iroXiSa! xccTaf^s>^£i(A.ivti» xnro 
 ruy (fvTMKUv, i^svirnXc rit^Sixxxv lairx T^ariurut iKxyut )ixrx\x^itr9xi TafTrjv, xa/ ■ax^eunrtaeiv ets rnt 
 isoXi»' TBT« 0» rxyy to ■ofotj-TajjS»» raoicravTOf, 01 /asv MaxeSovtf ^ix ryis tsvXi^®' •nraffdriTTfO'ov cts rm 
 PoXi» T>if St raoXtwj TO» Tfowoï xaTaXa/ii/3a»0(AS»>ir, zjoXXxi kxi ztoikiXxi zii^i^xtsis f vtoî ruv rei- 
 
 Xa» tyimro'" The terrible cataftrophc is then pathetically dcfcribcd. "'0/ i*.» yxg MaxeWf, S/« 
 t>i» i/inpi)P»»ia» T« xiifvy/iiaT®', ti/xf oTfj ov, *) woXi^ixwnf 0» ufoo-i^jfovTo to/s &nl3xiois, >^ ixera zioKXtis 
 xTitiXyis fnitpi^aiAini rois »Ti/jj«xoff(», a^a^us a»>if «» zsxnxs rvs zji^irvyxxtovrxs' 'O; St &nl3xioi, ro ^1- 
 Xi>.it3i(3o» T)i« •i>vx'>)s Jiaf tXaTTovTtfj Totraro» airfi;^o» tb ^iXoCwo», iy'e» Ta/j awavT))0-i<7-i «n'^wXfXfirSa/,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 69 
 
 Ptolemy's account with a few flight fliades of difference. The 
 hiftorians reckon fix thoufand of the befleged to have been killed, 
 and thirty thoufand of them to have been made prifoners : ' others 
 have pretended that the Thebans loft ten thoufand men in the 
 fiege. Agatharcides very reafonably fufpefts this calculation to 
 be an exaggerated one, and improbable/ On the fuppofition 
 
 that 
 
 K, rxs zsx^x Tilt TntiXiiA-iin titicmica-^cii 'a'Kvya.s' lx\ux.vixs yx^ tk ■aoXtus, aS«s 0»/?ajwv IwfœSu SsiiSfjr 
 
 To,» MawSova'H Çfio-atrSai th C,r>v, tide zsçoatit mTot nis tuiv K^arunuv yovaaiv OKiiius' rm St t.i7o- 
 
 >£?.^^£>w» Qr;lixiuv 01 ixiv xxTxrer^ui/.tvii rx (Tuij-xtx, Kj ^forovJ-uj^svTE! (TunnXoioyro tois zjdKijaiois , au- 
 vjeiro9»>is-y-oïTEî r» TU.Ï e^Sfi-'i' «TTc^fia-" (DioJ. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom, 2.--169, 17O.) The ge- 
 nerous mind will paufe with admiration at this wonderful difplay of undaunted valour, and a figh 
 will naturally arife on the recoUetfion that fuch exertions in the caufe of freedom were unfuc- 
 cefsful. 
 
 * ''Twvoî Qri^xtuiv xvri^i^tiaxv ^ev vTTi^ ms l^xmfjyjXtys^ xty^AxXwrx oe au[AXTx ffvv/tv^vi zsXsiu ruv 
 rfOï*!/fiwv*" Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 170, 
 
 "Eipi>KV(Ti^iTuiiQr>^aiuvasl^a>(i<r^tXiiis, x')(iJt,xXuT<>i^itKn(p^n<Tx\iT^iaiji,vçioi'" (yElian.Var. Hift. Lib. 
 13. C. 7. Tom. 2.-86i.4'°i73i.) VVelearnfrom the fame authority that the defcendants of the poet 
 Pindar had a fingular refpeft paid to them amidfl theuniverfaldevaftation, and that his houfe was the 
 only one exempted from the general deftruftion. " ETiiAiKTeSoyriist'yoyiisrHsriirin^afay^r'm oikixv av- 
 TuiAorivaxa-xykatxr" (iElian.Var. Hift.Lib. i3.Chap.7.Tom. 2.-860.) Plutarch hath confirmed ^Eli- 
 an's account of the refpea fliewn to Pindar's family, and agrees with him on the Theban Lofs. 
 " YwE^sXo/xEvos Se tous lEfOf, K, rus ^novs MxxiSotuv àirxnxs, Kg rovs xita Tliitx^a yi!otiTxs, ^ nvs vvitxt- 
 Tiu^stras rois ■i'^purxfasvois rw «Trorao-/», xiriàoro Tovs a?^ovs. CTs^i t^kt/jiv^iov! yito/j^vovs' 01 Se xiro^x- 
 yovTcs tjvi^ t^xxia-x'^^iiis -naxti-" Plutarch. Vit. Alex. Plutarchi Opera. Tom. 1.--670.) 
 
 ™ I am not happy enough to have found the paffage, which the Baron de St. Croix hath referred 
 to in PhotiuS; for this opinion of Agatharcides. The only one that I have met with, which men- 
 tions the lofs of the Thebans, is the following one. "riAr/» Z!foirTi%a-i k, sripx ruy ^fnjuyuy 'o^nix, 
 liTD Ti)y xvrny K) Txvra (ptfuv S/»/3o?ir/v* oiov, Qrs^xioi cy r») (xaj^>! T» zsfos Matu^oyx! Ivip -ras fjjjfious an- 
 rfxTiTiaxy'" {Photii Biblioth. 1337.) where the expreffion was more an objedl of criticifm, than- 
 the number of the (lain. Simpfon alfo thinks the number to have been magnified. Chronici ad 
 Ann. Mundi, 3670.
 
 70 
 
 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 that this ftatement was correa, the population of Thebes might 
 be eftimated at fifty thoufand fouls, a number that bears no fort 
 of proportion to the crippled ftate of this city, which had previ- 
 oufly loft much of its ancient fplendour, had been enfeebled by 
 many bloody battles, and whofe power had been nearly annihi- 
 lated in the facred war. " Clitarchus only valued the whole riches 
 of Thebes, when they became a prey to the Macedonians, at four 
 hundred and forty talents, " which direftly contradicts the pom- 
 pous account that Diodorus Siculus hath given of the pretended 
 treafure, found by the Conqueror on his capture of this place. 
 But the authority of Diodorus Siculus, who is often very inex- 
 aft, can here indeed have little influence, as we find in general the 
 fame calculations with thofe of Clitarchus, Some arguments 
 may alfo be drawn from the circumftances, which Athenaeus 
 hath preferved, refpeding the manners and mode of life amongft 
 the Thebans, which denounce their poverty, ^ and appear in- 
 confiftent with a numerous population, which is generally the at- 
 tendant of advantageous manufadures and extenfive commerce. 
 
 Alarmed 
 
 < Paufanias informs m that this facred war laded ten years. "To» ifcixjxov bjoXe/ao», omi/.x(oiA.ctov 
 ?! iiro EXAiivi'» îîpoï, (Tvti^us hxa ircatv tiroV/^Jiaa»'" (Paufanias. Lib. g. Chap. 6.-724.) A 
 length of time that muft necefiarily have drained Ihem both of men and money. 
 
 y "KA«Taf jf®. t» zj^iiTri ruv zstfi AXt|aySpo» icoftwy ^rfa/AEv®-, k^ oti "nxs avran tsXaroi vvfi^i fAina. 
 Ti)» VIT AM^xydfo'j TfiS tzriKvjii KXTX(7iiac^v £v z3x\xvTois rtr^xxQutots rEiTaxpxyiovTct Crictv, oTi rt fx.tKpo'^u- 
 Xoiriaxt, >^ rx zjtfi rruTfoÇm Xi^Ki'" Athen^us. Lib. 4.— 148. 
 
 » " na(>aa-xtua|o»T« £» toi; Sawvoif Sf /a, y^i-lnres, }y ajivas, tC, £Ï>ixfin>.v^!, k, ah^xtras, k, oyi- 
 Xioxt, K, iTiis'" Athenzcus. Lib. 4.— 148.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 71 
 
 Alarmed at the capture of Thebes, Athens by the perfuafion of 
 Demades fent an embafly to Alexander, to congratulate him on 
 his fafe return from Illyria and the country of the Triballians, 
 and to teitify their joy to him on his fuccefs at Thebes, and the 
 chaftifement, with which he had puniflied its revolt. The Prince 
 received it very gracioudy, but he wrote to the Athenians and 
 demanded Demofthenes, Lycurgus, Hyperides, Polyeuftes, Cha- 
 res, Charidemus, Ephialtes, Diotimus and Maerocles to be given 
 up to him, whom he believed to have been the authors of the 
 diflurbances after Philip's death, and the caufe of the battle of 
 Chaeronea. A fécond embafTy was fent by the Athenians with the 
 hope of foftening the Prince's refolution, and the bulinefs was at 
 lafl compromifed, on Alexander's infifting only on the exile of 
 Charidemus, ' Such is Arrian's account, but it neither agrees with 
 that of his cotemporary authors, nor even with that of Diodorus Si- 
 culus, Plutarch, or Juflin, Thebes was not in fa6l deftroyed, and 
 the young Conqueror was abfolutely engaged in the liege, when the 
 embaffy was fent, as appears by the oration of ^fchines againft 
 Ctefiphon, in which he reproaches Demofthenes, one of the de- 
 puties, with his return from mount Cithaeron, and having wanted 
 the courage to execute his commiflion. *" Plutarch confirms the 
 charge of iEfchines, and adds that a meflage was fent by Alex- 
 ander 
 
 * " XafilniAOu IJ.CV to/, /xoyov ruv t^airm^ivrur te j^ ov SoSevtwv, Çaiym txtXti'S't" >^ ÇtuyH XafiSri/MS 
 li rnt Ao'ixt zjocfx ^xuit^ix AttfHO]/'" Arrian. Exped, Alex. Lib. lO. Chap. lO.— 44. 
 
 ' ''nft<T0cuTris îip'îijjiuii j^Hforom^Hy, «woîpay ex. fAiaa Ta Ki5ij»fw»©» mtt i7rorpt4'«*'" /Efchinis 
 oratio contra Ctefiphont. izo.
 
 72 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 ander himfelf to demand ten of the faftious demagogues ' ac- 
 cording to Duris and Idomeneus, and eight according to more 
 credible hiftorians, Demades having joined the party of Demoft- 
 henes, "* was named by the people of Athens, ambafiador on this 
 occafion to Alexander, and he had the addrefs to procure the 
 
 pardon of their orators. Diodorus Siculus° hath not taken any 
 
 notice of the firft deputations of the Athenians, though he agrees in 
 other particulars with Plutarch. Juftin fpeaks of this deputation 
 even before the fiege of Thebes, and if we are to believe him, its 
 objeft was to obtain a peace from the young Monarch, which he 
 
 granted. 
 
 c£v vntjui^ ÎC Tfiv 'SS^iv^HO.t xÇyjxiv' sv^vs 0£ AAe^avop©-- E^virr* tjeiattuv tùjv oyi^ocîujyM^ ofxas p^v 'lis I^o/Ias- 
 tfis K, Aoup'S eifnxaaiv' oxru Se, us ci ■ûJ^Hr»' 'Ç; ^oxifj^uraroi run av'-yjixÇiiuy, tous oe, Ai/^too-SE»)), VloXiiivx- 
 T«», E®ia>.TW, Atxot'fyov, MufoK?i£:e, Aa/jiw/ix, KaM^i<T^£vn, XaspiSn/itov'" Plutarch. Vit. Demofth. 
 Plutarchi Opera. Tom. i.— 856. 
 
 •i Diodorus SicuUis informs us that Demades was fuppofed to have received five talents for this 
 political manœuvre. '"Ar/vueSus, Tsaieiai/.ims vvo ru> zsi^i Avi/xoo-Siimv, us ipaai, otevte Ta^otvroij afytj- 
 f/B, otjkISbXei'e ^£v «Tw^av TSf xivSuvEi'ovras"" (Died. Sicul. Lib. ly. Tom. 2.-171.) The Athe- 
 nian fenatc it feems was as corrupt as a modern Houfe of Commons. 
 
 « Diodorus Siculus agrees with Plutarch and /Efchines as to the return of Demofthenes from mount 
 Citha:ron, but he doubts whether it was from fear, or other motives. '•£» Se rois CTOEapps-i k, At- 
 ixnahins exte/xÇi^^j, s truwiXSs ixtrx rui aKkaii zypos rot AXE|avSpov, aXK'ix. ra K/Sa/pi;»©. a»£)cau,vj,£v 
 OÎ ras ASwaf hte àia ra. •amot.niv^t.iix yjara MaxEJovw» ipo/3»i-5fij, fjTE ^uXofj.tt®' ru Qatrt- 
 Afi Taiï Xlt^air» aixiiAmrt» atiTov o.apuXaTTfi»* •croXXa yxf y^^^tijAxra (patrit avrov etXnpivai ■zjxpx Tliptruv 
 ]\ix laoXirtimrai xara Max£ôo»«»' ■aifi wv tC, rat Ai<r;^iy>ii( Çiao-iv, oweiS/^oirra ru ù^riijjatj^itH xxrx rtvx Xo- 
 70» m» Swpooox'*») ««■«», "Nu» ijitvroi rriv ^xiraynv CTTiKfy-Xvxtv avrs ro ^xa-iXixoy vfva-iot' c^ai Se «Se tsto 
 'iKxtoy ii^HS yxf ■zjjivori vyXuros r^ova zsonfii zjtfiiytnro'" (Diod. Sicul. Lib. J7, Tom. 2.-16" 
 163.) A variety of thefe pointed charges are made by iEfchines in his oration againft Ctefiphon, 
 and as they are fo feebly repelled by Demofthenes, in all probability, they were but too well 
 founded.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 73 
 
 granted. ' This hiftorian informs us likewife that Alexander par- 
 doned the orators, but that the Athenian generals were under the 
 necefiTity of retiring into exile; and, entering into the Periian 
 fervice, were of infinite advantage to it. ^ But this latter circum- 
 Itance ftands unfupported by any writer of antiquity. Juftin 
 poflTibly meant to fpeak of Charidemus, who diftinguifhed himfelf 
 very eminently in the Olynthian war, but it appears, by fome 
 exprelTions of Dinarchus, * that this able general had voluntarily 
 expatriated, for the purpofe of rendering his country more im- 
 portant advantages with the King of Perfia. ' Ephialtes foon 
 
 followed the example, and retired from Athens, " But it is not 
 probable as Arrian hath afferted, ' that the Athenians could have 
 
 L applauded 
 
 f "Miffis itaque legatis, bellum deprecantur : quibus auditis et graviter increpatis, Alexander 
 bellum remifit, Inde Thebas exercitum convertit." Juftin. Lib. ii. Chap. 3. --262. 
 
 8 " Secundâ legatione denuo bellum deprecantibus, ita demum remiferit, ut oratores et duces, 
 quorum fiducia toties rebellent, fibi dedantur: paratifque Athenienfibus ne cogantur fubire bel- 
 lum, eo res dedufta eft, ut retentis oratoribus, duces in exilium agcrentur, qui ex continent! ad 
 Darium profedi, non mediocre Perfarum viribus acceflere." Juftin. Lib. ji. Chap. 4.-265. 
 
 '■ Dinarchi oratio contra Demofthenem. Ed. Stcph. gg. 
 
 ' From a jealoufy of the Periian generals, he was afterwards ungratefully put to death by the 
 orders of Darius. O. Curtius (Lib. 3. Chap. 2. Tom. i. --69.-70.) hath given us fome of the 
 leading circumftances. Diodorus Siculus (Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 181, 182.) hath entered into them 
 more minutely. 
 
 '' Dinarchi oratio contra Demofthenem. Ed. Steph. 94. 
 
 ' " A9»iiia(0( Jt, (xujTifiwï Tw» i^tyathui ay>ti.iiu)i, wsijxov ruts rut ©u/Jaiaiv t^ xirou ru ifyou, rx /ai» fj-va- 
 rn^i* sxTrXficyevTff £|cAi7roy, tx ot ruv ctyçuv sa-Kivxyuiyovv is Triv ZToXiv*** (Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib 1, 
 Chap. 10.-43.) This fsftival diftinguiftied by the name of the greater myfteries was celebrated in
 
 74 
 
 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 applauded Alexander on his cruel treatment of the Thebans, when 
 they publicly deplored their lamentable fate, immediately put a 
 ftop to the celebration of their myfteries, and received within their 
 ^\'alls fuch of the wretched fufferers as had efcaped from the fword 
 or fetters of the Conqueror. "' 
 
 Having fecured the tranquillity of Greece, Alexander pre- 
 pared for his attack of the Perfian empire. The weaknefs of a 
 neighbouring nation, ftrong political probabilities of fuccefs, and 
 the deftruÊlion of an enemy, are often the real caufes of wars, 
 which are entered into with apparent principles of juftice. — The 
 Conqueror of Afia had no other motives. Polybius, " with his 
 ufual acutenefs, hath penetrated into them, and hath had the fa- 
 gacity to feparate them from thofe pretended reafons for hoftilities, 
 in which the Grecian vanity was too much interefted, to allow of 
 their fufpefting their propriety. 
 
 The 
 
 the month Boedromion with extraordinary and rigid folcmnity. It lafted nine days, and was in- 
 troduced at Rome under Adrian, when it bore the name of the Eleufmian myfteries from the 
 town of Eleufis in Attica, where it had been celebrated with more than common fuperftition. 
 Themiftius, Proclus, Stobaeus and Dion Chryfoftom, have given us fome interefting circumftaii- 
 ces relating to thefe myfteries: Meurfius hath entered into them at large in his treatife on this 
 feftival, and Warburton (Divine Legation, Vol. i.— 239, 248. 8^° Edit. 1765.) hath extra<5l- 
 ed the elTencc, and ingeniouily adapted it to his o\vn fyftem. 
 
 '" The flying Thebans according to i^fchines were received within the walls of Athens : ■■Tn! 
 rxhiXi-nui^ns 0»(3a/«s (pvpnot-s Imhliy^s rn ■nsoXir" (^fchines contra Ctefiph. 116.) but Juftin 
 goes ftill further and fays, that they opened the city-gates to them, in defiance of Alexander's ex- 
 prefs prohibition. "Mifcranda res AthenienGbus vifa. Itaque portus refugiis profugorum con- 
 tra interdidmn regis apcruerc." Juftin. Lib. 11. Chap. 4.-264. 
 
 ■■■ Polyh. Mift. Lib. 3. Tom. 1.-398, 399, 400. Edit. Schweigha^uftr. 8^- Lipf. 1789.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. J r^ 
 
 The era of this expedition into Afia became a celebrated one 
 in the Grecian calendars, and was marked in all their annals. 
 Duris reckoned looo years from the deflruftion of Troy to this 
 epoch : Ephorus from the return of the Heraclides to the fame 
 period 735 : Timœus and Clitarchus 820 : Eratofthenes 773, and 
 laftly Phanius aflures us that 715 had elapfed between that event 
 and the Archonfhip of Evaenetus, when Alexander entered Afia. ° 
 Diodorus, after the information that Alexander mounted the 
 throne, during the magiftracy of this Archon, is reduced to the 
 necelTity of fixing this expedition under that of Cteficles, ■" cir- 
 cumftances rendering an interval of a year"* neceflary between 
 Philip's death and the war, which his Son undertook againft Perfia. 
 This opinion, however, is by no means preferable to that of St. 
 Clement of Alexandria, who refers k to the Archonfhip of Evae- 
 netus his predeceflbr/ It is at leaft certain, that Alexander's 
 expedition into Afia was immediately fubfequent to the fall of 
 
 L 2 Thebes, 
 
 " "Ewi Eua/KTov af^ovT* Ep'a ^aai» AXflavîfoï Î/J Tw A(T/a» S;ap>iv«i, us ijiiii tavias, tris 'iTnaMinx. 
 SjxaTTEvTE* xi (J.cy Epa^for 'mranoo-nx TfiaxovTa wevte' us h .T(/x,e®- nai KXfiraf;^®- OKTsexoaix f/xoa-i- us 
 <Σ "E^xroa^cns iirnxxoa-iac i/SSoftijxovra rsa-cri^x' us Ss Au^is, aerso T^oixs à\w<r^'s tm rm m AXi^xt^^u 
 lis Tm l^aixi Siai3ao-iv etu jjj^;a." Clement. Alex. Stromat. Lib. i .--337. Fol. apiid MorcU. x6ai). 
 
 P "Ew'af;ijo»Tor V K^nmc-L Krr^TiKy.a-JS- A?.E|«,^^(,t Se f^ira. t»; w«,/.Ei)f 7rofEySf,i 
 
 em TO» 'EXAE(79ro»Toy anffSxTi rm SvvxfAD m t»s E:,fw7rr,s: e(j rm Aa-ixv" Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. l:. 
 —172. 
 
 1 Zozimus hath boldly poliponcd this Afiutic expedition to the third year of Alexander's reign. 
 '• AAE|a»Sf ©. Se 'nix^a\ctëm -rm iSaa-iKetM, -^ TOaf»xfr,f/,a tos Kara ras ^l-M-txs Sia^iis, r^im rm jSx- 
 rrAiias etei ij.ctcc ^wx/^êus af)iiJ<7->iJ Ewi rm As-ix> irOJiro-" Zozimus. Lib. I .--7, 8. 8"° Lipl. 178.;. 
 
 ■■ Stromat. Lib. 1.— 337.
 
 yG CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Thebes, 335 years before Chrift. — We learn from Arrian, that 
 Alexander began his march early in the fpring, and reached Sef- 
 lus in twenty days, ' which proves as the learned Ufher ' hath ob - 
 ferved, that the pafTage of the Hellefpont ought to be fixed about 
 tliree months before Cteficles entered into office. The operations 
 of the army in Afia Minor, and the battle of Iffus eflablifh this 
 calculation, which Corfini' hath adopted in his Attic annals, 
 though the Jefuit Petau* from a devotion to Diodorus, rather 
 more than warrantable, hath related thefe events and the remark- 
 able paflage of the Grecians under the magiftracy of Cteficles, 
 notwithftanding they really happened under that of Evaenetus. 
 
 The judicious counfels of the fage Memnon " were either not 
 attended to, or not followed; and the Perfians having determined 
 
 to 
 
 a, ran taouixK tif/itçitis ama ms oiMèit i^o^iuiiTtas'^' (Arrian; Exped. Alex. Lib. i. Chap. 11.-44, 
 45.) Diodorus Siculus liath recorded Antipater's and Parmenio's very curious advice to Alexan- 
 der, previous to the commencement of his Afiatic expedition. " Tm It zui^i A>ri7rxr^ov, j^ Oaf/xww- 
 »a OTju^aXjuoyTwv, -açorc^m riAlAOnOIHSAZQAI, xj Ton rois nXixovnis eyxe'S^» iSV^'" (Diod. 
 Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— J71.) The recommendation of fuch a fyftem of Royal Amufement might 
 have warped a lefs vigorous and ambitious mind from its intended projefts, and put a final flop 
 to the Perfian war. 
 
 ■\ ' Ufher, Annal. 151. 
 
 • Corfini Fall. Attic, Tom. 4.--41, 42. 
 
 ■" D. Petavius Doftrin. Temp. Lib, 13. 
 
 " "Mtftviiv Ô PaSios ■nx^Yini |w.i) S/a xjt^utov itvxi CTfoi T«f Maxiloyx!, ru TE 'at^a noXv «sf/ovTa (rpa/y, 
 K, avra A^e?a^SfB ■axioms, mrois Sj xmtros Aajt/B' Uewtraslc, tov Tt X'^^t a(pcey,§i,v xarxvxTmTas
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 'J >] 
 
 to defend the paFage of the Granicus, their army agreeable to 
 Arrians computation, confifted of twenty thoufand cavalry and 
 an equal number of infantry, " of which the mercenaries formed 
 the greateft part. Diodorus Siculus magnifies the number into 
 ten thoufand cavalry and one hundred thoufand infantry, ^ whilft 
 Juftin taking the horfe and foot together, extends it to fix hundred 
 thoufand, ' which (hocks every idea of probability. 
 
 Arrian hath entered into a minute defcription of this celebrated 
 battle, in which the Perfian valour made victory for a long time 
 doubtful, and which Alexander at laft decided in his favour by 
 plunging at the head of the Theffalian horfe into the middle of 
 the enemy. The defeated army loft, according to this writer's 
 
 calculation. 
 
 r» iTilIu, K, TO* E* T» y» xafTTOv s/jLirm^avai, //.uSt Twv tsaXtut «i/twï ÇeiSciiji.ttùVS' ou "yaç iJLiyiit t» Tn X"^?* 
 A>.t^ay^^o>i<ziTopxrmtTrirnhwr (Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. i. Chap. 12.-53.) Diodorus Siculus con- 
 firms the circumftance of Memnon"s opinion with the addition of his wifhing to carry the war into Eu- 
 rope, and make an attack, on Macedonia. "Mc^^vov /j-ct bv ô Patios, J/a/Ss/Sou/xevos cvi avnan rfaruyi- 
 Hïï, avH^a'Kiva'i kxTx ^o^x f^tv yt-yi oixKtvovvsvsty^ rriv us y^ut^av Ç^f/^E^v, kL rvt avxvti ruv xvxyKXiuv e/^yay 
 ras Maxt^oyxs t)ij eis THjAV^o^^ey •sjo^&xs' ^ix^Sx^ety St >y ^vyxf^M as tu» MxxsSoyixy yxvTiKxs rt 1^ ■uc^- 
 'Kxs, J^ TO» ÔX0» ■ctoAe/xo» «r T>j» Eufo/Tm» (xETayayf*»'" Diod. Sicul. Lib, 17. Tom. 2.--173' 
 
 1* "nifo-u;» Se îirwHî (ae» yiirxv ts Sktixv^iovs, ^tyoi Se cte^o; hiit^vÇo^oi oXiyoy xvoàeoyrts ài<ri/.li^iûy'" 
 
 Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 1, Chap. 14.— 57. 
 
 * "'Oi Se axyri! 'iTtmis Im^^ay •aXciovs ruy jAV^iuy' li Se we^o' t«» lliga'ut yffxi f*E» mx. eXarroif ran 
 ^SHX lAv^ixSut'" Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 174. 
 
 * "In Acie Perfarum fexcenta millia militum fuere." (Juftin. Lib. 11. Chap. 6.— 270.) 
 The commentators have unanimoudy given up this palTage as indefenfible, but they have not 
 agreed in what manner its extravagance is to be corrected.
 
 78 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 calculation," a ihoufand horfe upon this fatal day, and the whole 
 of their infantry, two thoufand of the mercenaries excepted, who 
 were made prifoners. but Diodorus " reduces their lofs to fome- 
 what abo\'e ten thoufand infantry and two thoufand of their ca- 
 valry. 
 
 Reflecting on the determined refolution, with which the Perfians 
 refifted the efforts of the Macedonian army, and the obflacles, 
 that a river, defended by a numerous body of troops, under the 
 command of an able and experienced general, naturally prefents, 
 it is impolTible to believe ^ that the Conqueror fuffered only the 
 
 trifling 
 
 AXs|a>Jf©- tTXi T8f Isvoi'S T«f jiAia-Sopojo-js- — Kxi rarai rr,y rs pxhx'yx izjxfscyiiv, >y ms îziznas 'axrrn 
 
 tîKfois'" Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib, 1. Chap. 16.— 63. 
 
 "= "Diodorc réduit toute la perte de l'armée Perfe à dix mille foldats." But the Baron de 
 St. Croix hath miltaken Diodorus Siculus, and forgotten the two thoufand horfe. "AwiftSîio-av Se tu» 
 Tîsea-uv ot 'aiÇoi [jlsvzjXho'js ruv {Ai'^iiûVj l'jrTeiS^'ovKiXûtrrovsûi^^t^.iuv'" (Sicul. Lib, ly.Tom, 2,"i 7, 176,) 
 It is a grofs error, and I have reilitied it, Plutarch computes the Perûans to have loft twenty tho\i- 
 fand of their foot, and two thoufand and five hundred of their horfe, but he takes it on traditi- 
 on : " ApyonTai dE, Tjs^oi (^Ev, 5'/t7^tij-(i>; T£uv|3o!f;3a!fa'», iirTrEis Se Sio-^iXjoi •ETEwTaxoo-wi cjs(7hv"" (Plut, de 
 Vit. Alex, Pluiarchi Opera. Tom, 1.— 673,) There is perhaps no poffibility of afcertaining 
 the prccife number, but truth, in all likelihood, may lie between the two extremes. 
 
 'On ne fauroit croire que les vainqueurs n'aient perdu que foixante et quinxe cavaliers et 
 «renie faniafllns." From thefe repeated miftakes, it is to be apprehended that the Baron de St. 
 Croix trulled for the fidelity of his references to fome carelefs tranfcriber. Arrian to whom the 
 appeal is made. Hates the lofs as it now ftands. " MxxbIo,w, h twv i^tv Ira.j-wv a//jp< tow «xoo-< xa/ 
 CTBTE T» zj^u:t„ CTfo(7/3oX,i amflavoV— To/y h «XAa, ;,r.,rEa.v i^Ef tow IJwovTa, zji(oi h ts «fj Tf- 
 «wvT»-" (Exped. Alex, Lib. i. Chap. 16.-63.) J"ftin reckons it at nine of the foot and
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 79 
 
 trifling lofs of eighty-five of his cavalry and thirty of his infantr)'. 
 Yet this is the account of it, which the hifl:orians of the life of 
 Alexander have left us, who take a pleafure in diminifliing the 
 lofles of their youthful Hero, and exaggerating the misfortunes of 
 his enemies. 
 
 Arrian's account of the fiege of HalicarnafTus, which was de- 
 fended with infinite courage and capacity by Memnon, hath been 
 juftly admired by military men, and the reafon which he fuppofes 
 to have had an influence upon Alexander's fuccefsful paflage to 
 mount Climax, on the borders of the fea of Pamphilus, will 
 equally extort the cooler approbation of the philofopher. The 
 Macedonian Monarch with a part of his army effefted this dan- 
 gerous march with as much happinefs as temerity, a violent North- 
 wind keeping back the waves, and preventing the fea from cover- 
 ing the fand with its ufual depth of water. ' 
 
 Strabo, 
 
 one hundred and twenty horfc. "De exercitu Alexandri novem pedite5, centum viginti équités 
 cecidere." ^Lib. ii. Chap. 6.— 271.) But Ariftobulus, as we learn from Plutarch, is more ab- 
 furd, and imagines only thirty-four men to have fallen, of whom nine were foot foldiers. 
 "Tm Si cjsf/ Tov AXtJajSfo», Af<ro(3«A®- ^mc-iv TEcraffa k^ r^iaxovra vex^sî ysvEcrSai rovs uavTaf, m £»- 
 vE« WE^ow £/»3ci'" (De vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.— 673.) Orofius (Lib. 3. Chap. 16.) 
 agrees with Juftin, but as Orofius is only Juftin at fécond hand, I do not know that he adds any 
 thing to his authority. 
 
 ' "Autoj o£ ■ûjaf» T-/,» 9x\x^(Tx> S/« TOV ayixKo'j riys rovs a/jdp'atjro»' e^i Se rauTH « ôàos oun aXXws, 
 on ^ft ruv ttr'a^KTov «ve^wv îjveovto'v" et oe voTot kateko/ev, ano^us iyn Six ts ayta-Xa oootvoceiv' tote 
 OCX, torut (7x?.ri^aiy, ^o^ixi intTtvixiaams , odx a»EU tb ©eb (ir «t/T©' te ><^ ôî a^ip'stuTov E^iyouKTw) ivjjm- 
 Ç1 1^ Tœj^aa» T5ÎV îjafoSoï ■CT3£çst;^o»'" Arrian, Exped. Alex. Lib. 1. Chap. 26."92.
 
 8o CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Strabo, who fupprefles all the miraculous incidents of the 
 march/ informs us, that the Macedonian foldiers paffed through 
 the fea with the water up to their waifts, and Plutarch ^ hath 
 cited fome verfes of Menander, in which the comic poet hath ridi- 
 culed the wonderful account, which feveral writers had given of 
 this paffage. Alexander in one of his letters " barely mentions it, 
 and fays, that after his departure from Phacelides he had advanced 
 
 to mount Climax. 
 
 Jofeph 
 
 lUS 
 
 K.^lua{ xaXou/itEïo»" tiTixetrxt Ss tu ■ax/ji.pvXM CTsXaye), rt»"* aitohaimi ■aafaSoi cm ru ouyiaXu, ran 
 utt »))»s/*iais yii/*v»/*£W)», vri Mxi (3xitiim>v roa l^iviia-i' oAii/A/A^-fovToj Se T« ■EjeXayouf , lira rm xvj/.xTut 
 xa.'Kvmoij.tnt tmnoXv' ij /*ev e» Six ra ofcvs liirif^xcris, ZTifioSot cyu (9 ■crpoa-avms Efi. th Vx&xKtu ^a;\i- 
 rxi xxTx TX! tu^txs' 'oSc A^t^xytfosets y^eiiACfim c/À.ireo'uy xai^oy, j^ ro tr^coytmrps'jrut rv rv^ii, vr^iv x>ei- 
 you TX xviAX u^i^fKre, t^ ÔTaiv rw n/Affiv £» i'S«<Ti yit!(r^xi Tm TSo^etxt (ry»£p5j, f*EXf' "H-^xXa ^xitTiiofi!- 
 fjiy'" Strabo. Lib. 14. Tom. 2, --982, 
 
 e "'H Se rw ïlxii.^v\ms 'cjx^xS^oiAn, •ssoX^on yi!on my ito^'Xu» Itto^ktis ypxÇiKn 'O^os CKi!\n^n tù oy- 
 X3», us âfia rm rv^n zix^xyji^n^rxtrxy AXï|avofa t))» ixXxaaxy, xKKus xa Tap^aay ix. zaXxJovs ■a^iz- 
 Ç/iÇOlAtym, (jTlaiius Se Xtitrms ty zj^oTtyfts Imo rx xfti^ya'S)) >y nx^i^^uyarx rns of «mr ■srayoM SixxxXvit- 
 rovtrxy S»)Xoi Sc Jt^ MEvavSfor, ew x^t'^^b'Sia 'axi^uv vj^s ro vrx^xoo^ay' Hf AXE^sfcvSfwSEf ïjSt) t«to, 
 Çt ^DTw Ti»a, auTo/xar®- our®- a^ifiçxi' xxt SiE^^fiv S>)AaS>i S/a 6x'kxairr,s Seij Toiro» tih, ôt'T©' era/ jaoi 
 gaSof" Plutarch, de Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. i.-Ç,j^. 
 
 *" "Aut®»S£ AXE^aySfo; e> rais ETOroXais, ouSe» toiutov TEpaTEuo-a/^iE»®-, oSoTroojirai ^liCiv, T>j» Xeyofit- 
 »g>KXifUExx, >^ SiiXâa» ôf(*iîo-as en <l>3toTiAiS©''" (Plut.de Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. i.— 674.) 
 Yet Appian, in his parallel of Julius Ca:far with Alexander, by his expreflions of "Aai/xowws" and 
 "AuTBT« A«i/iW»©-," appears to intimate a received opinion of a fupernatural impulfc on the fea. 
 
 K.xt Tov YlxfA^Xioy xoKttov tjjj ôxXxy<7r)i ovaxowfio^? SiETfE^e ^xifxoytusy tù ro zjsXxy^ xvru Toy Aai- 
 /AO»©. xartxo'T®.-" (Dc bell, civil. Lib. 2. Tom. 2.-849. 8^*Amft. 167O.) The latter part of 
 this fcntence is ridiculoufly rendered in this edition, "Fortuna marina undas cohibenle," Ap- 
 pian here certainly meant more than is ufually underftood by the Greek, word Tvx«, which is 
 properly iranflated, Fortune: the idea of both the heroes of his comparifon being, in a very par- 
 ticular manner, under the fpecial protedion of Providence, exalts their charafters and fell exadly 
 within his plan.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 8l 
 
 Jofephus was not proof againft thefe fabulous relations, and 
 having occafion to take notice of the paffage of the Red fea, he 
 exprefles himfelf in the following terms, " Nor let any one wonder 
 at the flrangenefs of the narration ; if a way were difcovercd to 
 thofe men of old time, who were free from the wickednefs of 
 modern ages, whether it happened by the will of God, or whether 
 it happened of its own accord. While for the fake of thofe that 
 accompanied Alexander, King of Macedonia, who yet lived, 
 comparatively but a little while ago, tlie Pamphylian fea retired 
 and afforded them a paffage through itfelf, when they had no 
 other way to go : I mean when it was the will of God to deftroy 
 the Monarchy of the Perfians. And this is confeffed to be true 
 by all that have written about the a6lions of Alexander. But as 
 to thefe events let every one determine as he pleafes," * Jofephus 
 in this indifcreet reference to the paffage of the Red fea, feems 
 to admit that there were doubts '' of the reality of that miracle, 
 
 M though 
 
 ' Whifton's Jofephus. Book 2, Chap. 16. Vol. 2.-63. " 0«:7/.»Tfi oj /A»i5ftj ra Xoya to oa - 
 
 <riv 0E», ftTE xvrofjixrov' OTTOTf Kj rats zjs^i Toy AKe^x^à^oy Toy {ixfjiXtx r-f,s Msxs^ov/as '/<^s x^ zj^orty yi- 
 yiyotriy Î-ttîjjwçw-j to TlxiJ.fvfMif wiJ.z"/®-, * >y ooov xM.m ovx eX"" '''«f'X' ''^' ^'«•"■«j y.xTx\v<TX4 rrit 
 ïltf^m ilsf/.mx)! Ta ©sa Ss^tio-jtvT©'' >C. tbto ■axms o/i'Arj'ao-iy 01 rxs AXt^xv^fH zjfx^eti irvy'^x^xi/.ttoi' 
 t3Efi //.Ey ay TUTw» if Éx»ra' SoxEj Sj3tXj;/xj3ivfTo"" Jofephus. Lib. 2. Chap. 16. Tom. l.-'il^. 
 
 * "Li mer de Pampliile fe itiiu pendant deux jours," is the l'"rciich verlioii. W'c Icaru from 
 the Greek original tliat the fea "'Vwfp^i'^iiff-E"' retired, withdrew itfelf. but there is not a f) liable 
 tliat fpeeifies the duration of the rcrcfs. 
 
 ^ Reland hath very ably viiuliiated the [cwilh hiliorian, refpeeting the lad feiucnce of the 
 Greek quotation from tlic impiuatioii ol iiu rululily- aiul lie h.uh jiroveil by repeated inltances 
 
 ib.ii
 
 82 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 though there were not any of the fupernatural circumftances re- 
 fpefting the march under mount Climax, and he violates by the 
 indecency ' of the parallel both the facred evidence of hiftory and 
 the religious creed of his anceflors. 
 
 After 
 
 that Jcfephus made ufe of fimilar . xpreflTions, when not an atom of a doubt could have remain- 
 ed upon his mind. Whiflon hath tranflated the whole of the remarks, (Jofcphus, Vol. 2. Dif- 
 fcrtatioii. ift. Sec. 82.) but I was foriy to obfeive that tlie " E/te avrt>i/.xnv" hath been left by 
 
 them both to fliift for itfelf. The learned Michael is, in his notes on the 14"' Chapter of 
 
 Exodus, conliders the event as a natural efFeft of a very violent wind, which blew in a direfl 
 oppofition to the tide, but he afterwards allows, " Moi'fe ne put par aucun raifon humaine pré- 
 voir le deffechement de la mer qui fauva et lui et le peuple, il agit par infpiration divine. Ce 
 defll-chement fut une œuvre de la Providence, qui avoit refolu de délivrer fon peuple. La pre- 
 vifion certain de cet événement etoit furnaturelle au fupreme degré, puifqu'il n'eft jamais arrivé 
 que cette feule fois, et fa connoiflTance prouvoit la miffion divine de Moïfe autant qu'aucun mira- 
 cle eut pu le faire. Moïfe qui contre le bout de fa marche et fans neceffitc fe tourna vers le 
 cote d'Afrique de la mer-rouge qui lui coupoit le chemin de l'Afie, qui fe vit environné d'E- 
 gyptiens et qui auroit du périr, s'il n'etoit arrivé un fait inoiji et unique ; ce Moïfe qui au lieu 
 d'exhorter fon peuple reflerré entre la mer et l'ennemi à une vigoureufe defenfe, lui promet, 
 que Dieu le délivrera fans armes, lui ordonne de marcher vers la mer, fur laquelle il étend fa 
 verge, et lui commande d'ouvrir un chemin ace peuple, et qui agit comme s'il prevoyoit d'une 
 manière fure cette ebe extraordinaire arrivée cette feule fois dans notre monde, cet homme doit 
 ten r fa miffion du maitre de la nature, qui feul pouvoit reveler ce qu'il avoit arrangé dans celle-ci 
 
 pour le falut des Ifraelites." Monfieur Niebuhr hath cited in bis defcription of Arabia this 
 
 paflage from Michaelis, and he very fenfibly obfcrves, " J'avoue, que le decouvrement du fonds 
 de la mer qui même felon Mons' Michaelis etoit furnaturel au fupreme degré, l'opération de la 
 Providence, la tempête fuppofée qui dans l'efpace de 24 heures foufloit de deux plages contraires, 
 pendant que le vent y eft conflamment fix mois Nord et fix mois Sud, l'obeiflance de la mer qui 
 oftrit au peuple d'Ifrael un chemin des que Moïfe avoit étendu fa main fur elle, j'avoue, dis-je, 
 que toutes ces circonftances me paroiflent autant de miracles. Si tout cela s'eft paffé très natu- 
 rellement, je ne fais pas encore ce que les favans entendent par le mot de miracle." (Defcription 
 de l'Arabie, 359, 360.) I refer the curious reader to this authentic traveller for fome elucidati- 
 ons on this fubjeO, and he may be farther gratified on confulting, the Effai Phyfique fur l'heure 
 des marées dans la mer rouge of Mons' Michaelis, and Le Clerc Differt. de Trajea. Mar. Idum. 
 
 » Jofephus hath been fuppofed by fome perfons, to have endeavoured to prove the poffibility 
 
 of
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 83 
 
 After the battle of Granicus, Alexander pafled viftorioufly 
 through Ionia, Caria, Lydia, and PampliyHa, when he quitted 
 the borders of the ^gean fea to penetrate into the interior part 
 of the country, by Pifidia and the greater Phrygia to Gordium, " 
 
 M 2 the 
 
 of the paflage of the Ifraelites from Alexander's march ; but whatever may have been his doubl^ 
 and intentions, tlie miraculous paflage of the Ifraelites is recorded on evidence that is indifputa- 
 blc. The veracity of the event is confirmed by various allufions to it in the facred writings, and 
 it is referred to by the prophets, (Ifaiah 63. V. i2, 13. Habakkuk 3. to.) who lived comparatively 
 fpeaking, at no great diftance from the time of this Cgnal interpofitiou of the Divinity in favour 
 of his chofen people, and muft have received the tradition, whilft all its wonderful circumllan- 
 ces were frefh upon the memory ; who were above impofition ; and who were immediately 
 infpired by Omnipotence. As to the parallel itfelf, there is certainly an indecency in it, and 
 
 what is more extraordinary, there is not the lead refemblance. In the palTage of the Ifraelites, 
 
 Mofes flretches out his rod, and the fea in obedience opens and divides; the wind blows with 
 violence from a new and unufual point of the compafs ; the waters become a wall on the right 
 hand and on the left, and the Children of Ifrael continue their route on the dry fand. Alex- 
 ander on the contrary, with a part of his army made his way through the fea with the water up 
 to the waift, as Strabo (Lib. 14. Tom. 2. — 982.) exprefsly tells us, and owed in all likelihood 
 the fafety of the paflTage to the fortunate circumftance of a ftrong wind, fetting off the lliore and 
 againft the tide, which he had the good fcnfe to take advantage of. 
 
 " It was at Gordium that Alexander cut the celebrated knot, on which the future deftiny of 
 Afia depended. O. Curtius hath given the following account of it. " Notabile erat jugum ad- 
 Ifridlum compluribus nodis in femetipfos implicatis, et celantibus nexus. Incolis deinde adfirniau- 
 tibus, editam efle oraculo fortem, Afis potiturum, qui incxplic.ibile vinculum folviiTet : cupido 
 incelTit animo fortis ejus implends. Circa regem erat et Phrygum turba, et Macedonum : ilia 
 expeflatione fufpenfa, hic foUicita ex temerariâ re^is fiduciâ. Quippe feries vinculorum ita ad- 
 ftriéta, ut unde nexus inciperet, quove fe conderet, nee ratione, nee vifu percipi poffet, folverc 
 adgreflTo injeceret curam, ne in omen verlcrclur inritum inrcptum. Ille nequaquam diu luflatus 
 cum latcntibus nodis ; nihil, inquit, intereft quomodo folvantur ; gladioque ruptis omnibus loris, 
 oraculi fortem vel elufit, vel implevit." (Q. Curt. Lib. 3. C. i.Tom.i — 57, 58.) This was an 
 expeditious mc'hod of folving the difficulty, but Ariftobulus, according to Arrian, hath related the. 
 anecdote very differently. " Afxro/Se?.^ os /,;yfi, i^ûmtx to» i,-,fx t« pv/^, is r,, nf.ns S<a;3t^Âr/x£- 
 yss iix Tov fviM lixiATia^, ^tyiyxy to» h<riJM, s^ûxijxi i^ui TOf fvu.rj to» 'Çvyw'" He adds Iiowever 
 
 afterward».
 
 84 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 the ancient capital of the province. From Gordium he direfted 
 his march towards the Eaft and arrived at Ancyra," where he 
 received the Paphlagonian deputies. They were charged with a 
 commilTion to offer him the homage of their nation, and to re- 
 queft that he would not order any of his forces into their terri- 
 tories. The negotiation was fuccefsful, and their petition was 
 agreed to, on a promife of their obedience to Calas, the Satrap of 
 Phrygia. The ftory then of Q. Curtius, who tells us, that the 
 Macedonian army entered into Paphlagonia, ° hath no truth in it ; 
 and it is indeed contradifted by the hiftorian himfelf, who makes 
 
 Alexander 
 
 afterwards, that he was doubtful how the knot was abfolutely loofened, though he confidered the 
 intention of the Oracle to have been fulfilled, from the fubfequent appearances in the heavens. 
 "Oirajs /«v Stj tirfx^fiv ra aiJL<p'i tu liir/xu rovra AXt^x\f^fu, om i)(^!o nrx'^frocirOxr AirriWayytl'ov» 
 aW) nis â/*a|))j «utoj re xai ôi aijUp'aurov, us rov \oyiov rnv tzsi tij Xi/o-ei t« Sso-/*» ?i//n/3E/3>ixciTof . Kai 
 ■yaf icai T>if «yxTOJ exEiwif 0(amxs n xxi ireKxi i| ovpxta intmtumcn xxt iiri nvrois iSvs n Irtfux AAf|- 
 aySpoj Tois Çnvao-/ ÔEOjf T» te cm^AEia, xm ru^iiriJLts tw hva-n'" Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 2. Chap. 
 3.--110, 111. 
 
 " " Zm' Ayxvfxs Tris rx}\xrix.ris crt>^iro, xaxci xvTu irfia-^iix xÇixvetTxi ilx^Xxfotu» to te bS»oî ekoiJov- 
 TA^v, iù ts ofjuiXoytav ^v^fjxivovTwv' ts o« T»)y ^ufxy ^w Tri ovvxfÀ^t fj.ri ttj^xXtiv eoeovto' Tovtois /xev ait Trp^xffan 
 AXe^x^fos ImxMvti» xxXx TU <rar(xin Tris <t>fvyixs'" Arrian. Exped. Alex, Lib. 2. Chap. ^.— iii. 
 
 " "Jamque ad urbem Ancyram ventum eraf, ubi numéro copiarum inito, Paphlagoniam intrat. 
 
 Oir.nifque haec regio: paruit regi dalifque obfidibus, Iributum quod ne Perfis quidam tulif- 
 
 fent, pendere ne cogerentur impetraverunl. Galas huic regioni prjcpofitus eft." (Q. Curtius, Lib. 
 3. C. I.Tom. 1.— 59.) It appears from this pafTage of Q. Curtius, that Alexander marched after his 
 arrival at Ancyra into Paphlagonia, which was then much nearer him, and confequently the 
 Baron de St. Croix's reafoning is not applicable. The error may have arifen from the city 
 Ancyra in Phrygia having been miftaken for the Ancyra in Galatia, where the Paphlagonian 
 deputies met Alexander, and which Arrian hath afcertained by the " Tw rxXxTimf" If Alex- 
 ander was fatisfied with the offers of the deputies, he certainly did not march into Paphlagonia 
 againft their explicit ftipulation. The two hiftorians are at iffiie on the point : I do not mean 
 to decide the diflerence, but to Hate it fairly.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 85 
 
 Alexander 10 march from Gordium to Ancyra, by which he muft 
 have pafled Paphlagonia, at fome diftance on the left. 
 
 Cappadocia was involved in the fate of the neighbouring nati- 
 ons, and fubmitted to the Macedonian Conqueror, who pofted a 
 part of his troops on the fame ground that the Younger Cyrus had 
 halted upon, in his march to Cunaxa. Q. Curtius pretends that 
 this poll was the precife place, where Cyrus the Great had flopped 
 in his expedition againll Lydia. '' Notwithftanding a miftake of 
 this kind is of little confequence, yet in one fenfe it is material, 
 and it may not be improper to refute it, in order to (hew that he 
 is very inaccurate in the moil trifling details. We are told by 
 Xenophon, who had a command under the Younger Cyrus, and 
 was undoubtedly prefent, that he arrived at Dana ■* a great and 
 
 flourifliing 
 
 p "Ciliciampetens cum omnibus copiis, regionem qua: caftraCyri appellatur, pervenerat. Sta- 
 tiva ibi habuerat Cyrus, quum adverfum Crifum in Lydiam duceret." Q. Curtius, Lib. 3. C. 
 4. Tom. 1 82, 83. 
 
 1 " Kvf®' Se i^trx ruit aAXsj» i^iXxvn Sta Kximx^oxjai, raO/A^s rtatrsfXi, iroLfOKTxyyxs tiKotrt k, rritrc, 
 'Hfos iSxtxt, itoXn oixajitmy, iJ.iyxXrn >Cg £«S«i/xova' EvTaufl» tiAtiti» ifA.ifxs rftit. EirxvSit evtifutro ta- 
 
 Bx'KKtit us Ttiv K;A;x/av lî St £;<t(3oA» rjv oJoj x/jix^ins, of 9ia layfvfus, >ij a/j-vX""" ti<rt}^Ssi< rfaTSfftJtTi ci ris 
 ixoXviv'" (Xenophon de Cyri Exped. 17, i8. 4'° Oxon. 1735.) Monfieur d'Anvillc thinks the 
 text to have been corrupted, and that " Tvxnx" is the true reading, but if he founds his opinion on 
 Strabo, " Ktpiva Tpxroiii^ot S;a Tvxvm," (Lib. 12. Tom. 2.— 813.) it is fufpicious autho- 
 rity, and even Strabo wants a correflion before the " Kvfim" can be transformed into " Kuf«." 
 
 Hutchinfon feems to be of an opinion that " aSx»x" was the proper name of the city in 
 
 queftion, and in fupport of it, he cites the following authors. — Ptolem. Lib. 5. Chap. 8.— Sey- 
 lac Perip.— 40. — Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 5. Chap, 27. — Steph. Byzant. Appian de Bello 
 Mith.— Procop. Lib, 5. édifie. 6^. — Anton. Uin. 580.— See the diflertation prefixed to his 
 edition of the Anabafis,
 
 86 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 flourifhing city, and after flaying there three days traverfed the 
 boundaries of Cihcia. — Alexander's route agrees with that of the 
 Younger Cyrus, and Arrian, who traces it with his ufual accura- 
 cy, hath alfo informed us, that the Grecian Hero occupied the 
 fame ground before he pafled the Gorges of Cihcia, that the Per- 
 fian Prince had previoufly encamped on, with the ten thoufand 
 Greeks. ' — As the Macedonian army defcended into the plains of 
 Cilicia, Arfames evacuated the province, which according to Q. 
 Curtius, Darius had entrufted to him, and retreating with the 
 forces under his command, fet the city of Tarfus on fire, ' and 
 
 laid 
 
 ' '"Arrian nous dit que Is Conquérant Macédonien campa," (a repetition in fubftance of the 
 " Qui campa avec fon armée") but the text of Arrian will hardly reach thefe expreffions, as Alex- 
 ander marched immediately to carry this dangerous pafs by furprife, and left Parmenio with only 
 the heavy armed infantry on this celebrated ground, who joined him early the next day, I have 
 
 ufed a term thjt appears to me more analogous to the Greek " riponysy etti rxs -rnXxs rns KiXi- 
 
 xiaf. Kai «fi.xo/AEyor itti To Kufa rou ^vt s.ivo(p:iivri ^pxroiisSov, ûi xxnyroijistas Txs nvXai (piiXxx.st.iS 
 4T^vfxis si^i, nxf/ASnmx lAiv xvTov xxrx>\ci'iTsi ovy rxis ra^s<Ti run 'jrs!^m. oa-ai PxfjTipdti uirXio'iJ.ttot wrxt' 
 Tîj o'v^vifxix âj/ix Tn til ^i> rn ^usx/aii nrxirri vTiifiZxhuiv rxt wXxs, xjcTsPxmy ss Tvjv KiXiy.iXV" (Ar- 
 rian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 2. Chap. 4.-111,112.) The defcription which Q. Curtius hath left us of 
 this paflage, correrponds fo perfectly with that of Xenophon, that there can be little doubt but 
 they meant it for the fame. "Anguftias aditus, qui Ciliciam aperit, hoftem jugumque imminens un- 
 
 dc inultus fubeuntera aut prohibere aut opprimcre, potuiffet. Alexander fauces jugi, qus Pylae 
 
 appellantur, intra\-it. Contemplatus locorum fitus, non alias niagis dicitur admiratus efle felicita- 
 tcmfuam: obrui potuiffe velfaxis confitebatur, fifuifTent, qui in fubeuntes propellerent." (Q. Curti- 
 us, Lib. 3. Chap. 4. Tom. 1 .— 84, 87.) The only heutation that can remain will be, whethet 
 greater credit is due to Arrian and Xenophon, or Q. Curtius. 
 
 » " Brula la ville de Tarfe." I do not find that the city of Tarfus is faid to have been aflually 
 burnt by Arfames, though it was fet on fire if we are to believe Q. Curtius, and faved from de- 
 ftrudion by the fortunate arrival of Parmenio. " Pervenit ad urbem Tarfon, cui turn maxima 
 Perfœ fubjiciebant ignem ; ne opulentum oppidum hoftis invadcret, At ille Parmenione ad inhi- 
 
 bendum
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 87 
 
 laid the whole country wafte. Arrian on the contrary, aflures us 
 that Alexander overreached Arfames, and that the Pcrfian gene- 
 ral abandoned Tarfus and Cilicia without fuch devaflation,' or 
 
 doing them any damage. Information was given Alexander at 
 
 Mallos, that Darius was encamped at Sochus in the Commagene, 
 and on the receipt of the intelligence, he began his march, pafled 
 the mountains of Cilicia, and pitched upon a camp near the My- 
 riander. Underllanding that the Perfian army had changed its 
 pofition, and quitted the advantageous poft that it had occupied, 
 he repaffed the mountains in the night ^ by the Gorges of Syria, 
 at the very hour that the Perfian troops were defiling by thofe of 
 Amanica, two pafles ^v'hich ferve for a communication between 
 Cilicia and the regions on this fide of the Euphrates. "^ O. Curtius 
 hath given a very confufed account of thefe important marches, 
 and hath left the different movements of the armies in great ob- 
 fcurity. ^ Diodorus " is ftill lefs exa6l. 
 
 bc-ndum incendium cum cxpedita manu premiflb, poftquam baibaros adventû fuonim fugatos efle 
 cognovit, urbcm â fe confcrvatam intrat." Q. Curtius, Lib. 3. Chap. 4. Tom. 1.--88. 
 
 ^Aa^/af Tuv •ttoXj»'" Arrian. Exped. A'.ex. Lib. 2. Chap. 4.-112. 
 
 '" "Forte eâdem nofle ct Alexander ad fauces, quibus Syria aditur, et Darius ad eum locum 
 quern Amanicas Pylas vocant, pervenit." (Q. Curtius, Lib. 3. Chap. 8. Tom. 1. — 107, 108.) Ar- 
 rian hath dcfcribed thefe manoeuvres more at large. Exped. Alex. Lib. 2. Chap. 7, 8.--1 19, 124. 
 
 ' See Cellarii Geograph. Ant. Lib. 3. Chap. 6. 
 
 '' " Q. Curce pour n'eire pis entre dans aucun detail." Inftead of it, he enters into an ac- 
 count of thefe movements to fome extent, (Lib. 3. Chap. 8, g, 10.) but he certainly entangles 
 himfelf in a labyrinth of confufion. 
 
 ' Diodorus Siculus, Lib, 17, Tom. 2, — 183. Scarce worth a reference.
 
 88 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 At the break of day the Macedonians defcended from the 
 mountains, and difcovered with aftonithment the Peffian line ex- 
 tended to a great length upon the plain. Alexander loft no time 
 in forming his army, the right being proteded by the mountains 
 and the left by the fea," a pofition which ought to have pointed 
 out to Quintus Curtius the folly of advancing that the right was 
 ftirrounded by the enemy. " This memorable battle was fought 
 near IfiTus, and the Perfian cavalry performed prodigies of valour, 
 though fortune again followed the Macedonian ftandard. Many 
 of the nobility of the Perfian court fell in this engagement, and 
 after a gallant and generous defence of their unfortunate Mo- 
 narch, were flain immediately before his eyes.' The Greeks in 
 
 the Perfian pay overturned every thing that was oppofed to them, 
 and the Macedonian phalanx manœuvring on unequal ground 
 was under the necelFity of breaking, and only repulfed at laft with 
 the utmofl; difficulty the repeated attacks that were made upon it 
 by the enemy. Alexander was wounded in the aftion, but not by 
 Darius, as Chares hath related, which was a circumftance that he 
 
 certainly 
 
 * " fis Ss ^iiyfufii a TrXaroy, atsitTv(7<7i)i xii to xtfxs. es CatXayyas, a.?J.r,» xxt x>Xm ruy oirX/Tavv ra^iv 
 ntxfx'/ttn, TM/xf», i'stm rohfos, it afififx tt, us fjri rm 6x>\aai7xt'" Arrian. Exped. Alex, Lib. 2. 
 Ciap. 8.-124, 125. 
 
 '' '"Dextrum Alexandri cornu circumibiitur." Q. Ciuiius. Lib. 3. Chap. 11. Tom. — 124. 
 
 ' "Circa ciirriim Dariijacebant nobililTimi duces, ante oculos regis egrcgiâ morte defunfli, om- 
 ncsin orâ proni, ficut dimicantcs procubuerant, adverfo corpore vulneribus acceptis." (Q. Ciir- 
 liu'!, Lib. 3. Chap. I. Tom. 1.-127.) Diodorus Siculus adds his teftimony to the ilaughier 
 round Darius. " Ui^i fj.it ro n Aaçfia ri^^ivrnt tx^^u ny.iru:* itrui^iv^n ■a^v^r'' Situl. Lib. 17.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 89 
 
 certainly would not have omitted in his letter to Antipater, where 
 he (imply mentions his being wounded in the thigh. ■■ Q. Curti- 
 us ' reduces the lofs of the conquerors to thirty-two of their infan- 
 try, and one hundred and fifty of their cavalry. Jullin ' makes 
 it amount to one hundred and fifty of the former, and his num- 
 ber of the latter agrees with that of Q. Curtius and alfo Diodorus 
 Siculus, ^ though the Grecian writer differs widely from them as 
 to the infantry, and calculates the killed alone at three hundred. 
 Arrian"" only mentions the death of Ptolemy the fon of Seleucus, 
 and of one hundred and twenty Macedonians of rank and dignity, 
 who fell in the attack of the phalanx.' If however fuch a confi- 
 
 N derable 
 
 <• "Tfw^Jivai lifa TGV fx.)!fOï, aif /«> Xaf)if Ç>!(7(y, «wo Aaj «»• [av/jLZTKTfit yx^ avm: eis ^fi^xs) AAf^- 
 «ySf©- Ss ■CTEfi rvs iJ.xy(yii îW/rf^Xv» ran toe^i to)/ AvTOTarfov, ouv. et^nxvi, off I» ô rpuxrxs, or. Se rfu- 
 5civi TO» /omfov E.'';^afi5';a), Sutr;^EfE5 S'oi^Se» «tto tu r^xvjAxr^ av/xffxiri, yif^x^sy'" (Plut. de Vit. Alex. 
 Plut. Opera. Tom. i.— 675.) Diodorus Siculus feems alfo to prove that the Macedonian Hero 
 was \s'ounded in the heat of the conflid, by fome unknown hand. '• lumffri kxi avrot to» A^e^- 
 avSfov Tpa)9jivix< TO» fiMfov, iti^iyv^mat rat iKkiii.im-'" (Died. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.-185.) '""' 
 Q. Curtius only mentions the accident in general terms. — " Inter quos Alexandri dextrum 
 femur Icviter mucrone perftriélum eft." Q. Curtius. Lib. 3. Chap. 11. Tom. 1.-128. 
 
 ' "Ex parte Alexandri quatuor et quingenti fauciifuere : triginta omnino et duo ex peditibus de- 
 fiderati funt : equitum centum quinquaginta interfedi."' Q. Curtius. Lib. 3. Chap. 11.-135. 
 
 ^ " Ex Macedonibus cecidere pedeftres centum triginta, équités centum quinquaginta." Juftiii. 
 Lib. II. Chap. 9.-279. 
 
 o **Ta;v c£ M»KEoo»w» tsz^i /xE» HÎ rcixKovins, rsjzjsis OS zjist txxTov iy ÇTE»T»îKo»r«'" Diod. sicul. 
 Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 187. 
 
 '' " 'Evrxv^x ■ctjwth nroAEfxai©- te ô Ti^ivxtl, anf xyx^os yEyo/xs»©-, >^ aXAoi ej ctMirt i^xXi^a )^ 'exx- 
 Toir, rut ovx n/A.c^itij.oiut MxKs^oiim'" (Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 2, Chap. 11.-134.) Arrian 
 hath left us in the dark as to the whole of Alexander's lofs, but the (ilence is fufpicious. 
 
 ' "'Dans un feul choc." I do not find that this expreiTion is correfl. Arrian in tlie palTage
 
 90 
 
 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 derable number of perfons of diftinftion fell in the attack of the 
 phalanx only, our ideas of the number of the flain on the whole field 
 of battle during this aftion, which was as long as it was bloody, 
 muft be very different from the accounts of the hiftorians, that 
 have been referred to. And though the hiflorians agree in the 
 lofs of the defeated army, no fubllantial reafon is to be deduced 
 from it, that adds any further credit to their calculations. One 
 hundred thoufand of the Perfian infantry, and ten thoufand of 
 their cavalry periflied in this fatal day, according to the general 
 account," which was more than a fixth of their whole forces, 
 which they reckoned at fix hundred thoufand men. Juftin hath 
 not adopted a much more moderate opinion, though he only 
 reckons fixty-one thoufand of their infantry' to have been killed, 
 as he reduces the Perfian army to four hundred thoufand infantry, 
 and one hundred thoufand cavalry. " Perhaps the text of this 
 writer may have been corrupted, and we ought to read three 
 
 hundred 
 
 juft cited makes ufe of the term "Evrau^a ■niisrii" but it has not by any means that limited fig- 
 nification. I have left it more at large, and the Baron de St. Croix had before termed the attacks 
 of the phalanx "Vives et réitérées." 
 
 ** " nXn^©- «î Wa fx.aXira /-".ff '«^«s i^ E» TofTojf , Îtj-w^s- i^wtf TBf /xff/8r"" (Arrian. Exped. Alex. 
 Lib. 2. Chap. 11.) ''In acie autcm CEcfa flint Perlarum peditum centum millia, decern vero millia 
 interfefta equitum." (Q.Curtius. Lib. 3. Chapi 11.— 134, 135.) " Kkt» Jt Tr,v j!Aa;^>iv tTAtu- 
 TJio-a» Twv /3aç3*f w» tje^o/ /xe» ■û}\H>ii Tail Stxa fx,uf laowv, ictcts/s 5e ajc ikctTras ruv /j.v^im'" JDiod. Sicul. 
 Lib. 17. Tom. 2.--187. 
 
 ' "Cxfa funt peditum unum el fexaginta millia, equitum decem millia." Juftin. Lib. 11. 
 Chap. 9.-279. 
 
 " "Dvrius cum quadringentis millibus peditum et centum millibus equitum in aciem proce- 
 dit," Juftin. Lib. 11. Chap. 9.-277.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 91 
 
 hundred thoufand men inftead of four hundred thoufand, as the 
 correfponding paifage of Paulus Orofius " his copyift gives us 
 room to imagine. The manœuvres of the two armies on this 
 celebrated day are defcribed with great perfpicuity by Arrian, and 
 he feems to be entirely free from the grofs errors, with which 
 Polybius hath reproached CalHfthenes. The fragment of this au- 
 thor which contains this piece of mihtary criticifm, is entitled to 
 
 a quotation at its full length. ° " In the account then whicli 
 
 Callifthenes has given of this battle, he relates ; that Alexander 
 had already led his army through the pafTes which are called the 
 Pylae of Cilicia, when Darius, having advanced along the pafTes 
 of the mountain Amanus, and being informed by the people of 
 the country, that his enemy ftill continued his march forwards 
 into Syria, refolved to follow him. That when he arrived near 
 the pafTes of Cilicia, he encamped along the river Pyramus : that 
 the ground which he occupied contained a fpace of only fourteen 
 fladia from the fea to the foot of the mountain : and that the 
 river, falling down the craggy fides of the mountain, ran ob- 
 liquely through this ground, and pafTmg over the plain, between 
 
 N 2 fome 
 
 " '-Darius cum trecentis miUibus pcditiim et cenium millibu', equituin in aciem procedit." 
 
 P. Orofius, Lib. 3. Cliap. 16. — 182. 
 
 ° '•<î>»)<7J /AEÏ, A^fJav^fO'/ i)OE SiaTrsTTOfEt'TS-jH rx fi'jx, -y rxs Ktynij.ivxs sv r-.) Kihr/.ix TlvXxs' Axea- 
 ov 01. y^Yia-xij-evov -ri Sije rut AjAXviuu)! Xjyo/i.'vw» YlvXui •OTof =iz, kxtx^xi (/.zttx -ni! ^vvx/^;:,:s eis Kûuy.:xt. 
 
 CTl'âo/XEVOÏ Js 'SJX^X TWV £.'3(i'flaiV, TTfSaifiV TO» A\£^Xt^pov Ùl! CTTI Zufixn, xxoXu^ci»' -^ ovHyfiaxvrx rOiS Çi- 
 
 tiis, r^xrove^ivc-xi zsx^x m Urjxfn ■S/orx^ov* ettx: Se m //.m ra'sa to ^ixtiiji.x ov tsK^io ran rsrixfi;ii -^ 
 Sinx i^xùim a-nii SaXajrlui \m zrpos Tr,v ■cjapa.-faa». oia: Se t«tb (psfia-^xi rov ■a^oei(iijjAmv ■aoTa/ji.ot tisixxa- 
 cm, xTia jxiv rain cfai» e-jhus ixf^yy^rx [z!oXXx aoimtrx) rm zj\c-jf:,jv, o:x h ruv fluxed ius Hs Sa-
 
 Q2 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 fome hills that were rough and difTicult of approach, difcharged 
 itfelfinto the fea. After this defcription, he fays; that, when 
 Alexander returned back again with a defign to engage, Darius 
 and his officers drew up the whole phalanx in order of battle upon 
 the very ground upon which they had encamped ; and that they 
 were covered in front by the river, which ran clofe to the camp : 
 that they polled the cavalry near to the fea : next to thefe, in the 
 fame line, the mercenaries, along the bank of the river, and laftly 
 the Peltalte, adjoining to the foot of the mountain. 
 
 But it is not poffible to conceive, that thefe troops could have 
 been thus drawn up in order of battle between the phalanx and 
 the river, if the river ran clofe to the camp : efpecially if we con- 
 fider the numbers of which the feveral bodies were compofed. 
 For the cavalry, as Callifthenes himfelf affirms, amounted to 
 thirty thoufand ; and the mercenaries to as great a number. Now 
 it is eafy to determine, what extent of ground this number of 
 troops would require. The ufual method of drawing up cavalry 
 
 in 
 
 ofoy, e| vTToçpaÇms itr'avravs avaj^a'psvTtj* xfivai, (p^KTi, Aafao» >ij ms iyt/j-oyas, rm /xiv ^aXaylit ra^ai 
 
 ■ax^'avrw fm t»v rf «roWESaav. Mtrci Se ravrx, (pyxrt, ras /ae» iWaf rx^ai roaça ^xXxtIxv, rus o£ 
 fAia-^oipofiss c^ns rams zsixf'avrov to» aoraix.rjv i^oiAtvas rovruv; rovs 5e -ssi^-ra^ccs mvxirrotrxs rois 
 
 «fEO-/. 
 
 TloK dE CTfOETals rovrovs ctço nos (px>.xyf^, re ■aorx/j.a j eovt®- 'axfavrr.y tuv ^^xTovelnav, Iv<txH'> 
 ■AX7xni)(rxi' >9 rxvTx ru ■^^.vl^a too-«tw» litxq^avrm, Tf/tr/Avj-/»/ fi.tt yxo 't-nims im-ri^'/oi, us uvros ô
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 93 
 
 in the time of aftion is to range them eight in depth. It is necef- 
 fary alio to leave a certain fpace between each of the troops in 
 front, that they may be able to perform their feveral motions. 
 A fingle ftadium then will contain eight hundred horfe ; ten fla- 
 dia, eight thoufand ; and four fladia, three thoufand and two 
 hundred. According to this computation, a body of eleven thou- 
 fand and two hundred horfe would have filled the whole extent 
 of fourteen fladia. And if the whole thirty thoufand were formed 
 in order of battle, there mud have been three fuch bodies, within 
 a very fmall number at leaft, drawn up each behind the other. 
 In what place then were the mercenaries ranged ? Was it behind 
 the cavalry ? But Calliflhenes fays no fuch thing. On the con- 
 trary he affirms, that the mercenaries were engaged againfl: the 
 Macedonians in the very beginning of the a6lion. It is manifeft 
 therefoi-e, that one half of the ground that has been mentioned, 
 the part that was on the fide of the fea, was occupied by the ca- 
 valry ; and the other half, which was next to the mountain, by 
 the mercenaries. And from hence we may clearly judge, what 
 muft have been the depth of the cavalry ; and, by confequence, 
 how very diftant the river mufi; have been fiom the camp. 
 
 Afterwards 
 
 Tov (j.it yae mmuv txttctxi /3a3®' E'Tr'oy.r.v zj^os aXija/mv j^jaav' -^ |u,£Ta|u tuv iXm Ux^iis mtvvx^- 
 ^m Sa SjarniiA» this f/ATuirais, ■ût^os to rxis iTtiçço'pxis dvtxir^xi >y rais ■ziipirTrxa-i/.ois iv^^Tny- t|w»To 
 raojo» ox.rxx-j<Tii!s Xx(^0xv£i, rx Se Ssxa ms oxTaKio-p(;iXiKs', Ta Se rcrlxçx Tf/o-j^i^iBs S/axoa/BJ" wr xito 
 TwK fjLvewv vi\ta/v ^taxo<7iajy 'Cjt'?r\yiÇtj<r^xi Toy Tuv Tiff(7x^i<Ty.xtàin.x fao/o-; raTtov, fav of Ttxyrus eKTxrm 
 ns r^i(7y^vgitssj (3f aj^u 'Kh'tth tb tj /ipa^osylia» frix^MKai mxi twv 'minm avruv. Eis cto.o» «v towo» ctxt-
 
 94 
 
 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Afterwards he relates, that, when the enemy approached, Da- 
 rius, who was in the centre of the line, called the mercenaries to 
 him from one of the wings. But how was this poffible ? The 
 very part in which the mercenaries were joined to the cavalry 
 was itfelf the centre. If Darius then was among the mercenaries, 
 how, or from whence, or to what place did he call them ? He 
 then adds alio, that the cavalry upon the right wing advanced, 
 and vigoroufly charged the Macedonians : that the latter received 
 them with equal courage ; and that the fight on both fides was 
 maintained with the greatefl bravery. But he forgets that there 
 was a river between this cavalry and the Macedonians ; and fuch 
 a river too, as he had juft before defcribed. 
 
 Nor is this writer more exaft in his account with refpeft to 
 Alexander. He fays, that this Prince firft carried with him into 
 Afia forty thoufand foot, and four thoufand five hundred horfe : 
 and that, when he was ready to enter Cilicia, a new fupply ar- 
 rived from Macedon, of five thoufand foot, and eight hundred 
 
 horfe. 
 
 raTo TO TWÏ [Aii7^!>Çc§i''' raXn*®- ; « /jLTi m Aix xxroviv run 'i-niauti, aXi'x Çr,iTn, a'/Xx a-.i^ztc'SJTuxaxi 
 TBTBS Tois MazsSoo-i KXTx T'/i» lit x-j jii-iti . li, Li xtxfy.n, zjoiiia-i:xi rm exSoy^riv, Siori To /aiv ■njj.icv ra tottc. 
 TO raapx ^x'KxtIxv, i ru:v 'tzjvjsajv i1THy(c Ta|if, ro ^'ri[/,i(rj, to ■^fK rois ofia-iy, i Txi //.i2-floÇiofi>y. ex Se 
 
 THTWV EUC-t-'XXoyjfOy, -CJOa-OV vltti^yi to [^x9'^ TWV JÎJOEWV, i^ ZJOIOV iôei TQZJOV XZ7£^&tV TOV ZJOTXfJ^V ai^O TfiS 
 
 ç^xToinîocixs . Met* oe rauTot avny.tCoirujv Txv ZjoXs^iuv, Cyan, Toy ^xpetov xvtoVj xxto. /y.£!r>jv i/Tixc^^Of 
 
 TX T-m Txh/, XxKhv tus filïjSoÇof «s XZJO tu XEf sit®' OTf OJ avTOV. ■Z!U1! Se >^y!TXl TOTO, ilXZJOfHV ES-1. Ti'V 
 
 yap jAio-SoÇof wy xiayKn -^ Taiy cjTTrssjy T>iy avyx^t xara ft^aia t/nxfyfetv Ton Towoy, ir'sy xvtois uv tou [MU- 
 Sopofojj Ô Aapff®', CTs, lij CTfos t/, -Z, «iwj ivjxKH TSf (/.laooCo^ns ; To Se TE^ÉKTaioy Ç-iai, Tes xtso tcu 
 Se^ioi; zspaT©- l'axsHS izsxyx[onxs ly.^x'Kiti tois zsi^i Toy AXsJaySfoy" tus Se ytnxius ^E^a/Aeves avTezjx- 
 ym, -jij-aomv ij.xyw i^'/y?"^*' ^^i Se ■cjoTajx®' )iv Ey (/.es-w, ;^ rooraf/.S-, ôm xfTius eizjiv, ESj£?>aS=To. 
 
 TovTois
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 95 
 
 horfe. If we take then from thefe three thoufand foot, and three 
 hundred horfe ; which is the greateft number that can be allowed 
 for occafional and abfent fervices ; there will remain forty-two 
 thoufand foot, and five thoufand horfe. With this army Alex- 
 ander, as the hiftorian writes, being informed, after he had ad- 
 vanced beyond the Pylge, that Darius had entered Cilicia, and 
 was at the diftance of only a hundred ftadia behind him, imme- 
 diately returned, and direfted his march back again through the 
 paffes : having the infantr)' in his van ; behind thefe, the cavalry ; 
 and the baggage in the rear. As foon as he came into the open 
 plain, he feparated the army from the baggage, and formed the 
 troops into a phalanx, by thirty-two in depth. At fome diftance 
 afterwards, he ranged them by fixteen in depth : and at laft, 
 when he was come near to the enemy, by eight. 
 
 Now thefe abfurdities are even greater than thofe that were 
 before remarked. For when a body of troops marches by fixteen 
 in depth, if we allow the ufual intervals of fix feet between every 
 
 rank, 
 
 TovTois S'sr' zjxfxiiXviaix Tas xxTx to» AXtJavSpoy. Çjitr; yaj, avTot Tjo.vjo-*aflai rm eis r»v Airixy Si- 
 «/3airiv, •eteÇuï /xiv lyotta. tctIxçxs fiv^ia^x!, 'nrjliis Se T£Tça)(iiT;^i?,(OUî j^ îjSïTaxoo-iow. /asAAoïTi S'eiî K<- 
 >,(ï/av î(i|32>,>.£i», a>.>~iis iMiiy EK MaxEOowaj, ote^w ^ev CTEvrax/tT^iA/Sf, isjciEis Je oxTaxoir/Bj. aÇl'ûvi: 
 
 ris St^lKoi T^i(7^jXi« /AEV îJeÇS?, T^IXKO^TIUS o'lTTTTE/J, IZIt TO ZJ^^BIOV ZJOtùJV T>ÎV IXTTUtriXV ZT^OS TOtS ys[svy)fJiSVXS 
 
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 vTfoxeiijLEvuv, ^<7iy Tov AXs^xvOi^ov ZTv^sj-^xi Tïjy AxçEia -zirxçHa-ixv tts KtXtxiay, laxToy xTTi^ovrx çxotes 
 «Tr'ayTB, ôixixs^ffo^svfjLsvoy *joï) tx f ev», oiozjs^ e^ vzjoçço^s "SjxXiv zjottiv^xt mv 'ujo^eixv otx ruiv fEvwy, am • 
 rx z!Ç'jirov jxE» TU» ÇxXxyïx, /xtrx Se txvtx tus mT^iis, irai Z!x<r> to «rxEwÇofo». «//.a Se ru -sjfwTo» us 
 Tas fj^nyjijfixs exwejei», 0ixa>i.fjx!^z7^x: ■axfxy'^iiXxvTX zixaiy iznz!x(iiJ.(ixKuy T»iy ÇxXxy'x, x^ •nomTxa^xi 
 TO /3aS©» «'jTiis £97/ r^ixxfitrx --C- Suo, (>i£t« Se T»-,>Ta OTaAo eu îxxaiS£x«; To Se TE?.E'.'Ta(5»j £/s-£y,iÇo»T:»
 
 ijG CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 rank, a iladium \v'ill contain only fixteen hundred men ; ten fl:a- 
 dia, fixteen thoufand : and twenty ftadia, thirty-two thoufand. If 
 Alexander therefore formed his phalanx by fixteen in depth, he 
 muft have filled a fpace of twenty ftadia, and would ftill have 
 wanted room for all his cavalry, and for ten thoufand of his foot- 
 Callifthenes then adds, that when this Prince was at the diftance 
 of forty ftadia from the enemy, he ordered the phalanx to ad- 
 vance in an extended front towards them. A greater abfurdity 
 than this is fcarcely to be conceived. For where is the ground, 
 efpecially in Cilicia, that will admit fuch a phalanx as is here de- 
 fcribed to advance in an extended front againft an enemy : a 
 ground, containing twenty ftadia in depth, and forty in length ? 
 The impediments alfo, which would inevitably break the order 
 of fuch a difpofition, are too many to be recounted, Callifthenes 
 himfelf has mentioned one, which is alone fufficient. For he fays, 
 that the torrents, which defcended from the hills, had formed fo 
 many pits in tlie plain, that the greateft part of the Perfians were 
 Joft in thofe cavities as they fled. 
 
 But 
 
 Spaj £v To/s •Ejof EUTiKOif "itx^y.aati, otxv sir EKxaiSsxa ro /3a-S®< uai, ^i^^.ar É^axncriKf , szac-B Twv as^^m \% 
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 fjUlglDVS. 
 
 Metk 5e tx'jTx Çniai, jj-tTumàoy xym Tm ovvxfj^iv, xirc^otTx tuv 'aoXsf/.iuv ctej/ Ti-rlx^xxotrx cabins. 
 Tbt« Se (AftÇjy «Xoy>i(*« hax'Sis emitmcxi. -aov yaj a» It/ço; tis ro/arss roinn, xXXws Ts -9 kxtx Ki}.ixi- 
 ay, wrs E77i s-seS/Bî «xo<r( /aeï to ■EJ?.aT®.j titIx^xkovtx ti to ^hi)c©-j fiETa'TfJiSo» ayHv ipaX^y.Ge irxoiam- 
 
 ÇO^Oi 'y
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 97 
 
 But Alexander, perhaps this writer might fay, was wilHng to 
 be ready to receive the enemy, in what part foever they fliould 
 come to attack him. But nothing is more unfit for this purpofe 
 than the phalanx formed in an extended front, if this front be 
 broken and difunited. And would it not alfo have been much 
 more eafy, to have ranged the feveral parts of this great body in 
 the very order in which they followed each of them the other in 
 the march: inileadof forming the whole army in a fmgle line, in 
 which there muft have been many vacancies, and leading it in an 
 extended front to aftion, over a ground that was covered with 
 bufhes and broken cavities. He ought rather then to have formed 
 a double, or a quadruple phalanx. One part following behind 
 another. For if the ground would have admitted this order in 
 the march, there would have been time fufficient to draw up the 
 troops in the fame order in battle : efpecially as he might have 
 received notice [from his fcouts of the approach of the enemy, 
 even while they were at a confiderable diftance from him. 
 
 Another fault in this dèfcription is, that the hiftorian, while he 
 reprefents the phalanx as advancing in an extended front over a 
 
 O plain, 
 
 Ç/opùt; rotmvrx yaf sriv c/j-iroSix zj^os th» roixvrw rx^iv >^ j/^fiav, x ris uà'i^%^i'^i/,nsxiro ^xSixf, tx Ss 
 Twv vT^'xvrs TB K.x^^icT^tviis ?\syo[j,svb;v ikxvov vnra^yH zr^os Zjifiv, Tus yx^ alto r'j)v o^uy X.^{j^xpphs kxtx- 
 ÇrfopttvKf To(rxvTx Çria-i zjoniv SK^riyiAxrx nxrx ro zjsotovj u/çe i^ Tuiv TlsçiTuv y.xrx Trjv ^y'y>)y ^tx^Oxprtvxi 
 Xiyam res zsah'THS e» tois riiarois koi>.a'/:A«<ri. Nv) Ai, xW iroiu.®' e/Sb/.st E;xai «ifsj Tr,) run zjo^s/j.iut 
 
 ilTl^XMtav, Ti S'avETO/jLAOTE^OV (^X>^Xy\^ EV [XSTUJTtU àlx\s^V(XSyyiS i^ OlZ^ÇXtAIMVHiS', ZîùfTU yxo ÊK ZtOÇVJTly.riS 
 
 uyuyyïs âe^^Ç>v(Ty)S zjx^xtx^xi ^xotov, vt ()ixXs?^vfj^vm gv fjLtrwiru yù àiitrirxTi/Ayr,^ ûvyxfxiy înt Tr,t xvTftV iv- 
 vf.asv xixyx^iii, Kj ov'ÇX'JXi zipi l^xyfjr,^ :» rovois v>\<iJSein )^ OTEf ixtK^ayv.Ev!;!- ; ùtiiinp sJe vixfx jj-ixpot r,y 
 
 Kfiirloi:
 
 98 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THK LIFE 
 
 plain., forgets to m;ike the cavalry march before ; and places them 
 upon the fame line with the infantry. But the greateft of all his 
 millakes is this which follows. He fays that Alexander, when he 
 approached the enemy, drew up the phalanx eight in depth. 
 The whole line therefore mud have been equal in length to forty 
 ftadia. Or, let it be fuppofed, that the men flood fo clofe to- 
 gether, as even to be wedged one within another. In that cafe, 
 they mull have covered at the leaft twenty fladia. And yet Cal- 
 lifthenes had before affirmed, that the whole length of the ground 
 was lefs than fourteen fladia : that a part of it, which was nearell 
 to the fea, was occupied by one half of the cavalry : that the 
 other half was polled upon the right : and that between the whole 
 line and the mountain there was left alfo a confiderable diflance ; 
 that the troops might not fall under a body of the enemy, which 
 was polled upon the fides of the mountain. I know indeed, that, 
 in order to oppofe this body, he here forms a part of the line in 
 the figure called the Forceps. Let us allow then ten thou- 
 fand men ; which is even a greater number than this purpofe would 
 
 require. 
 
 ^apxra^Xi Tot^iuis ^scdiov ye, OVT/X/Jisyov oiot Tuv 'a^oSgc^uiv ex 'CsoKKov yivucrxEiv my ruy itûXê^iujv irapovji- 
 a». 'O St, x^'f" ■''^'' «^'•'^'j eSî TBI m«r£« WfotSfTw, f^trwTrAv aywvrjjv Sdv«juiv£» totto/j fjTiWtîois' 
 
 aAX"(^ JCTOt ITdllt TOIS 'JTBi^OtS, 
 
 To Sj S»i wxvTut i^iyi^oy' r,ori yaf ovny.vs oyra rois 'iroksy.icis avroy, m ox.ru 'iioir,<rxi (friai To (3^5®-. 
 f^ « SriXo», Ôti xxr'xyxymy iiti TtTtefanovTa radiajiot. ytvia^xi to f^nx.®' ri>s ÇxXay'^®', ti a oXjis a-jncr- 
 TitooLy xaTjt TO» itoirirriy ovtus, un avyt^ii(rai itfos «XXiiÂBf, oijt,iis imoti 'îa^iut cSii Toy roiroy inraev'"- ""- 
 T®. Si Ifnxri, ^tiTrti» Toiv SiKariao-x^aiy ça^iuiy, xj tht« fttf®, ftiy t; irfos SaXaTlij TBf rtfAi(7ix! f!,t tb St^i-
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. gg 
 
 require. In that cafe it is evident, that there would remain ac- 
 cording to CaUiflhcnes, eleven ftadia only at the moll, lor the 
 length of the whole line : and that thirty-two thouland men, con- 
 tained in a fpace of this extent, how clofely foever they were 
 crouded, mull necell'arily have been formed by thirty in depth. 
 y\.nd yet Callillhenes affirms, that at the time of the aclion the) 
 were ranged by eight. Millakes like thefe cannot even be excufed. 
 For what credit is to be given to things that are impolfible ? When 
 a writer lays down the exaft meafure of the ground, hxes the 
 number of the men, afcertains the dillance of one man from 
 another, and gives afterwards an account which is wholly incom- 
 patible with all thefe circumftances ; the falfehood is too glaring 
 to be pardoned. 
 
 It would be tedious to examine all the errors mto which this 
 writer has fallen. One or two more however may jufl be menti- 
 oned. He fays that Alexander took care to draw up his army in 
 
 O 2 fuch 
 
 »* in ^t rriv oXï3V toc^iv utiro n^jv o^jjv ikxvov tottov ctCn-rxvxi, tt^os to /xvj rots 'no'/.ifxms vvroTTiTTTuxsyx» rois 
 xareyatri rxs zrxç'jjçetxs, la-fASv yx^ o -ziotei -ûj^os TKTev tittax^'TttQv. vtroXHito^i^x >^ wv riix^s rtss fjLV~tns 
 «jE^w, tsXeiHS ovrxs tt}! etcetva inj^o'esa-ix'S wf'fx rovrajv kvdiKx s'xûtovs mt ro ziKetov xmoXmrta^xi to n.s 
 <p%Kxyï^ fxî7)t©^, KXT^oivrov Tov Ka^>.ia3ëvnv, iv oif avxynv tovs T^iTf/.vçiOLS Kj ùiu^i>.t'jvs eiri t^ixkovtx ro 
 f3x^^ vTTX^^eiv (rvvnairiKorxs, o oe ÇfiTiv.^ «r oxra; Telay/xfvwv yEv£<j^xi rw (jLxyryjv, Tec ^e toixvtx t^'V 
 à(j.x^Ty)iJi.xTu:v ovù'xiroKoyixv ETTtos^sTxt' ro yxç ccowxtov ev zj^xyfAXtriv xjro^iy s^et rr,y 'OJiciv, ^wrrsf o- 
 rxv jÙ Ta kixt' otvo^x oiaicTj^utTaf, k- to crav rov tottov fj.syî-J'^ ù>PiT^ivov uTToSwa*. vu Toy x^i^iaov rx'v av- 
 5'^ajv, atvxiro^.oyKrov yi\nTxi ro \J/eya3-. 
 
 Toj ^Ev yx^ X{AZ rovTOis x\oyr,[A.xrx iJ.XKetv av eir, Xtyetv nsxvTO.^ 'JuXnv rû-oos oXtyujv, ^yict yx0, rov 
 .'\>.t^xvo§Qv a"irovox!^ei)i /.xrx rni rx^tv^ nx kxtx rov é^a^^ov avroy tjoiyi(7r,Txi t*;* y-^X^*' °/^^'*'^ ^< kxtx
 
 lOO CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 fuch a manner, that he might himfelf be engaged againft Darius : 
 and that Darius alfo had at firft the fame intention with refpeft 
 to Alexander : but that he afterwards altered his defign. But he 
 neither mentions, how thefe princes knew, in what part of their 
 refpe6tive armies they feverally intended to engage ; nor to what 
 other part Darius retired, after he had changed his purpofe. How 
 ao-ain \vas it poflTible for the phalanx to advance, in order of bat- 
 tle, up the bank of a river, which was broken and uneven, and 
 covered alfo with buflies in almoft every part ? Such an abfurdity 
 can never be afcribed to Alexander ; who is acknowledged to have 
 been trained both in the fludy and the exercife of war from his 
 earlieft age. It muft therefore be imputed to the hiftorian him- 
 felf; who, from a want of fkill in matters of this kind, was un- 
 able to diftinguifh what was poITible to be done from that which 
 was impraticable."'' 
 
 If the fpeftators of thefe aftions have publifhed fuch faulty re- 
 lations of them, and committed fuch confiderable miftakes, the 
 later writers who have too confidently followed them, rauft un- 
 doubtedly have been led into many errors by thefe dangerous 
 
 guides. 
 
 The 
 
 /*" "îyC" "é '''°' ^"f^o» «fTov jSofAo-SiXi xarx row AAe^«v5ço», îytfov Ss luramyiaxi, sais ^' tiriytuaat 
 aXX*îXcvî aroi, tsjcu nns toixs oi'vxfjLSUs iyûv(7i t->îv Tx^tv, ti zjov fj.iT(^ri zjxXty o Aa^ «©-, aTrAwf ot-Jey Xzyt - 
 T«i. t7c</f w ZT^otravipri OTçOî tîîv otp^jv rov zjorxfj^w ÇaXay.lri^v rx^ts^ wrrorofj.ov ovijay vC* (cx-Ttotv) ; iù yx^ 
 TouTO sut^a XoyoK. A\e^x>à^u; (xev mv ovx nroiçtot tdv toixvtw xroTiixt ôixo\oyov/Aiyny, 'ax^xKx/A^ayotrxs 
 •crtçi a-jrou rvj fv rois ■sroAj/xijtoij ifx7}:eiÇ4y.y >y Tf<j3nv ex zjxi^®-' rai Js <7vyï^x(fsi (a,xXKo)i, of J/a tji« osirft- 
 ÇIÛS» oJis TO SmaTo» tCj TO f*»i ûvsxroy £» tois roiourois ^i-vxrxi JjEnxfiva»." Polyblus. Lib. 12. Chap. 1 7, 
 t8. Tom. 3.— 416 427. 
 
 T llamptcn's Polybius. Vo!. 4.-77 R6. 8"" Edit. 1773.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. lOl 
 
 The battle of IfFiis was fought in the month Macma6terion, in 
 the fourth year of the ill"" Olympiad, when Nicocrates was Ar- 
 chon, '' 333 years before Chrift, and it decided the fate of Syria. 
 Tyre had notwithftanding the courage to fliut its gates againft the 
 Conqueror, and to punifli a refiflance as extraordinary as new to 
 him in the regions of the Eaft, it was immediately befieged. All 
 the refources of art were employed in the defence of this unfortu- 
 nate city, and they were feconded by the bra\^ery of the inhabi- 
 tants, who buried themfelves under its ruins. An accuracy, which 
 leaves the reader nothing to defire on the fcore of information, 
 diflinguifhes the pen of Arrian ' in his account of the labours of 
 this memorable fiege ; whilft Q. Curtius, ' from the luxuriance of 
 his imagination, is rather the poet than hiftorian. The conftruc- 
 tion of the mole, which Alexander made for the purpofe of 
 joining ' Tyre to the continent, was too remarkable a piece of work 
 to be paffed over, without the embellifliment of fome fiftitious 
 decorations. An immenfe fea-monfter agitated for fome time the 
 water, then forced itfelf upon the Grecian works, and after hav- 
 ing been the aftonifhment of the befiegers and befieged, again 
 
 plunged 
 
 1 In Arrian, Nicoftrates. "TovrorA^'rm //.a^itiixmr, tycvm, izji aç^mr®^ A^vvawis N/xorfaTy. 
 ftr,»©- Ma/fxaxTrif/iiï®.." (Exped. Alex. Lib. 2. Cliap. 11.-139.) ^^'^ Diodorus Siculus hath 
 "NixoxfaTBS." Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 181. 
 
 ' Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 2. Chap. 18.— 154 157. 
 
 ' Q. Cunius. Lib. 4. Chap. 2, 3, 4. Tom. i.— 166 188. 
 
 ' "Urbem â Continenti quatuor ftadiorum fretum dividit." (Q. Curtins. Lib. 4. Chap. 2. 
 Tom. 1.-167.) A diftance of about eight hundred yards. According to Scylax, " AwtxH çaî.a 
 «TO Sa>.ar-n!, y," (Perip. lOi.) which reduces it to fix hundred.
 
 lO'2 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 plunged into the bofom of the deep. Sometimes the enormous 
 bead was wholly vifible ; fometimes it was partly concealed by 
 the waves, and it finally difappeared near the city walls. ' Q. 
 Curtius adds, that the afTailants believed the monfter to have 
 pointed out to them the precife place, towards which they were 
 to carry on their ^v•orks. The Tyrians entertained a different 
 opinion of the prodigy, and confidering it as an indication of 
 Xepttme's refentment at the Macedonian encroachment on his 
 empire of the fea, they flattered themfelves with the expeftation 
 of feeing the whole fpeedily fwept away. 
 
 T" Alexander during the fiege of Tyre, according to Arrian* and 
 O- Curtius," made an excurfion into Arabia. Plutarch'' only 
 tells us that he marched againfl the Arabs of Anti-Libanus, which 
 O. Curtius miflakes for Libanus itfelf. The firft of thefe moun- 
 
 tainSj 
 
 ^' '-Belua iniilîtalï magnitiiclini;, fuperipfos fluftiis dorfo emineni, admolem, quam Macedones 
 jecerant, ingens corpus adplicuit ; diveiberatifque tludtibiis adlevans femet, utrinque confpe6ta 
 ell, deinde â capite molis rurfus alto fe immerfit ; ac modo faper undas eminens magna fui parte, 
 modo fuperfutis fluftibus, condita, baud procul munimenta urbis emerlit. Utrifque litus fuit 
 belua; adfpedus : Macedones iter jaciendo operi monftraflTe earn augurabantur ; Tyrii Neptunum oc- 
 cupati maris vindicem adripuiiTe beluam,, ac raolembrevi profefto ruituram." Q. Curt. Lib. 4. 
 Chap. 4. Tom. 1.— 183, 184. 
 
 " '• Ev Toi/Tw oe qduxKol^-j:^ tuv ot fcj73!x'v tXas rivxs, ^ tks i/ujxu'CSt^ûL^^ ^ Tus Ayçixyxs rs iù r«> red- 
 oras, tCT'Afjt|3/aj nM.srxi «j Toy AvTi^i/Sawv xa^«ft•v« to of®-'" Arrian. Expcd. Alex. Lib. 2. 
 Chap. 20.— 160. 
 
 » "Cumexpcditâ manu Arabiam petiit." Q. Curt. Lib. 4. Chap. 3. Tom. 1.--174. 
 
 y '*Aia/xîT«o£ r-ns -njûXo^xjaîf ewj Tsr A^a(3xs ras 'crfi-io'OiiiOvyTXs ruj AvriKi^xYU TfXTsva-af.'' Plat. 
 Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.— 678.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. IQo 
 
 tains, from the proximity of its fituation, naturally furniflied the 
 Macedonian army with many of the materials, which they want- 
 ed for the fiege ; and as the Arabs had dilhirbed and plundered 
 the workmen,'' Alexander went with a detachment againft them, 
 to reprefs their depredations, and revenge the infult, which gave 
 occafion to the fuppofed conqueft of Arabia. Pliny * then ad- 
 vances without any foundation whatever, that the Conqueror, 
 after having reduced the country, difpatched a velfel freighted 
 with incenfe, for Leonidas his preceptor. 
 
 A civil war prevented Carthage from affording Tyre any fuc- 
 cours in its diftrefs ; *■ but Q. Curtius is guilty of an Anachro- 
 
 nifm. 
 
 ' ''In Libano quoque Arabum agreftes incompofitos Macedoiies adgredî iriginta fere interfici- 
 unt, paucioribus captis.'' Q. Cariius. Lib. 4. Chap. 2. lorn. 1.— 174. 
 
 » "Alexanciro Magno in pueritiâ fine parfimoniâ ihura ingerenti aris, pidagogus Leonides dix- 
 erat, ut illo modo, cum devicifT;! ihurifcra-s gentes, fupplicaret. At iUe Arabia politus, thurc 
 onuftam navem tiufit ei, exhortatus ut large Deos adoraret. (Plin. Hid. Nat. Lib. 12. Chap. 
 32. Tom. 3.-26.) Pliny appears to have borrowed this anecdote from Plutarch, but it hath 
 loft nothing by the repetition. " Ein^u^iutn Je tois Qiois ocpd^s xvtu, kJ zjqXKxxis an^fxTloixiyai 
 
 roÇafu xfxrrnrns' us Kv ixpxrnait, E9r£f*4.fy nTiça^rit otjos avTov, AirtroAxa a-oi ra,Kxirx, iytxroy AiëxvxTa 
 K, xxj-sas 'ivx fi>!xfT( /AixfoKnyn ■cjfoî ras Otus, etiois on jy rns xfuifxxTo^ofa x^xTuixit." ^Plutarch. Apo- 
 thegm. Plut. Opera. Tom. 2.— 179.) The "navcm onuftam" I fufpefted from the firft.- 
 
 >> " Je ne voisdansl'hiftoire," fays Monf' BounainviUe, " aucun fait qu'on puifle appliquer ici, 
 û ce n'eft peut être le complot tramé contre la liberté de Carthage, par un de fes premiers citoyens, 
 que Juftin nomme Hannon." (Juft.Lib.2i.Chap.4.--47i, 472.) "Cette confpiration n'eut pas 
 de fuites, quoique le chef de l'enterprife eut armé vingt mille efclaves, et foulevé quelques nati- 
 ons Africaines fujettes de la republique. Mais tant que la révolte dura, l'alarme dut eire vive à 
 Carthage ; et comme l'auteur qui nous apprend le fait, n'en donne point la dai^-, on peut, fi je ne 
 me trompe, prefumer que ce fut cette guerre domeflique qui reduifu les Carthaginois à n'être 
 
 que
 
 104 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 nifiii,' when he lells us that the Syracufians, who were then wafting 
 Africa rendered it impraticable for the Carthaginians to fend the 
 powerful reinforcement to their metropolis, that they intended. 
 
 The fuccefsfuldefcentof Agathocles," near Tunis, 310 years 
 
 before Chrift, was the only inftance in which the Syracufian 
 colours appeared floating in the plains of Africa, and this was 
 twenty-two years after the capture of Tyre, which was taken 
 in the month Hecatombœon, in the firft year of the 1 1 2" Olym- 
 piad, at the commencement of the magiftracy of Anicetus, called 
 
 Nicetus 
 
 i]ue fpeaateursoififs du defaRre de Tyr. Mémoires fur le Voyage d'Haiinon." (Mem. de l'Acad. 
 des Infcriptions et des belles leltrcs. Tom. 28.-282.) Reincccius hath nearly the fame ideas — 
 Hi'.t. Jul. 11. --455. 
 
 ' '• In iifdem diebus forte Carthaginienfium legati triginta fuperveniunt, majus obfeffis folatium 
 q'uam auxiliiim : quippe domeltico bello Pa^nos impediri, nee de imperio fed pro falute dimicare 
 nuntiabant. Syracufaiii tunc Africam urebant, et baud procul Carthaginis muris locarunt caf- 
 tra." (Q. Curt. Lib. 4. C. 3. Tom. 1. --179.) The commentators have unanimoufly admitted the 
 faUity of this hiftorical error, and the Jcfuit Rader (ad Q. Curt. Lib. 4. Chap. 11.-144) hath 
 fuppofçd, that Timoleon had defeated about this time the Carthaginians, and ravaged all 
 their territories in Sicily, and that they were apprehenfive of his landing with his troops and 
 attacking Canliage. Cornelius NJepos and Piutarch, in their abflraft of this great man's life, have 
 given an account of his very formidable operations ; but as we learn from Diodorus Siculus, 
 (Lib. 16. Tom. 2.— 145.) that a peace wa'i agreed to by the Cirthaginians and Timoleon, when 
 LyfimachiJes was Archon at .'Vthens, in the fécond year of the 110"'' Olympiad, and Tyre was 
 not bcfieged till the latter end of the fourth year of the 111''' Olympiad, an interval of nearly 
 fix years muft have effectually relieved them from any fears of fuch a ferious attack.— Timo- 
 W-ou alfo died in the fourth 3-ear of the no''' Olympiad, four years before the fiege of Tyre. 
 
 ^ '■Agathocles, victis hoftibus, urbes c.iftellaque expugnat, praedas ingénies agit, hoflium 
 millia trucidât. Caftra deinde in quinto lapide â Carthagine ftatuit, ut damna cariffimarum re- 
 rum, vaftitatemqiie agrorum, et incendia villarum, de muris fpecularenlur." (Juftin. Lib. 22. 
 Chap.6.— 488.) The Baron de St. Croix's expreffion is "ParfadefcenteauxLathomies près de Tane- 
 tc." DiodorusSicuIus (fates it " nforTaîx2X«;/.E»jtr Aaropi/af," and he adds afterwards "Tvr>iTax.x- 
 >.BjicEïo»a»aÇfi.'|af." (Lib. 20.Ti>m. 2.— 410, 41 1.) Strabo fixes the fituation more precifely : " Ev 
 «uTw 01 ru xoXTTi; EV M Tisç yy i5 Kaft^-nouiv Tvvn fifi iroKts^ îc ©tp/xa, yÇ, XaT^^txi rives'' Lib, 1 7.--Î 1 01,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. IO5 
 
 Nicetus" by Dionyfius of Halicarnaflus, and Nicerates by Di- 
 odorus Siculus/ 
 
 Tyre, celebrated for its riches, and its numerous colonies, was 
 taken by afTault after a refiftance, that could not have been ex- 
 pe6led from a commercial people, who had long negle6led their 
 military eftablifhment. But the love of liberty will often animate 
 the common bofom with fuperior energy, and in a phrenfy for 
 their Freedom, men of ordinary capacities are frequently expanded 
 into heroes. The lofs of the befieged is reckoned at feven thou- 
 fand by Diodorus Siculus, ^ and at fix thoufand by Q. Curtius, '' 
 but the difference in the calculation of the number of the prifoners 
 is more confiderable. The latter writer ftates thofe only, who 
 were faved by a pious fraud of the Sidonians in Alexander's camp, 
 at fifteen thoufand : ' Diodorus Siculus reckons them exclufive of 
 
 P thofe 
 
 = Dion. HalicarnalT, de Dinarcho. Tom. 5.-649. 
 
 f Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2,— t8g. Much information on this fubjeil may be collefted 
 from Meurfius de Archon. Athcn. Lib, 4. Chap. 13. 
 
 8 " 'Oi o£ Tf^ioi CTj-ot aXxm r^cmttrts, yÇ^ ■stxçxxzXtaxvTis a?.^ll^af, anÇi^x^xt rus fsvawBf . k, [jLxvo/xsm 
 •aXm of^iyat à-nx'jTis KXTSKOTma-ay, oyrts ■aXiias run 'mrxxiay^iXim'" Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. Q. 
 -195- 
 
 •■ '-Intra munimenta urbis fex miUia armatorum trucidata funt." (Q. Curt. Lib. 4. Chap. .;. 
 Tom. 1.— 187.) Arrian fwells the account to eight thoufand: "AmSatrov Je rm (j-sv Tu^im t! ox- 
 rx>a<Ty(p\iiis'" (Exped. Alex. Lib. 2. Chap. 24.-171.) but he certainly takes in the whole fiege. 
 
 ' "Le dernier écrivain les fait monter à 15,000," but in the paffage of Q. Curlius that is 
 referred to, he hath only taken into his account the prifoners faved by the Sidonians, which is 
 a circumftance that the Baron de St, Croix hath not attended to, "Multis tamen faluti fuere 
 
 Sidonii,
 
 106 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 thofe that were tranfported to Carthage, to have been above thir- 
 teen thoufand, ^ and Arrian takes the whole to have amounted to 
 tliirty thoufand, ' which hath the appearance of moil probabihty, 
 and is more confiftent with the population of a city as flourifhing 
 as Tyre was then known to have been. Two thoufand of thefe 
 miferable captives were faftened upon crofTes, and hung up by 
 the order of the Conqueror, according to Q. Curtius "' on the 
 (hore ; and Diodorus Siculus " aflures us that even all the Tyrian 
 youth was comprifed within this fanguinary fentence. It is how- 
 ever fuppreffed by Arrian, ° and if we are to reafon from the 
 
 humanity 
 
 vf^ Sidonii, qui intra Macedonum prœfidia eraiit, hi urbem quidem inter vidores inlraverant, fed 
 • ^•-eognationis cum Tyriis memores (quippe utramque urbem Agenorem condiditTe credebant) mul- 
 
 tosTyriorum etiam protegentes, adfuaperduxere navigia : quibus occultatis, Sidona devefli funt. 
 
 Quindecim millia hoc furto fubdufta fxvitia; funt." Q.Curt.Lib.4.Chap. 4.Tom. i.~i86, 187. 
 
 '' "Diodoreà 13,000." The Greek text eflimates them at fomewhat above thirteen thoufand. 
 
 >,cif5i\iTx yma^xi zsXeioj ruf iJi.u^iuv ^ r^'o-x'^im-" Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom, 2.— 196, 
 
 ' "Kou eir^a^fKTonTvgiiin ret^ ^cymoroi tyxxT£Kri<p^ri(Ta.ti, ij.xXirx is r^^a-jxv^iavs'" (Arrian. Exped. 
 Alex. Lib, 2, Chap, 24.-171.) Though there muft have been many foreigners in a commercial 
 city like Tyre, yet in comparifon with the reft of the inhabitants they could hardly form an item 
 in the calculation. 
 
 " " Trifte deinde fpeftaculum vifloribus ira praebuit regis. Duo millia, in quibus occidendi defe- 
 ccrat rabies, crucibus adfixi per ingens litoris fpatium pependerunt," Q. Curt, Lib. 4. Chap 4, 
 Tom, i."i87. 
 
 " "T«s Si was wavras, o»TasoTO Aarlss Tw» S/o-;jiX'Wv, MfjjAaa-f'" Diod, Sicul, Lib. 17. Tom, 
 =,-195, 
 
 » This barbarous anecdote is recorded by Diodorus Siculus and Q. Curtius, and though Arrian 
 hath omitted it, I fear, it was from that fort of difcreet filence, which furnilhes a flrong pre- 
 
 fumptive
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. IO7 
 
 humanity, which had hitherto diflinguiflicd Alexander's aftions, 
 whofe heart profperity had not yet hardened, a doubt, for his 
 honour, may be ftill entertained of this fignal inflance of crueky 
 and vengeance. — Notwithftanding the precifion with which Juflin 
 fpeaks of the fiege of T}'re, '' he hath to anfwer for fome grufs 
 errors. This city, he pretends, was foon treacheroufly dehvered 
 into Alexander's hands, but from its vigorous refiftance for feven 
 months, it is evident that it was not fo very fpeedily captured : 
 and as all the hiftorians agree in the account of its obftinate de- 
 fence, the Tyrian glory is not to be fullied by the fuppofed 
 
 P 2 infamy 
 
 fumptive evidence of the truth of tlie accufation. la the lax fyftem of ancient morality, the 
 moft flagrant abufes of the right of conqueft were not uncommon ; and we frequently read of 
 whole nations being exterminated with a ftern indifference to their fuftcrings. Julius Csfar in a 
 later period put the whole Senate of Vannes to death, though they had furrendered and thrown 
 themfelves upon his mercy, (Cœfarde BelloGallico. Lib.3. Chap. 16.- 152. 4'» 1737.) and the fame 
 deftruftive principles are often vifible in the future progrefs of the Gallic war. (Ca;far de Bello 
 Gallico. Lib. 6. Chap. 43.--340. Lib. 7. Chap. 28.--372.) In juftice to Alexander's cha- 
 raQer, he certainly had fome provocations for his extraordinary irritation. Q. Curtius tells us 
 " Quum et claffem procul haberet, et longam obfidionem magno fibi ad cetera impcdimcnto vide- 
 ret fore : caduceatores qui ad pacem eos compellerent, milit ; quos Tyrii contra jus Pentium 
 occifos prascipitaverunt in altum. Atque ille fuorum tarn indigna ncce commotus, urbem obfiderc 
 ftatuit." (O. Curt. Lib. 4. Chap. 2. Tom. 1.--171.) And Arrian haih fubdantialed the fad 
 though it varies in a few particulars. " Ofyn yxf tyu^wM titi-ssM hi Uxmlons, rw ts wsAiof/./aj rr, 
 zci^-n ay^oij.imi, --Cj on Aa(3ovT£S riyxs mvrm 01 Tv^ioi ViXianus va S/Jo»®-, jcti to TEiy®- Mx(Siffx!TxvT!s 
 ÔBJWf a-sroCTTO» £1» a-CTO TB r^aToTOESa, clfx^atTis sppi-^xv as TW^aXxa-crav'" (Exped. Alex. Ia\Z 2. 
 Chap. 24.-170, 171.) Retaliation and revenge were cardinal virtues in many Pagan codes of 
 Ethics, and it is no wonder, that fuch a fpeaacle flionld have been followed by feverc and ex- 
 emplary vengeance. 
 
 P "Non magno poa tempore per proditionem capiuntur." fuflln. Lib, n. Chap. lO.-aS^.
 
 108 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 infamy of a few traitors. It is the wifh of Polysenus ■• to reduce 
 
 ainioft all military manœuvres to ftratagems, and we need not 
 therefore be furprifed to receive the information, that Alexander 
 fet out for Arabia, and the befieged in his abfence made an ad- 
 vantao^eous and fuccefsful fally. On the intelligence of this acci- 
 dent, which Parmenio conveyed to him, he returned immediately, 
 and whilft one part of the army made a feint of retreating and 
 raifing the fiege, he entered with another body of his troops into 
 Tyre, which had been left open and unguarded. Such circum- 
 ftances are exa6lly confonant to the plan of Polyacnus, but they 
 do not in the leaft coincide with the relations of the other hiflo- 
 rians. 
 
 Alexander marched from Tyre to Gaza, and from Gaza into 
 Egypt. This was the Macedonian route, as related unanimoufly 
 and without any difference, by all the hiflorians of the Conquer- 
 or's exploits. Jofephus hath alone the confidence to contradi6l 
 the united evidence of the companions of Alexander's arms, and 
 he tells us that the Conqueror, being diffatisfied with the Jews, 
 advanced after the capture of Gaza towards Jerufalem, ' with the 
 
 refolution 
 
 * " AXeKavSf ®< Tupa raoAiofx/ov WEpi/JaXwv izi'Afx^ias tftWitTo* Tvpioi rni azrsa-ias aura xxralfifovii- 
 amriSy rat ru^ut ^<7po£^âo»Tts, rois MaiuSon zj^oa^cavtrcs exfaTB» ■croXXa-^»' Iloi§iJ.tviur AXc^ay^^ov 
 avaxxT^iiras' O Si Six rxy(us izjomX^uv, MaxsSovw» rus f/y^imvrxs t&ui, nis rirlofjisms sx. clBori^riait' is dt 
 rri)iz!o\it Ktnv a»Sf «V ôj/^ïio-as, xaTotxfar©- âiçEiTwTDfov." Polysnus. Lib. 4. Chap. 8.-327. 8^'°i6gi. 
 
 ' " 'O Jt AAsJav^f©- t^iXm t»ï ral^atf, tiri rm rm lc^oro\iifji.iru\i •z^oXit ava^ximv KTVii^XKfi." Jo- 
 fephus. Ant. Jud. 11. Chap. 8. Tom. J.--580,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, IO9 
 
 refolution of chafliling ' them for their attachment to Darius, and 
 their refufal of military fuccours and provifion for the Macedo- 
 nian army. But a general of Alexander's talents could not have 
 been fo imprudent as to have left a city of this magnitude behind 
 him, whofe enmity to him was decided, and whofe inhabitants 
 might have cut off' his fupplies. Arrian, who hath minutely at- 
 tended to every aftion of his hero, would undoubtedly have men- 
 tioned the redu6lion of a place of fuch importance, and in the 
 very circumflantial journal of Alexander's marches which he hath 
 preferved, that to Jerufalem would not have been omitted. The 
 pacific difpofition of the Jews, when the Conqueror approached, 
 would as certainly have been fpoken of, if this expedition from 
 Gaza had not been an anachronifm of Jofephus, who feems to 
 have varied the order of events, without breaking in upon their 
 truth. ' 
 
 Arrian 
 
 ' "Quiavoient donné du fecours aux Tyriens." There is not a fingle fyllable exprelTive of 
 any fifpport having been given to the Tyrians. I have abandoned, therefore, the fenfe of the 
 French fentence and fubftituted in fome meafure the original fentiment of Jofephus. "'h^ih ri, 
 airoT^i^-txs y^xixf^arst. 'npos rov ruv luùatuv ix^X'^i^^i (Tv^.iKxyja.t te «i/tw zj^i^TTHVy yÇj ayo^xt ru ^^xrw 
 (AXTi 'aa^CKT^eiv, tCg iaa Aa^&u ■ufoTEfo» eteAs» ^ut^x ruTu S/So»a(, t»j» Mant^cyuii ÇiXixi ÉAo/xe»ov, b yaj 
 (A£Ta»o>!i7a» tmi rerois' ts oe a^^nfiais «woxj /va^Evu rots yfxfj.ij,uropi>(ois, us ô^xus etri Aapeiu ^i^axus, {/.n 
 jS»r«C^v ôuXa xar'aKTB, k, rams iuis a» n Aaf a©- e» rots l^uat (x-n zsx^x^irsa-^xi iprKnxtr®-' UKaa-as AXeJ- 
 «ySf ©^ OTaf w|vv9»i, )^ TriyiMEvTufoyBxExfivExaTaXiTra», ôaoy bWhi ^sMsirav àifEaSai' OTafariKTa/^Eir©. Ss 
 ravTw, ijiraXiKTE rf^cTEi/sv itri tov twv Is^xtuy af^iifsa, j^ SjSa|f<v cjavrass 5i avm, zjfos rivxs S» avrois 
 ÇtiXaxTEO» res ô^ns' ô&v zioi/ixurifo» pj^ijo-aftE»®- m tjo\iof>iix, XxfiJ^xtn T»» Ti/fov' xaTajTio-a^E»®- Se 
 rx ly xvrri, cTti fni Ta^aiii)! zsoXtji yi)s&it," Ant. Jud. Lib. ii. Chap. 8. Tom. 1--579, 580. 
 
 ' I cannot fubfcribe without fome limitations to the authority of as late a writer as Eufebius, 
 but his refidence in Paleftine, as Bifhop Newton obferves (Diflfertation on the Prophecies, 15.— 
 
 Vol.
 
 no CRITICAL IN'OL'IRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Arrian " only tells us, that all Palefline had fubmitted, Gaza 
 excepted, and confequently Alexander had no occafion to quit the 
 line of his intended march, and enter Judaea, for the purpofe of 
 reducing it. An examination of the circumftances, related by the 
 Jewilh hiflorian, may perhaps lead us to a definitive opinion on 
 their authenticity. 
 
 The high priefl Jaddua, * in the habit of the priefthood, and 
 its fplendid ornaments, leaves Jerufalem to meet the Conqueror, 
 and implore his clemency. Alexander ftruck with his majeftic 
 mien, and venerable appearance, proftrates himfelf before him, 
 and adores the Deity, whofe name was engraven in golden cha- 
 rafters upon the tiara of the pontiff. * Parmenio, continues Jo- 
 
 fephus. 
 
 Vol. 2. --41.) adds weight to his evidence, and ha aflerts that Alexander marched from Tyre into 
 ludœa. "AXElavîf©' Tv^ot â;>ua 2iJw»i Sriutrxs ctti tdv Ih^xixv i^^ut, k. rxvrm ■aa.^xXx^i.-v, tov U^ix 
 I^SSkv ETi^Auo-E, Sua-af TE Tw 0eW" (Chron. Can. 1 77. ) Uûier agrees with him in opinion, (Annales, 
 160. Fol. 1722.) and alfo our Prideaux, who imagines Jofephus to have been miftaken. Con- 
 neft. of the hiftory of the old and new Teftament. Part. ift. Book 7. Vol. 1.-386. Fol. 1728, 
 
 ^ "Kai r,v «urw rx f/.iv aW.a rr,s TlxXxir'm xxXn/Asms 'S.v^ixs, zs^oaKiyf^u^trMrx ii^-n' Et7B^©- Se ris 
 wo»t>/!A2i wBarif, xfarw» TV raÇjnwvTOoXEWf, e-C7joo-a;^j» A^!|avSfw*" Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 2. 
 Chap. 25.-- 1 73. 
 
 " "n^ofiiTi iJ.tTX Taiv îsç-EiJï 1^ T8 ■CToXiTJKB CTXviSaf, l'eç-oTT^ÉW)) -^ ^ixlpi^>iaxy run aAAw» tOvuv «JO/f/XE- 
 
 *©* TÎÎV virxvryKTiV en to-ttov rtvx 2,x(px \eyo[/,syov, O AAEcavo^©*, et/ 'ûjo^^oj^ev loitjv to 
 
 fAiv toXhS®. eï txis XsLxair EO-ânai, T«f Se (Efas zj^us^u/tx: e» rxis iSva-<riiixis avruv, tov Si ap^:tfiix ev ti) 
 ixxiy^iyri Kj ^ixyQivau ço>.n, -^ siii rris xîtpxXris c^atirx rm» Ktùxfiv, j^ To y^fJcrHv nr'avrris ikxaixx, w -ra Ta 
 0E8 tyEyfaTTTO ovo/a«, ■ETfouEXffwï fyu»®., ■zy§o<reKvn!re to o»o/i/,otj ty Toy «f jj«fE« CTfwT©. yiamxaxro." Jo- 
 feph. Ant. Jud. Lib. 11. Chap. 8. Tom. 1.— 581. 
 
 " "Ce prince avoit fans doute un interprète pour connoitre le fens de l'infeription." I do not 
 think this fceptical fneer deferves a iranflation. It is in fafl but the Crambe concofta of Vandale. 
 
 "Unde
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. m 
 
 fephus, * exprelTed his aftouiQiraent to Alexander, and aflvcd his 
 reafons for this extraordinary humihation, and why he had fallen 
 fo inconfiflently at the high prieft s feet, when uni\ erfal adoration 
 had hitherto been paid to him. Alexander replied, that he did 
 not worfhip the high prieft, but the Deity, whofe minifterhe was ; 
 and he then informed his general, that a perfon like Jaddua, and 
 in his habit, had appeared to him in a dream before he left Mace- 
 donia, and had announced to him the fupport of heaven in the 
 war that he then meditated againft the Perfian empire. The 
 Prince added, that on his feeing the high prieft, he inftantly re- 
 collefted the figure in ftature and drefs, which had appear- 
 ed to him. 
 
 The obfervation of Parmenio is a fufpicious circumftance, '^ as 
 Alexander had not hitherto pretended to any divine honours, nor 
 
 exacted 
 
 " Unde vero is quoque infcriptionem iflam in lamina Tiara? légère, atque ita intelligere potuerit, 
 quod ilia veri Dei nomen efTet, ut inde talis adoratio ipfius, ante alloquium pontificis fecuta fit, 
 non comprehendo." DilTert. fuper Arifl:a:am. 77. 
 
 y "riaffAEXiv©' Se fiova î3-foo-e?.9o»T®' aurai, )^ crtôf^svB, n^rmon zi^oa->imiirm oiurm à'na.nut avr^ 
 'Xj^omam^t tu» laSaia'» af^n^éx « ruroy, «tte, zj^oaxityiirx, Tcv Se ©eov, b Tn a^yf^ii^unn «ut®^ teti/aij 
 Txi' TBTO» yoc^ j^ xarx rus ivtus et^ov £» rwv vt» a^n/jioiri, t> Aiw Tris Mxxi^otixs rvy^avuif ^ CTf os s/iatiToy 
 S(«(tx£WTo^evw iMi vais ai x^xriicrxiiJt.i tiis Airixs, nraf EXEXEfsTo //.n /AiM^eiy, aXXx Qx^cratrx Oix^xiyem' xvt®^ 
 yx^ «yricTEO-Sai jaoi rris s'^xr-as Kj tm Hej o-wv waf «Swsrfj» x^yyy' ôflev aXKm yny eoExa BtacaftE»©' £► roiati- 
 fn foXi)' TBTov Se vti» ;Swv !^ Tnî X.XTX rus vmas nrijjivria^as o-^/sus ri >^ 'ZSxgxxtXivmus, vo^i^u 8«a wofiW») 
 Tijv s-ça1«a» 'VjsTToirjjj.it®' Ax^noy nx7)o-f/v, 1^ rw riEfo-a)» >ixraXv<rHv ^vyXfA-iv, K, wajc'oo-a xxTx VB» tf lJ.oi 
 ■^fX"?'"'^'''" Jofeph. Ant. Jud. Lib. 11. Chap. 8. Tom. 1,-581. 
 
 ^ "La difcours de Parmenion prouve la fauffeté de tout ce recit." I differ in opinion, and 
 have accordingly qualified the cxpreffion. The fubjeft I (hall foon have occafion to refume.
 
 112 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 exafted any adoration before the death of Clitus, which happened 
 long after this fuppofed interview, fo little appofite to the charac- 
 ter and genius of the Grecian Hero. Befides, the high prieft Jad- 
 dua died, according to the chronicle of Alexandria, fome years 
 before Darius mounted the Perfian throne. — The immortal New- 
 ton, who hath poured fuch an effufion of light on the fuccefhon 
 of the Jewifla high priefts after the return of that nation from 
 captivity, makes alfo Jaddua to have lived under Artaxerxes 
 Mnemon ; and Simon the Juft, agreeable to his computation, was 
 the high prieft at the time of the invafion of the Perfian empire by 
 the Greeks, who had fucceeded to the exercife of this high funfti- 
 on, on the death of his father Onias the fon of Jaddua. ^ 
 
 Alexander, on his entry into Jerufalem, went up to the temple, 
 where they fhewed him the pafTages in the prophecies of Daniel, 
 which related to him, and he afterwards offered facrifices to the 
 Deity on the Jewifli altars. '' Jealous of this preference, the Sa- 
 maritans requefted that he would alfo honour their city with his 
 devotions. ' But Jofephus here contradicts himfelf. and forgets 
 
 his 
 
 • Sii- Iliac Newton's Chronology of ancient kingdoms. 363, 365. 4'° 1728. 
 
 *" '• Eis rr,t -sio^/v zsxpxyiycrxr j^ avsAOi'v £7r; to I'sfov, 9vrt ixiv tu 0£ij xxrx rw T« a^^is^sus iÇ^riyriaty, 
 ai/Tov àt rot x^yjie^ix. y^ tbs liffis a|/ti7rf mas tTiyJn^rt' oiix^etar.s Jj xvru rns AawfXs PiQkh, ly ij rna Ti» 
 EAXr,»i>ii xarxXvaiiv rrit Uc^auiy asf jjdï eJ»!>.», moiaktxs «ut®- sivxi à a-tfj-xiyotm®'. Ton (aii ncr^vs xtriXvcs to 
 wXt,?©,." Jofeph. Ant. Jud. Lib. n. Chap. 8. Tom. 1-582. 
 
 • Kaj CTaçfxiÀB», "tjaça'/îyo/ASKi» •ETfoj Tr,» •sroXiv xvrxv ri/xno-ai k., r-) -^ijxfavnis I'ffov-'" Jofeph. 
 Ant. Jud. Lib. n. Chap. 8. Tern. 1.--581, 582.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Hq 
 
 his having mentioned the permiffion to build a temple, given by 
 Alexander during the fiege of Tyre to thefe enemies of the He- 
 brews, '' which could not have been finifhed in fuch a fliort fpace 
 of time. 
 
 The fame hiftorian informs us, that Alexander was attended in 
 this expedition by Phœnicians and Chaldaeans, ' but was it poITible 
 for them to have accompanied him, when they were at that time 
 his declared enemies, 'and had not then acknowledged him for 
 their maftcr ? *" The high prieft, is faid likewife, to have applied 
 to the Conqueror for a grant to the Jews, who vrere at Babylon, 
 
 Q and 
 
 al»Xf«, ■axacu HntiyxaiASv^ anahr, uxoloiA-nirtf i lataSaWi-nis rot rxot." (Jofcph. Ant. Jud. Lib. 
 It. C. 8. Tom. 1.--580.) Prideaux admits the Samaritan temple, in which Alexander wa» 
 requeued to facrifice, muft have been fomc other temple, or that Jofephus muft have been mifta» 
 ken refpecling it, as the foundations of that, which Alexander allowed them to build, could fcarce- 
 ly have been laid by this time. (Conned, of the Hiftoryof the old and new Teftament. Part ill. 
 Book 7. Vol. 1.— 386.) Jofephus however makes ufe of the words " SiraX»» aixoSo/ivio-s», " and 
 provided the materials were ready, and they had a fufficient number of workmen, the building 
 might have been foon run up. We are llrangers to the dimenGons of this edifice, but as Sanbal- 
 lat was the head only of a fed, which had feparated from the mother church, in all likelihood 
 it was not large. In the Jewifh war, Jofephus hath likewife given as a wonderful example of 
 the rapidity, v/ith which a wall of very confiderable extent was cbnftruded, that furrounded Je- 
 rufalcm, "To f/^v «» Ta;^®- tv©- Ssovt®- ritriit^xxovrx cxaiu» w, tl^St» St ccvru tjfoo-jintoJofxijS,, rfiia- 
 Kxi^iKX ?faf '«, ty TBToiy 0/ xt/x^oi Sfxa av\n^i^y.ui/To raSiw»* r^icri S'wxoSopnj^)) to na» fiiueais," De 
 Belle Judaico. Lib. 5. C. 12, Tom. 2.-358. 
 
 '■ "Tai» St *oi»;)ca(v xj Tai» «)to\a3s»T«ii XaAoa/w».'' Jofeph. Antiq. Jud. Lib, ti. C. 8. Tom. 
 1.-.581. 
 
 * Phoenicia, muft, I apprehend, have been then conquered ; as to the Chaldsans, fome indivi. 
 duals undoubtedly might have attended Alexander, and Jofephus does not intimité their number.
 
 114 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 and in Media, of the free exercife of their religion. ^ Yet this re- 
 queft, as the learned Moyle '' hath judicioufly obferved, fuppofes 
 Alexander to have been already ir/ pofleffion of that part of Afia 
 beyond the Euphrates, which was evidently falfe, as it was redu- 
 ced only under his fubje6lion in the following year. 
 
 After a confirmation of the privileges of the Jewifli nation, 
 Alexander left Jerufalem, and marched with his army to the 
 neighbouring cities. Jofephus thus finifhes his relation with an 
 error. The Macedonian Conqueror neither retarded his march to 
 attack places, which opened their gates to him, nor wafted his 
 time in receiving their ufelefs homages, but puflied forwards from 
 Gaza direftly to Pelufium. 
 
 To fum up the whole, the filence of Scripture weakens the 
 credit of this narrative of Jofephus ; ' which hath been adopted 
 
 and 
 
 • " 'hx j^ TBJ 1» BaCvXuyi >y MjiSi* IsSaist Toiî iSioff tWTfivJ'l tojAOis ygwota^xi.^' Jofeph. Ant. 
 Jud. Lib. 11. C. 8. Tom. 1.-582. 
 
 '' Moyle'j Remarks upon Prideaux. Conneft. Moyle's Works. Vol. 2.--32. I confers I fee 
 no abfurdity in this requeft. Alexander was then in a courfe of hoftilities, which muft diredly 
 have conduiled him to Babylon and into Media, and the Jewifli high prieft might with ftrift pro- 
 priety have petitioned for this liberty of confcience, forefeeing Alexander's future conquefts, 
 which were announced in the palTages of the Prophet Daniel, that he had juft Ihewn and explain- 
 ed to him. 
 
 ' This hypothecs, though it may have a fpecious appearance of folidity, will not Hand the teft 
 of fevere and rigid examination. Numerous events are recorded in the facred writings, but it can- 
 not be from thence infeiied, that they have recorded every event which happened. The Scrip- 
 tural
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I15 
 
 and magnified by the writers of the middle age, '' though its au- 
 thenticity hath been difputed by feveral modern authors. ' 
 
 Taking into cool and candid confideration the circumftances of 
 the event, they may not altogether be as glorious for the caufe of 
 religion, as fome perfons, with more fuperftition than difcernment, 
 have pioufly believed. The true faith could not have received 
 much honour from the cafual adoration of the worfhipper of other 
 Deities, that it difclaimed ; and its hallowed altars were but little 
 dignified with any incenfe from the hand, which was ready to 
 fcatter it with the fame profufion on thofe of Apis and of Belus. 
 
 Q 2 In 
 
 tural prophecies extended only to the great revolutions, which were to pafs in the world; and 
 from the nature of them, it could not poffibly be expeéled, that they fhould have included e- 
 vents of a fubordinate and inferior clafs. They ceafed previous to Alexander's exiftence, and 
 the old Teftament hath not tranfmitted to us any detail of the Jewifh hiftory later than that of 
 Nehemiah, which ends at Icafl a century before the birth of Alexander. From the days of Nehe- 
 miah, there is a chafm to the Apocryphal book of Maccabees, which commences with the lall afts 
 of Alexander's reign. The lilence, therefore, of the fcripture is not extraordinary, and weighs 
 nothing in the fcale of argument. 
 
 '' Eufebius, Chronic, Num. 1685. — G. Syncellus. 260. — Ccdrenus. 121. — Zonares. Lib. 
 4.--197, 198. 
 
 ' This celebrated palTage of Jofephus hath opened a wide and extenfive field of controvcrfy. 
 Collins (^Scheme of Lit. Prophecy, 452.) ruflied on to the attack with all the impetuofity of a 
 Volunteer. Vandale (Diflert, fuper Ariftcam. Chap. 10.) andMoyle (Moyle's Works.Vol. 2. 
 —26,) advanced with more regular approaches, and endeavoured to overpower it by weight of 
 metal. The fceptical Boyle (Diet, Article Macedo.) coldly admitted the poffibility of its be- 
 ing fupported, without throwing in a fingle fuccour for its relief; but the two Chandlers (Vindi- 
 cation of his defence. Chap. 2, SeiS, 1 And S, Chandler's vindication of Daniel. 76,) with 
 
 Lloyd (Letter to Sherlock) and Prideaux (Connea. Part 1 ft. Book 7. Vol, 1.--384, 38,5.'' 
 have defended it with the ability of veteran Generals. Biihop Newton (Diflert, on the Prophe- 
 cies, Vol. 2.) hath fince thrown up a number of frelh Entrenchments.
 
 Il6 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 In all likelihood the whole was a Jewifh artifice, and a llratagem 
 invented by that nation, " after the death of Alexander, to furnilh 
 it with pretenfions to the fovour and proteftion of his fucceffors. 
 In later ao-es a fimilar hiftory prevailed in the Eafl, and Ghen- 
 gizkhan pretending to have feen in a dream a Chriftian bifhop, 
 fent on the part of heaven to affure him of its affiftance, the vifion 
 of the Tartar prince was as advantageous to the Chriftians of the 
 Mogul empire, as that of Alexander had been to the Jews. " 
 
 Gaza 
 
 >" I perfuade myfelf I am not capable of attempting to defend a paffage if I believed it to be en- 
 tirely untenable. I truft, however, I may be allowed to fuggeft, that admitting many of the 
 circumftances related by Jofephus to be improbable; and, giving the objedions in their wideft 
 raiK^e every advantage, erroneous; it flill does not follow that the whole is falfe. The 
 dream and the interview may be fubftantially correfl, the additional embellilhments faulty and fic- 
 titious. The belief of the "Ojaj ex AiS-tf (Horn. Iliad. Lib. 1.-63.) was very ancient, and 
 with the Tews, when the prophetic fpirit ceafed with Malachi, particular dreams were confidered 
 as a fecondary kind of infpiration, and the Almighty was fuppofed on extraordinary occafions to - 
 adopt this method of communication, "The fame Providence," to borrow an expreffion of the 
 late amiable and learned Dr. Jortin, " which conduced Cyrus and prevented the rafh Macedonian 
 from perifhing till he had overthrown thePerfian empire,"* might have taken this mode of roufing 
 his ambition, and direding it to the great end which it had in view. Allowing the fcriptural pro- 
 phecies to allude to Alexander, which hath never been difputed, he then becomes confeifedly an 
 immediate inftrument in the hands of Providence, and I fee no violation of confiftency in the fup- 
 pofition of his having been led by a preternatural impreffion on his mind to their completion, 
 
 " "Ce fut par le même motif, que dans les fiecles fort pofterieurs, les Chretiens de l'orient in- 
 ventèrent une hiftorie à peu près femblable, Ghengizkhan y joue le même role qu'Alexandre ; 
 et la vifton du prince Tartare eft auffi avantageufe aux Chretiens, que celle du roi Macédonien l'a- 
 voit été aux Juifs," 1 owe the reader fome explanation of my reafons for this violent deviation 
 from the fenfe of the French fentence. The Chriftians are there exprefsly charged with a direft 
 forgery, and the following evidence is referred to, in fupport of the accufation, "Apres avoir 
 ainfi fournis toute la Tartarie, les Mogols marchèrent vers Otrar, qui appartenoit au Sulthan de 
 
 Kharifme, Ghengizkhan qui n'etoit occupe que du projet de cette guerre, fît publier que 
 
 Dieu 
 
 * Remarks on Ecclefiaftjcal Hiftory, Vol. 1,-36,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. II7 
 
 Gaza oppofed the rapid progrefs of the Macedonian arms as 
 much by its advantageous pofition, as the generous defence of its 
 governor and garrifon. Alexander received a contufion on the 
 ilioulder by the difcharge of a catapulta, ° and Q. Curtius hath 
 defcribed a fmgular conflift between an Arabian foldier and the 
 Macedonian Monarch, in which he was again wounded. '' This 
 faft hath been difcreetly fuppreffed by the other hiftorians, and 
 they have by this means avoided the abfurdity, that Q. Curtius 
 hath been guilty of. After the reduftion of Gaza, if we are to 
 
 believe 
 
 Dieu lui accordoil fa proteilion. II prctendoit avoir vu en fonge un Eveque, qui etoit venu lui 
 annoncer de la part de Dieu, ce pcrfonage, comme il dépeignit à fou réveil, etoil Mardenha, Eve- 
 que du pays d'Igour. Ghengizkhan voulut le voir. On ajoute que c'eft depuis ce temps-la, qu'il 
 a protege toujours les Chretiens." (Hift. Gcn. des Huns par Degui^nes. Tom. 3. --41, 42.) I am 
 afraid furh injifrious mifreprefentations could only arife from wilful inadvertency. 
 
 " " AvT<^ Se ^cM-irai xxrx-ïïiKTri S/a tjjj «ottiS©. Sia^9r«J, si. th Swpax©- es toi/ ùjijlov." (Arrian. Ex- 
 ped. Alex. Lib. 2. C. 27.-177..) Ariftander the foothfayer, if vi/c are to believe the hiftorians, had 
 requefted Alexander to be careful of his perfon on this day, and Arrian adds "Taura «xao-aj A>.f|- 
 aySf©^, nm iJLtv zi^as Txi! ij.yiy(_xyxis £^,01 RiXus mrat ^y^iy." (Exped. Alex. Lib. 2. C. 26.— 175.) Q. 
 Curtius varies the account : "Sed, ut opinor, inevitabile eft fatum. Quippe dum inter primores 
 promptius dimicat, fagittâ iilus eft : quam per loricam adaflam, ftantem in humero medicus ejus 
 Philippus evellit. (Lib. 4. C. 6. Tom, i,--200.) Plutarch barely mentions the wound: 
 " Et^wSji f^E» yaf AKt^x^iS^®- Hs rn w/aov." Vit. Alex. Plutarchi Opera. Tom. 1.--679. 
 
 P "Arabs quidam Darii miles, majus fortunâ fuâ facinus aufus, clypeo gladium tegens, quafi 
 transfuga genibus regis advolvitur. lUe adfurgere fupplicem recipique inter fuos juffit. At gladio 
 barbarus ftrenue in dextram tranflato, cerviccm adpctit regis : quiexiguâ corporis declinatione evi- 
 tatoictu, in vanum manum barbari lapfam amputât. (Q. Curt. Lib. 4. C. 6. Tom. 1.— 20O.J 
 Hegefias ftates in fubftance the fame anecdote. "Amf yaf rm ■zsoKii^im en yotxrx ovy- 
 xœ(A9«f «So^e TBT'AXtlavSfoï tus 'iMrnas hexa ■ss^x^as' ot^oe/ai»©- S'e'/uj /*/xfov tKnva to |iip©- 
 JwyxavT®. îma ra -nri^vyix tb ôi'fax©' wre ysnaOxi tij m 'n^^riynv u xa^wTarm' afJ^a rot /*tv avrty 
 «wwAeo-e, K«Ti» xtipaA»)! runTut TV i^x^xi^ot,'^ D'on. Hal, de flruiS. Orat. 146. 8"° 1728.
 
 Il8 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 believe this writer, '' Alexander faftened Betis to his chariot wheels, 
 and with a barbarous indignity, in imitation of Achilles, dragged 
 the dead body of the unfortunate governor round the walls. To 
 magnify the defence of Betis, Q. Curtius falls into a palpable con- 
 tradidtion, and though he affures us he fuftained the various affaults 
 of the enemy with a very moderate ' garrifon, he makes no fcruple 
 a few lines afterwards of reckoning the lofs at ten thoufand Per- 
 fians or Arabs. ' Molt of the inhabitants of Gaza, capable of 
 bearing arras, had gallantly fallen in its defence ; the reft were 
 diftributed in flavery,' and Alexander according to Arrian, con- 
 verted 
 
 1 "O. Curtius liaih heightened this affeding tragedy. '•'Betim, egregiâ edit! pugnâ, multifque 
 vulneribus confeftum defcrueraut fui: nee tamen fegiiius pracliam capeflebat, lubricis armis fuo 
 pariler atque hoftium fanguine. Sed quumque undique adducto, infolenti gaudio juvenis elatus 
 alias virtutes etiam in hofte miratur, non ut voluilli, inquit, moricris Betis : fed quidquid tor- 
 nicntorum in captivum invenire poteft, palTurum eife te cogita. IHe non interrito modo, fed con- 
 tumaci quoque vultu intuens regein, nuUam ad minas ejus reddit vocem. Turn Alexander, vide- 
 tifneobftinatum ad tacendum? inquit. Num genu pofuit? num fupplicem vocem mifit ? vincam 
 tamen filcntium, ct fi nihil aliud, certegcmitu interpellate, Ira deinde vertit in rabiem : jam turn 
 peregrinos ritus nova fubeunte fortunâ. Per talcs enim fpirantis loratrajeâa funt ; religatumque 
 ad currum traxere circa urbem equi : glorianle rege, Achillem, aquo genus ipfe deduceret, imitatum ' 
 fe eiTe paenâ in hoftem capiendâ. (Lib. 4. C. 6. Tom. i. --202— 204,) If the whole is not 
 a ficlion, it is to be hoped, there are at lead fome poetical embellithments. 
 
 ' "Modicoqueprslidiomurosingentisoperis tuebatur." Q. Curtius. Lib. 4. C. 6. Tom. 1. 
 -197. 198. 
 
 ' "Cecidere Perfarum Arabumque circa decern millia." Q. Curt, Lib. 4. C, 6, Tom, 1. 
 
 -205. 
 
 ' ''Les habitans de Gaza furent réduits en efclavage." Arrian hath tranfmitted to us their refo- 
 iution and defpair. " Oi St Ta^xioi, >y rris zsoXius c-Jnait r,nyt t^onivra, ^vye^xons ii^us i/jucyfcmo, ty 
 atfiQxyov 'ssxni! «dtm jAaj^o/^EKw, us tKaro' trx^6r,iTxy." (Kxped. Alex. Lib. 2. C. 2.n .-- i-jj .) 
 J have receded from the Baron de St. Croix and nearly adopted Arrian.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. ItQ 
 
 verted his new conqueft into a place of arms, which he peopled 
 by a colony drawn from the neighbouring country. ' Strabo on 
 the contrary pretends that this unfortunate city was deflroyed, " 
 and remained a defert. Gaza made however, a very confiderable 
 figure in the different wars of Alexander's fucceflbrs, and the ju- 
 dicious geographer might probably have confounded its Hate under 
 the two firft ages of the Seleucides, with its melancholy fate, after 
 its total deftruftion by Alexander Zebina, g6 years before Chrift. * 
 It then became a prey to the flames, as the prophet Amos " had 
 denounced, and its inhabitants were carried into captivity from 
 their attachment to the Ptolemies. The fimilitudeof the name of 
 the two princes, to whom it owed its misfortunes, eafily led Stra- 
 bo into the millake, 
 
 (Egypt fubmitted without a ftruggle, and Alexander determined 
 
 to 
 
 " *'T>î» CTo^i» St ^uvoDc/uas jx tmv zjifmni^v, fj^jiTo o(7J£ pf«f;4; ss rot ^Jo^£^ov." Arriail. Expedt 
 Alex, Lib. 2. C. 27.--177. 
 
 w " Eiô'ô rut Val^cuut Xi/aii» cjAdo-iov' vne^KHrai Se ;^ « sroJi/j tv litrx çaSiois, tvSoJ®- zjoti yiyo/jun 
 xaTEiJirao'(A£V)j SWo A/.E^a»îf8 xj (xCTBo-a epn^©'." Strabo. Lib. 16.--1101, 1102. 
 
 " Jofephus hath comprefled into a fliort compafs a hiftory of this fiege. Ant. Jud. Lib. 10, 
 C. 13. Tom, 1.— 670. 
 
 y "I will fend a fire on the wall of Gaza, which fliall devour the palaces thereof." (Amos, 
 Chap. 1. Verfe 7.) A new Gaza appears, however, tohaverifen, likeaPhinix, out of its alhes, 
 which is mentioned on feveral of the medals of Hadrian's days, Sozomen fpeaks of it, (Lib, 5. 
 C. 5,) and a lift of its Bifhops may be ftill found in the dormant repofitory of Ecclefiaftical 
 Knowledge, the hiftory of Councils and their Ads, A livelier reader may confult Reland. Pa- 
 laeft. Lib. g.-vSy.
 
 i20 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 to fignalize his new empire by the foundation of a city, which 
 might one day be the ftaple of the commerce of the two feas, and 
 unite by interefl the inhabitants of the eaftern and weflern world. 
 The Conqueror confulted his true glory in the enterprife. Hu- 
 manity recommended the defign, and a work of this kind is en- 
 titled to a more diftinguifhed column in the page of hiftory, than 
 tliofe monftrous edifices which are at once the prodigies of human 
 labour, and the lading monuments of the tyranny of the princes, 
 that erefted them amidft the mifery and unavailing agonies of 
 
 their fubjefts. The Macedonian Monarch in his foundation 
 
 of Alexandria opened a new fource of riches, and Egypt foon 
 enjoyed the happinefs of feeing its land cultivated by a multitude 
 of induftrious inhabitants, and the temples of its Deities filled with 
 crowds of people enriched by its commerce. 
 
 Arrian^ and Plutarch^ tell us, that the plan of Alexandria 
 was traced out under Alexanders infpeftion, and that the work- 
 men were ordered to begin the buildings previous to his departure 
 
 for 
 
 Ô®- SÏ Aa/x/3«v« auTo» ra ffya, Kj avr®^ rx cmixHx rn ctoXb eSuxe», I'vot te a-yofav sv avrn Sei/Mxa-Bai eSa, 
 KjU^xhaa., iCjQiii^ m riiiuv, Tim fiEv 'E^X>)wxiiv, l<rioiisV Aiyvrtrias, k, to rn^®' yi T^i^ipi^^^yia-Qxi.^— 
 
 Etti T8To/f Se •57o9©' X«/j(.|îavf» avrot sXSetf -mx^ A/x/jwva ss AijSwîv" Arrian, Exped. Alex. Lib. 
 
 3. C. 1.--3.--181, 183. 
 
 ^ "E<iyti K£X£U(T«r, tu^c^Oxi rns imij.sXrira!, auT©- ôf(it>j<r£» f/j Afi/AO®' ôSov." Plutarch. De Vit, 
 Alex. Plut. Opera, Tom. i.—ôSo.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 121 
 
 for Ammon ; " Diodorus Siculus " and Juftin ^ date its foundation 
 after that expedition, but Q. Curtius ' refers both the idea and the 
 execution to his return. Thefe different hiflorians, Q. Curtius 
 excepted, may be correal in their information, and it is not im- 
 probable that Alexander dire6ling his march along the fea- 
 fliore, might firft have traced the outlines of this flourini- 
 ing city,' and afterwards on his return augmented the number 
 of the workmen, and pufhed on by his encouragement the 
 numerous and (lately edifices, that were then rifing up. This 
 is notwithftanding no excufe for Diodorus Siculus, who fixes the 
 
 R foundation 
 
 *■ "L'epoque de la foundation d'Alexandrie eft rapportée par Plutarque et Arrien avant celle du 
 depart d'Alexandre pour Ammon." I have not fcrupuloufly adhered to the French text, but by 
 this means the difcordant hillorians are more in unifon, and to jurtify me I have the evidence of 
 Plutarch and Arrian that I have juft cited. Q. Curtius, ftill remains at an irreconcilable diftance. 
 
 ■^ "E'jrxn^Sui as AiywTov' Kf«af S'sv Taux» tJoA/v (UceyaXiiVKTicj-a/, zj^oa-Erx^c rois itti tw i'!ti(ai\hxi, 
 raurvivx.a.TxXii'ncifAcmit, aya(j.c<7oi rns n XijAtr,; -^ ry>! SxXcaaris oixiaxi rm •7!o>.it," Diod. Sicul, Lib. 17. 
 Tom. 2.— 200. 
 
 ^ "Reverfus ab Hammone Alexandriam condidit." Juftin. Lib. 11. Chap. 11. --286. 
 
 ' "Alexander ab Hammone rediens, ut a mari ad Mareotim paludem, haud procul infulâ Pha- 
 re fitam, venif, contemplatus loci naturam, primum in ipfâ infulâ ftatuerat urbem novam conde- 
 re. Inde, ut adparuit, magnae fedis infulam haud capaccm; elegit urbi locum, ubi nunc eft A- 
 lexandria." Q. Ctirt. Lib. 4. C. 8. Tom. 1.-22O, 221. 
 
 ' Plutarch hath preferved a curious anecdote refpeéling Alexander's tracing out the plan of 
 this city. " Kai y» (j.it s vxpm ^.svKn' rut Je af^Çirutt >.ai/.^xtiovTts iv nrt^iu jj-iXx-y^etai Kviikirtfn xo^tto» n- 
 yEV, â TMV f VT©- ■zsi^i^i^eixv Evû&xi (3x<THS, US zj!^ xTTo Kpxtnrsduy eis (T^yjfj.x yXxfj-'J^^ vTrihx/^lBxvuif^ tE, iffo 
 mvxyua-at to jx-e'/eS®.* ijo-Sevt®- Se t»i ^ixSitTH m pxiri\euis, aiÇyiSm cfyiOes xiio re rooTa/xB, >9 rrit Ai/a- 
 ns, toXii8« te xireifoi, >y xxrx ysv©- ■ssxin^xiroi, i^ ^xEfaXoi, fti ran roirot xxTxifotTn. vsf eitiv ioimtis, 
 bJe fiuxfov itriXmotro rut aXf itwv' us te x^ rot AAsJavSfo» ^ixrxfxydynxi zj^os Toy oiutoy' u i^-m yxf rut 
 fiXtreiut Sxffeit zixfxittttrut zjoXvxfxcTxrrit yxf oixi^s^rOxi ■aof^n inr'a-jT», k, 'ssxtrolxifut atVfuvut cc-g/ai- 
 rmrfoipot." (Plutarch, De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. i.-68o.) A Icfs accommodating for- 
 tune-teller might have put a difl'ercnt conftruftion on the accident.
 
 122 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 foundation of Alexandria under the Archon Ariftophanes, in the 
 fécond year of the 112"' Olympiad/ which was in fa£l the fixth 
 year of Alexander's reign ; though it only became the fifth ac- 
 cording to this hillorian, Alexander having begun his reign, by 
 his computation under the magiftracy of Eveenetus, as was before 
 obferved. The miftake of Diodorus Siculus moft probably occa- 
 fionedthofe of Eufebius*" and St. Cyrill, ' who have pretended to 
 eftablifli the foundation of Alexandria in the feventh year of 
 Alexander's reign. But the true period of its foundation was the 
 fifth year of the Macedonian Monarch's reign, which was the firll 
 year of the 1 1 2"" Olympiad when Nicetas was Archon, as appears 
 by the fubfequent military operations of this Prince. — The cer- 
 tainty of the date is alfo confirmed by the Canon of Theon, which 
 allows only four years to the reign of Darius Codomanus, and 
 begins to reckon that of his viftorious rival in the 4 1 f^ year of 
 the era of Nabonaffar, the conqueft of Egypt and the foundation 
 of Alexandria being included in the four firft years after Alexan- 
 der's accefiTion to the throne of Macedon. '' 
 
 The 
 
 E Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 200. T. Livy differs very confiderably, (Lib. 8. C. 24. 
 Tom. 2.-760.) and alfo Julius Solinus (C. 32.-45.) from Diodorus Siculus, but Dodwell 
 (Diflert. de Cycl, 10. 73.) hath fully proved the former to have deceived himfelf, andSalma- 
 fius (Plin. Exer. 338.) allows the latter to have been miftaken. 
 
 '' "AXf|a»Sfaa ii xar'AiyuwTov i0Soixu eret A^s^xt^fn otTivOv." Eufebii Chronic. Port. 177. 
 
 ' " 'EKaror»! SaîïxaTi) oKui/.i:ia^i AXs^av^peixv rm zj^os Aiytmroi/ xricrOmai Çaa-iy, iret t^^ofjuo rvs A- 
 XeÇavSfa ^acriXa^." {St. Cyrill. contra Julian. Lib. 1. Julian. Opera. Tom, 2,— 13.} To 
 give the Patriarch fair play, he only ftates it on tradition. 
 
 ^ This fubjeft hath been extremely well explained by Monf. de Freret. Hift. de I'Acad. des 
 Infcript. Tom. 27.-- 149, 150.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, I23 
 
 The new city had at its foundation a form, nearly fimilar to that 
 of the Macedonian' mantle, but as it increafed, it naturally loft its 
 fliape and figure. Mons' d'Anvillc's plan of Alexandria, which 
 he (ketched out with fuch pains and accuracy, hath little refem- 
 blance with this part of the Macedonian drefs as engraven by 
 Cuper,™ and he endeavours in vain to apply it to the ground be- 
 tween the Mareotic lake and the (hore of the Egyptian fea. Its 
 circuit, according to Pliny," was about fifteen miles, which may 
 amount to one hundred and twenty ftadia, inftead of eighty agree- 
 able to the calculation of O. Curtius. " But the fentiments of thefe 
 two authors will not materially differ, if we fuppofe with Mons' 
 d'Anville '' Pliny's ftadium to have been a third lefs than that of 
 Q. Curtius, This meafure will be found likewife to be near- 
 ly adequate to the thirty ftadia by feven or eight, which Strabo ■* 
 
 R 2 hath 
 
 ' "TovSe Tuirov a7roTE^w^;^^(»/il«5l1iT»Jaw^^lo■^(!v•" (Diod, Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 200.) Or 
 as Pliny more diffufely exprefles it, "Ad effigiem Macedonicae Chlamydis orbe gyrate lacinio- 
 fam, dextrâ lïvâque angulofo procurfu." (Nat. Hift. Lib. 5. 10. Tom. 1.-562.) Strabo hath def- 
 cribed the figure with mathematical preciCon : "To ^^Ax/AvSofiStj <T^yti/.x tyliy^avr»! 'aru!, ù: t£ t« 
 HW©- Ta f*t)X« ôf*oAoy«», >y ô<70» ftv*( To (xiyiTO», K^ to OJ^aT®» T« ■EJ^aTfC' Lib. 2. Tom. 1,-179. 
 
 " See the Homeri Apothefis. 158. 
 
 '■ "Metatus eft earn Dinochares ArticheiSlus, pluribus modis memorabili ingenio. xv. M. pafla- 
 um laxitate infefla." Plin. Nat. Hift. Lib. 5. C, lO. Tom. 1.— 561. 562. 
 
 • "Complexus quidquid eft loci inter paludem et mare, oftaginta ftadiorura muris ambitum 
 «Icftinat." Q. Curtius. Lib. 4. C. 8. Tom. 1.— 221. 
 
 » Mémoire fur I'Egypt Anc, et Mod. 56. 57. 
 
 ' "Efj Se }(\ùtiAuSoeiScs TO o-p^ij/ios t« i^afas Tns zsoXcus' « rx ftt» tin piwow zs^tufx içt ra a[A.<pi><.\uj- 
 ra, offs» Tfix-Mtra rotSiuv £;^ovt« S«»/A£Tpov' T« Se tiri ■aftar®' ôi «rSjuoi «wt» j) «kt»> ^aSiut ixaTEf®-*" 
 •^trabo. Lib. 17, —1143.
 
 124 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 hath given to this city. Jofephus' reckons its length to have 
 been thirty ftadia and its breadth ten/ but Diodorus Siculus' 
 with lefs probability relates that it reached four hundred ftadia 
 in length, and was a Plethrum broad. 
 
 When Diodorus Siculus paffed through Egypt, the number of 
 Freemen in Alexandria were faid by the Police officers to amount 
 to three hundred thoufand, ^ and if we adopt the calculation of 
 Cteficles, " refpecling the proportion between the Freemen and the 
 
 flaves 
 
 ' "Mnx.®' jjicy yt avrw r^iaMnrx rx^iuv, ti/f©- Se ax eA«tIo» Ssxa." Jofeph. de Bello Judaico- 
 Lib. 2. C. 16. Seft. 4. Tom. 2.--19O. 
 
 * The Baron de St. Croix obferves "Cette mefure eft conforme à la longueur de trente ftades 
 fur dix de largeur, donnée par Strabon et Jofeph a cette ville." I am not altogether fatisfied 
 that he perfeftly underftood the Greek geographer, but Father Harduin in his notes on Pliny 
 (Hift. Vit. Tom. 1.-562.) appears to have looked through the fame intelleiSual telefcope, and 
 in a generous court of criticifm "De minimis non curat lex." The "fur dix" applied to both 
 authors is inexcufable, and I have made each writer refponfible for his own calculation. 
 
 ' "Awo y«f Wf^w tm ^toXiv S(W8»«, T£5'<7afa!Xo»Ta fitv raS/wn t j^a to ^w©-, îjArôf» St TOîjAaT©-." 
 (Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.--200.) The Plethrum was originally reckoned to contain a 
 hundred fquare feet, but "the practice of fome Greeks," as the great hiftorian of the decline of 
 the Roman empire hath judicioufly remarked, (16th Chap. Vol 1.) and the authority of Monf. 
 de Valois would lead us to believe the "nXtSjov," was ufed to exprefs the Roman "jugerum," 
 which confifted of twenty-eight thoufand eight hundred fquare Roman feet, 
 
 " "Ka8 0» yaf Su xai^ov i/AHS tia^tS'Mim ets AiHwToy, i^aarat 01 ras ataï^a^as t^nvris Tut xairoi- 
 xuyruv, Citai tsj tv avn SiaiTfi|3ovTar EXiufltfBS, ijXBej ra» Tfiasxovra ftM^nx^m." Diod, Sicul. Lib. 
 17. Tom, 2. —201. 
 
 * " KT)jo-/xA»)J St 1» Tfjitj ^(fmitwn Çiia-ii lifï» k, StMtJi) OXvfi.itia^i aSjiwjitip c^clxo'ita» ytn<Axi îmo A))/*>j!f (- 
 « TB *a^uf fwj TOI» xaToixevTwv Tw AtIixW >C,lvet6mxi ABiivaiiis ixivlva-fA.v^iiis zjfcs rois vi>iioi!, fjuroineslt 
 liufivs, omtTunh fiv^ia^as rtircx^xMvTa." (Athenaeus, Lib. 6. Tom. 1.— 272.) This immenfe 
 
 population
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I25 
 
 flaves at Athens, we cannot reckon the whole mafs of inhabitants 
 at lefs than fifteen hundred thoufand, which is an adonifhing de- 
 gree of population confidering the obftacles that checked it. 
 Notwithftanding the precaution which the Royal Founder had 
 taken in its conftrufclion, that the ftreets might be open to and 
 refrefhcd by the Etefian winds/ the new capital of Egypt was 
 very unhealthy, and the inhabitants had only dead and ftagnant 
 water for their common ufe. Their diet was alfo very ordinar}'^, 
 and confifted of bad vegetables of the worft qualities, pafle, dry 
 cheefe, inferior kinds of fifh, fnails, fnakes, the flefli of affes and 
 of camels, and in general all forts of fait provifions. "" From 
 fuch a regimen, as Galen hath obferved, the leprofy and other 
 
 inveterate 
 
 population did not ftill equal the Roman Capitation about this period. (See Juft. Lipf. Ele<5t, 
 Lib. 1. — De Magnitudine Rom«e. Lib. i. 7.) In the quotation from Athemus, I have adopt- 
 ed the ingenious emendation of the "'ETrra k, ^mxTn," with which the Baron de St. Croix hath 
 furnifhed me, on the very ftrong evidence ot Demetrius having been the Athenian Archon in the 
 fourth j'ear of the 117th Olympiad, which he produces from Corfini. Faft. Attic. Tom. 4.— 
 e^, 64. 
 
 (Alt S(« Te f*£7irs 'S!i\ayus, xatravJ/uj^ovTii» Je tov xxtx tjiv ■cioXi» ae^x, îJoA^)iv tois Kxromariv ivx^xirixv ty 
 vyiHx)) xMrtmivxn'" (Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 200.) ^^Kxi iitmaixi ■anuiTDi mrm &o- 
 fHm, Kj TB roa-eru zsiXayss' ûfi kxXXitx t« Qi^es AXi^xv^^as lixfa<Ti>," (Strabo. Lib. 17, 
 --1143.) A warm and luxuriant defcription of Alexandria may be found in Achilles Tatius. 
 
 (Lib. 5. C. 1. 397 400. 8^° Lipf. 1776.) Monf, Savary (Letters on ^gypt, Vol. 1.--21 
 
 42.) hath amplified it, and introduced the revolutions that it hath experienced, but with both 
 
 ingenuity and tafte. 
 
 * Yet to this wretched bill of Fare, Diodorus Siculus gives a flat contradidion. " Kai wfoffo- 
 o«ii wX))&f< )^ T*i» CTfOî TfoÇiiv »H)n»VT«» woAf Si«9*f « Twy «XXw». Lib. 17. Tom. 2,"20i.
 
 126 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 inveterate fcorbutic complaints were very frequent. Cocchi, from 
 whom the remark is borrowed, defcribes the foil of Alexandria as 
 very hot and impregnated with faits, and he adds that from the 
 expence of the inceffant watering which the vegetables wanted, 
 they were not within the reach of general ufe, and the malady 
 from this circumllance was both very common and very virulent. 
 
 The place on which Alexandria flood, had been ufed to feed 
 cattle' in, and ferved occafionally for the retreat of a few mifera- 
 ble (liepherds or fifliermen, who refided in the little village of 
 Racotis. Alexander looked undoubtedly wuth a penetrating eye 
 into futurity, and made choice of the lituation without any atten- 
 tion to the falubrity of the air, from the commercial advantages 
 that it offered, and which foon rendered it one of the moft llou- 
 rifliing cities of the ancient world. " 
 
 The 
 
 '*■ ''O/ /lAEv ttv CTgoTfço^ Twv AtyvTTTiuit ^xiTtXfts ûtystiTuvris ois ei^iv^ >y a zjxw tiretTscuruv d£0/>tEvo*, S/at- 
 ^î^>.»i;ae»oi ■CTfos âirxtrxs ras ■aMotTxs, iC/ /j-xXij-x tus'TIKX-iiiixs [zh^^txi yxg naxv jy m.^vij.r)Txi t)k «X- 
 XoT'ixs xxrx (TTtxtiv yis) t'ntT'KTxv ÇvXxKm m totsu tbtu, xt\pja-xyTis «•jrafy«» rus ss^oa-ioiirxs' xxtoixi- 
 a> VxvTois i^oaxv rnv 'ss^oaxyo^ivnfjunv Pxxutiv, ri n'v ;x£y rns AXs^xto^cujt zjoXius eçi ^sj©. to wrffxa^s- 
 Ï5V Tw» >sa.'f iK/v" TOTE St xw/*» iwrjf ;^»' rx Se xvxXu rns xuii.ns /jsxoXou ^xfc^oa-xv, i-juxi^ttois :y xvTois xu- 
 \vei» res liui^n I'H'otrxs," (Strabo. Lib. 17.— 1142.) The ''Buxo^iois zix^cloaxv" leads me to be- 
 lieve with Diodoriis Siculus that Alexandria was not confined to the flefli of camels and of 
 affcs. 
 
 •" A modern traveller who vifited the Turkifh empire on a profeffional plan, hath pafled a 
 high encomium on the Macedonian Monarch's difcernment in his choice of the lituation of Alex- 
 andria. "L'Egypte fituce pour affocier à fon commerce, l'Europe, l'Afrique et les Indes, avait 
 befoin d'un port. Il devait être vafte, et d'un abord facile : les bouches du Nil n'offraient au- 
 cun de fes avantages: le feul port qui fût fur cette côte, placé à douze lieues du fleuve, dans un 
 
 déferl'
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I27 
 
 The difficulties, vvliich the Macedonian foldiers had to encoun- 
 ter in their march from the frontiers of Egypt to the temple of 
 Jupiter Ammon, have been greatly exaggerated by all the hifto- 
 rians, and particularly O. Curtius, whofe hyperbolical expreffions 
 are alone fufficient to create a doubt of their veracity. 
 
 Diodorus Siculus refers the origin of the temple of Ammon to 
 the time of Danaus ; " and we are informed b)' Apollodorus ■* that 
 Cepheus expofed his daughter Andromeda by the counfels of this 
 oracle. But even the fables of Herodotus " on the foundation of 
 
 the 
 
 défertj ne pouvait être apperçu que par un génie hardi. Il falloit y bâtir une ville ; ce fut lui 
 qui en deiîina le plan. A quel degré de fplendeur n'a-t-il pas porté Alexandrie dans fa naiflancc ? 
 il la joignit au Nil par un canal navigable, et utile à la culture ; elle devint la ville de toutes 
 les nations, la Métropole du commerce ; il en honore les cendres que les fiecles de barbarie ont 
 amoncelés, et qui n'attendent qu'une main bien faifante qui les délaie, pour cimenter la récon- 
 ftruflion du plus vafte edifice que l'efprit humain ait jamais conçu. 
 
 Ses ruines offrent à chaque pas le témoignage de fon ancienne fplendeur ; et le manteau Ma- 
 cédonien que fon enceinte repréfente, en repellant le fondateur, femble en avoir impofé aux 
 Barbares dans les différentes faccagements de cette ville. Les mêmes murailles qui garantiflaient 
 fon induftrie et fes richefles. défendent encore aujourd'hui fes ruines, et préfentent un chef- 
 d'œuvre de maçonnerie." Mem, du Baron de Tott. Tom, 2.--179. 180. 12""' Paris, 1785. 
 
 ' " To ijut av rtixiv®- Ça<Ti» lifvaa^^ai Aayixov Tov AiyimTion'" Diod. Sicul, Lib, 1 7. Tom. 2.— 108. 
 
 * " rioacwu» , Ttknixiivfa» rt tvi rr,ii p^ofa» im/A-^s tÙ x»r®-* Afi-iAMn®' Je ^fria-atr®' mt 
 
 uwaM^yrit Tns avf^ifofas, tas i Kairtritiriucs BvyacTKf A»Sfo/«Sa! irjoTtftî ru tmrti ^ofas" tkto mxyyuur- 
 Se/î ô KïiÇew ^7ro rui AiQiotjuiyi ivfa^e, >^ wçm^we rrit ^vyarc^x iiiT^x'" Apollod. Lib. 2. C. 
 4.--98, Ed. Heyne. 12'°° Gott. 1782. 
 
 • " TaoE ùt AuSutaïuv Çxji ài ir^afixtriis, iuo 'niXcixSasixtXxDixs tK@n0tu» Tu> AiyvTtreiuy xtxir- 
 txiuyxs, TT» jujir «urea» is Ai^vni, rm oe <nx^x <r(fixs xmtuirixi, i^o/*sw)» Se ^4,» nsi Çriyot, xv^x^x<r9xi 
 fun atOft^mni, ùs Xftw» «"» fianTWoy oi/toSî Cuos ytiKrOaf j^ avrws f;7C^»(3^(» Osnttnai rotvxyytXKa- 
 
 (Min
 
 128 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 the edifice, are favourable to its antiquity and carry back its ex- 
 iflence to a very remote period. The Oracle of Jupiter Ammon 
 was highly celebrated in the firft ages of Greece. Crœfus ' con- 
 fulted it on the probable fuccelfes of the war, which he intended 
 to undertake againfl: the Perfians, and the Lacedaemonians ^ and 
 Eleans afterwards frequently reforted to it. Temples rofe in gra- 
 titude for the fuppofed munificence of the local Deity, and Pindar 
 compofed hymns in honour of the flirine, which were tranfmitted 
 to the Ammonites in Lybia. One of thefe facred odes, which had 
 been engraven on a triangular column near an altar erefted to this 
 Divinity by Ptolemy the fon of Lagus, was legible in the days of 
 Paufanias, and is mentioned by him. '" 
 
 The Oracles of Ammon, of Dodona and of Delphos, acquired 
 a great influence in Greece, and pofTefifed an unlimited confidence 
 on the rnoft important occafions. Whenever there were any ap- 
 
 prehenfions 
 
 1AÏV0V ai.'To«Ti, Kj <7y^xs cjt T0UT8 'TTOiïjaa:!' rriv OS ss TQvs Ai^vsts ot^'^^tvviv TreXEijcdtz, Xsyu^i A^^nvos yr^vitr- 
 rrçtoix.i>.iv^xi -as \i0vxs 'Koniiv' Ef ^'f "^ touto Ai©-'" Herodolus. Lib. 2.--13O. 
 
 Herod. Lib. 1.— 21. 
 
 ^ " F,»teuÔe», lEfoy Efiv A/x/i.-<;»®-* ^xnotrxi ^ «Taf^lJ AaxEdai^onoj /[/.aXis-as 'EAXjito» p^j hj^evoi tw e» 
 AiiJ-jn iJ.xvTii!o-" (Paufanias. Lib. 3. C. 18.— 253.) The courteous Deity feems to have lelt the 
 obligation, and to have palronifed the Lacedaemonians in return. " 4»)!7(v a» /SsXEo-Sai avm rnt 
 \xxs^xi(Mtim K^iAixv s«ai lAMXXoti, 1) Tie o-a/xTravra: r^v E?,A>jvw» 'n^x'" Plato Alcibiad. 2.-- 
 135- 
 
 '" '■ Ov woffw d£ sf va®. Aixjj.mos' k. to ayx\u.x avs9r,>is /xst TlitSxpus, KxXaixi'Sos Se tri Efyov' XTte- 
 TTEffvJ. £ oi Hiyia^os >Ç, Aiffvris esj' Aix-fA-uiyias tw Aix/muii, v/Aves' ovros Kj i< t/xs mi J/x»oj Ev r^iym^j rf^^t) zixça 
 Tw 3i;«ov, cv riToAE^Aaioj Xayju ru A/j-i^ms aysôijxs," Paufanias. Lib. 9. C. i5.--74i.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 12Q 
 
 prehenfions of a war, or a new colony was to be eftabliflied, one 
 of the three fhrines was confulted, and its anfwer governed their 
 future refolutions. ' The credit of Jupiter Ammon, who deliver- 
 ed his refponfes under the figure of a ram, " continued to hold its 
 empire over the mind, and declined only on the introdu6lion of 
 the Roman government, under which more religious veneration 
 was bellowed on the Sibylline verfes and Etrufcan divinations. ' 
 Yet the temple of this Deity fubfifted with fome reputation, as 
 low as the fifth age, as may be gathered from Synefius " the bi- 
 fliop of Ptolemais a writer of that time. 
 
 From the credit of the Oracle and its antiquity, there can be 
 little doubt that the country, where its refponfes were delivered, 
 was frequented by crowds of vifitants. Strabo, " to avoid a con- 
 
 S tradition, 
 
 > " Quam vero Grscia coloniam mifit in ^oliam, loniam, Afiam, Siciliam, Italian), fine 
 Pythio aut Dodonso, aut Hammonis Oraculo ? aut quod bellum fufceptum ab eâ fine confilio De- 
 orum eft." M. T. Cicero de Divinatione. Lib. i. Tom. 3, 4. 4'° 1740. 
 
 ^ " A((3ti£f wf o/3«To», Ô xaXso-i» A^^v*, ©£ov f;^Bo-i'" (Athanafius adverf. Gentes. 20. Ed, Come- 
 lin.) and the Scholiaft on Pindar hath prcferved a verfe of Phiftus. 
 " Ziu Alpins AfAjJiUii xcgxrc^nfc xsxAiS; f/,xiiTi'" 
 
 Pyth. 4. 
 
 ' " noXAas Se ïif wotei irtf f m Albums, To<r«Tov ii^aiit ^avkafjjcix' 'On rtm aç^ams ixatJ.o» );» t» ri/j.ri, 
 j^ 15 (AavTotî) xflc9oX*(, KfTX^^T^fix' ivyiScoXiyu^ixuxTi^tt zioXXri, raitPuft.xwtx^xiVft.itiiitToisXtfiet^s 
 ^çvta-fAOts^ ÎC Tois Tv^TiviKOiS aEutiX^ozjtoi^y àix Te trziKxy^vuv, iy o^viOstxs, ^ SfiTrifAiiUTt' ùnozszq K; t» 
 ry A^^a.'»! cr^tîov Ti exAtXEiWTa» ;^p)rEf'oyj îTfoTCfo» Ss sliii^iTO." Strabo. Lib. 17, --1 168, 
 
 " De Infomniis. 116. 
 
 " "Ta^^aSijiô TO TB A/*//,wK5S lEfo» Uf ciiEfov ew( rus ^xKxrlns <n' ixfvaijis tiiofiins wti tt rn {xijo.xix xaaBxi' 
 HKX^utTs, 19 TO (AatvTaov EvXoyws £7r( Toa-BTov 7£»E3-^«/ ETT'^avEî TEj ^ytugif*o»cvi^x^Ti7iot' rm rz cnnta-
 
 130 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 tradiftion, and get rid of the inconfiftency which appeared between 
 its ancient celebrity and its difficult accefs, adopts the opinion of 
 Eratofthenes, who afllires us, on fome feeble conje6lures, that the 
 temple once flood on the fhore, from which the fea had gradu- 
 ally retired. But this able geographer would not have confidered 
 the approach to the temple as impraclicable, if he had attended 
 to Herodotus, ° and the route that he hath traced acrofs Africa, 
 which was in all probability travelled by the Greeks during the 
 reign of Pfammaticus, when they had the liberty of carrying on 
 their commerce and fettling in ^gypt. 
 
 There was a tradition, that one part of the army of Cambyfes 
 had periflied '' in this country, but from this route it may be con- 
 cluded 
 
 >^v àrus (Kroiri^ixo)! alio TVS ^ccXmtIv!} hk cvXoyùt •aomv rw »v» uaa» sviÇavH»» ty^o^ay," Strabo. Lib. 
 1.-86, 87. 
 
 " Herodotus. Lib. 4.— 361, 362. Mens' Bougainville hath illuftrated with much ingenuity 
 this route, and hath left nothing to be added on the fubjefl. Hift. de l'Académie des Infcripti- 
 ons et Belles Lettres. Tom. 28.--302. 
 
 P Herodotus gives the melancholy hiftory of the lofs of this detachment between Oafes and 
 Ammon. " Atysra; Ss raSt vir'Aixfjiunut' itiii^n tx rr,s Oaerios reams mai Sios tjjs -vj/aft^v cm tr(ptas, 
 yaia-^ai Tt avrws /uetk^v xe fiaXis"" avriuy re xai rns Oaaius af 1^011 aiftoiA.cmiTi avrtOKTi cirmteva-xi tori») 
 f^cyavrs xa/ s|«io-/oii, Çofioyrœ ^e 6itas rris li^a/AiAtt, tuiray(^ua-ai a-Çtas ^ rpova rcmru aCxyia^xr" (He- 
 rodotus. Lib. 3.--208.) and I cannot allow the Baron de St. Croix's evidence to be decifive, though 
 he peremptorily ftyles the account a falfity. Seneca appears to have believed the accident, " Ali- 
 quando Cambyfes ad Aramoniam mifit exercitum : quem arena Auftro mota, et njore nivis incidens, 
 texit, deindeobruit," (Queft, Nat. 2. 30. Seneca. Opera. Tom. 2. 8™ 1672.) and the fublime and 
 terrible defcription that a modern traveller hathgivenofthefemoving mountains, which he witneffed 
 on his return from Abyflinia, leaves little doubt of the frequency of fimilardifallers. Mons' Savary is 
 of opinion that the Perfians were purpofely led aftray and left by their ^Egyptian guides to perilh in the 
 
 deferts,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I3I 
 
 eluded to be a falfity. Alexander took the road to Parsctonium, 
 which though lefs frequented, was not lefs pafTable, and the am- 
 baffadors from Cyrene met him there. ' The Prince according to 
 Ariftobulus returned with his army by the fame route, but if the 
 troops had been in fuch danger of perilhing in their march to 
 
 S 2 Ammon, 
 
 dcferts, and he fupports Herodotus with fome ftrong probabilities.— —Thompfon hath beautifully 
 defcribed the accumulated horrors of thefe horrid regions. 
 
 " Commiffion'd Demons oft'. Angels of wrath, 
 Let loofe the raging elements. Breath'd hot 
 From all the boundlefs furnace of the fky, 
 And the wide-glittering wafte of burning fand, 
 A fuffocating wind the pilgrim fmites 
 With inftant death. Patient of thirft and toil, 
 Son of the defert! ev'n the camel feels 
 Shot thro' his wither'd heart, the fiery blaft. 
 Or from the black-red ether, burfting broad, 
 Sallies the fudden whirlwind. Straight the fands, 
 Commov'd around, in gath'ring eddies play ; 
 Nearer and nearer ftill they dark'ning come ; 
 Till, with the gen'ral all-involving florm 
 Swept up, the whole continuous wilds arife; 
 And by their noon-day fount dejedled thrown, 
 Or funk at night in fad difaftrous fleep, 
 Beneath defcending hills, the caravan 
 Is buried deep. In Cairo's crowded flreets 
 Th' impatient merchant, wondering, waits in vain, 
 And Mecca faddens at the long delay." 
 
 Thompfon's Seafons. Summer. 960 — 979. 
 
 < " KaT* /*£(«* St Tij» JSoy aimvTuo-a» avru •n^etr^eis -aagx Kvfwaiini, repitvoii xo/xi5i»Ttf, ^ fji.tyx>.o- 
 wftw) iu^x-" (Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17.-197.) Q. Curlius briefly tells us, "Defcendit aj Ma- 
 reotim paludem. Eo legati Cyrenenfium dona adtulere; pacem et ut adiret urbes fuas petentes." 
 Lib. 4. C. 7. Tom. i.—aog.
 
 
 132 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Amnion, it is not to be imagined, that a general of Alexander's 
 abilities would have expofed them a fécond time, without any ne- 
 ceflity, to the fame perils of being buried in the fands, or expiring 
 by a more lingering death, from hunger' and thirft. 
 
 f^Ammon, in the bofom of Lybia, notwithftanding its diftance 
 from the borders of the fea, was reforted to by moll of the Eu- 
 ropean nations, and fupplied them with feveral objefts for expor- 
 tation/ It had been peopled by a colony of /Ethiopians and 
 Egyptians, as the language fpoken by the Ammonites in the time 
 of Herodotus, which was a mixture of the language of both thefe 
 people, fufficiently demonftrates. ' Is it likely, that men whofe r 
 intention in their migrations was as much to procure the conve- 
 niences of life, as to enjoy its neceflaries, fhould have voluntarily 
 
 eflablifhed 
 
 ' "EvTatiS* AXtJav^f©' ay£^EK|fv tir' Aiyvvron' us fju» Af/ro^aX©^ ^fy«5 rm avrii oiritru 
 
 sW but Arrian adds, "ns^tnro>.iiA.xi®'tiAxye,aXXmtv^eixy,ûsi7ii'Mif/.pv," (De Exped. Alex. 
 
 Lib. 3. C. 4.— 187.) which appears moft likely, from the difficulties and dangers experienced A 
 
 in their route to Ammon. 
 
 ' This commerce is fuppofed to have confifted of fait, gum and dates. Arrian mentions the 
 firft, and from this account, there muft have been a confiderable demand for it. 'T/yvorrai Scty 
 «Jits «uTo/xaTOJ tv Tw j^wfiw Ttsru o^vxToi' )^ TSTuy ffi» us IS AiyaWTov Çe^ko-i twv «f ii» rms t« A/ix^!.;»©^. 
 fWaS» yxe nr'AiyvitTis rfXXovTai, ei xoiTiSaj roAcxTaj tx (pomix'B' tff/3aXovT£t, Sw^o» ru Px<7-iXei avoptpa- 
 
 aiv, ri HTu aXXu' 1^ raTo mi Tais Qvciais ygmrai, us xa&œçwTE^a rm xim ^xXxaans xKuv AiïvTt- 
 
 TM TE >^ 0(701 «XXoi TB Qaa ex «f*tAur Ex»o-iv." (Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. 4.--187.) The Ba- 
 ron de St. Croix remarks likewife from Jablonlki, (Panth. ^gypt. Tom, 3.--82.) that the 
 ^Egyptians owing to fome religious fcruples had a horror of fea-falt, which muft have increafed 
 the confumption of the rock-falt of Ammon. 
 
 ' "A770 Se Atyvmiuiy Aixiauvioi, jovtes Aiyuirriut te K; A«&/G7r&i» xwoiy.oi, ^ Cowiv fxETaCo a/iÇoTJfa'» 
 K^u^onts." Herodotus. Lib. 1.-123, i24'
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I33 
 
 eftabliflied themfelves in a fituation, which could only have been 
 fit for the lion and the tiger, if the difficulties of getting to it had 
 been as infurmountable as they have been reprefented ? Is it alfo 
 probable that a colony (hould have planted itfelf by choice in a 
 country fo totally deprived of water, as the hiftorians of Alex- 
 ander have defcribed it. "^ 
 
 We are told, as a fa6l unlverfally acknowledged, by Synefius, "^ 
 a native of Cyrene, whofe authority hath naturally a claim to fome 
 influence, that the country of Ammon was remarkable for its fer- 
 tility, and the abundance of provifions, that it afforded to the in- 
 habitants and their cattle, which cannot poflibly agree with the pre- 
 tended barrennefs of the foil. Diodorus Siculus admits it likewife to 
 have been fruitful, '' and Strabo compares a traft of country well wa- 
 tered 
 
 " The Baron de St. Croix adds "Arrien refute cette opinion abfurd." 1 have omitted this fen- 
 tence, and varied the preceding one, becaufe I draw a very different conclufion from Arrian's ex- 
 
 preffions. " Eri St î^ij^ai te i oîoi, ^ •vJ/a/i/A®' 4, îjoXXti auT);?, j^ «yuSj©-* ô Is X^?"' îtairi^ ra Ay.- 
 
 /Aav©' TO iffov Ef;, TX fuy xix/w irxynt Efiifxa, k, ■^x/yi.ij.©^ to ijay c^et, j^ amjç®.," Exped, Alex. 
 
 Lib, 3. C. 3, 4---185, 186. 
 
 " "To» AiJ.jj.mx tÇi Ajj.iJMt®' yriv a ^aX>.o» a»a/ (*»iXoTfo^ofov, 19 xtfforfoÇo» ayaSij»'" Synefii Epift. 
 4---43' 
 
 1' I am apprehenfive a more extenfive fignification hath been forced on Diodorus Si- 
 culus, than the paflTage of this author warrants, who fpeaks only of the fertility in the im- 
 mediate vicinage of the temple, and confines it within the narrow bounds of fifty ftadia. " 'h h 
 ■ac^i to IEÇOV T«To ;)^a'fa zii^icy^fTxi tnro ejvj^as î^ a.M^u rr,s a/j-i^n, TJccms ÇiXay^^uiiixs Erffif^svi" avTJi S'e- 
 'ni /*»ix©< 1^ o?i«T©» cvi r«5/Bj ■aitrrnmTx Z!açrix.acra, ■ssoXKais ijjv j^ x*Aois l^xai yxii.xTixiois S<affBTa;, 
 SiiS^uy de zjxvnàxtJuv 1^ fJMtiiTa KX^tsiyi.uy ■oXuStfi' Kj Toy [uy at^a Tn xfasya crafaoXijo'/ov e;^« txis 
 tct^iixis fc'jais, Toitois 2i xmiJ.»ru^i7i îj(f<E^Of*£»)), fis») crajijW.ay/Atmy î7afE^ET«i this ty^.arçiloaai tij» 
 
 ti'xfaaia»""
 
 134 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 tered and beautified with palms, at the diftance of four days' jour- 
 ney from the Syrtes, to the country of Ammon. ' 
 
 The fands which the Macedonian army traverfed, according to 
 Q. Curtius, were heated in fuch a manner as to fcorch ^ the feet, 
 
 and 
 
 tmextrixi'" (Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.-198.) Arrian confirms the reality of tliis local fer- 
 tility, but he allows it to extend only to forty ftadia. " At/r®' Se £» />ie(TW oA/y©- w» [otroyyx^ zjXeiçov 
 auT«£f '5jXaT©"SiE;^«, ES TEO'cafaxowT* j«.aXis-as-«S/8rEfjjtT«i) icaraTiXtus ct'i Â^-ceçchv oehIç wv, £>,o!iwv, xxi 
 (poiyixuv, x^ E»Sf wo-®" (Aov©' Taiy CTBfil* Kai zjyiyri i^ aura avia)(et'" (Exped. Alex.Lib.3.C.4.-l86.) 
 Q. Curtius is a little more luxuriant. "Tandem ad fedem confecratam Deo ventum eft. Incre- 
 dibile diflu, inter vaftas folitudines fita, undique ambientibus ramis, vix in denfam umbram cadente 
 fole conteda eft : multique fontes dulcibus aquis paffim manantibus alunt filvas. Ca;li quoque 
 mira temperies, verno tempori maxime fimilis, omnes anni partes pari falubritate percurrit." 
 (Lib. 4. C. 7. Tom. 1,— 210. 211.) Le Clerc hath dilTefted with critical acrimony this de- 
 fcription of a temperate climate under a blazing fun, but Perizonius (Curt. Vind. 144.) defends 
 both Diodorus Siculus and Q. Curtius, with great judgment and ability. Lucan infers the divi- 
 nity of the place from its furrounding fcenery. 
 
 " Effe locis fuperos, teftatur filva per omnem 
 
 Sola virens Libyen. Nam quidquid pulvere ficco 
 
 Séparât ardentem tepida Berenicide Lepti, 
 
 Ignorât fondes ; folus nemus abftulit Hammon 
 
 Silvarum fons caufa loco.'' 
 
 Lib. 9.-522. 
 
 By a ftrange revolution of events the neighbourhood of the temple of Jupiter Ammon became 
 the refidence of feveral Chrittian prelates, during the Arian perfecution. Athanafius mentions 
 it. Apol. ad Conft. 317. Hift. Arrian. 387. 
 
 ^ "TsrajTaiBj (aev ouy Çxcrty arao tb /Af^" '''^^ fj-iyxKiis tv^rius ras xxr' avn /auXxxus ^xSi^otrxs, 
 as cai ^Ei/xEfi»af avixToT^u a^ixMia^»t' Er' oe ô rooos ofT®» tiAfsfiis tu A/aiauvi, ^oiuxoTifoÇi®-, te jÔ 
 cwSp®.'" Strabo. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 1196. 
 
 » "Terra cieloque aquarum penuria eft: fteriles arenzejacent ; quas ubi vapor folis accendit, 
 fervido folo exurente veftigia, intolerabilis seftus exfiftit. Luilandumque eft, non tantum cum 
 ardore et ficcitate regionis, fed etiam cum tenaciffimo fabulo, quod praealtum, et veftigio cedens, 
 
 xgre
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. IQC 
 
 and as they gave way as the troops pafTed over them, the march 
 became uncommonly painful and fatiguing. To augment their 
 fufferings, neither the Heavens nor the Earth fuppHed them with 
 any " water. In a few lines afterwards we are told of a tremen- 
 dous ftorm, " attended with very heavy rain, by which the army 
 was greatly refrefhed; but the ftory that had juft been related to 
 us, does not feem to be authenticated by fuch an anecdote. It 
 may be alked how Alexander could penetrate into this vaft foli- 
 tude, and direct his march through fuch a pathlefs defert. O. 
 Curtius hath given him a flight of crows ' for guides, and Callifl- 
 henes, ' to make the circumflance more extraordinary, informs us 
 
 the 
 
 igre moliumur pedes. (Q. Curtius. Lib. 4. C. 7. Tom. 1.--208.) I find no authority for the 
 " ils ebouloient fous les pas des voyageurs et menacoient à chaque inftant de les engloutir " and 
 I omit it. 
 
 ^ "Repente, five illud Deorum munus, five cafus fuit ; obduclae ccelo nubes condidere folem : 
 jngens œftu fatigatis, etiamfi aqua deficeret, auxilium. Enimvero, ut largum quoque imbrem ex- 
 cuflerunt procellœ ; pro fe quifque excipere eum, quidam ob fitim impotentes fui, ore quoque 
 hiaiiti captare ciperunt." Q. Curt. Lib. 4. C. 7. Tom. 1.— 209, 210. 
 
 * " Quatriduum per vaftas folitudines abfumptum eft. Jamque haud procul oraculi fede abe- 
 rant ; quum complures corvi agmini occurrunt, modico volatu prima figna antécédentes : et 
 modo humi refidebant, quum lentius agmen incederet ; modo fe pennis levabant, antecedentiuin 
 iterque raonftrantium ritu." Q. Curt. Lib. 4. C. 7. Tom. i,"2io. 
 
 ^ " Aperuere fe campi alto obruti fabulo ; haud fecus quam profundum asquor ingreffi, ter- 
 ram oculis requirebant. Nulla arbor, nullum culti foli occurrebat veftigium." Q. Curt. Lib, 
 4. C. 7. Tom. 1.--209. 
 
 ' " O St »i» 9af/it«a/wraTov (us Ka)Aitr^tns Çv<r't) raisÇ>mi!iis avaxa^^s/Atyoi rus mXawiJSviiS vvxTug >^ 
 xXaÇoiiTtir, us i^ns xaô/rao-av riis nsafuxs'" (Plutarch de Vit. Alex, Plut, Oper, Tom, 1. 680.) 
 The flight of crows is reduced by many of the hiftorians to a pair, and by Ptolemy thefe two 
 
 black
 
 136 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 the flragglers from the main body of the army were recalled into 
 the road by their croaking. 
 
 Darius in the mean time was not ina6live, but again collefted 
 an immenfe number of men, from every corner of his extenfive 
 empire, to oppofe the farther progrefs of his formidable enemy, 
 who advanced rapidly, on quitting ^^gypt, towards the Euphrates, 
 which he croffed at Tapfacus. Pliny ^ and Dion Caffius have en- 
 tertained a different opinion, and imagine Alexander to have croff- 
 ed the river near Zeugma on a bridge, fufpended by chains of iron.* 
 Thefe writers were however undoubtedly led into an error by the 
 
 etymology 
 
 black Guides metainorphofed into Dragons. Arrian naturally appears to have his doubts, but his 
 underftanding and his inclinations are at variance. " nro^i/j-xios jj.sy S)i hctyov \iyii SpxKotrxs Su» 
 isvxi 'nço rov TfXTEVixxros, Çuvr) Uvtxs, >y rarots AXcçavJ^ov ksXev^xi sTrerr^xi ms yjyofA/iyaSy OT/fEyaaiv- 
 rxs rui ©«w* ths Se yjynerxcr^xi Triv oSov rrtv te z! to ij.xvreioVf x^ ozjiau xv^is' Af /c-o|3aX©. Se Çtù ô îjXftiV 
 Xoy©^ rxvTri Kxriyet') ho^xkxs ovo -ct^octetw/xevsj rtis ç^xrixs^ riîTUS ysvEa^xt AXE^xyà^ui tus riyyifAovxs' 
 K.XI on [Mv ^eioy ri ^vvezjeKxjSsv xurw, lyjji fjyy^inxu-^xi^ oTt Kj to «îc©- rxuryi ^x^' "^^^^ xrçzxts th Xo- 
 7« xpètXoyro ôi xXXii K, xKhn atiro siriyr,axij.iyoi'" Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. 3. --185, 
 186. 
 
 ' " Et exftare ferream catenam apud Euphratem amnem in urbe quae Zeugma appellatur, qua 
 Alexander magnus ibi junxerat pontem. (Plin. Hill. Nat, Lib. 34. C. 43. Tom. 5.— 150, 151.) 
 
 '■ Kara TO ZEuy^a ôyTwyaf «TTo T>)î TOI/ AX£|a»SfB ç-faTE/a J TO ;^ajf 10» EXE«o, hri ravrn tzje^aïuhj x£x-t 
 X>iTai*" (Dion. Caffius. Lib. 40. Tom, i, — 2^^.) Lucan hatha fimilar idea, 
 
 " Nunc Parthia ruptis 
 
 Excédât clauftris vetitam per fecula ripam 
 
 Zeugmaque Pellasum." 
 
 Lib. 8. --235. 
 
 s And of this opinion is Strabo. "0<x4/axaj xx^'à yjy roZsvyixx m 'Evip^xTti ro zjx>.x:o> fni Tr,y 
 TB TiyfiS®. ^,xffxtny, xaSV,» Sieo» AXE|avSf®. avroy," (Strabo. Lib. 17.— 1082.) It is pro- 
 bable that the younger Cyrus crofTed the Euphrates in nearly the fame place. Xenoph, Expeditio 
 Cyri. Lib. 1.— 72.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, I37 
 
 etymology of the word, but the itinerary of the Macedonian 
 army, from Tyre to Arbela, proves decidedly the impofition. 
 
 Mazaeus had been ordered by Darius to defend the paffage of 
 the Euphrates, but he abandoned the poll and retreated, having 
 firft laid wafle the country to deprive the Macedonian army of 
 forage and fubfiftence. Four days after Alexander had pafled the 
 Euphrates and the Tigris without any oppofition, he difcovered 
 a body of cavalry, which was immediately purfued. Mony pri- 
 foners were taken, and they gave him the intelligence, that Darius 
 was encamped on a wide plain upon the banks of the Bumado, 
 not far from Gaugamele. The troops had a few days allowed 
 them to recover their fatigues, and the Macedonian Monarch 
 then moved forward again, and took poll at the diftance only of 
 fixty ftadia from the Perfian camp. Arrian furniflies us with thele 
 particulars, ^ which are very neceffary to correft the inaccuracy 
 of Diodorus Siculus. 
 
 This latter hiftorian relates that Mazaeus was detached to de- 
 fend the river, ' without fpecifying what river it was, that he was 
 ordered to fecure. It muft, however, have been the Euphrates, 
 though it is not named. The Macedonian army paffed the ano- 
 nymous river, and Alexander ftretched on the following day 
 
 T direaiy 
 
 ^ Arrian. Exped, Alex. Lib, 3, C. 7, 8, 9.-193 199. 
 
 * "Tj)» S«x0ao-iv T« woT«j:*E'" Diod. Sicul. Lib, 17, Tom, 2, "203,
 
 138 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 direftly towards the enemy, and encamped in their prefence. The 
 remainder of the narrative feems to intimate, that the two armies 
 
 came to blows two days after the pafiTage of the Euphrates/ 
 
 Diodorus Siculus may have miftaken the Euphrates for the Tigris, 
 and his errors in confequence of this conjefture will become lefs 
 palpable and of lefs importance, but their number will not be 
 diminifhed. 
 
 "f-The imagination is ever on the watch to efcape from the fetters 
 of hiftorical reftriftion, and, regardlefs of contradiftions and their 
 confequences, is apt to wander through the flowery fields of fancy, 
 as the inclination leads it. Q. Curtius proves the propriety of the 
 obfervation in his account of the battle of Gaugamele. On the 
 plain, as he tells us, where the two armies encountered, neither 
 bulh nor tree was to be feen, and the view was as boundlefs as 
 the horizon. ' Such a defcription does not correfpond with Alex- 
 ander's orders to level every obftacle, that interrupted the motions 
 of his troops, " and the pofition which a detachment occupied a 
 
 little 
 
 TUfaui, xaTtrfaToOTE^Euo-En." Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17, Tom. 2.— 203. 
 
 ' " Opportuna explicandis copiis regio erat, equitabilis et vafta planities. Ne ftirpes quidem 
 et brcvia virgulta operiant folum : liberque profpeftus oculorum etiam quae procul rcceflcre, per- 
 mittitur." Q. Curtius. Lib. 4. C. g. Tom. 1.--233. 
 
 " "Ilaquc fi qua campi eminebant, juffit squari, totumque faftigium extendi." Q. Curtius, 
 Lib. 4. C. 9, Tom. 1.-233, *34'
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 139 
 
 little before the aftion upon a height, that the Pcrfians had aban- 
 doned. " 
 
 Moft of tlie hiftorians reckon the Perfian army to have amount- 
 ed to a million of men, and though the calculation may appear 
 extravagant, it certainly does not exceed the bounds of probabi- 
 lity. All the nations in faft from the Euxine fea to the extremities 
 of the Eafl; had made a common caufe, and fent Darius very nu- 
 merous and powerful reinforcements. It was the cuftom of the 
 Afiatics to carry their wives and children along with them in their 
 military expeditions, and Perfian luxury could not difpenfe with 
 the want of a crowd of the ufelefs followers of a camp ; two cir- 
 cumftances which will confiderably diminifh the number of the 
 real and effeftive troops. If we confider likewife the living clouds 
 of Barbarians, that have fpread themfelves in different ages over 
 the Weflern world, and thofe immenfe bodies of more regular 
 troops, that under the conduft of many Tartarian princes, pof- 
 fefled themfelves of almoft all the realms of Afia, we may eafily 
 conceive that fuch a multitude might have been collefted to com- 
 bat on the plains of Affyria for the fafety of the Perfian empire. 
 
 T 2 The 
 
 " " Mazgus cum dcleflis equitum in edito colle, ex quo Macedonum profpiciebantur 
 
 caftra, confédéral. Macedones earn ipfum collem, quem. deferuerat, occupaverunt : nam et tutior 
 planitie erat." (Q. Curtius. Lib, 4. C. 12. Tom. 1.--263.) But the woods and valleys which 
 
 echoed with the Ihouts of the armies are ftill more inconliftent and abfurd. " Macedones, in- 
 
 gentem, pugnantium more, edidere clamorem. Redditus et a Perfis, neraora vallefque circumjeflas 
 terribili fono implevere." Q. Curtius, Lib. 4, C, 12, Tom, 1.— 264.
 
 140 
 
 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 The Scythians and Baftrians diftinguiflied themfelves by their 
 valour on this memorable day, and rufhed with impetuofity on 
 the left wing of the Macedonian army, on which they made fome 
 impreflion. A detachment alfo of the Perfians made its way to 
 the baggage of their enemy, who loft, notwithftanding thefe vi- 
 gorous attacks lefs than three hundred men according to Q. Cur- 
 tius ° and five hundred agreeable to Diodorus Siculus, '' exclufive 
 of the wounded. One hundred men and a thoufand horfe are 
 fuppofed by Arrian '' to have been left on the field of battle, or 
 to have fallen in the purfuit. The lofs of the Perfian army a- 
 mounted by his account to three hundred thoufand men, ' but it 
 feems exaggerated, Dexippus' lowers it to one hundred and 
 thirty thoufand, and Diodorus Siculus ' to nearly ninety thoufand, 
 Zozimus " hath boldly aflerted that almoft the whole of the Per- 
 fian 
 
 c " Macedonum minus quam trecenti defiderati funt." Q. Curt. Lib. 4, C, 16. Tom. t.— 297. 
 
 f " Tw* §£ M«xaSoKDv arnftOriam (*£» tis ■aivraMCDis, TfaviAMTiai S'Eyjvovro zjafxirMSiis'" Diod, 
 Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 207. 
 
 1 " AtJeôavoï Se ruf «(A^'AAi^avSfov, iti^^ts jli£> is Ijuctov fiaX/fa' iViroi St ex ti rut t^uv/axTu)! >y t»iî 
 KXKiyaaiiias TUS [t Ts'Siu^ci, vzst^ rous yjhiur" Arrian, Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. 15.— 214. 
 
 ' " Tw» ^aç^apwv Je, kxçw» (ai» eXe'/ovto es TfiaxMTa fMfioiicts'" (Arrian, Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. 
 c. 16.-215.) Arrian however qualifies it with the "EAEyovro"" 
 
 ' Apud. Cedrenum. 125. • 
 
 • " Tut ^a^^afm e» ravn m naj^>i xarcMTTricat 01 •aatris îisittis ri >y «tÇo/ otXîjbî rut mta //.vfia- 
 Sw»'" Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 2O7. 
 
 •• " Ka/ rwfMx.y(viv sis Af^riKat zsfos aunt (AafEio») «romo-afiE»©-, TotToi/Toy oifarvaev, «ft ■aanas fjnii 
 axji^Qt utiMi», A«f£iB Se o-w oXiyoij fi^MT©.'" Zozimus, Lib, 1, C, 4.--9. %'•" Lipf, 1784..
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 141 
 
 lian troops was deftroyed, but O. Curtius appears to have adopted 
 the mofl: probable calculation, and dates their lofs at forty thou- 
 fand. " It is indeed the only circumftance in his relation of this 
 aftion, that we can literally fubfcribe to ; in every other, the qua- 
 lifications of the hiftorian are totally wanting, and we have the 
 defcriptions of a poet, or the declamations of an orator. 
 
 The following fentences convey to us fome parts of the fpeech 
 of Darius to his troops immediately before the engagement. 
 " Dare " to conquer and the work is done. Renown and fame are 
 but weak arms againft brave men, therefore do not regard them 
 in the enemy. For it is ralhnefs you have hitherto feared, and 
 miftaken for courage ; which when its firfl fury is fpent, becomes 
 languid and dull, like thofe animals that have loft their ftings. — 
 As for Alexander, how great foe ver he may appear to the cow- 
 ardly and fearful, he is ftill but one individual creature ; and, in 
 
 my 
 
 " "Cecidere Perfarum, quorum numerum viftores finire potuerunt, millia quadringenta." 
 
 Q. Curt. Lib. 4. C. 16. Tom. i.— 297. 
 
 y " Audetemodo vincere ; famamque, infirmiffimum adverfus fortes vires telum, contemnite ? 
 Temeritas eft, quam adhuc pro virtute timuiftis : qu<e ubi primiim impetum efFudet, velut quïdam 
 
 animalia amiffo aculeo, torpet. Alexander, quantufcunque ignavis et timidis videri po- 
 
 teft ; unum eft animal : et, fi quidmihi creditis, temerariumet vecors ; adhuc noftro pavore, quam 
 fua virtute felicius ! nihil autem poteft elTe diuturnum, cui non fubeft ratio, licet félicitas ad- 
 fpirare videatur; tainen ad ultimum temeritati non fufficit. Praeterea breves et mutabiles vices 
 
 rerum, et fortuna nunquam fimpliciter indulget nifi quod in vobis eft, ipfe ego majore parte 
 
 captivus fum. Eripite vifceramea ex vinculis: reftituite mihi pignora, pro quibus ipfe mori non 
 recufo; parentem, liberos, nam conjugem in illocarcere amifi." Q. Curt. Lib. 3. C. 14.-280, 
 282, 884.
 
 142 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 my opinion, both rafli and foolifh. Now nothing can be lafting 
 that is not fupported by reafon, and though he feems to be fuc- 
 cefsful, yet at long run he'll pay for his temerity, Befides, the 
 turns and revolutions of things are of fliort duration, there is no 
 
 fuch thing as an unmixed felicity. 1 myfelf am more than half 
 
 a captive, unlefs you exert yourfelves : free my bowels from their 
 bondage, reftore to me thofe dear pledges, (for which I am willing 
 myfelf to die) my mother and children, for I have loft my wife in 
 that prifon." "" 
 
 It is impoffible perhaps to transfufe into any language the warm 
 piclurefque expreffions of Q. Curtius, but whilft they difplay the 
 brilliancy of his imagination, they condemn effeftually his judg- 
 ment. This harangue of the Perfian Monarch is utterly incon- 
 fiftent with the charafter of Darius, and he feems rather to be 
 declaiming in a fchool of rhetoric, than to addrefs his troops with 
 the dignity of a Monarch and in a manner that his peculiar fitua- 
 tion ought to have prefcribed to him. The narrative of Q. Curti- 
 us is alfo full of ill-timed reflexions, and his ignorance of military 
 affairs is attempted to be concealed in impenetrable obfcurity, and 
 a labyrinth of words, that are accumulated without reafon or ne- 
 celTity. Thefe faftidious amplifications have fometimes rendered 
 his defcripiions almoft incomprehenfible, and the manner in which 
 he fpeaks of the chariots armed with fcythes is particularly con- 
 
 fufed. 
 
 » Digby's Q. Curtius. Vol. i.--255j «565 257.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 143 
 
 fufed. ' Arrian " in every refpeft is entitled to a preference, and 
 his account of the battle of Gaugamele, is the only fource, from 
 which we can derive any certain information of the manœuvres of 
 either the Perfian or Macedonian army. 
 
 The eclipfe of the moon at the commencement of the Myfleries, 
 on the fifteenth day of the month Boedromion, happened ac- 
 cording to Plutarch, ' twelve days before this celebrated battle, 
 which is therefore irrevocably fettled to have been fought on the 
 twenty-feventh day of the month Boedromion, in the fécond year 
 of the 112"' Olympiad, and 331 years before Chrift. Arrian 's 
 computation then, who fixes this aftion in the month Puanepfi- 
 
 on, 
 
 ' " Ex fummo tcmone hafts prxfixa; ferro eminebant : utrimque a jugo ternos direxcrant 
 gladios : et inter radios rotarum plura fpicula eminebant in adverfum : alii deinde falces fummis 
 rotarmn orbibus haerebant ; et alia: in terram dimiflk quidquid obvium conciiatis equis fuiffet am- 
 putatun." (Q. Curt. Lib. 4. C. 9. Tom. 1.— 228, 22g.) After all the labours of the commen- 
 tators this paflage ftill retains its original perplexity. Drakcnborch in his edition of Q. Curtius 
 hath abridged moft of their obfervations, and Scheftcr (De Re Vehiculari. Lib. 2. C. 15.) hath 
 launched into the fubjeft at length. 
 
 * Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. 12, 13, 14, i5'~205 215. 
 
 ' '^ Tm h lAtyxP^rtt nantit 'CJpos Aafeiov ovK cv AfpTiXois ('lis zsif Ô1 aXXoi yfuÇovcit') aXXnc cy naiKrafit- 
 
 ^0(f ymirSai orvscjîo't»* 1) //.it out a-iXrm re Boti^^o/xiuyos i^tXizsev, znpi rm ruv f^ir'if'i'v ruv ASijmo-i» 
 
 ^tp^\l tt^ixxTn h «tto t»ij txAfivJ/fwf yv>iri rov ^farozst^uv i» o4.fi ytyovaTw»' &c. &c. &c. (Plut, de 
 Vit. Alex. Plut. Oper. Tom. 1.-683.) " Précéda de onze jours la bataille de Gauga- 
 mele," is the Baron de St. Croix's expreffion, but he did not fufficiently attend to that of Plu- 
 tarch, and Langhorn appears to have fallen into the fame error. If Darius only ranged his troops 
 in order of battle, and look a review of them by torch-light on the eleventh night, "EvSoufni 
 tmri" after this lunar eclipfe, the adion mud have been fought on the fucceeding day. By the 
 Juhan calendar this eclipfe was fuppofed to have happened on the twentieth of September, and 
 the calculation therefore of Sir Ifaac Newton, who fixes the adion on the fécond of Oaober fol- 
 owing is very accurate. See the Chronology of ancient Kingdoms, 355.
 
 144 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 on," is erroneous. Ariftophanes was the Athenian Archon at that 
 time, and both Dionyfius of HalicarnafTus ° and Theophraftus ' 
 relate this event under the magiftracy of Ariftophon, his fucceffor. 
 But thefe two writers deceived themfelves, and concluded from 
 the news of this decifive aftion having reached Athens after the 
 expiration of the Archonfliip of Ariftophanes, that it was alfo 
 fouo^ht under that of Ariftophon. Juftin hath mentioned the de- 
 feat of the united forces of the Perfian empire in the fifth year of 
 the reign of Alexander, but the fixth was the true period of this 
 engao-ement, which was attended with the total ruin of the Perfian 
 monarchy. 
 
 The Conqueror of the Eaft, after he had poftefted himfelf of 
 Babylon^ and Suza, then marched for Perfepolis. Q. Curti- 
 
 us 
 
 ^ ^^ Tovra rû.oi rr, fA.xy;n iyinm, su; af j^ovToj AÔ>jvt!i7(ti AjJ/fopavoM, fDj»©- nuavtij/w»®-'" Anian. 
 Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. 15.— 215. 
 
 ' '■ Eir'Af-roCiivT®' a^yovrtis xaô'ôï j^fovo» AAE^avSfOîTiî» tv Afi3>jXo;f £x<xev /«t^ijy*" Dion, 
 
 Halic. Epift. ad Ammaeum. Tom. 6.-746. 
 
 f " Kaj T»» £ir'A^(ropicJ»T®"7i'oT£7EK>(«»)vTBfi)Tof®' fA«^»." (Thcophrafti CharaO. 7.-34. S''" 
 Cant. 17 12. J Theophraftus does not here particularly fpecify the engagement, and I believe Cau- 
 fabon is the only Editor who fuggefted that the fentence alludes to the battle near Gaugamele. — On 
 this conftrudlion the Greek author mult undoubtedly have miftaken the year. As the celebrated 
 battle, however in which Agis the fon of Archidamus fell at Megalopolis, and in which Greece had 
 fuch an interell, was really tought under the Archonfliip of Ariftophon. (Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. 
 Tom." 2. 208.) It is more natural to imagine that aftion was intended to be referred to. 
 
 8 Q. Curtius hath given the following accoun^ of the furrender of Babylon. " Babylonem 
 
 procedenti Alexandro Mazasus, qui ex acie in urbem confugerat, cum adultis liberis fupplex oc- 
 ■currit, urbem fequededens." He adds, " Gratus adventus ejus fuit regi. Quippe magni opens 
 
 futura
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, 145 
 
 US ^ relates that four thoufand Greeks, who had been barbaroufly 
 mutilated in addition to the misfortune of captivity, here threw 
 themfelves in Alexander's way. This melancholy fpeftacle affe6l- 
 ed him exceedingly ; and melting with compalfion at the recital 
 of their fufferings, he offered them the choice of a refidence in 
 the country which they then inhabited, or a return into Greece. 
 — A quiet and undiflurbed afylum, where they might wear out 
 theremainder of their days, was all that in their fituation could be 
 wiflied ; and they preferred a fettlement at a diftance, by which their 
 fellow-citizens and friends might at leafl be fpared the fliock of fee- 
 ing their deplorable condition. Q. Curtius, as ufual, does not fail to 
 furnifli us with a fpeech ' to thefe unfortunate captives, whofe num- 
 ber as appears from Diodorus Siculus " andjuftin, ' did not exceed 
 eight hundred. Arrian hath not mentioned them, and from his 
 filence we may ftill doubt of this wanton excefs of cruelty. 
 
 V The 
 
 futura erat obfidio tam munit* urbis." (Q. Curt. Lib. 5. C. 1. Tom. i.— 307.) But if we are 
 to believe Herodotus, Darius had difmantled the city and ruined its fortifications after its revolt. 
 ^' BxpvT^uityvv f/.£v ôvTuroSctiTipot iipiOri' Axfuos ^b iTun tc ix^xrriat rut 0api/y.uiiuV) mro fAtv, (rpinjy ra 
 Tfjy©- î7£t''£i^£) tC Txs zsvXxs ■csxdxs x'ssis'usoi.ai'" Herodotus. Lib. 3.-278. 
 
 >" " Miferabile agmen, inter pauca Fortunac exempla memorandum, regi occurrit. Captivi erani 
 GrzEci ad quatuor millia fere, quos Perfie vario fuppliciorum rabdo adfecerant, alios pedibus, quof- 
 dam manibus auribufque amputatis, inuftifque barbararum litcrarum notis." Q. Curt, Lib. 5. 
 C. S.Tom. t.-342. 
 
 i Q. Curt. Lib. 5. C. 5. Tom. 1.--344. ' 
 
 ^ " Aîji]VT>io-avy«ça-JTw ftsS'ÛETBffi'v '£AAti»£j Jsjo rvn cr/Jorefo» Bairi>.:a/ii «wraroi ysywores-, oxra- 
 
 5/ (AE» X"f"5 w Ss woSaf, iih uratùffivxs'" Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.--213. 
 
 ' " Oaingenti admodum Grïci occurrunt Alexandro, qui pxnara captivitatis truncatâ corporis 
 parte tulerunt." Juftin, Lib, u. C. 14.-295.
 
 146 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 The Macedonian army pafTed the Cafpian defiles, and followed 
 Darius in his retreat with altonifhing celerity. Soon afterwards 
 they received intelligence, that Beflus and his accomplices, after 
 loading Darius with chains, had added aflTanination to their crimes, 
 and put their unfortunate Monarch to death. The hiftorians of 
 Alexander, and particularly Q. Curtius, have taken no little pains 
 to heighten the death of Darius with every interefting and pathe- 
 tic circumflance. In his lad moments he is reprefent- 
 
 ed addreffing his prayers to Heaven for the profperity of 
 his viftorious enemy, and difcovers a grandeur of foul, that may 
 not poflibly have been his own. They finiftî the affefting por- 
 trait by painting his amiable and humane qualities, and a ftrong 
 and ftriking contraft arifes between his misfortunes and his virtues. 
 But the Eaftern traditions have handed down to us the charafter 
 of this laft King of the Kaianides in darker fhades, and the cru- 
 elty of his temper in conjunftion with his tyranny, is recorded to 
 have drawn down upon him the general indignation of his fubjefts, 
 and led him to his ruin. "" 
 
 The 
 
 "■ Herbelot Bibl, Oriental. Dara. Dr. Gillies in his valuable Hiftory of Greece, obfervesj 
 if " the falhionable fcepticifm of the limes ftiould hefitate, the reader has only to alk what Ori- 
 ental hiftorian has related the tranfaâions of Darius with the fulnefs and accuracy fo confpicuous 
 in Arrian ?" T he feveral authors who have tranfmitted to us an account of the cruelty of 
 the Perfian Monarch may be feen in Herbelot : I do not vouch for their authority, but in the 
 aggregate, notwithftanding they vary in a few circumftanccs, they may have fome «weight. Q. 
 Curtius hath left a memorable inftance of his barbarity upon record. " Nam etiam faucii quidam 
 et invalidi, qui agmen non poterant perfequi, excepti erant. Quos omnes, inftinftu Purpurato- 
 rum, barbarâ feritate fïvientium, prjecifis adullifque manibus circumduct, ut copias fuas nofce- 
 rent ; fatifque omnibus fpedatis, nuntiare quœ vidilTent regi fuo, juffit." (Lib. 3. C. 8. Tom. 
 
 1.--108.)
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I47 
 
 The Perfian Monarch clofed liis unhappy reign in the month 
 Hecatombceon, when Ariflophon was Archon at Athens, as Ar- 
 rian" tells us, in the third year of" the 112"" Olympiad, nine 
 months after the fatal battle of Gaugamele, according to Uflier, * 
 inftead of a year and fome months, as Sir Ifaac Newton hath 
 conjedured. ■■ 
 
 The Greeks in the Perfian pay, continued to ferve Darius with 
 unfhaken fidelity and fortitude to the laft moment of his life. At 
 the death of this Prince they amounted to fifteen hundred, and 
 followed the ftandard of Artabafes, but he was foon obliged to 
 
 V 2 accept 
 
 1.— io8.) and where he mentions the original mildnefs and traftability of ilie Perfian Monarch's 
 difpofition, it feems, in the latter part of life, thefe virtues had difappeared, " Erat Dario 
 mite ac traiSabile ingenium, nid fuara naturam plerumque fortuna corrumperet. Itaque, veritatis 
 impatiens, hofpitem ac fupplicem, tunc maxime utilia fuadentem, abftrahi juflit ad capitale fup- 
 
 plicium." (Lib. 3. C. 3. Tom. i.— 6g, 70.) Arrian mentions the maffacre of the fick and 
 
 wounded Macedonians at Iflus, by Darius, in fevere terms, " XaXtwwf aix/o-a/xsKor amicrsivtv" 
 (Lib. 2. C. 7.— 120.) and though he hath afterwards defended his charailer, it is in a manner 
 perhaps that (hews it was liable to obje(ftion. " Eu Se tx aKKx ovhv anzastins tfyov aiso^ci^x/xivij, »i 
 ovSe lyyiyoiAiyav xvru aiTooBiixmxr oTi o/aoi/ /ac» as tijv (SatrAs/a» ziapiXBav, i/MU Se zjftxTZSoXtiAsivBxi 
 ■STfos TE MaxfSovw» i^ ruv EAXuvw» ^utt^rf ovxev ovSe eAe^oiitj e|)i» £T( J(3fi^Eiv es tous vTrumovs, ev ^e(^ov< 
 kjïSdvw mcf tKiiKi xxQsTixori'" (Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. G. 22.-233.) '^^^ "Ovxuuov^b 
 eSeXovti e|)i» cri i&^i?fit es rovs Imy.ooi's," is no very flattering compliment to his memory. When 
 there is no power of being vicious, virtue becomes .equivocal, and ceafes almoft to deferve the 
 name. 
 
 n " TsTo TO teX©/ û«f «i» tiEKTo, cvi ctg^otT®' A^rivxiois A^iTO^unt^, (AVI®' ExdTOjji.Senut®''" Ar- 
 Tian. Exped. Alex. Lib, 3. C. 22.-233. 
 
 See Uftierii Annales. 324, 325. Folio. 1650, 
 
 ? Chronology of ancient kingdoms. 355.
 
 148 CRITICAL iNOriRV INTO THE LIFE 
 
 accept of the terms which the Macedonian Monarch offered him, 
 and the Greeks were perfuaded to furrender. Diodorus Siculus' 
 and O. Curtius ' inform us, with fome trifling variations, that they 
 were diftributed in the different divifions of the Macedonian ar- 
 my, but Arrian' aflerts they formed a feparate and detached 
 corps under the command of Andronicus, who had prevailed on 
 them to rely on Alexander's clemency, and to offer him their fu- 
 ture fervices. 
 
 This little intrepid band of Warriors furvived the ruin of the 
 
 Perfian 
 
 ^ Diodorus Siculus feems to intimate that this Grecian corps, hearing of the favourable recep- 
 tion that many of the officers of Darius had met with, made a voluntary offer of its fervices to 
 Alexander. "rioXXoi rm mi^Trs^vjyorut ■nyif/^otuv tu Ax^au zix^c^uxaii avTcn:' ôis cirtetxxs zs^aainv- 
 Saî, ficyxXny S<i|a» intiHx.HX! airrDityxjiro' tvjvs yx^ 01 Aa^eiu misT^xrei'iASvoi Tun 'ZKXmuv, ovtis nt^t yt- 
 Kias ^ znnxmiTttis, at^^etx te SiaipE^ovTSî, zsaptoax)/ ixuTus AAslavSfw' >y (nym'/jLiris x^ni^ivres, kxts- 
 rxy(^^!T»v Hs Tas Tx^eis itri TX4S xvTxis lAic^oÇio^xis'" Lib. 17. Tom. 2.--2ig. 
 
 ' Q. Curtius hath prcferved this generous but ineffeftual effort for the fafety of the Spartans 
 who had joined them. " Grïcos, quos Artabazus adduxerat, convocari jubet : at illi, nill Lace- 
 dœmoniis fides daretur, refpondent, fe quid agendum ipfis foret, deliberaturos. LegatierantLacedœ- 
 moniorum milTi ad Darium, quo viiflo adplicaverunt fe Gncis mercede apud Perfjs militantibus. 
 Rex omifïïs fponlionum fideique pignoribus, venire eos juffit, fortunam quam ipfe dedilTet liabi- 
 turos. Diu cunâantes, ~plerifque confiliis variantibus, tandem ventures fe pollicentur. At Dé- 
 mocrates Athenienfis, qui maxime Macedonum opibus femper obftiterat, veniâ defperatâ, gladio fe 
 transfugit. Ceteri, Ccut conlfituerant, ditioni Alexandri fe ipfos permiltunt. Mille et quingenti 
 milites erant. Pnter hos legati ad Darium miffi nonaginta. In fupplcmentum diftributus miles : 
 ceteri remiffi domum, prïeter Lacedœmonios, quos tradi in cuftodiam juffit. (Q. Curt. Lib. 6. 
 C. 5. Tom. 1.-416, 417.) The negotiation may be feen in Arrian, (Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. 
 C. 23, 24.-239.) who hath ably vindicated the Macedonian Monarch. 
 
 * '* Ttfî 0£ xKXas ^vççxTsvsa^Gct 0/ fni fj.i<r^u Tw xvtu EKiMv^t* k. cttitx^êv xvtois Avo^ ov^xov, otnreç xyx- 
 y. Tt mms, i^ tvStjX®* ertfoiiB a Ç(K/^o» wmBfAEv®- C«C«' tbî avSfas." Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 3, 
 C. 24.-239.
 
 QF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 14g 
 
 PeiTian Empire, after having defended it with uncommon bravery, 
 at the battles of the Granicus, of IfTus, and of Gaugamele. Their 
 companions had either all fallen under the Macedonian arm, or had 
 been made prifoners. Leollhenes feems therefore to have no pre- 
 tenfions to be ranked by Paufanias ' amongft the benefaftors of 
 his country for his embarkation, in oppofition to Alexander's in- 
 clinations, of fifty thoufand Greeks, who had ferved in the Perfian 
 armies, and his refloration of them to their country. Greece it- 
 felf was hardly capable of maintaining an army of fifty thoufand 
 men, and the circumftance is not confirmed by any work of the 
 ancients, that hath defcended to us. 
 
 Alexander's conduft and the refolution, that he took in 
 the purfuit of Belfus, prove the ftrength of his underftand- 
 ing, if any credit is due to Q. Curtius. The Macedonian 
 army having difcovered fome fymptoms of diflatisfaftion at 
 the Prince's future projefts, which opened to them only 
 freflTi fcenes of difficulty and danger, he ordered both his 
 own baggage, and that of the whole army to be burnt. * Plu- 
 tarch 
 
 ' " E;»«j Ss à/nairm 'EXXijvw» >^ Kma^tni rjStvai î^ Afaro» ivsgyirxs' ô /xct ye to 'EXXdvww jixjo-âoipoçi- 
 xov, K, I» ritfo-ais ■EJEJJ CTEuTt OTB fiiv^tx^xs itti woi\aaax\i KxTai3x>Txs yxv(Tiy, ts rm I.KKxdx xn<!-u(Tt yÇ, 
 axovT©. AXe^»»^?"'" Paufanias 706. 
 
 w "Quum grave fpoliis, adparatuque luxuris agmen vix moveretiir; fuasprimum, demde toti- 
 us exercitus farcinas, exceptis admodum neceffariis, conferri juffit in medium. Planitiesfpatiofa 
 erat, in quam véhicula onufta perduxerant. Expeftantibus cunftis, quid deinde effet imperaturus, 
 jumenta juffit abduci ; fuifque primum farcinis face fubditâ, ceteras incendi prxcepit. Flagrabant 
 exurentibus dominis, quse ut intaéla ex urbibus hoftium râpèrent, fspe flammas reftinxcrant; nul- 
 le
 
 l/:0 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 tarch ' relates the fame faéi, but he gives it a later date, and re- 
 fers it to the commencement of the Indian expedition ; though 
 Ptolemy and Arillobulus appear not to have taken notice of it, 
 as may be inferred from Arrian's filence, who made great ufe of 
 their memoirs. 
 
 The Macedonian Monarch extended his conquefts beyond the 
 laxartes, and defeated the Scythians who fent an embaffy to him 
 previous to the engagement. Q. Curtius hath tranfmitted to us 
 the fubftance of the fpeech, in which the deputies addrefTed Alex- 
 ander, but its authenticity hath been difputed. "If'' the gods 
 had given you a body fuitable to the infatiable greedinefs of your 
 
 mind. 
 
 lo fanguinis pretium audente deflere, quum regias opes idem ignis exureret." Q. Curt. Lib. 6. 
 C. 6. Tom. 1.— 429. 
 
 tiaxii, «f<.'ii/>i.£f« (7-vn(TKSva<riA.syui twv i/ji-x^m, zj^urxs (aev Uttsttc eo-ev rxs xvra 19 rm irai^uv' ixiTx Se raJIaf 
 , exeXei/o-e ><; Ta;f Twv Ma«So»wï Evava; OTf ." Plut. De Vit. Alex. Plut; Opera. Tom. 1.--696, 697. 
 
 y " Si Diihabitum corporis tuiaviditatianimiparemeflevoluifrent; orbis te non caperet: altera manu 
 Orientem ; altera Occidentem contingeres. Et hoc adfequutus fcire velles, ubi tanti numinis fulgor con- 
 dcretur. Sic quoque concupifcis, quae non capis. Ab Europâ petis Afiam ; ex Afiâ tranfis in Euro- 
 pam: deinde fi huraanum genus omne fuperaveris ; cum filvis, et nivibus, et flurainibus, ferifque befti- 
 isgetlurusesbellum. Quid tu, ignoras arbores magnos diu crefcere, una horâextirpari? Stultuseft, 
 qui frudlus earum fpecSat, altitudinem non metitur. Vide, ne dum ad cacumen pervenire conten- 
 dis ; cum ipfis ramis, quos comprehenderis, décidas. Leo quoque aliquando minimarum avium pa- 
 bulum fuit: et ferrum rubigo confumit. Nihil tarn firmum eft, cui periculum non fit etiam ab 
 invalido. Quid nobis tecum eft? nunquam terram tuamadtigimus. Qui fis, unde venias, licet- 
 nc ignorare in vaftis filvis viventibus? nee fervire uUi poffumus, nee imperare defideramus." (Q. 
 Curt. Lib. 7. C. 8. Tom. 2.-543, 544') "Scythx ipfi omnium literarum rudes rhetorico ca- 
 lamiftro inufti in medium proderunt," is a part of the fevere judgment that Le Clerc (Jud. CorU 
 326.) hath paired upon this harangue.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I5I 
 
 mind, the world would not be able to contain you ; you would 
 ftretch one arm out to the fartheft extremities of the Eall, and 
 the other to the remoteft; bounds of the Weft ; and not content 
 therewith, would be for examining where the glorious body of the 
 Sun hid itfelf ; but even as you are, your ambition attempts what 
 you are not capable of. You pafs out of Europe into Aha, and 
 Irom Afia you return again to Europe ; and when you have over- 
 come all mankind, rather than be quiet, you'll quarrel with the 
 woods and the mountains, the rivers and wild beafts. Can you 
 be ignorant, that large trees are a long time a growing, tho' an 
 hour be fufficient to cut them down ? he is a fool that coveteth 
 their fruit, without duly confidering their height. Take heed 
 that while you ftrive to climb up to the top, you do not fall head- 
 long with thofe branches you have grafped. A lion has been 
 fometime the prey of the fmalleft birds ; and iron itfelf is con- 
 fumed by ruft. In fine, there is nothing fo firm and ftrong, but 
 is in danger of perifhing by what is weaker. What have you to 
 do with us ? we never fo much as fet foot in your country. Shall 
 not we who pafs our lives in the woods, be allowed to be ignorant 
 who you are, and whence you come ? know, that as we are not 
 greedy of empire, fo neither can we fubmit to be flaves." "" Q. 
 Curtius continues the harangue, and in fome fentences perhaps 
 exprefles himfelf with a delicacy rather too refined, and a philo- 
 fophy in fome meafure inconfiftent with the fpeakers' charafters. 
 
 "Our 
 
 "• Digby's Q. Curtius, Vol. 2.-42, 43,
 
 152 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 " Our ' poverty will flill be too nimble for your army, that is 
 laden with the fpoils of fo many nations. Again, when you think 
 us the fartheft from >-ou, you fliall find us within your camp. We 
 
 are equally fwift either to fly or purfue. Hold therefore 
 
 your fortune as clofe as you can, for flie is flippery, and will not 
 be held againll her will. Wholefome advice is better difcovered 
 by the confequences, than the prefent. Put a curb therefore to 
 your profperity, and you will govern it the better. We have a 
 faying amongfl us, that fortune is without feet, and has only hands 
 and wings, and that when fhe reaches out her hands, {he will not 
 fuffer her wings to be touched." " This allegory on the vicifhtudes 
 of fortune, and the uncertainty of human greatnefs is poflibly too 
 ingenious for a people drawn from pafloral life, which hath little, 
 if any, conneftion with literature and learning. If O. Curtius 
 had fhortened this oration the fentiments would certainly have had 
 more force, and the images more expreflion, but he could not 
 deviate from himfelf. The matter however, it muft be allowed, 
 is very analogous to the genius of the perfons, who are fuppofed 
 to have pronounced the harangue, and the Coftume, to fpeak 
 
 metaphorically, 
 
 ^ " Paupertas noftra velocipr erit, quum exercitus tuus, pracdam tot nationum vehit. Rur- 
 fus quum procul abefle nos credes, videbis in tuis caftris, eadem velocitate et fequimur et fugi- 
 
 mus Proinde fortunam tuam preflis manibus tene. Lubrica eft, ncc invita teneri poteft, 
 
 galubre confilium fequens quum prœfens, tempus oftendit melius, impone felicitati tuae frenos, 
 facilius.illam reges. Noftri fine pedibus dicant cfle fortunam, qui manus et pennas tantum ha- 
 bet ; quum manus porrigit, pennas quoque comprehendere non finit. Q. Curtius. Lib. 7. C. 8. 
 Tom. 2.--247, 248. 
 
 '■ Digby's Q. Curtius. Vol. z.»44.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I53 
 
 metaphorically, is well preferved. Under thefe circumftances, 
 there may be therefore fome injuftice in fufpefting its reality.' 
 
 The language of a rude and uncivilized people is generally a 
 figurative language, and their metaphors, which are both bold and 
 nervous, are as often introduced in their familiar converfation, as 
 by our modern poets in an Epic poem. Their fpeeches and ha- 
 rangues are naturally replete with images, with energy, and paffi- 
 on, and the fame allufions are reforted to by the Scythian 
 and the Savage.'' The imagination of a people, neither en- 
 flaved by artificial wants, nor corrupted by prejudices, muft 
 be flrongly affefted by the great objefts of natui^e, and every 
 thing, that interefl:s their prefervation and their liberty, muft be 
 one of the moft powerful incentives that can aftuate them. 
 
 Every fentiment in this Scythian fpeech is borrowed from the 
 
 X vifible 
 
 <^ Mafcardi. Traa. delta Art. Hift. C. 2. Ep. 1. — Rooke's Tranflation of Arrian. Vol. 1. 
 — 220. — Voltaire Effai fur le Miurs et I'Efprit des Nations. Tom. 14.— 52. Ed. 8'° Geneve, 1775. 
 
 ■J " Figurative language," agreat Writer hath obferved, "owes its rife chiefly to two caufes ; 
 to the want of proper names for objects, and to the influence of imagination and paflTion over the 
 form of expreffion. Both thefe caufes concur in the infancy of Society. Figures are common- 
 ly confidered as artificial modes of fpeech, devifed by orators and poets, after the world had ad- 
 vanced to a refined ftate. The contrary of this is the truth. Men never have ufcd fo many fi- 
 gures of ilyle, as in thofe rude ages, when, befides the power of a warm imagination to fugged 
 lively images, the want of proper and precife terms for the ideas they would exprefs, obliged 
 them to have recourfe to circumlocution, metaphor, comparifon, and all thofe fubdituted forms 
 of exprcflnon, which give a poetical air to language. An American chief, at this day, harangues 
 at the head of his tribe, in a more bold metaphorical ftyle, than a modern European would ad 
 venture to ufe in an Epic poem." Blair's DilTert. Offian. Vol. 2.-285, a86. S'-" 1785.
 
 154 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 vifible world, and every comparifon drawn from fenfible and im- 
 mediate objefts, which are hourly prefented to the favage eye. 
 One while, it is the fetting fun, the fall of an aged oak, the ruft 
 that devoureth the iron ; at another it is a war declared againft the 
 woods and waters, and in a word the fear of groaning under a 
 foreign yoke, and feeing an enemy penetrate into their forefts, to 
 trouble their repofe and civilize them. Thefe are their firft and 
 principal apprehenfions, and they give both an impulfe to their 
 eloquence, and roufe every faculty of the foul, for the purpofe 
 of repelling to a dillance the ftorm, which menaces at once their 
 liberty and manners. 
 
 The Latin hiftorian was, notwithftanding, aware that his fide- 
 lity was open to fome difquifition, and that his Scythian oration 
 had no great pretenfions either to belief or popular applaufe. 
 "It'isfaid," he tells us, "they addrefledthemfelvesto the King in 
 the following terms ; which though perhaps different from our 
 manners, who live in a politer age, and have our parts better im- 
 proved, yet fuch as it is, we fhall faithfully relate, hoping that if 
 their fpeech be defpifed, our integrity will not be fufpe6led." ' 
 
 Giving O. Curtius credit for this proteftation there are ftill fome 
 apparent variations in the form of the harangue, and the colour- 
 ing» 
 
 ' "Abhorrent forfitan moribus noftris et tempera et ingénia cultiora fortitis; fed ut poffit ora- 
 tio eonim fperni, tamea fides noftra non debet, qua: utcunque tradita fuut, incorrupt! perfere- 
 mus." Q. Curt. Lib. 7. C. 8. Tom. 2.-542. 
 
 ' Digby's Q. Curtius. Vol. 2.-42.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I55 
 
 ing, that he hath given it, to render it more agreeable to the tallc 
 of his own times, as well as to (hew a little of his own ingenuity, 
 is eafily difcernible. The lafl reproach he fecms to have particu- 
 larly forefeen, as he affures us, the Scythians ^ were perfons of 
 fuperior talents, and more improved underftandings, than the reft 
 of the Barbarians ; but his ideas on the difference of the tafte of 
 his own times and that of the Scythians weaken the force of the 
 obfervation. The Latin hillorian does not appear alio to have 
 fufficiently confidered the nature of the eloquence of a favage 
 people, which equally originates from a poverty of language, and 
 a fimplicity of manners. *■ As nations become civilized, their ideas 
 change, and the imagination is no longer affefted, as in the ruder 
 ftate of fociety, by the fame objefts. Their manner of viewing 
 things, and their method of exprelfion neceffarily vary, and their 
 language cannot at the fame time bear the impreftion of the fepa- 
 rate and diftin6l charafters of a favage and a poliflied people. It 
 is not in the power of Q. Curtius to reconcile the contradi6tion, 
 but it is time to return to Alexander and his expeditions. 
 
 If the companions of the Macedonian Hero, who were beft 
 able to defcribe his exploits from having been perfonally concerned 
 in them, do not always agree in their accounts of the fame fafts, 
 
 X 2 fome 
 
 3 "Scythis autem non ut Cïteris barbaris rudis et inconditus fenfuseft." Q. Cunius. Lib. 7, 
 C. 8. Tom. 2,-542. 
 
 ^ The Abbe Arnaud hath made fome fenfible obfervations on this fubjeû, Difcours fur les 
 Langues, Var. Lit. Tom. 1.
 
 156 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 fome indulgence is certainly due to writers, who have afterwards 
 taken up the fame fubjeft, and defcribed it differently. Arrian hath 
 faithfully preferved the contradiftory teftimony of Ptolemy and 
 Ariftobulus ' on the capture of Cyropolis. Ptolemy pretends that 
 the city furrendered, and that its inhabitants were made prifoners : 
 Ariftobulus aflures us that it was taken by affault, and that the 
 garrifon and citizens were indifcriminately put to the fword. It 
 is extraordinary that there (hould have exifted a city with the name 
 of Cyropolis in thefe remote regions ; but notwithftanding the 
 Greeks fometimes tranflated into their own language the names of 
 cities, they chofe in preference to give them new ones founded on 
 fome tradition, which they adopted without difcernment, and Cy- 
 ropolis may have been amongft the number. 
 
 O. Curtius hath committed an error, and been led into a mif- 
 take by the name of Hecatompylos, which Seleucus Nicanor be- 
 llowed on a city in Parthia. " Mentioning this city in the progrefs 
 of Alexander's conquefts, he infers that it was founded by the 
 Greeks, ' though they were utter ftrangers to Parthia, before it 
 was reduced under this Prince's obedience. 
 
 Thefe 
 
 Sgaims rnT^»i'» >y^i^il*ims>i(\wo-as ç>v}MTlt(7^ai," Arrian. E.xped. Alex. Lib. 4. C. 3.-263, 
 
 * Appian. De Bello Syiiac, Tom. 1.--201. Amft. 8"° 167O. 
 
 ' "Urbserat eâ tempeftate Clara Hecatompylos, condica a Grxcis ; ubi ftativa rex habuit," Q, 
 Cunius. Lib. 6. C. 2. Tom. »."398, 399.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, I57 
 
 Thefe Fables and Anachronifms are the refult of the changes in 
 the names of places, and cities, and they occafion a multitude of 
 miftakes and difficulties. 
 
 lifter many different expeditions, the Macedonian army went 
 into winter-quarters at Mautaca ; but early in the fpring it took 
 again the field, and marched to attack the Rock, to which Ox- 
 yartes had retreated with the Sogdians. The Macedonian bravery 
 and difcipline were again confpicuous, and the garrifon overawed 
 and aftonifhed at the wonderful efforts of their enemy, laid down 
 their arms. 
 
 The capture of Aornus which had fuccefsfully refilled Hercu- 
 les," and the fubmiffion of Nyfa, fuppofed to have been founded 
 by Bacchus, were two events that naturally furnilhed Alexander's 
 followers with the fubjeft of a parallel between the Grecian Hero 
 and the two Pagan Deities. But it may be queftioned if Bacchus 
 and Hercules were ever known in India or the Eaft. The adora- 
 tion of thefe Divinities was equally repugnant to the religious 
 principles and manners of the inhabitants, and Megafthenes, a 
 profeffed partifan of the fuppofition, fpeaks of it only as traditi- 
 onary," and of Greek extraftion. The arrival of Hercules in 
 
 India, 
 
 " " E^aira» TO» 'Hfax^ta, Tf If |icjv CTfoi7(3«^fiv T» wtTf a TaJ!?), Tfif S'awoxfUffSîjva/." Strabo. Lib. 
 15.-1008. 
 
 " "Ka( xjfo AAt|avSfB, A;o»uo-B zji^i raoAA®- Xoy^ xa.rcy(H, us x^ tstb rfaTEu(ra»T©< is Udvs, x^ 
 
 x«T«s-je»J.<»(XEW J»Sw 'HfotitAeos Se WEfi, s woAAfâ-'" Arrian, Hift, Ind. C. 5.-559.
 
 1^8 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 India, is confidered even by this writer as very problematical," but 
 the opinion hath neverthelefs been adopted by writers fince the 
 reign of Alexander, and tranfmitted to pofterity on the apparent 
 decifive evidence of public monuments.'' Strabo gives us the 
 fentiments of feveral writers who fuppofed the Oxydrachians to 
 have been defcended from Bacchus, and the Sibians to have fprung 
 from the companions '^ of Hercules ; but he refutes very rational- 
 ly thefe abfurd traditions, and introduces the opinions of the writers, 
 that he mentions,- with the following fentence. " Megafthenes 
 and a few other authors believe the (lories which have been told 
 of Hercules and Bacchus, but Eratofthenes and the greater num- 
 ber confider them as fables, and as little deferving of any credit, 
 as many other relations of the Greeks." ' 
 
 Alexander traverfed the Paropamifus, entered into an alliance 
 with Taxilus and Abifares, and afterwards advanced to give battle 
 to Porus, who had the courage to oppofe the vi6lorious army of 
 
 the 
 
 " " HfaxXïSîSîeiJoXXa jTro/AVD^ara'" Arrian. Hid. Ind. C. 5."559. 
 
 P The Farnefian palace at Rome, contains an infcription, in which the arrival of Hercules on 
 the banks of the Indus, and the foundation of a city with his name amongft the Sibians are men- 
 tioned. Corfmi hath very amply commented upon it. Herculis Exped. Gefta et Labores. 37. 
 
 1 The weak, pretenfions to this confanguinity may be feen in Strabo, Lib. 15.-1008. and Ar- 
 rian, Hill. Ind. C. 5. 
 
 ' "Ka/ Ta 'HfaxXsBS h, >^ Aiovtija, MsyacrSfvur jixev (i.tr\\iym zri^a nyetrxi' run S'aXXwnîi 'aXuns, 
 m Es-i iCj EfaTotrStw, awira j^ utiowSt, xaflatjjf ^ rx zjx^x rois'EXX-nC'^." (Strabo. Lib. 15.-- 
 1007.) The Baron de St. Croix fays "II finit en ces termes." To have expreffed himfelf cor- 
 rcaiy he fliould have faid "II commence en ces termes." The error is a «range one.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. leg 
 
 the Macedonian Monarch, and endeavoured to check the rapidity 
 of his conquefts. The Indian prince was advantageoufly ported 
 on the banks of the Hydafpes,' in a fituation that he had judici- 
 oufly chofen to fecure the partage of the river. A variety of ma- 
 nœuvres were made by the Macedonian army, which had been 
 divided into different bodies, to deceive the enemy, and conceal 
 the real place, in which the Hydafpes was intended to be crofled. 
 Their firft attempt was unfuccefsful, and mifcarried. During a 
 very ftormy night attended with very heavy rain, another effort 
 was made, and the Macedonian Monarch eluded the vigilance of 
 his antagonift and aided by the elements effefted the paffage of 
 the river with fafety. The Hydafpes, which was interfered by 
 irtands, and its fteep and broken banks covered with wood, afford- 
 ed him fome local advantages, which he did not fuffer to efcape 
 him. Arrian hath defcribed the interefting movements' of both 
 armies with great clearnefs and accuracy, but it is unneceflary to 
 enter into them at length. Ariftobulus '" relates that the fon of 
 Porus, who at firft appeared difpofed to difpute the partage, af- 
 terwards retreated with fixty chariots, that he had with him ; but 
 other writers " arture us on the contrary, that the young prince 
 
 attacked 
 
 ' The modern Behut or Chslum, 
 
 • Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 5. C. 12, 13, i.}.--363— — 368. 
 
 rrii mC» TTis ij.in^xs zyi^xQxi AXt^x^^^ov'" Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 5. C. 14.--367. 
 
 » "'Oi^etC, f/.xym XiynC"' " '^i ixSxCet ytmrS^i tj» hSiv raj» ^t» -a ■ajxi^t t.v n^f» apyu-tixt, 
 •a^os AXEÎaoofo»'— — — — Ki»» yaf ><J atfiMu^ai ^ut (xh^qii ^-jtxtAH rot Uuçu waiSji, 1^ atro» t» Aà»^- 
 
 *yoco»
 
 l-6o CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 attacked the Macedonian army with a fuperiority of forces, and 
 wounded with his own hand both Alexander's horfe Bucephalus, 
 and Alexander. Arrian rejects thefe accounts, and bellows his 
 principal attention upon Ptolemy who fignalized himfelf very 
 particularly in this memorable engagement. From this general's 
 report, '' the fon of Porus was detached with a hundred and twenty 
 chariots and two thoufand horfe, but he arrived too late to be of 
 the intended fervice, as Alexander had already paffed the laft 
 channel of the river. The Grecian Hero inftantly attacked the 
 Indian detachment, and the fon of Porus was left dead upon the 
 field, and a part of his troops and chariots taken. A gene- 
 ral aftion foon followed, and Caenus with a detachment of the 
 Macedonian troops appearing in the rear of the Indian army, it 
 was under the neceffity of changing its order of battle. In this 
 diftrefiing moment, Alexander made a fuccefsful attack with his 
 cavalry on the divifion oppofed to him, and it was pulhed back 
 upon the elephants, who became very unruly and increafed the 
 ronfufion. The whole of the Macedonian cavalry being after- 
 wards 
 
 »»Sfo» r^ii^vai isag'avTa, >y rot ittttov avTs *7ro5avHv rov B«xî^aXaw, ({nXrarov A7.f|ai:Sf« ovTat tov ict- 
 ■sji», yCjtanvr^u^arxvmrn'sixil^riinui^H." (Arrian. Exped. Alex, Lib. 5. C. 14.-367.) The 
 Baron dc St. Croix's expreffion is "Que Juftin a pris pour guides," but I do not find it authorized 
 by the text of Juftin. "Nee Alexander pugnje moram fecit : fed prima congreffione vulnerato 
 equo, cum prseccps in terram decidilTet, concurfu Satellitum fervatus. Porus multis vulneribus 
 obrutus capitur," (Juftin. Lib. 12.0.37.-322,323.) is the brief defcripiion of tliis decifive adlion. 
 
 «?i?.'«>c l^rnionx ii.ayx a^jAara edoila aXXa S/<rj^<XiS5 yaf ?.£y« 'iis'mas ayovra a^/xio-Sa/ Tov flw- 
 
 jB ijaiSa, â^i/,xTx îs sxaTov k, fixoo-i' C^xQai Se WEfaC**''* AXE^aySfoy >y Toy (x. rns tlQn Tov TE^tuTai- 
 0» îjofov." Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 5. C. 1 4.-367, 368,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. l6l 
 
 vards thrown into a body, and hemming in the enemy, the phalanx 
 was directed to form very clofely and attack tliem, by which great 
 numbers of them were flain. Craterus alfo, who had been left 
 on the oppofite banks of the Hydafpcs to deceive Porus and divide 
 his attention, crofTed the river during the engagement, and com- 
 pleted the rout. The vanquiflied Monarch loll two of his 
 fons in the aftion, near twenty thoufand of his infantry, three 
 thoufand of his cavalry, and all his chariots and elephants. Ar- 
 rian from whom thefe circumftances ' are borrowed, reduces the 
 Macedonian lofs to two hundred and thirty of the cavalry, and 
 eighty of the infantry, but Diodorus Siculus differs with him. 
 The latter writer reckons the Indians to have left twelve thoufand 
 men on the field of battle, and to have had nine thoufand made 
 prifoners. The viftory, however, according to his ftatement, coft 
 Alexander two hundred and eighty of his cavalry and above feven 
 hundred of his infantry, " which certainly appears more probable 
 
 Y than 
 
 » On a review of thefe circumftances, which the Baronde St Croix had extrafled from Arrian,! felt 
 the obligation of new moulding the whole. They now ftand nearly as Arrian relates them, but the 
 firft confufiou was not the confequence of "Le defordre que les elephants caufoient dant le rangs." 
 *' '0( 'CJSfi Koivov, us ï7a{»y!£^To, xaroTr/n aurais em^aimyro' Tavrix ^miSotrts ôi hSoi, aju^ij-o/Mf may- 
 xxa^ria-ixy ziom<rxi tuv rx^t ms 'iitit u raro rt e» tvOvs crx^x^e ras rx^ets re ^ ras ytufj-xs rut It^uv," 
 
 "Alexandre raflembla fa cavalerie" is direiSlly contradifted by the "Kaji cv raru ■axa-x i l-mr^ 
 A\£^xtS^u cs /iiav i>.i» lî» |vmy^£vi, ux- i< 'ax^x'/i^y-xr^, aXkx t» ru aymt aura is rwic td» rx^it 
 
 K«Tar«C»'" and the "Ce prince perdit dans cette bataille deux mille hommes de pied," is 
 
 an unpardonable tranflation of the "Awcôaw» Je ruv I»S«v m^oi ^ev oX/yov xmhmns Ta'» Staf^ffia'»-" 
 Arrian. Exped. Alex, Lib. 5. C. 17, 18.--372 375. 
 
 » " Eireo-o» J'eï t» fJ-xx» '»■«>' I*^*^» wJ.fifJ Ta» ^rç-iw» k, S;o-jjiXiw», e» ois vi:^^)(0\i i^ îuo tioi r« ria'f n, 
 
 iù ôi ç^xmyoi, »9 ô; iviÇxHTxroi rut iSysfiova»' ^ai»Tf J Se avS^ss îxXuCat ûwff mxmiry(j\iiis' t.v: 
 
 Se MaxESo»w» fWtCov (*e» JwWBf Siawirioi 19 ovSor.xovra, ■sJtÇ" ^^ W?.«Hf T«» îirTxmC'u^'" Diod. Sicul. 
 Lib. 17. Tom. 2.-229.
 
 l62 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 than Arrian's account, though his dcfcription of the engagement 
 merits great encomiums. That of Diodorus Siculus is marked 
 with ftrong features of uncommon negligence, and even the paf- 
 fao-e of the Hydafpes, which was of fo much confequence, is to- 
 tally omitted, ^ 
 
 The confufion of Q. Curtius, with his contradiftions and ab- 
 furdities, might afford materials for a long digreflion, but a few 
 examples will be fufficient. " When you fee me, with Ptolemy, 
 Perdiccas and Hephaeftion, charge the enemy's left wing, and 
 fhall obferve us to be in the heat of aftion, put the right wing 
 in motion and charge the enemy, " &c. &c." — To attack the left 
 wing of the enemy it was necelTary for Alexander to have been at 
 the head of his right wing, and Ccenus then could not have pof- 
 fibly commanded it. Yet a few lines afterwards, Q. Curtius tells 
 us, that the Macedonian Prince having commenced the aftion 
 agreeable to this difpofition, Ccenus attacked with impetuofity the 
 enemy's left wing. ' 
 
 The extraordinary ftature of King Porus, he tells us alfo, was 
 
 apparently 
 
 •i " Quum ego, inquit, Ptolemœo Perdiccâque et Hephaeftione comitatus in laevum hoftium cornu 
 impetum fecero, viderifque me in medio ardore certaminis ; ipfe dextrum move et turbatis fig- 
 na infer." (Q. Curtius. Lib. 8. C. 14. Tom. 2.-661, 662.) The commentators have la- 
 boured to reélify this paffage, but without effeiS. 
 
 ' "Jamque; ut deftinatum erat, invaferat ordines hoftium; quum Cœnus ingenti vi in lœ- 
 vum cotnu invehitiu." Q. Curtius. Lib. 8. C. 14. Tom. 2.-663.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 163 
 
 apparently augmented by the fize of his Elephant, '' which is an of. 
 fence againft the common rules of Pcrfpe6li\'e. Porus received 
 nine wounds in the aftion, from which he loll a vaft quantity of 
 blood, and was fo much weakened, that he had not ftrength to 
 throw a dart, but it fell ufelefs from his hands, ' We are after- 
 wards informed, that a brother of Taxiles was fent by Alexander 
 to prevail on the Indian Monarch to lay down his arms. At the 
 voice of this temporizing Prince, in a paroxyfm of rage, he feized 
 the only remaining arrow in his quiver, and difcharged it with 
 fuch violence, that it flretched the indifcreet negotiator on the 
 ground. ' It might have been reafonably imagined that this ex- 
 ertion would have entirely exhaufted him, but notwithftanding his 
 extreme debility, he refumes his flight with greater expedition, 
 and was flopped only by the wounds of his elephant. ^ 
 
 Arrian's account is not filled with fuch glaring contradictions, 
 nor manifeft abfurdities. Porus receives a wound in his right 
 
 Y 2 fhoulder, 
 
 i "Magnitudine Pori adjicere videbatur belua, qua vehebatur, tantum inter ceteras eminens, 
 quanto aliis ipfe prasftabat," Q. Curtius. Lib. 8. C. 14. Tom. 2.-660, 661. 
 
 « "Novemjam vulnerahinc tergo, illinc peiSoreexceperat, multoque fanguine profufo langui- 
 dis manibus magis elapfa, quum excuffa tela mittebat." Q. Curtius. Lib. 8. C, 14. Tom. 2. 
 --665. 
 
 ' "At ille quamquam exhauftze erant vires, deficiebatque fanguis ; tamen ad notam vocem ex- 
 citatus: agnofco, inquit, Taxilis fratrem imperii regnique fui proditoris : et telum, quod unum 
 forte non effluxerat, contorfit in eum, quod per medium pedus penetravit ad tergum." Q. 
 Curtius. Lib. 8. C. 14. Tom. 2.-665. 
 
 8 -'Hoc ultimo virtutis opere edito fugere acrius caepit. fed elephantus quoque, qui mulia ex'' 
 ceperat tela, deficiebat, itaque fiftit fugam." Q. Curtius, Lib. 8. C. 14. Tom. 2,-665.
 
 164 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 fhoulder, the only vulnerable part of his body, which was every 
 where elfe covered by his excellent armour, and unable to con- 
 tinue the engagement in perfon, he found it necefTary to quit the 
 
 field. Taxiles is fent afterwards to him, and at the fight of his 
 
 ancient enemy, Porus attacks him with a dart, from which he 
 efcapes only by flight. A fécond negotiation is then opened under 
 the management of Meroes, and Porus is prevailed upon to accept 
 the terms, which Meroes was authorized by the Macedonian Mo- 
 narch to offer him. *■ 
 
 This celebrated aftion bears date, according to Arrian, ' in the 
 month Munychion, during the magiftracy of Hegemon, who was 
 the Athenian Archon, in the fécond year of the iiS"" Olympiad, 
 327 years before Chrifl;. Diodorus Siculus" refers it to the ma- 
 giftracy of Chrêmes, the fucceftbr of Hegemon, but Arrian's com- 
 putation is confirmed by the authority of Dionyfius of Halicar- 
 nafTus, ' which is both preferable to that of Diodorus Siculus, and 
 is alfo demonftrated to have been correal by Corfini in his Attic 
 annals. " 
 
 Every 
 
 *' Arrian. Lib. 5. C. 18. --377. 
 
 ' "Tkto TO TîX©- T») /xa;^>) T)) iTfof T4V nwfo»" fjr'aç^ctr^ A^mxiois'Hyij/Jiti®', /xw©- Ma- 
 
 jirjjiu»®'." Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 5. C. 19.— 379. 
 
 '' " Ew'af jjovT®. I'A^rimm Xft^ïiT®". AXe|«»Sj©- f> t» TaJiAa jfuS" CfoC'"'*^«^'>'V Tw Iv- 
 
 iafiiv, trfaTsfC" "" riwfoy." Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2. --228. 
 
 ' Dionyfius of Halicarnaffus adds nothing to Arrian's authority, for he barely mentions He- 
 gemon amongft the other Athenian Archons. De Dinar. Judicium. Tom. 5.— 64g. 
 
 => Corûni. Alt. Annal, Tom. 4.-47) 48,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. l6r 
 
 Every thing (looped to Alexander after this viftory, and he 
 paflTed the Hyphafis full of ardour and of expcftation, with 
 the refolution of penetrating to the Ganges and of boundino- 
 his conquefls only with the Univerfe. But the murmurs 
 of his army flopped him in the midfl of his mighty projefts, 
 and fliortened his vafl; career. Plutarch hath acknowledg-ed to us 
 the real caufes of the diflatisfaftion of the Macedonian foldiers, " 
 on whofe fpirits victory had only a momentary influence. The va- 
 lour of Porus and the obflinate refiflance of his troops were what 
 they had neither forefeen, nor been prepared for, and new diffi- 
 culties and dangers threatened them at every ftep that they ad- 
 vanced. On the banks of the Ganges they were aware of the 
 
 formidable 
 
 » Both Pliiloftratus (De Vit. Apol!. Lib. 2. C. 33.-86.) and Strabo (Lib. 15.-1025.) have 
 fuppofed that fome oracular denunciations flopped the Macedonian Monarch on the banks of the 
 Hyphafis, but mere political reafons appear to have regulated his movements. "Tsj (xsv m Mx- 
 XE^ovas tjfoî riw^ov ccywv at/xtAuTE^ar sTrojvîtjEv, j^ to tj^o^u r^is hoty.tis ni zj^o^iX^Hn sTrsy^sv' fAoXis yxp 
 «x«My wo-a^Evo), Sio-jitf (oif ■ni^ms, x^ ^Kj^iKioa nsni-jQt z^x^arx^aynwi, amçyitrxv ta-^v^u! AXc^xv^^ui jSix^a- 
 fA,itu iÇi TOI Tayli)» isx^aQai isoraf/.oi, ttif ©• fxty auTS, Svo k, Tf ja^ovro: raS'i'v ^1x1 irvv^avaijLivoi, jc |3<r5©^ 
 ogyvias Ixalo»* «vTiWtfas Je ras o^9as atroxix^v^Qxi, vXriOiQit o9T>.uv x) iVtti.'v j^ t>.t!pxvT:iif' tXiyotra yxf 
 «xTw (!*£V (AV^ia^as 'nsmoruii, etxoQi Se ziit^u», à^ixxlx St okIxxkt^iXix, xJ fi»;^i/x«f cXeÇixyTxs é^xxiayiXies 
 ly^otTts il rxy^a^i^uv Kg Tl^xiC'uv ^xC'^f! 'J'""!^"^'' >C, xo/A.'Tr®' dx m ■ai^; Txirx," (De Vit. Alex. 
 Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.-699.) Diodorus Siculus differs as to the power of the Gandarides, bul 
 imputes Alexander's retreat to the fame prudential motives, "KxTx>Tri(7xs yx^ eiri Toy Txyfriti irolx- 
 fj.0» i/.ira Z!x<ns rw ^inaij.cuis, i^ ms aXXsj IvSsj xxlxnoXii/.naxs, us etuSeto ras txtSx^i^xs evHt nrex- 
 Kia^iXins iKcfxtrxs zsoXtjjjxus xiKo<TiJintus, xiiiyiu rv iv'xvras ç^otiaxt." (Lib. 2, Tom. i.— 150.) 
 And-ie declares afterwards that "Twy MaxESovny a^xf^us a-vyxxTx^iij^tfj/jv, awsri rris itii^ahris." (Lib. 
 1 7. Tom. 2,-233.) Arrian alfo with great candour ftates the mutiny. " 'O/ Se MaixESoHf i^sxx/a- 
 »oy >jSn Txis yKft-ais, OToyaj te ex uoywy x^ xmmus ix x/»St/yaiy caxvxi^KiJiiyot ofurris to» iSa^iAEsc' ^iM.oyoi 
 T« fyiymtlo xarx to rfaloTreSov, tw» (x.e» tx cCjeIej a oSyjo/AEyaiy, Ô1701 tiriftxtroioi' T«» Sî ax axoXu^vreiJ, »- 
 S'»)» ayi AXE^aySf®", tiiii^)(y^i^i>iAtyui," Exped. Alex. Lib. 5, C. 25.-393.
 
 l66 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 formidable powers, the Gangarides and Prafians, and the profpeft 
 before their eyes was filled with numerous and repeated engage- 
 ments, in which there was every probability that the Grecian 
 bravery muft at laft fink, overpowered by continual exertions 
 againft fuch hofts of enemies. 
 
 The banks of the Hyphafis were then the barrier, which Alex- 
 ander could not pafs. The followers of the Macedonian Mo- 
 narch have indeed extended his military operations, and Craterus 
 informed his mother Ariftopatra, by letter, ° that the Conqueror of 
 the Eaft had made his way to the Ganges. This letter was pub- 
 lilhed, and, in all likelihood, gave fome foundation for the error, ■" 
 
 but 
 
 yùUKOi^oXoyisCxi liSm' ^ S»j i^ to (AE;^fi TO rayftr •srfOEXSav Tov AXs^avSj oï." Strabo. Lib. 15.— 1O27, 
 
 P "Kai AX£|a»Sf®- ô^fj.Tt9ets am rm fA-t^ia)/ tstw» «xf ''"'' ra'/aî ^itixOi." Arrian. Perip. Maris 
 Eryth. 169. 8"° Amft. 1683. 
 
 «' Macêtum fines, latebrafque fuorura 
 
 Déferait, viftafque patri defpexit Athenas. 
 
 Perque AC\x populos fatis urgentibus aftus, 
 
 Humana cum rtrage ruit, gladiumque per oranes 
 
 Exegit gentes : ignotos mifcuit amnes, 
 
 Perfarum Euphraten, Indorum fanguine Gangen." 
 
 Luean. Phars. Lib. 10.--28 33. 
 See alfo Syncellus. 210. — Zonares. Lib. 4.— 144. Philoftratus pointedly denies the pre- 
 tended fail : "TwSf x^çav TaiiT)!» aSt ewïjXÔtv Ô AXtlavSf®-." (De Vit. Apoll. Lib. 2. C. 33.-- 
 86. Folio. Lips. 1709.) and though Diodorus Siculus ftates in the 2°"* Book (Tom. 1.--150.) 
 that Alexander reached the Ganges, in the 17''' Book, he ftops at the Hyphanis, (or Hyphafis, 
 See Salmafii. Plin. Exercit. 55.) " ETrmt'Xirayiv zsoTai/.ot 7j^<ni!it." (Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom, 
 ».— 332.) Whether the Greek hiftorian afterwards difcovered hismiftake, or had forgotten the 
 ferft part of his W^ork, I leave to be determined.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. l6j 
 
 but the reft of the occurrences, that it mentioned, were equally 
 
 fictitious. Juftin relates that Alexander reduced the Aceftes, 
 
 the Prafides and Gangarides, and that he carried his viftorious 
 arms into the country of the Cuphites. Many other people are 
 alfo taken notice of, whofe names are as little known as that of 
 the Cuphites, but this may be perhaps attributed to the corruption 
 of the text. Neither Paulus Orofius nor any of the manufcripts 
 have hitherto afforded any fatisfaftory information refpefting the 
 names of various towns and nations, which are fo generally and 
 fo much disfigured in Juftin. Little fufpicion is to be apprehended 
 of any alteration in Plutarch's expreffions, and if they carry the 
 conftruftion, that the kingdom of Porus was the laft of Alexan- 
 der's conquefts, the obfcurity may be naturally deduced from the 
 confufion of this writer, who hath not been fufficiently attentive 
 to the relation of events, and hath frequently inverted the order 
 of the fafts, that he mentions. '^ 
 
 The Itinerary of Baeton and of Diognetus, ' and even the letters 
 of Alexander, as well as all the hiftorians of his life and aflions, 
 
 have 
 
 « Plutarch. De Vit. Alex. Plutarchi Opera. Tom. 1.--699. 
 
 ' "Diognetus et Baeton itinerura ejus menfores fcripfere ad HypaCn, qui fuit A- 
 
 lexandri itinerura terminus, exfuperato tamen amne, arifque in adverfâ ripa dicatis. Epiftolœ 
 quoque regis ipriusconfentiunt his. (Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. Tom. 1.— 683, 684.) Philoftra- 
 tus hath preferved the votive infcriptions. " nATPI AMMllNI, KAI 'hPAKAEI AAEA*m KAI 
 A0HNAI nPONOIAI, KAI All OATMnini, KAI 2AMO0PASI KABEIPOI2, KAI INAHI 'HAI- 
 ni, KAI AAEA<I>ni AnOAAfiNl." (De Vit. Appol. Lib. 2. C. 43.--94.) A brazen column 
 was faid alfo to have been raifed, on which "AAESANAP02 ENTAY0A E2TH," was engraven.
 
 l68 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 have defcribed the Ahars creeled by his order on the Eaflern ftiore 
 of the HyphafiSj' ^\•hich were twelve in number and rivalled the 
 loftieft towers in height and elevation. Thefe immenfe mafles of 
 (lone were intended to perpetuate to future ages the memory of 
 his conquefts, and were confidered at the fame lime as a grateful 
 and acceptable offering to the Gods. Yet monuments, ereâled by 
 hands Rained with the blood of every Afiatic nation, were certain- 
 ly very quellionable methods of imploring the favourable regard 
 of Heaven, and from the infatiable vanity of the Conqueror of 
 the Eafl more probably the real though concealed motives of the 
 fl;ru6tures are to be deduced. — The various towns and cities which 
 Alexander founded in the different countries, that hepaffed through, 
 are to be confidered in the fame point of view, and as trophies ' 
 of his viftories. Plutarch'' reckons them to have exceeded feven- 
 
 ' The modern Settledge or Siittaluz. 
 
 ' Paufanias advances "Ok yaf T/MaxtSotrjKVavai r^owa/a yjwEvojuio'/xEyov'" and he produces Alexan- 
 der as an inftance: "MafTiifa Of Tw Xoyw K^ AAt|3(»Sf®-, «x avstriiCaif «Ti tm Aa^ciu Tforraia, «Ij £7ri 
 ran It^iKxis vixais." (Lib. 9. C. 40.-794, 795.) But Q. Ctirtius (Lib. 3. C 12. Tom. 1.-143.) 
 mentions three altars erefted by the Macedonian Monarch after the battle of IITus, of which there 
 were fome remains in Cicero's time; (Epift. Famil. Lib. 15. Tom. 7. --526.) and Herodian 
 more decifively fpeaks of a city built by the Macedonian Monarch in memory of the battle of 
 Iffus : " Mïïff Se ETi TOW Tfowatiov, >^^iiyiA.xrns tixvs ttcetmzsoXss tin TuXofw &c." (Lib. 3.-63. Ed. 
 Stcph. 4'" 1584.) Pocock fufpeftsaruin that he faw to have been the foundationof the altars creeled 
 near Pinarus, and the remains of a thick wall on the fouthern hills to have been part of this city 
 of Nicopolis, built in honour of Alexander's viâory over Darius. Pocock's Travels. Vol. 2. 
 -176, 177. 
 
 "* ' A>.E|a»df ©< o£ uircg É(3So(x))xo»Ta ctoXhî f3af/3af ojs (^hitiv sfriaxs, j^ KxrxaTrciçocs Tii» Aaixi EAAîj- 
 wxoif TE?,E<7i T»j amiu^u ^ Sn^wlas £x{<»t>j(te ^ixiTvs'" (Plut. De Fort vel Virt, Alex. Plutar- 
 chi Opera. Tom, 2.-328.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. iGg 
 
 ty, and he affures us that under Alexander's reign the wilds of 
 Afia were peopled by Grecian colonies, who diffeminated inflruc- 
 tion amongft the natives, and reclaimed them from their rude and 
 favage ftate of life. Diodorus Siculus even pretends that the 
 Conqueror built, near Paropamifus, feveral towns which were on- 
 ly a (ingle day's journey from each " other. 
 
 Bucephalia " owed its name to the Conqueror's celebrated horfe 
 Bucephalus, who died in its environs, and Sotion, according to 
 Plutarch, relates his having heard from Potamon the Lefbian, that 
 the Macedonian Monarch direfled a town alfo to be built in ho- 
 nour of his favourite dog Perites. ^ Stephanus Byzantinus ^ fpeaks 
 of eighteen different cities under the name of Alexandria, one of 
 which was fituated in the idand of Cyprus, and the author of the 
 chronicle ' of Alexandria places another in the Pentapolis of Afri- 
 ca, which the Conqueror of the Eafl had never vifited. 
 
 This is apparently decilive evidence of the exiftence of thefe 
 cities, but their foundation is not to be attributed to the Macedo- 
 
 Z nian 
 
 " " 'O Jt AAîlavSf ©- >^ «XXai OToXf»! £xT;o-fVj iiA-s^xs o^oii avc^nrots rm AKilan^^axs." Diod. Si- 
 cul. Lib, 17. Tom. 2."224. 
 
 > Suppofed to be the modern Lahore. 
 
 " "Kai iso^m oixiras iit'avrui zsx^x to» 'ïJasoTT))» BsxE^aX/av vj^oa-nyo^iv^iy' \syilai ?£ -Z xiyx nipilxv 
 
 x-AeiTxi TB AEtr/Sis." Plut. De Vit. Alex. Plutarchi Opera. Tom. 1.—699. 
 * Stephan. Byzantinus. AXi^xtl^eta,' 
 *> Chronic. Alex, Ed. Raderi. 398.
 
 lyO CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 nian Monarch without deliberate examination. Alexander's rapid 
 march, or more correftly fpeaking, his raiHtary journey, would 
 barely have allowed him time to think of fuch numerous eftablilh- 
 ments, and his army could not pofTibly have fupplied him with a 
 fufficiency of inhabitants for thefe infant colonies. The rooted 
 attachment in the Grecian bofom for its native foil was likewife 
 well known to have kept a long and lading hold upon it, and the 
 chofen band which had ranged itfelf under the banners of the 
 Younger Cyrus preferred a return to their own country at the rifle 
 of a thoufand perils, to all the advantages, that were offered them 
 by a great and grateful Monarch. Xenophon, their leader, made 
 every effort, but in vain, to induce them to fettle in Alia, where 
 an eafy conqueft would have fixed them in a fituation, that muft 
 foon have rendered the eflablifhment the moll flourifliing and 
 richeft on the Euxine fea. The foldiers of fuch a nation would 
 not willingly have renounced the happinefs of revifiting their 
 country, where the united voices of their families recalled them, 
 and have given up the confolation of expiring amidft the embraces 
 of their relations and their friends, which formed in their opinions 
 the laft, though not leaft precious, of earthly bleffmgs. ' With 
 
 thefe 
 
 " Death, in a ftrange country, and at a diftance from every endearing connexion, was reckon- 
 ed by the ancients to be peculiarly diftrefling, and the thoughts of it (harpened the pangs of repa- 
 ration and of exile. The mournful office of dofing the eyes of their expiring parents, or chil- 
 dren, was a duty of religious importance, and wherever it could not be performed, it was feel- 
 ingly lamented. Penelope offers up a prayer for it. 
 
 " Di precor hoc jubeant, ut euntibus ordine Fatis, 
 Hie meos oculos comprimât, ille tuos." 
 
 Ovid.Heroïd.Epift.j."ioi.Tom.i.-i3. 4'» Amft, 1727. 
 
 And
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I71 
 
 thefe fentiments a voluntary exile in the middle of Afia could not 
 have been expefted from them, which at the fame time expofed 
 them to inveterate enemies, who were jealous of their profperity, 
 and confidered them both as ufurpers of their territories, and their 
 future Tyrants. The improvement of the colony in this precari- 
 ous fituation could have been little attended to, and in a ftate of con- 
 tinual apprehenfions or hoftilities, where the whole force was requi- 
 fite for its defence, few hands could have been fpared for the cul- 
 tivation of the ground or the labours of Agriculture. 
 
 Commerce fometimes infufes a portion of life and vigour into 
 new eftablilhments, but it depends on the eafy and fecure convey- 
 ance of merchandife, and a proper medium of barter and ex- 
 change. Mutual wants will likewife often form an intercourfe 
 between diftant nations, but if the inhabitants of the cities, ima- 
 
 Z 2 gined 
 
 And afterwards makes ufe of the argument to haften the return of UlyfTcs to Ithaca. 
 "Refpice Laerten : ut jam fua lumina condas." 
 
 Ovid. Heroid. Epift. 1.-113. 
 Polyxena alfo offers the fame foothing idea to Hecuba in an agony of grief. 
 " Kxi Oxttiaris oniAot avyxXnaei to ao»'" 
 
 Euripidis Hecuba. 430. Tom. 1.-21. 4<o Lipf. 1778. 
 In their laft moments therefore the " 2uvTf opoy o/jt/xa'' (Sophoclis Philoiîletes. 173. Tom. 2. 
 —367. 4" Paris. 1781.) of their family and friends, an expreffion that fets tranflalion at defi- 
 ance, afforded them the moft cheering fatisfaftion. Gray hath alluded to the wifl» for it in the 
 Church-yard Elegy: Pope hath bewailed the want of it. 
 
 " No friend's complaint, no kind domeftic tear, 
 
 Pleas'd thy pale ghoft, or grac'd thy mournful bier. 
 
 By foreign hands thy dying eyes were clos'd, • .. 
 
 By foreign hands thy decent limbs compos'd." 
 
 Elegy to an Unfortunate Lady. 40.
 
 172 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 gined to have been founded by the Conqueror, were only furnifiied 
 with the common produ61ions of the country from their own fet- 
 tlements, they were not likely to be poffefTed of many articles of 
 traffic, that could have been an objeft to their neighbours, and as 
 to their own country, every hope of a fafe and regular communi- 
 cation between Greece and the Paropamifus or the banks of the 
 laxartes was totally cut off. The number therefore of thofe towns 
 in all probability ought to be reduced, and many of them, whofe 
 foundation is not to be doubted, muft be looked on as Trophies, 
 which were foon demolifhed by the neighbouring nations, or aban- 
 doned by their own inhabitants. '' Some, from their advantageous 
 pofition, were afterwards rebuilt, and their ancient names on their 
 new creation were revived out of refpeft for the memory of the 
 Conqueror of Afia. Thofe, which Abulpharagius mentions, ought 
 certainly to be ranked in this clafs, and the fuppofition is not 
 perhaps an imaginary one, that the fucceffors of Alexander from 
 
 vanity 
 
 '' "Grasci milites nuper incolonias aregededufli Garabadlrâ, orta inter ipfos feditione, defece- 
 lant; non tarn Alexandre infenfi, quam metufupplicii. Quippeoccifisquibufdampopularium, qui 
 validiores erant, arma fpcdare cœperunt ; et Baftrianâ arce, qua quafi negligentius adfer\ata erat, 
 occupata, barbares quoque in focietatem defeftionis impulerant. Athenodorus erat princeps eo- 
 rum, qui regis quoque nomen adfumpferat ; non tarn imperii cupidine, quam in patriam rever- 
 tendi cum lis, qui auftoritatem ipûus fequebantur." (Q. Curtius. Lib. g. C. 7. Tom. 2.-714, 
 715.) Dr. Robertfon (Notes on the Hift. Difquifition concerning India. 193.) hath very ably 
 combated this opinion of the Baron de St. Croix. Yet Coenus in his fpeech, which may be found 
 in Arrian at length, lets us without referve into the Grecian fentiments. "Tut Jt aXXm 'EXXmu», 
 vi fAtv £v Tats Z3c?\£t7i Tciis 'zjgos OH oiKurOetaccis xaTwxfff/AEvo/, aotsroi ■cTavn? IkovIss (jLtvucty — 7y 
 
 TtiTois ^vf/^TTUffi zjoQ^ /A£v yoviuv Efiv, oaoiy fit cu^oyrut^ îjûo©- d£ yvvaînuv ^ zjcctcuVy -CToô©- Se 0*7 T*3f 7^5? 
 avkisrm oixeiar" (Arrian. Lib. 5. C. 27. 399, 40O.) 1 fincerely refpeâ and admire Dr. Robertfon's 
 great learning and uncommon talents, and I feel with reluftance the force of Arrian's espreffions.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I73 
 
 vanity or gratitude diftinguifhed many of their own foundation 
 with his name. " 
 
 Man generally communicates his partialities and prejudices to 
 the fociety of which he is a member. The idea of an illullrious 
 origin hath flattered the ambition of individuals, cities, and nati- 
 ons, and they have repeatedly ranfacked the annals of the world to 
 demonftrate their antiquity, and carry back their hiftory to a time, 
 in which every thing was loft in one common and general obfcu- 
 rity. Many towns from thefe motives have chofen Alexander for 
 their founder, and Smyrna, having no pretenfions to that diftinftion 
 hath contented itfelf with the honour of being reftored by Alex- 
 ander, ^ though its title to it, is not confirmed by any cotemporary 
 writer. 
 
 But it may be proper to attend to the progrefs of the Macedo- 
 nian army, which embarked on veffels conftrufled or coUefted on 
 the banks of the Hyphafis, and afterwards dropped down this 
 river to the Indus. ^ Q. Curtius and Diodorus Siculus have equal- 
 ly deceived themfelves in fuppofmg the Macedonian fleet to have 
 
 been 
 
 ' SeeAppian. De Bello Syriac. 201. 
 
 ' Paufanias however ftyles Alexander "Tw ■nroAfus o/x/fw'" (Lib. 7.-533.) but Ariftides ridi- 
 cules the fable. "M») yx^ 1/.01 Av<rifiap^o> in, (aiiSe AXj|a>Sfov avtov, /wijSe ©jjo-ta >ù fAv^ts' «Wi'i^Bs 
 ojwrai T)!J îJoAtwj y£»E(7^£'" Orat. Tom. i."5i3. 4'° Oxen, 1722. 
 
 8 "Inde Alexander ad amnem Acefinem pergit : per banc in oceanum devehitur." Juftin, 
 Lib. 12. C. 9.--327.
 
 174 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 been built on the fhore of the Acefines, '" and Alexander to have 
 returned by a retrogade' march, as ufelefs, as contradiftory to 
 every other writer. A war followed between the Macedonians 
 and the^Ialli, and in the attack of one of their towns the Grecian 
 Hero was perfonally expofed to the fury of an enraged enemy, 
 and the Conqueror of the Eaft was in imminent danger of pe- 
 rifliing like a common and ordinary adventurer. '' 
 
 ^fAlexander having reached the mouth of the Indus, dire£led his 
 march towards Gedrofia, without leaving the fea at any great dif- 
 
 tance. 
 
 '■ "The modern lenaub. 
 
 ' "MfTa zjxjyis rns ^vvxixsua rais avrxn ô^ois 'ûjo^tv^ets atsxxfA'i'et etti to» Axiamt ziorxixit' y.ara,- 
 A«y?ai» Si rx axjiipx )iivxvmyTiij.z]ix,iijrxvrxy.xrx^iiTxs, In^x z!^0Tf»xuitnyr,!Tx\a," (Oiod. Sicul. Lib. 
 
 17. Tom. 2.-234.) "Repetens quï emenfus erat, adflumen Acefinemlocat caftra jam in 
 
 aqua clafEs, quam a:dificari juiTerat, ftabat." Q. Curtius. Lib. 9. C. 3. Tom. 2.-688, 689. 
 
 ^ Plutarch, (Tom. 1.-700.) Arrian, (Exped. Alex. Lib. 6. C. g, 10.-423— 428.) Diodorus 
 
 Siculus, (Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 236, 237.) and Q. Cunius (Lib. g. C. 4, 5. Tom. 2.— 700 704.) 
 
 have given a diftufive detail of this wonderful inltance of Alexander's temerity, and ftill more 
 wonderful efcape. Juftin (Lib. 12. C. 9.--328, 32g.) hath comprefled it into a narrower com- 
 pafs, but the two Latin hiftorians have varied the fcene of this ungular mixture of rafhnefs and 
 courage. Q. Curtius relates it on the attack of the capital of the Oxydracians, and Lucian, (Di- 
 alog. Mort. 14. Seifl. 5. Tom. 1.— 3g7.) Appian, (De Bell. Civil. Lib. 2. Tom. 2.-852.) 
 Stephanus Byzantinus, (OfwJfaxoi) and Paufanias (Lib. 1.— 15.) agree with him. It is poffible 
 the Malli might inhabit a part of Oxydrachia, and the expreffion of "Tw ovxiAx^o/isym MaXAas" 
 may perhaps give fome little plaufibility to the conjedlure, which will then reconcile the diffe- 
 rent writers, Juftin excepted. Alexander is fuppofed, by this Latin author, to have hurried him- 
 felf into this dangerous combat at the city of the Ambri and Sugambri, but Orofius, who copied 
 Juftin, hath boldly transformed thefe people into the Malli and Oxydrachians. The Ambri and 
 Sugambri have hitherto retained with inflexible obftinacy their ftation in the text of Juftin, but 
 
 the commentators have allowed the reading to be fpurious. Major Rennel hath marked, near 
 
 the banks of the Hydraotes or Rauvee of our times, the probable fituation of this city.
 
 OFALEXANDER THE GREAT. 175 
 
 tance, and pafled through a country of great extent, which was 
 both barren, uncukivated, and deflitute of water. Diodorus 
 Siculus after this account of the deferts, which the Macedonian 
 army traverfed, adds, that Alexander feparated his army into 
 three divifions, and gave orders for the country to be ravaged, 
 which was inltantly executed, and the troops returned from the 
 general pillage loaden with plunder and befmeared with the blood 
 of millions of the inhabitants, that they had maffacred. ' The reft 
 of the hiftorians are filent on this fhameful fubjeft. 
 
 The Bacchanalian march, however, of the Macedonian army 
 through Carmania hath been admitted without helitation by many 
 of them, "■ and Arrian hath alone rejefted this fcene of riot and 
 
 intemperance, 
 
 ' "Diodore après avoir parle de la pauvreté des Gedrofiens, et des dcfcrts que traverferent les 
 trolipes Macedonienes, ne craint pas d'avancer qu'Alexandre ayant divifée fon armée en trois corps 
 ordonna aux commandants de ces divifions de ravager ce pays." I have deviated effentially from 
 the French fentence for the purpofe of refcuing Diodorus Siculus from at leafl this charge of in- 
 confiftency, with which he hath been reproached. It was after tlie Macedonian army had tra- 
 verfed thefe extenfive deferts that the pillage was made on the borders of the Oritje, according 
 to the Text of Diodorus Siculus, and the term "Ce pays" is not authorized. " Kx4 rus Kil^uai- 
 a» oix.nvras ^ai^is xiv^vvm ■CTfoj nyxyiTo, Msras 5t Tatra;, tJoXXjjv (/.!> «yujfov, ux. oAiyiiv Se c^rifiot SisX- 
 
 3w», erri rx fifiT/S©- of la Karrinnaf hs r^ix Se (aeç» td» ^vtxfj.it S/£Ao/>i.f»©- cyifAi -aat roit^ 
 
 OTf ©• 5^ S<«fTr«y>iî )^ «JoXAw» povaiy 0/ (xev ç^xnurxi zsoWns ^•■hxs cuv^im^xt, rx-y Be avxigi^i»- 
 
 Tuit cu/AXTut a^i^f/,©' iytttro ooM^u» ixv^ia^uv." Lib, 17. Tom, 2, --2^2, 
 
 'B>Mnjiu 'aiirnyvtxs, eiiu^iii/.eyot avte^us i/Atgas >y HxT©-' àjj-aèxi S{ CTJ(f*irXv,3af , âi i/.iy à\t)^yois -^ ■ZJOi- 
 »i>Mis -ai^iQQXaiois, 0,1 Je IMs xh zj^oaÇara Kj ^'ji^xs owa^o^txi xXx^ois, hmuro, rut xWus xyairxi 
 ■ÇAsî 5^ iyt/Mnas «s-t^avw/xtvBr, i^ 'mitonTas' «Snj S'av a ijeXt))», s x^asv©-, « a-x^io-a-a», «X>.j! pjaAait 
 >y fuTois, ry cijf/xXaoiî zja^x rm ôSo» àirairat ôi T^xriurxi StiiHTi^oiTes, en ■ai^ut /AeyaXuf 5^ xgxrri^uii
 
 IjG CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 intemperance, as both improbable and abfurd. " Neither Ptolemy 
 nor Ariftobulus nor any of the cotemporary writers have mentioned 
 it, and there feem to have exifted fome phyfical and fubflantial 
 reafons, which lea4 us to doubt of its reality. — It is not probable 
 that the Macedonian forces, after the exceffive fatigues of their 
 long and laborious march to Gedrofia, in which they had fuffered 
 the extremities of hunger and thirft, and had been reduced fo 
 very confiderably by ficknefs, " fhould have plunged at once into 
 
 an 
 
 a>.X>iXo/f Wf OEWiVov, li [Alt, ey ru 'upixym âixx >^ px^t^m, L di xxrxK^/j.itoi' cxoXXn Se Marx m'^iyfuv ty 
 auXai, uiris rt )^ 4'aA^a j^ ^ax^^xs yvyxixuv, y.xreiy^s vjxtTx ToTioy," (De Vit. Alex. Plutarchi 
 Opera. Tom. 1.-702.) "Vicos, per quos iter crat, floribus coronifque Iterni jubet: li- 
 minibus jedium craleras vino repletos, et alia eximiœ magnitudinis vafa difponi: véhicula dein- 
 de conftrata, ut plures capere milites polTent, in tabcrnaculorummodum ornari, aliacandidis velis, 
 alia vefte pretiofa. Primi ibunt amici et cohors regia, variis redimita floribus coronifque, alibi 
 tibicinum cantus, alibi lyra fonus audiebatur : item in vehiculis pro copia cujufque adornatis com- 
 meffabundus exercitus, armis qu^ maxime decora erant circumpendentibus. Ipfum convivafque 
 currus vehebat, crateris aureis ejufdemque materitc ingentibus poculis praegravis. Hoc modo per 
 dies feptem bacchabundum agmen incelTit; parta pr:cda, fi quid vidlis faltem adverfus commef- 
 fantes animi fuilTet : mille hercule, viri modo et fobrii, feptem dierum crapula graves in fuo 
 Iriumpho capere potuerunt." (Q. Curt. Lib. g. C. 10. Tom. 2.-742, 743.) The refleftion 
 that follows is certainly an appofite one. " Et pra^fens ^tas et Pofleritas mirata eft, per gcntes 
 nondum fatis domitas inceffiiTe temulentos, barbaris, quod temeritas erat, fiduciam efle credenti- 
 bus," Whether it may not impeach the credit of the relation may be a queftion. 
 
 " "TauTa h hti !!«>.£;*«/©. ô Aaya, art Afifo/SaX®- ô Afiro/3«X8 xtsy^x^xv, «Se tis aXA©- ôtTiiiu îxx. 
 loy x> ris zionaxin Tcxf^rt^iua-x, virt^ run roiuA' j^ ^oj is a zhtx xtxyiygxip^xi t^jifxto-*»'" Arrian. 
 Exped. Alex. Lib. 6. C. 28.-467. 
 
 " "Dans la Gedrofie." Thefe exceffive fatigues, if we are to believe fome of the Greek and 
 Latin authors, were experienced before the army reached Gedrofia, and on that account I have 
 varied the expreffion. " A^t®- h zji^r, ^.'n^nrm wofE.o,x£v©-, w i^x^^rm auo^iay z,^nx^^, 'Ç, "nU- 
 e®.«»9f«TOv «twXeot», wfE rmiAaxiiAH Ivvxixsus f/^h nrdxfloy ex tw I»S,xdî x-nxïxïay xKKx k, «- 
 
 gxii
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 177 
 
 an excefs of debauchery, and that a general of Alexander's ability 
 could have either authorized by his example a licentioufnefs de- 
 ftruftive of military difcipline, or even allowed of it, by a weak 
 and impolitic connivance. '' 
 
 Alexander returned with his army into Perfia, and there com- 
 municated to the troops his intention of difcharging the Invalids, 
 which occafioned a dangerous infurreftion in the Macedonian 
 camp. A flroke of authority flopped its progrefs, and thirteen 
 of the principal mutineers were inflantly feized and put to death. 
 Alexander then fhut himfelf up within his tent, excluded the 
 Macedonians, and admitted only the Perfians to his confidence. 
 The experiment was a hazardous one, but it fucceeded. The 
 Macedonians returned with tears to their duty and obedience ; and 
 the Monarch overpowered by the fenfibility that they difcovered 
 on a (enfe of their mifconduft, both pardoned the ferment, and 
 rellored them to his favour. Ten thoufand Veterans foon after- 
 
 A A wards 
 
 faif fÇvDtovTa TJ!-jT»iv SisXSwv, tc, ms Tio^ua-ia! à-^aixit®^, tvôvs ev si(p9oMis m 'srxaiv'' (Plut. De Vit. 
 Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.--702.) Q. Curtius hath given a (lorid defcription of the dlftrefs 
 of the Macedonian army, which he winds up with "Itaque fame duntaxat vindicatus exercitus, 
 tandem in Gedrofix fines perducitur. Omnium rerum fola fertilis regio eft, in qua lUiiva habu- 
 it, utvexatos milites quiete firmaret." Lib. g. C. 10. Tom. 2.-740. 
 
 p That Alexander might have inrtituted fome feftival, and introduced fomc fplendid and trium 
 phal proceffions is very probable: that he Ihould have marched in fuch diforder through an ene- 
 my's country is not to be credited. Arrian takes the ground, which Ariftobulus had occupied 
 before him. "EKeivxviSTj A^iTo^nXul'jTo/ji.Di^^^vvy^xipu, ^urai m Ka^i^xtix AJ^s^xnocov ^«fir>!f'» t)!$ 
 
 Exped, Alex. Lib. 6. C, 28.-463.
 
 178 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 wards fet out for Macedonia, having firfl received their arrears of 
 pay, a fum to defray the expences of their route, and a talent as 
 a voluntary prefent. '' Diodorus Sicuius relates, that the veterans 
 were difcharged, had their arrears of pay liquidated, and that the 
 reft of the army then revolted. ' But their arrears of pay were 
 firft difcharged, the Monarch's generolity extended not only to 
 that part of his troops but to the whole army, and the mutiny 
 was both difcovered and put a ftop to, before the veterans began 
 their march, ' 
 
 Alexander's laft military exploit was the reduftion of the Cof- 
 faeans. — Plutarch, in general fo partial to this Prince, here adopts a 
 recital as falfe, as injurious, to his memory. By way of co ifola- 
 tion on the death of Hephaeftion, he pretends, that the Macedo- 
 nian Monarch employed himfelf in hunting the Coffaeans like wild 
 
 beafts. 
 
 1 Plutarchi Opera. Tom. 1 .-704.— Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 7.C. 8, 9, lO, 1 1 , 1 2.--491 499. 
 
 Plutarch exprefsly ftates that there were alfo fome jealoufies of Alexander's indifcreet partiality 
 for the foreigners and Perfians in his fervice. "Havraî av mAsvov aÇinvai, «J Ttxvras (xxf>iT>is m- 
 f*iÇ«» MaxcÈoms, t^onx tus yens rurss ■CTKÇf<x/ray, a-jt oisenim xarxurfiatTai Tw oix.viA.tnv." (Plut. 
 Opera. Tom. 1.--704.) And Arrian mentions fome other oifenfive circumftances. "noX^oisj^ 
 u>J\04s a^OtaScvTcs, ôra iroM-xxis riïn eXuwh auTSJ i5, re laSris -n Tït^aixyi es tsto Ctfao-a ><J run Eiriyuyuv 
 rut 0a^0x^ait Ta Maxc^ovixM »iâ»)* Koa-(A.riais iCj xyaixx^is rut (xX\oipv\uti I'mituv cs ras rut irou^uy r«^eis'" 
 (Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. C. 8.— 492.) Callines afterwards makes a formal complaint upon thefubjecl. 
 "ft ^aaiKtv, T» ^inruvTa t7j MaxtSo»aj, on m ï\iç(Tuy fj-iy ritias >jSj) ■ntwo/ijo-a/ aavru avyttvets, >^ Ka\is)f- 
 rou njç>(Tai av^iyets AAi|aiiSçH, j^ ipiXKo-i en' MaxtSomiv Si «Ww Tis yiïivTou rxurris Til tj/aij'" Arri- 
 an. Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. C. n.— 501. 
 
 • Diodorus Sicuius. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 246. 
 
 ' Arrian, Exped. Alex, Lib, 7, C. S.—485, 486.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I79 
 
 beads, and in the total deftruclion of that nation, ^\•hich wai 
 flaughtered indifcriminately, and without any dillinftion of age " 
 or fex. Arrian and Diodorus Siculus have fupprefTed this favago 
 expedition, and for the honoiu- of humanity, it is to be hoped, 
 that it was never reaUzed. 
 
 The fcripture reprefents the Conqueror of Darius as coming 
 from the Weft, and fweeping over the furface of the earth with a 
 velocity, that excluded the poftibility of touching" it. Nothing 
 indeed is more aftonifhing than the rapid marches of the Macedo- 
 nian Monarch, and, in the words of Montefquieu, " " the Empire 
 of the world feemed to be rather the prize of an Olympian race, 
 than the fruit of a great victory. ^ " 
 
 Yet it may be queftioned, if Alexander's hiftorians have not 
 fometimes lengthened his marches, and if their accounts are to be 
 received with implicit and unlimited authority. Some obfervati- 
 ons on the meafures, which were employed, may clofe with pro- 
 priety the prefent feftion ; and a comparifon of the marches of 
 Alexander with thofe of the ten thoufand Greeks may polfibly 
 
 A A 2 eltipidate 
 
 TO Koo-o-flMo» e9»®. xaTEfftÇETo, •CT«»T«î i!/3)jSo» «woo-Çarl:»'».' ' Plutarchi Opera. Tom. i.— 704. 
 
 " "K«( ex »!» «7rT0(i*ev©- Tw ytif'" Daniel. C. 8. V. 5. 
 
 =■ "Vous croyez voir l'empire de l'univers le prix de la rourfe comme dans les jeux de la Gr;cc, 
 que le prix de la viftoire," Montefquieu. De l'Efprit des Loix. Lib. 10. C. 14. Tom. i, 
 --197, 198. 
 
 1 Nugeni's Tranflation. Bock 10, Chap. 14. Vol. i.—zxz.
 
 l8o CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 elucidate the fubjea. The ancients undoubtedly employed Iladia 
 of unequal diftances, and many learned men ' have laboured to 
 afcertain their different extent. De I'lfle appears to have afcer- 
 tained with the greateft fuccefs thofe referred to by the writers of 
 the life of Alexander, and to have proved with accuracy their 
 real length. The difference of longitude between Ecbatana and 
 Aria, according to the Oriental affronomers, was eleven degrees 
 and twenty minutes, which are equal to eight degrees and fifty- 
 feven minutes of a great circle, allowing for the diminution of 
 the degrees of longitude of the parallel of thefe two cities, and 
 it varies materially from the meafure of ten thoufand two hundred 
 and ninety ftadia, which amount to fourteen degrees according to 
 the calculation of Eratofthenes, and more than twenty on that of 
 Ptolemy. This fmgle difference leads us to conclude, that the 
 ftadia employed by Alexander's engineers were much (horter than 
 thofe of the later geographers. Ariftotle's computation of the 
 meafure of the earth furnifhes a convincing proof of this circum- 
 ftance, for he reckons the diftance of ten thoufand two hundred 
 and ninety ftadia between Ecbatana and Aria to be equal to nine 
 degrees and fixteen minutes of a great circle, which only differ 
 nineteen minutes, or three hundred and fifty ftadia, from the cal- 
 culation of the Oriental aftronomers, and they may be eafily al- 
 lowed for the curvature of the roads. ^ 
 
 Manfieur 
 
 » See the Memoirs de Guill. de I'lile. Académie des Sciences. 1714. — Eflai fur les Mefures 
 Itin. Acad, des Infcriptions. Tom. 19. — Obfervations fur les Mefures Itin. par Gibert. A- 
 cad. des Infcriplions. Tom. 19.— And Traite des Mefures Itin. par D'Anville. 
 
 » Recherch. Geograph. fur l'Etendue de l'Empire d'Alexandre, par Monf, Buache. Acad. 
 des Sciences, 1 731. --11 7 ta». 
 
 I
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. l8l 
 
 Monfieur d' Anville " hath illuftrated the marches of the Mace- 
 donian army, and lopped off many difficukies, by fixing the fta- 
 .dium of Alexander's engineers at fifty toifes, which has every 
 appearance of probability. Five hundred of the Macedonian 
 cavalry, carrying each a footfoldier, marched, according to Arrian, 
 four hundred ftadia in a night, ' Employing the Pythian ftadium 
 of one hundred and twenty-five toifes, this detachment of cavalry 
 mud have marched twenty leagues, which could not have been 
 pofTible. Alluding to the ftadium of fifty toifes, the march is 
 reduced at once to eight leagues, and becomes in confequence, 
 not only polfible, but probable. 
 
 The Macedonians, in the purfuit of Satibarzanes, marched in 
 two days fix hundred ftadia, '' amounting to thirty leagues, on the 
 ordinary calculation. By that computation they muft have march- 
 ed each day fifteen leagues inftead of fix, which the lefler ftadium 
 only produces.. 
 
 Alexander, in his march to Marcanda for the purpofe of attack- 
 ing Spitamenes, traverfed one thoufand five hundred ftadia in 
 
 three 
 
 •> Traite fur les Meafures Itin. 84. The Fradlions are omitted. 
 
 '■ The French expreffion is "Dans une partie d'un jour et nuit entière." Arrian fays that 
 Alexander began his march in the evening, and furprifed the enemy at the dawn of the next day, 
 and I have not on that account adhered fo ciofely to the French fentence. "Ai/t®' Se ci/xÇi Sf(A»i> 
 «7By «f faf*6»©-, SfOfAW riyeiro' SiA^uv Sf T/is yfxT©- faJfBf, ts Ts1faxo(7iaf, lira rm iu 'a^ofvy^Oii» ran 
 ^cc^Qa^ois xTxurus mai KiotntiKois," Arrian. Exped, Alex. Lib. 3. C. 2t.— 232. 
 
 * Arrian, Exped. Alex, Lib, 3. C. 25.—242.
 
 l82 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 three • days. The Pythian ftadium makes up a diftance of feventy- 
 five leagues, which are reduced to thirty by the ftadium of fifty toi- 
 fes. Tlie Macedonian foldiers being very robud and accuftomed to 
 laborious fervice, might in all likelihood by a forced march tra- 
 verfe ten leagues each day, fmce the Roman legions in their exer- 
 cifes marched often twenty-four miles or eight leagues in a day, as 
 we learn from Vegetius, who wrote in the decline of the Roman 
 difcipline. ' 
 
 A comparifon alfo of the marches of the younger Cyrus and 
 the ten thoufand Greeks, fo faithfully defcribed by Xenophon, 
 with thofe of the Macedonian Monarch, will again demonflrate 
 the pra6libility of thofe immediately before us. 
 
 The troops of the younger Cyrus, in their route to Cunaxa, 
 marched generally five parafengs ^ before they halted, and fome- 
 
 times 
 
 « Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. .\. C. 6.-272. 
 
 f "Piailerca et vetiis coiifuetmlo permanfit, et divi Aiigufti atqueHadriani conftitutionibus prx- 
 cavetur, ut ter in mcnfc, tarn cquilcs qiiam pcditcs, cducaniur ambulatum ; Iioc cniin verbo, 
 hoc excrcitii genus nominanl. Decern millia panTiium armali inftrufliqiic omnibus iclis peditcs, 
 militari gradu ire, ac redire jubebantur in callra." Vegetius. Lib. 1. C. 27. --25. 8^° Vcfal. 
 1670. 
 
 s I am under fome embarraiïincnt for a term that exaiîlly correfponds with the ÏTaSf*©', and I 
 know of no finglc word in the Euglllh language, that fully meets the Greek, idea. The Baron de 
 St. Croix renders it by "Campement," becaufc the troops, where they flopped, generally formed 
 a fpccics of temporary encampment, and Q. Curtius makes ufe of the fame cxpreffion. "Nonis 
 cadris in regioncm Arabilarum, indc totidcm diebus in Gedrofiam perverftumefl," (Lib. g.C. 10. 
 Tom. 2.-737.) Raphdius, llie editor of Arrian, obfcrvcs "2t«3/*©- ab ('rr/A( Ito, eft iter unius dici, 
 
 quippe
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 183 
 
 times more, particularly when they eroded Lydia for the Mean- 
 der, where they only made three halts in a march of twenty-two '' 
 parafengs, reckoning feven parafengs and a third, before each hih. 
 The fame body of troops arriving at Iconium, a city of Piirygia, 
 marched alfo twenty parafengs with only three ' halts, and dire6l- 
 ing their route to the left of the Euphrates, they even marched 
 thirty-five parafengs with only five '' halts. 
 
 The marches of the ten thoufand Greeks, in their retreat after 
 the battle of Cunaxa, differ little from thofe, which they went 
 through, under the orders of the younger Cyrus. Sometimes 
 they were fhorter on account of the difficulty of the roads, but 
 at others, they were very long, as they marched thirty parafengs 
 with only five halts, in the territories of the Taochians ; ' and 
 when they croffed the country of the Chalybians, who hung up- 
 on their rear, and continually harraffed them, even fifty parafengs 
 were palfed with only i'evcn halts. " 
 
 Xenophon^ 
 
 quippe quo confcdlo agmen fubfiflit, ut faiigata corpora quicic Icvcntur." (Ad ÏTaSju,®- tcki. 
 Arrian. Expcd. Alex. Lib. 1. C. 2.~12.) I am not fatisficd, I confcfs, with the cxprcfTion 
 that I have introduced, but I yet flatter myfclf its meaning is not widely different. Hefychius 
 and Suidas have deHncd the "ZraV®') s-farwr/xri xaToiXiKrif," which is fubftantially the fame. 
 
 J^^"" Xcnophoii. Expcd. Cyri. Lib. i.—g. 
 
 ' Lib. i.—jy. 
 
 ^ Lib. 1.-45. 
 
 » Lib. 4.-328, 32g. 
 
 ■■ ■ ■ Lib. 4.--334' •
 
 1:84 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Xenoplion, according to Mons' d'Anville, alludes to a parafeng 
 of two thoufand two hundred and fixty-eight " toifes, which ex- 
 clufive of a fraftion, amount to forty-five ftadia. The ten thou- 
 fand Greeks marched therefore before their halts, two hundred and 
 twenty-fix, two hundred and feventy-two, three hundred and 
 feventeen, and even fometimes, three hundred and feventy ftadia, 
 and confequently their marches equalled the longeft of the Ma- 
 cedonian army. There is even reafon to believe, that the ten 
 tlioufand Greeks marched beyond many of thefe ufual halts, in a 
 day ; and the Greek term, which Xenophon makes ufe of, does 
 not fignify any given fpace which the troops marched in a day, 
 but fimply the repofe allotted to them after having marched a 
 certain diftance. Diodorus Siculus relates, that Demetrius the 
 fon of Antigone having received intelligence that Ptolemy had 
 invaded the ifland of Cyprus, and made an irruption into Cilicia 
 pafled twenty-four of thefe ufual halts in fix ° days; and Arrian 
 alfures us, that Ptolemy in the purfuit of Beffus reached ten of 
 them in four days. '' If the ten thoufand Greeks paffed many of 
 them in a day, we may reafonably conclude, that their marches 
 furpaffed thofe of Alexander, which were meafured fo exaftly by 
 Diognetus and Beton, the Prince's furveyors. Beton had particu- 
 larly defcribed them m a work, from wliich Strabo, Arrian, and 
 
 Pliny, 
 
 " Traite fur les Mefiires. Itin. 95, 
 
 • " Ai/lflw yaji «wo MaWiS, l| i!(iEj!aj s"aS(xBj «xoo-i i^ rtwafxs." Diod. Sicul. Lib, l9.Tom,2,"38l. 
 
 » ♦ E» i!(A£ja;f TEj-o-af «■( yaSjixHj 5îxa." Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. zg,--2^2.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 185 
 
 Pliny, '' borrowed very liberally, — Rcflefting on the rapid marches 
 of Ghengis Khan, and thofe of the Patans and Marattas, ' all the 
 marvellous in Alexander's expeditions vanifhes at once, and there 
 remains no longer any plaufible pretence of attacking their pofli- 
 bility. " Our fcepticifm will not be fufficient" as Fontenelle 
 judicioudy obferves, "if we doubt only of thefe extraordinary 
 fafts, we fliould doubt even if they were as extraordinary as they 
 appear' to be." 
 
 1 See Athen<eus. Lib. lo- Tom. 1,— 441. — And Cafaubon's Obfervations on the paflage. 
 
 ' In our times the motions of Hyder Ali and Tippoo Saib's cavalry have been equally rapid. 
 Detachments of them, when they were fuppofed to be at a confiderable diftance, have inftanta- 
 neoufly appeared, and afterwards retreated with the fame celerity. 
 
 ' "Ce n'eft pas entendre affez bien le Pyrrhonifme, que de douter des faits extraordinaires, il 
 
 faut aller jufqu'a douter qu'ils foient auffi extraordinaires qu'ils le paroiflTent." L'extrait du 
 
 Mem. de M'' de Lifle fur les Mes. Geograph. des Anciens. Hid. de l'Acad. des Sciences. 1714. 
 
 END OF THE SECOND SECTION. 
 
 B B SECT.
 
 l86 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 SECTION. III. 
 
 A. 
 
 .N exaft knowledge of Alexander's charafter can only be ac- 
 quired by entering minutely into both his public and private life. 
 The difcuffion will afcertain the degree of cenfure or approbation, 
 that his difpofition, his virtues and his vices feverally merit, which 
 will be determinate and certain, as it will be founded on the fixed 
 and unerring rules of juftice, the principle of all the virtues ac- 
 cording to Ariftotle, ' or at leaft including them. It is not in the 
 power of caprice to abrogate her laws : the moft ingenious fophif- 
 try cannot obfcure them. The philofopher is their interpreter, 
 and there is an appeal to his impartial tribunal from the world 
 at large, which is frequently aftuated by pa (fions, fometimes in- 
 fluenced by its partialities, and fometimes warped by its prejudices. 
 
 That 
 
 * ^' Kai ^la Turo zsoXXaxis Hçariçii r m ce^tTaii mat ^OKHri AïKûcioavm' K) n^îawcç®^, sS'Éwf, «rw Saf- 
 
 El/ OE AiKanoa-vvy] ffvXXvi^ùriv zjcca^apsrvi f***' 
 
 Thcognis. 147. 
 " Kai rtXeta ij.a}iiçcc afirn, on rm rriXuxs a^irris y(^çr)<ris t^i'" DeMoribus. Lib. 5. C. 3. Ariftct. 
 Opera. Tom. 3. --77. Folio. Paris. 1654. 
 
 n 
 
 1 
 
 ;j
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. iSj 
 
 That intelleftual and internal virtue, without which the mind 
 hath no valuable powers, and man is incapable either of com- 
 manding or conducting himfelf, *■ is in faél but ftricl and efiential 
 juftice. It was thus that Plato ' taught, when he refuted, under 
 the borrowed name of Socrates, the llrange maxims of Thrafy- 
 machus, which, in defiance of the virtuous efforts of philofophers 
 in every age, have been unfortunately adopted by princes either 
 vicious in themfelves, or corrupted by long and continued fuccefs. 
 — With the latter polhbly Alexander is to be clalfed. — By a fcru- 
 pulous and careful attention to the chronological order of events, 
 we may perceive the variations in his charafter and conduft, and 
 the gradual progrefs of his corruption will appear as diftinftly 
 marked, as the events from which it flowed. Profperity had a 
 fatal influence on the Macedonian Monarch's heart, and the regu- 
 lar and uninterrupted feries of his conquefts gave birth to a crowd 
 of vices, which were fofl;ered by flattery, and almoft juftified by 
 the uncommon bafenefs of his parafites and minions. 
 
 Alexander was born almofl; immediately after Elpines became 
 the Athenian Archon, in the firfl; year of the 106"" Olympiad, and 
 
 Bb 2 the 
 
 }XTO>; A^vvasTov' Plato. De Republicâ. Lib. i. Platonis Opera, Tom. 2.-353. Folio. Paris, 
 1578. 
 
 ' " <>iil/.i yx^ syu Bvxi to Sixaiov hx xXXo ti v to tb xjî/tÎo»®' iyi/.Os^ov.'' Plato. De Republicâ. 
 Lib. 1. Platonis Opera. Tom. 2. --338.
 
 l88 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 the certainty of the faft is demonflrated by the cotemporary oc- 
 currences, which Plutarch mentions. '' 
 
 Pliihp did not overlook any thing neceffary for his Son, and 
 gave him an education every way fuitable to his birth and flation. 
 Leonides, a relation of Olympias, whofe rigid aufterity of morals 
 was remarkable and well known, direfted the education of the 
 young Prince, but Lyfimachus the Acarnanian was appointed his 
 preceptor, and he found out the method of captivating both the 
 Father and the Son by the groffeft adulation. He gave the name 
 of Achilles to his Royal pupil, that of Peleus to Philip, and had 
 the alTurance to apply that of Phcenix to himfelf, ' We may reft 
 aflured that the young Prince's mind fuffered under fuch a tutor, 
 and it may be reafonably prefumed, that the feeds of thofe vices 
 were then fown in it, which in maturer life grew up, and threw a 
 fickly {hade over the fplendid aftions, from which he would other- 
 wife 
 
 wo» ay't\iai kxtx to» atiTo» x?"""' ^ '^"i lAAuf ;«$ lirlixaSa/ (^»Xi jnfyaAv) 04a naç(xE»i«»©-* v St, OXv/a- 
 wiao-i» (Vww xtX>)T( »t»(xiix£»a'' TfiTu J«, 'ssi^i rris Af-i^xy^guyittatus'" Plut. De Vit. Alex. Plutar- 
 chi Opera. Tom. 1.--665, 666. 
 
 • If we are to believe Plutarch, he had no othermerit. " AXAo jut» bSj» r;^w» ar«o»j on S'saJJo» 
 lilt otof^aÇit "toinxa, Tov St AAt^a»Sfo», A^iAAta, IIiiAeix St, To» 't'lKitntov, jjyjtTraTO, ><^ StuTtfo» B^t ^o/fa»'" 
 (De Vit. Alex. Plutarchi Opera. Tom. 1.--667.) The rays of Royal bounty have been frequent- 
 ly dirtdled on wforthlefs and improper objeds ; but hillory fcarcely furnifhcs another inllance of 
 a Favourite, that rofe into employment on fuch pretenfions.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 189 
 
 wife have derived fuch immortal honour. OuintiHan' unjuftly 
 accufes Leonides, on the faith of Diogenes of Babylon, with the 
 corruption of Alexander's mind; but he confounds the refpe6lable 
 Leonides with Lyfimachus, and improperly terms him the peda- 
 gogue. Leonides had conftantly refufed the office of preceptor, 
 as we learn from Plutarch, whofe exprelTion ^ may have deceived 
 the learned Rhetorician, and occafioned his reference of the lec- 
 tures of Lyfimachus to Leonides, which undoubtedly obIlru6led 
 Ariflotle's more virtuous fyftem. This great man was called by 
 Philip to give leffons to his Son, under the magiftracy of Pytho- 
 dotus, in the fécond year of the 109"" Olympiad, and the Mo- 
 narch warmly exhorted him to attend to the inftru6lions of fuch 
 an able mailer, with the forcible admonition of avoiding, from 
 his counfels, the errors of which he ferioufly repented. '' Me- 
 morable words ! which truth hath foraetimes forced from the lips 
 of princes and of kings, in thofe laft and awful moments of ex- 
 iftence, when pride and vanity fink into humiliation, and flattery 
 itfelf, having; no longer any hopes, is filent.. 
 
 Alexander 
 
 ' "Leonides Alexandri pedagogus, ut aBabylonio Diogene traditur, quibufdam eum vitiis ira- 
 buit, qui robuftum quoque et jam maximum regem ab ilia inftitutione puerili funt profecuta." 
 Quint. Inft. Oral. Lib. 1. C. 1.--7. Ed. Gefner. 4'° Getting. 1738. 
 
 « Some of the editors of Plutarch read " Ayr®- ^tv a Çcvyuy to Ti)t Uai^ayuyias o»o/xa," but the 
 " Mit ail ipsvym" of the Francfort edition, Folio, 1620, appears to be the true reading. 
 
 De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. t. --667. 
 
 tya WE'»-f*7f*E>oij (*{T«fw^of^«(," Apothegm, Plut, Opera, Tom, 2.--i']8.
 
 190 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Alexander was then in his thirteenth year, and not the fifteenth^ 
 as Diogenes Laertius hath fuppofed, ' who prolongs by his calcu- 
 lation the life of Alexander fomewhat above two years. The 
 Son of Philip was initiated into all the Terences, and ran through 
 the circle of human knowledge under Ariftotle's care. After a 
 refidence of eight years ' at the court of Macedon, which Juftin 
 hath reduced to five, ' the philofopher retiring to Athens, when 
 Evenaetus was Archon, parted with his Royal pupil to meet no 
 more, though he furvived him fome years. "" 
 
 In all probability the young Prince, agreeable to Plutarch's 
 
 opinion. 
 
 «jsvTïKaiStxa fTtj A ysyoyor®'." Diog. Laert. Lib. 5. Segm. lo. Tom. 1.-274. Ed. Meibo- 
 mii. 4" Amft. 1709. 
 
 '^ Apres avoir demeuré à la cour de Macédoine pendant dix-huit années." " n^ or «tiX/TTTro» 
 •t-fVETo, y.arx Tlv^^orot Agypnx, i^ S/etçSvJ/s x^omi oxra et>i tsh.^ aurai xaâuyE^svl^ KKi^x^^H." 
 (Dion. Halicar. Epift. ad Amm. Tom. 6.-728.) Thefe eight years are unaccountably magni- 
 fied into eighteen, 
 
 • "Exaftâ pueritiâ, per quinquennium fub Ariflotele dodlore inclyto omnium pliilorophorum, 
 crevit." (Juftin. Lib. 12. C. 16.— 346.) Diogenes Laertius alfo fuppofes Anftotle to have re- 
 fided eight years at the Court of Macedon, as he came there in the fécond year of the 109''' Olym- 
 piad, and quitted it, "Eij S'ASwas «ipixEO-Sai t« ^Eursf a; tra TUf Iv^Exarw -.ij ÉxaToçTiî OAt/pcTriaî©-."' 
 
 Diog. Laert. Lib. 5. Segm. 10. Tom. 1.— 274. 
 
 ■" "Le philofophe ne revit plus fon difciple, et lui furvêcut peu de tems." The Baron de St. 
 Croix obferves, in a note upon this paflage, " Denys d'Halicarnafle fait mourir ce philofo- 
 phe fous l'Archonte Cephifodore la treizième année après fa retraite de la cour de Macédoine." 
 I truft the "Tw Se Tfio-KaiSexaTaftETa T»i» AXE|av§f8 THAEYTHN, t-ni KijÇiia-oJwfS œf^^ovr©-, «w«- 
 ças fis XaAxiSa, mau tiKivrit, r^ia zr^os î^nxotrx ^iu<Tas itii'" (Dion, Hal. Epift. ad Amm. Ton». 
 6.-728.) will warrant the deviation, for which lam refponfible.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, I9I 
 
 opinion, " received leftures in politics and in morality from Arif- 
 totle, and was alfo introduced into the profound fanftuary of the 
 Acroatic and Epoptic ° do6lrines, where perfons were not ufually 
 allowed to penetrate. The Greek hiftorian produces, as a proof 
 of his opinion, a letter '' written by Alexander to Ariflotle, in 
 which he laments the publication of his Acroatic works '' with a 
 jealoufy, unworthy of a perfon of any genius, and more particu- 
 larly a Sovereign. Can we poiïîbly believe that the philofopher 
 ftooped to the meannefs of affuring him, that the work in quefti- 
 on would not be underflood, except by a few adepts, ' and that 
 
 he 
 
 ^us, iji.srxo-x^y-" Plut. De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. i.— 668. 
 
 o The myfterious language of initiation, hath been extremely well explained by Salmafius, io 
 his notes added to the commentary of Simplicius, upon Epiifletus. 14. 
 
 P The following is fuppofed to have been the laconic epiftle. 
 
 " AAEHANAP02 APJ2T0TEAEI EÏ OPATTEIN' 
 
 Ovx o^&'jjs iitoma-xs, ixÎbj res xx^axfi.xTixai tuv Xoyun' riti yx^ Sm S/oiffo/iAEy »i/%bî ruv a>:Xuv, « xx^ kS 
 nrxi^c'-J^rifj.st \oyns, «roi zixnuiv t(70tra.i xorm ; tyu Se ^hXoiimi xi rais si^i Tx xçirx cij.-neipxis, -n rxis 
 mvxi^siTi hxÇisçetv' t^fua-d'" Plut. De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.— 668. 
 
 ? Salmafius hath dlfcufled with great learning, the Acroatic and Epoptic dodrines in the notes on 
 
 Simplicius juft referred to; (226 244.) and the editors of the new Deux-ponts edition of Arifto- 
 
 tle in 8^° have very ingenioufly given an epitome of them, which may be confuhed with advantage. 
 
 ' "Tuv ÇiMn/j-ixi avré ■CTafafx.uSs/iEv®' AfiroTsAif, a-noXoyeirai zn^i ruv Aoyav Exfivwv, us ekSeSo/xe- 
 vm K, jA/n £)tâESo;i;c,E»sj»' «XnSo/s yx^, 17 IMTX TX Çua-ixx ■aqxyi^xTHa, ctçoj SiSao-xoX/av k, i/jx^-rnTit «St» ej^s- 
 a-a yena-iiJ,ot, ÛTrsSfiy^A» To:s zjiirotiiivijitmis xn'a^yyis yzy^x-nrai'" (Plut.DeVit, Alex. Plut. Ope- 
 ra. Tom. 1.— 668.) Aulus Gcllius hath preferved the fuppofed concife anfwer, of the Peripa- 
 tetic p' ilofopher, in which, as he remarks, there is the fame "Brevitatis elegantiffimx- filus tc- 
 nuilTimus." 
 
 "AP-
 
 192 CRIIICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 he might be therefore cafy on the fubjeèl. An anfwcr of this 
 kind would fink AriRotIc in the general efleem, and fome juflicc 
 is due to his injured reputation. In the dedication of his rhetoric 
 to his Royal puj)il, ' he mentions the Prince's requefl that he would 
 not communicate the work to any other perfon, as he wiflaed 
 alone to enjoy the advantage of it. The philofopher, in reply, 
 informs the Prince, that authors had a fort of parental fondnefs 
 for their works, and were not like the fophifts, who feldom were 
 at the trouble of any compofitions, and fatisfied themfeives with 
 the ftipends from their fcholars, whom they quitted without re- 
 gret, and for whom they had no attachments. Ariftotle concludes 
 with an exhortation to Alexander to guard the precepts which 
 were not fullied by venality, and would contribute to his future 
 happinefs and honour, whilft in their turn they would derive no 
 inconfiderable fhare of luftre from his patronage. The philofo- 
 pher thus artfully infinuates, that from a parental fpecies of re- 
 gard for his works, he took a pride in their publication, and that, 
 exclufive of fuch motives, it was a duty, which he owed to his 
 difciples. In the end, he hints to the Prince with great addrefs, 
 that he ought rather to profit by fuch ufeful and difinterefted max- 
 ims, than envy the public in general a knowledge of them. To 
 
 foften 
 
 " API2T0TEAH2 BAZIAEI AAEHANAPfi EY HPATTEIN* 
 
 Eyf asvj/as fcoi rat^i td» axfoarixw» Xoyaiy, sio/xev®' S«» avras tpvXarrei* tv uiroffnTois' la^/ av aims k, 
 tx^i^ojAiius, ;^ fcD txSfSoftsvBf • ^vktoi yxç eivi fj^otois Tois ii/.uv axsa-aiTit' ifpuao." Aul.Gell, Lib. 20. 
 C. 5.-877. Edit. Gronov. ^t» L. B. 2709. 
 
 ' " Eyfa^^«î Sf 1J.01 SiaxtAei'o/x.t»®. iirus i^ri^HS rut f.oiim» av^^uvuv Xrfi^trzi Tov ^i^X/ov raro'" 
 
 Rhet. Ariftol. Opera. Tom. 3. "833.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 193 
 
 foften the unpleafant part of the reply, he adds the compliment of 
 fuppofing the Prince's notice of the precepts would be a fhong 
 recommendation in their favour, and that their reputation would 
 be fully eftabliflied by the honour of his adoption of them. In- 
 ftead of approving of the little jealoufy and felf-intereftcd \icws 
 of Alexander, the mafler of the Lyceum excited his pupil to 
 more generous aflions, and encouraged him to diffufe, as far as 
 he was able, the knowledge' with whicli he was acquaint- 
 ed. AddreflTmg alfo his treatife of the world to Alexander, 
 this great man added, " I confider it as highly glorious in you, who 
 are one of the greatefl of Monarchs, to turn your mind to the 
 fludy of thofe fublime truths, which hiflory and philofophy pre- 
 fent to you, and to encourage the great men of your court to 
 excel in all thofe things, wherein )'ou have fo peculiarly diftin- 
 guiflaed yourfelf!'"" 
 
 We may reafonably conceive Ariflotle's anfwer was conveyed 
 
 in terms of the fame generous import, inflead of the outrage to 
 
 his memory, which hath been tranfmitted to pofterity. But this 
 
 imaginary letter, and thofe alfo at the end of his works, in which 
 
 he exhorts Alexander to govern his fubje6ls with lenity, and to 
 
 diftinguifh himfelf by his virtues, are certainly of very dubious 
 
 authority. 
 
 C c The 
 
 f K V 
 
 'Oitus VÏOI xaSefoTEr trno ^mSe»®- ^^Hf/Miri Siji^Saf »io-o»rai' xor/Mus Sf fnirx aa o-i./xpJii/o'aivTef as v- 
 Kixixt tX^oiiTis-" (Rhet. ad Alex, Ariltot. Opera. Tom. 3.-833.) Advice worthy of the fage 
 who diftated it. 
 
 " " ngtitat St oifiai ys atn itytiunm oyri af ifo», T>:v Twv fxty/rw» <Vi>f <av /Atritva/, Ç)i>Ji(Topix re (ixht ^ixfov 
 iw»o«y, eMaroisrmvnts Swjo/j SE|/«(r$»( rBj«f/rw." De Mundo. C. x.Ariftot, Opera. Tom. 1.--846.
 
 194 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 The author of the treatife on elocution, falfely attributed to 
 Demetrius Phalereus," feems to intimate, that Ariftotle's letters 
 were written in a fuperior ftyle, and refembled dialogues and dif- 
 fertations. That, at prefent under confideration, hath no charac- 
 teriftic of this kind either in form or matter, and as Artemon had 
 made a colleftion of them, which the rhetorician alludes to, if 
 this pretended letter of the Peripatetic philofopher had been of 
 the number, there can be no doubt, but he would have exprefled 
 
 himfelf very differently concerning them, Some later Sophift, 
 
 having read the preface to Alexander's rhetoric, perhaps fabrica- 
 ted both Alexander's letter, which is at prefent the fubje6l of 
 obfervation, and the anfwer to it. The writers of Pergamus and 
 of Alexandria are well known to have been the authors of various 
 works, which they palFed upon the public as productions of the 
 Ancients, '^^nd it is very probable, that Andronicus Rhodius, 
 of the Peripatetic feft, who lived in the 180'" Olympiad, 
 and about 60 years before Chrill, felefted from them thefe 
 forged letters of Alexander and his ancient mailer, '"' which were 
 afterwards haftily adopted by Aulus Gellius, and Plutarch. Alex- 
 ander's letter indeed, as it correfponds with the general tenour of 
 
 Ariftotle's 
 
 n y^ttipav x^ iirifoAas' ami yx^ tjj» iir/fo^iv, oio» to irifoii^tf©- ra SiaAoys'" Demet. Phalereus. 
 Sea. 231. 
 
 y Galen. De Hippocrat, Nat. Horn. 
 
 » " Excmpla utrarumque literarum, fumpta ex Andronici philofophi libto fubdidi." Aulus 
 GeUjus. lÀ\i. 20. C. 5.-8.77.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 1 95 
 
 Ariftotle's exprelTions, may be allowed, though forged, to contain 
 the Macedonian Monarch's fentiments ; but his virtuous Preceptor 
 had never difgraced himfelf by any proltitution of his principles, 
 notwithftandingj the fliameful accufations of Tertulhan. " 
 
 The illuftrious philofopher infpired his difciple with a ftrong 
 partiality for Homer, whofe beauties he explained to him, whilfl 
 at the fame time he enlarged upon the morality, which lent new 
 charms to the harmony of verfe, '' Alexander retained the whole 
 Iliad by memory, and a great part of the Odyffey, and frequently 
 repeated different paffages from thefe two poems. ' He fliewed 
 alfo his difcernment in the preference, which he gave as a Sove- 
 reign to Homer, in comparifon of Hefiod, whofe works he thought 
 more particularly calculated for paftoral and rural life. '' Under 
 Alexander's pillow not only the Iliad of Homer w^as difcovered, 
 but even the Eunides of Cratinus,' a celebrated comic poet, 
 
 Cc 2 Harpalus 
 
 ' "Ariftoteles tarn indecore Alexandre regendo potius adulatur, quam Plato Dionyfio ventris 
 gratia venditatur." (TertuUian. Apologet. C. 46. --393. Ed. L. B. 8'° 1718.) The Baron 
 de St. Croix obferves that TertuUian, in his apology for Chriftianity, hath tried, condemned, 
 
 and executed all the great men of antiquity. ^The African Prefbyter had certainly fome 
 
 of the fire of the climate in his conftitution, and his zeal may have carried him farther than 
 might be wiibed; but allowances are to be made for the times, in which he wrote, and the pcr- 
 fecutions, under which the Chriftian church was then fmarting. 
 
 *> Dion. Chryfoft. Orat. 11. De Regno paffim, 
 
 ■= Dion. Chryfoft, Orat. 4. De Regno. — Dialog. Mortuorura. 12. Luciani Opera. Tom. 1. 
 -384. 
 
 ■^ Dion. Chryfoft. Orat. 11. De Regno. 
 
 ' Ptolem. Hephsftion. Apud Hift. Poet, Scriptores, 326,
 
 196 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Harpalus had alio a commiflTion from the young Prince to fend 
 him the works of Philiflus, the tragedies of Euripides and Sopho- 
 cles, and the Dithyrambhc works of Teleflis and Philoxenus, 
 Books being very fcarce in the fouthern provinces of Greece. ' 
 
 The Macedonian Monarch took great pleafure in tragical re- 
 prefentations, and Athenodorus, in his prefence, difputed with 
 ThefTalus the fuperiority of their theatrical talents. The latter 
 having been the unfuccefsful candidate for popular applaufe, the 
 young Prince endeavoured to confole him, and paid him the flat- 
 tering compliment, that he would rather have lofi a part of his 
 dominions, than ThefTalus fliould have been worfled. ^ As far as 
 we can judge from a circumftance related by Athenaeus, Alexander 
 had not the fame relifli for comedy. Antiphanes, a comic writer 
 of eminence, reading one day to him one of his pieces, and ob- 
 ferving that the Prince was very inattentive to it, took the liberty 
 of telling him, " that to enter into the fpirit of fuch performances, 
 a little acquaintance with comic life was neceflary, and that he 
 would have enjoyed their beauties, if he had often formed one of 
 thofe parties, where a free currency of witticifms pafled without 
 reftraint. " " Yet this want of tafte for comedy had no effedl on his 
 
 ufual 
 
 Til» it oAXu» 5ij3^«v «X tvw>guy t» rois atu Towo/f, AfwaXov txtXivat at/A'^ai' xxxat®' imiA^ci av- 
 Tu) Taf T£ 4>(Aire /SiffXsj, i^ Taiv Eufiw/Ss >C, SopoxXtsf x^ Aia^cXa r^ayu^iu» o-cp^vaj, i^ TtXtru >^ $1X0- 
 livB S.Si/fa(xfef" De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.-668. 
 
 «r(Snv nrlniJ.n/o¥'" De Fort. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 2. --334. 
 
 'A« 7af f^/io-i», u ^xaiXiv, rs» rx:Tx «wo^tpjo/xEyo» am ctptlJoXiiv T£ CToXXasxu h'Seimmivcr ^ 
 
 h <i ,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I97 
 
 ufual liberality, and Lycon of Scarphia, having artfully inter- 
 woven in one of his pieces fome verfes, in expetlation of a gra- 
 tuity, Alexander with a fmile at his addrefs, ordered him icu 
 talents. ' This generofity notwithftanding ought to have had its 
 bounds, and fliould not have been fliowered down with the profu- 
 fion upon Choerilus, which Horace hath cenfured, though he 
 feems to ha^'e exaggerated the anecdote. '' — The agreement, which 
 the Macedonian Monarch made with him, was certainly a fingu- 
 lar one, and Choerilus was to receive for every good verfe, a piece 
 of gold, with a box upon the ear, for every bad one; but for his 
 confolation many modern poets, on the fame terms, might have 
 been expofed to a repetition of the punifliment, without any re- 
 compence. Alexander was, however, aware of the mediocrity of 
 Choerilus, and he frequently declared he would have preferred be- 
 ing the Therlites of Homer to the Achilles of his own poet. ' 
 
 With 
 
 •5T!fi ETa/fas •cjXEOvazif >y «Xviftva; >^ ^s^ukcvxi 'S>.Tiyxs'" (Athenîcus. Lib. 13. Tom. 1.— 555.) 
 The mirtrefs and the harlot made their appearance very frequently on the old comic flase, with 
 both the Greek and Latin authors, and even the pruriencies of the Britilli Drama were not effec- 
 tually reftrained at the opening of the prefent century. Antiphanes, from whom the anecdote is 
 taken, was the author of no lefs than 260, or 365 comedies according to others. Fabricius, 
 with perfevering iadultry, hath given a lift of them. Fabricii Biblioth. Grica. Tom. i.— 742 
 744. 
 
 ' De Fort. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom, 2.-334. 
 
 *■ "Gratus Alexandre Regi Magno fuit illc 
 Choerilus, incultis qui verflbus et male natis 
 Rettulit acceptes, regale numifma, Philippos.." 
 
 Horat. Epift. Lib. 1. 8.--232 234. 
 
 * "Chœrilus poetafuit, qui Alexandrum Magnum fecutus, bella ejufdem defcripfit : cui Alex- 
 ander
 
 198 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 With thefe ideas, it may be aflced, how the Macedonian Monarch 
 could have retained at his court both Chœrilus, Agis of Argos, " 
 Cleo of Sicily, and many others of the moft wretched poetafters 
 
 in the Grecian cities. Their defpicable abilities could not have 
 
 recommended them to his protection, but having wormed them- 
 felves into favour by the bafeft adulation, they had corrupted his 
 
 heart, without being able to feduce his underftanding. Few 
 
 perlons of a liberal education are ignorant of the freedom of 
 Diogenes with Alexander, but the Prince could not help admi- 
 ring the farcaftic boldnefs of the Cynic. Dion. Chryfoftom " hath 
 given the converfation of thefe two celebrated Perfonages, where 
 the charafters of the fpeakers in the dialogue are very well pre- 
 ferved, though we may wifli the pleafantry, on Alexander's father 
 Amnion, had been omitted, ° as he did not pretend to pafs for 
 the fon of this Deity before the Lybian expedition, which was 
 long after this interview. 
 
 The Royal munificence, with which Alexander encouraged the 
 
 labours 
 
 ander dixiffe fenur, malle fe Therfitem Homeri effe, quam hujus Achillem." Aero ad Horatii 
 Art. Poet. v. 357. 
 
 " "Agis quidam Argivus peffimoriim carminum poll Choerilum conditor, et ex Siciliâ Cleo; 
 hic quidera non ingenii folum, fed etiam nationis vitio adulator; et cetera urbium fuarum pur- 
 gamenta, quae propinquis etiam maxiraorumque exercituum ducibus a rege praeferebantur." (Q. 
 Curtius. Lib. 8. C. 5. Tom. 2.--594.) The Latin hiftorian could not have divined a ftronger 
 expreffion than the "Purgamenta." 
 
 " Dion. Chryfoft. Orat. De Regno. 4. 
 
 • Lucian hath avoided the dilemma, by laying the fcene in the Ihades after Alexander's death. 
 Dial. Mort. 13. Luciani Opera. Tom. i.—sSg 394.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. igg 
 
 labours of Ariftotlc, '' ought to infure him the gratitude of men of 
 letters, but his bounty was alfo extended to Xenocrates. A very 
 confiderable fum ^-as reinitted to this philofopher for his imme- 
 diate wants, which Phitarch fixes at fifty talents ; '^ and for the 
 honour of Xenocrates, the Greek hifliorian fliould have added, 
 
 that he only accepted of thirty minae. ' Pyrrho received of 
 
 Alexander, according to Sextus Empyricus ' ten thoufand pieces 
 of gold for a poem in the Conqueror's praife. This dubious fa£l 
 however is refuted by the joint teftimony of AriRocles and Dio- 
 genes 
 
 V " La magnificence vraiment royale, avec laquelle Alexandre encouragea les travaux d'Arifto- 
 te, devroit feule lui mériter la reconnaiffance des gens de lettres," 1 could have wiflied that the 
 Baron de St. Croix had fpecified fome of thefe a<Ss of Royal magnificence, but not one finplc in- 
 ftance is referred to. In the life of Ariftotle by Ammonius, wc meet with the following paflTage. 
 " 'O Se 7e AfifOTîXoJ tf^trai e« rn ruiv Maxt^otut zioXet, ct^a -rrai^ivH AM^acv^^ov to Knrrv 
 î^ fjisyx (xi^Hs yiyon Tris tstb ^xmXdxs ■aoKhx yx^ iSmn-^n zix^x tw ^xaiT^ei'" but the only 
 favour, I believe, on record, which he received, was that mentioned, fo much to his honour 
 by Plutarch, and conferred upon him by Philip. " MeTe7rEf4\)/a:To ruit ip/Aoo-o^w» tov E»So|oTar<iv xi 
 XoyiftiTflSTov, AcifOTtX»!», xaAix ^ 'srpvoiTx iiûx<Txa>ii» Tt>.fjaxs avTu' Tnt yx^ truyeiqnai zsoXit, eÇ ■n! 
 1ÎV AçiçorcKriSj ava^aTov iiTT aura yEyyivSfASvviv, ervvutii<7i isxXiVj Kj tus ^ixÇvyovrxs rj 2v?\svovrxs ruv zjoXtTuu 
 «TroxaTEs-DCTEv'" (De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. i.— 668.) Alexander's Royal munificence 
 refpefting the philofopher is therefore very problematical, and in the latter part ot theirlives, even 
 every friendly intercourfe feems to have vanifhed. 
 
 « De Vit. Alex. Plutarchi Opera. Tom. 1.--668. 
 
 ' Plutarch in his Apothegms hath notwithftanding mentioned the philofopher's refufal of the 
 fifty talents: " 'ns ux ch^xro, /xri Setadxi Çma-as-" (Plut. Opera. Tom. 2.— 181.) And Dioge- 
 nes Laertius relates the circumftance with the philofopher's obfervation : AA££a»\-a yur jo o-i/vyo» 
 a^yxi^ioii «wos-aAavT®. «uTw, -rcur'^/Xixs AtImxs a(pi\m, ra "Komm aLitentft.xi^n, Hifjii 'EKEINfî HAEl- 
 ONflN AEIN HAEIONAS TPE<J>ONTI." Diog. Laert. Lib. 4. Segm. 8. Tom. 1.--232. 
 
 ' Sextus Empyricus, adve?fus Grammat, Ed. Fabricii. 278.
 
 200 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 genes Laertius, ' who aflure us this Sceptic philofopher neither left 
 any work beliind him, nor ever wrote any. 
 
 Dandamis and Calanus "^ the celebrated Indian Gymnofophifts, 
 were alfo treated in a diftinguiflied manner by the Macedonian 
 Monarch, and the latter had very magnificent funeral obfequies 
 bellowed on him. Calliflhenes, Oneficritus, and Anaxarchus, en- 
 joyed likewife Alexander's perfonal favour, and were honoured 
 with many marks of his friendfliip and benevolence. Callifthenes 
 indeed forfeited them, as will be mentioned afterwards, but Onefi- 
 critus and Anaxarchus continued to preferve their influence 
 by the moft ignominious flattery. Suppofing they could not 
 fufficiently difcharge by any other method their debt of gratitude, 
 they failed in the duties, that truth impofes upon every writer, in 
 comparifon of which every other obligation ceafes. * 
 
 The arts and fciences, when Alexander began to reign, flourifti- 
 ed in Greece, and its tranquillity, which continued undiflurbed 
 
 during 
 
 ' " 'Oi o'ô\«j B <rtJv£yf«4-«», ioTTsj kxtx rivxi, lux^am, 'ZriXvuv, 4>iXiW7rof, Mtvcîij/^i®^ Tlo^^m'" 
 Diog. Laen. Prooemium Segm. i6. Tom. i,— li. — See alfo Ariftonic. apud Eufeb. Frxparat. 
 Evangel. 718. 
 
 w Plut. De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.--668. 
 
 « lutelleflujl flavery, which fetters the freedom of the mind, is affuredly of every fpecics 
 of fubjeftion, the moft cruel and fcvere. Quintilian obferves Viiith fpirit, "Nihil eft periculo- 
 iiusacceptis beneficiis, fi inomnemnos adligant fervitutem," (Declam. 333.-687. 4'° L. B. 1720.) 
 and Man muft be indeed a degraded being that can accept of fuch fervices with fuch chains.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 201 
 
 during the whole courfe of his conquefts, contributed greatly to- 
 wards the perfeftion of the pubHc tafte. ' Artids of great talents 
 in every denomination were encouraged by rewards, and the choice, 
 which the Macedonian Monarch made of Lyfippus, Pyrgoteles, 
 and of Apelles, is well known. '^ The manner in which he receiv- 
 ed Dinocrates, an eminent Macedonian architeft, " proves that he 
 found a pleafure in extending his proteftion to perfons of abilities, 
 though in the rejeftion of the architeft's abfurd defign of cutting 
 mount Atl»s into a Coloflal ftatue to reprefent him, he difcovered 
 his own good fenfe and the greatnefs of his mind. " A weaker 
 underflanding, as Lucian ' hath obferved, might have been tempt- 
 ed by the offer, and would not have poffefled perhaps fufficient 
 
 D D refolution 
 
 y See upon this fubjefl, Winkelman Hift. de l'Art, Tom. 2. — who hath entered into it with 
 the warmth and minutenefs of a connoifleur. 
 
 ^ " Imperator edixit, ne quis ipfam alius, quain Apelles, pingeret : quam Pyrgoteles fcalpe- 
 rct : quara Lyfippus ex acre duceret." Plinii Nat. Hill. Lib. 7. C. 37. Tom. 2.-59, ^O» 
 
 ^ " Dinocrates architedlus pluribus modis memorabili ingenio." (Plin. Hill. Nat. Lib. 5. C. 
 10. Tom. i.~56i.) Plutarch gives him the name of Staficrates. 
 
 ^ " Athon montem formavi in ftatuœ virilis figuram, cujus manu Iivâ dcfignavi civitatis am- 
 pliffimae meenia, dextrâ pateram, quse exciperet omnium fluminum, qua; funt in iUo monte, aquam, 
 ut inde in mare profunderetur. Delegatus Alexander ratione formi (latim quifivit, fi eflent agri 
 circa, qui poffent frumentaria ratione civitatem tueri. Cum inveniflet non nifi tranfmarinis fub- 
 veftionibus ; Dinocrates inquit, attendo egrcgiam formi compofilionem, et eâ deleiSlor ; fed ani- 
 madverto, (i quis deduxerit eo loci coloniam, fore ut judicium ejus vituperetur." Vitruvius 
 Praefat. ad Lib. 2.— 17. Folio. Amft. 1649. 
 
 ' " Ewovei St TO» AXs|«»Sfo» -nif A*Ey»X(!4'«'X'*^) 'îî av^fnawra ^ei^« raroir tb AÔ» e^tyf* mris «»tra. 
 »2(, I» rasif TM a,H ii.n).mio^irjii Sianixs' u yaf (/.ixfas ciuu ytuf^ris vTrspthit iru ■jr«f»îo|« Titus'" Luci- 
 an, pro Imagin. Tom. 2.-489.
 
 202 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 refolution to have derpifed this exceffive and extraordinary ho- 
 nour. But a clear and correct delicacy of tafle, was, in this inftance, 
 an elFeftual prefervative againfl the delufions of vanity and pride. 
 
 Alexander, however, afterwards employed Dinocrates in the 
 
 conflruftion of Alexandria, and this artift both drew the plan and 
 direfted its execution. ' Lucian then is in an error, when he ad- 
 vances, that Dinocrates loft the favour of his mafter by this ful- 
 fome piece of flattery, and was not afterwards confulted or em- 
 ployed by him." The circumftantial detail, which -Vitruvius ^ 
 hath left us, of the means, which the artift made ufe of to intro- 
 duce himfelf into Alexander's fervice, demonftrates inconteftably 
 that he was a ftranger to him before this fmgular propofal. From 
 his refidence in the Eaft, the corruption of the Macedonian Mo- 
 narch's tafte may be dated, and the multiplicity of the ornaments 
 on the funeral pile of Hephaeftion fully authorizes the obfervation. 
 Perftans, Macedonians, fhips and boats, banners and other mi- 
 litary trophies, were profufely introduced, and there was a 
 
 ftrange 
 
 <• " Cum Rex Alexander urbem in ^gypto conftituere vellet, architeflus Dinocrates cum cretam 
 non haberet, polentaque futurs urbis lineamenta duxilTet, &c." (Val. Max. Lib. 1.0.4.— 46, 47.) 
 " Alexandria enim vortex omnium eft civitatum : quam multa nobilitant, et magnificentia condi- 
 loris altiflimi, et architeili fokrtia Dinocratis." Amm. Marcellinus. Lib. 22. C. 16.— 371. Ed. 
 Gron. 4'" 1693. 
 
 * " AXAa xoXaxa iu9vs tcriywBf ro» xtQfWiim, ovx ir'sS'tj t« aXXa oimius tyfjfnro." Lucian. Quo- 
 mod. Hift. confcrib. fit. Tom. 2.— 17. 
 
 ' " Confpexit eum Alexander interrogabatque quis effet : At ille, Dinocrates, in- 
 quit, architedus Macedo, qui ad te cogi«ationes et formas affero dignas tuâ claritate." Vitruvius. 
 Praefat. Lib, 2.— 17.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 203 
 
 flrange and inconfillent mixture of centaurs, lions and (i- 
 rens. ^ Alexander's correft judgment therefore in the arts, which 
 Horace '' hath applauded, was only ftrifUy true before his Afiatic 
 conquefts, and Oriental luxury produced afterwards a total change 
 in it. 
 
 Nature had not refufed to the Macedonian Monarch that ex- 
 quifite fenfibility, which in the Grecian climate \/as fo common. 
 Ariflotle underftood too well the advantages to be derived from 
 mufic in the education of his pupil, to negleft any talents of this 
 kind, that he difcovered ; but the rules, which he had laid down, 
 did not admit of all the varieties of inftrumental harmony, and 
 the flute being profcribed, ' it does not appear to have been ufed 
 in the Prince's company. 
 
 Dd 2 This 
 
 8 See I'Hift. de.l' Académie des Infcript. &c. Tom. 31. --76. &c. Sec. 
 
 I" "Judicium fubtile videndis artibus illud." Horat. Epift. i.— 242. Lib. 2. 
 
 ' " Okte yap avKon as irxioiiay axTiou, ovr'aWo n^tixov cifyxiiov, otov xiexpxt, xa» n ri roio-jrot 
 iTCfMc^iy, aWx ôira cto;îio-£i avrut axfoaras ayxans, d t>is /abo-jxuj •naiiiixs, »i T>7f aW.W £Ti 5s oux tçi\i 
 avXos wtxov^ aWa ^xxXXov opyxvtçmov' wfc nrpos res ToieTUs avru xxipovs ^^rcûii, ev ois v Otupix xxôxp- 
 aiv fAxWov ^vvxTXij ri ij.aÔT^(rtv' ^rrpoirOuJixiv of, or/ (TViA,^e(^7ixcv evxvriov xvrut 'Trpos 'JTXiquxv, Kj tg xc^Xti't/y 
 Tw Xuyu ^^-riff^xt TTiv xv^VieTiv' ^10 xxXus xTTSooxifAaffxv xvra 01 zjporspov rv]v y^prirjtv ex tû;v isuv. k^ TiJv shev- 
 PrffL'v* f-Tri 01 Tuiv TE opyxtuy x^ Tus ipyxtrixs xTloaoxi(i.x^i>iÀ.i)i Tij» TE^v/xtiv itxi^uxt' 
 Tt^iiixnv Je Tiflf/xfv Tnv TTfoi TOUS aymxs (ev Tai/Tvi yxp ô Trpxrruti^ cv rris xvtov fAtrxyiipiLfTai yxpn «/■•- 
 Tur, oKKx T»ir Twv axovjfrwt «Sis»>is tif rxvrris ÇioprixKs') oioTup ov ruv tXtDOeput x(mij.ti iitxi tjj» tpyatrix^, 
 a^Aa 9j!t/xot£(i«v." (Ariftot. de Republicâ. Lib. 8. C. 6. Tom. 3.— 611, 612.) A modern au- 
 thor, that I have romewhere met with, hath fummed up every advantage to be reaped from mufic by 
 faying it " is an elegant amufement." " It is a fcience however," he adds, " which employs no 
 one ufeful faculty of the mind, and it often leads to company, which a gentleman would confider a 
 difgrace, if he was not himfclf an Amateur." I will not fay with Shakefpeare that he 
 " Is fit fortreafons, ftratagems and fpoils."
 
 204 CRITICAL INQUIRY I N 1' O THE LIFE 
 
 This conjefture may fervc to explain Alexander's emotions 
 when Timotheus played fomcthing in the Orthian ' ftyle, till then 
 unknown, and which inflamed the Macedonian Monarch in fuch a 
 manner, that he hurried to his arms. Antigenides is alfo faid to 
 have agitated Alexander (lill more violently at an entertainment, 
 with fome Harmatian meafures. ' Plutarch, notwithftanding, tells 
 us, that Alexander knew perfeftly how to preferve his dignity, 
 and by no means difgraced himfelf with the allowance of any im- 
 proper freedoms, either from muficians, or the profefTors of any 
 fuch accomplifliments. '" The Greek hiftorian undoubtedly meant 
 to allude to the time when the Son of Philip was under the tuiti- 
 on of Leonides and Arifl;otle, as he had, fome pages before, men- 
 tioned Alexander's partialities for rapfodies, and the performers on 
 the flute and harp. Fefl;ivals were inft^ituted in which the Con- 
 queror 
 
 '' Suidas relates this anecdote at the word " OfSixtriixrun," (Tom. 2. —713.) and he defines the 
 "Of^/o» v(j(Aow" as follows, " AtxTsrxiJiitoi S'ljaav }^ ivrotoi' '0/*)iç®' 
 Et^x s'xir'rivcrt &ix /xeyx re ^mov te, 
 
 O^ôi, A^XiOl!7l*" 
 
 ' " Kai yx^ xvr®^, AvT/ytv/S» ttote tov af/xarwov atXayT©^ yo/xov, ktus zix^ict) K) S/tpXfj^â» to» Su/xo» 
 vTTo Tuy (AsXaiv, ârf Tois àiiMis xt^xs, caipxXm rxs %^ÇX! (y%s 'ax^xv.eifj.imis'" { De Fort. Alex. Orat. 2. 
 
 Plut. Oper.Tom.2.— 335.) Suidas explains the "'Af/iiara©-vo/x©'. «j/AaT^ov ^aî^®-, œwo aj - 
 
 ;/.»T®-* ôirtf tTTODio-a» EÇ"ExT0f( IXxocASvM iip'âffAaT©-* {'Af/AaTa©-. Tom. 1.--332.) Kuftervery 
 curioufly adds, as a note upon this paffage, "Quid lit 'A^i/.xrnoy jxeX©. pulchre explicat etymo- 
 logus, quern confule." The Baron de St. Croix hath rendered the "Toy âfftaT«o» yo^ov" "Ce 
 nom Harmatien," It muft be allowed to be, at lead, aliterai tranflation. 
 
 ■" I am apprehenfive the whole of this paffage is founded on a miftake. Plutarch is referred 
 to, but Philip's ideas have been transferred to Alexander. " K«i to;? cteji /abs-jx'jv, )^ rx tyma-
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 2O5 
 
 queror of the Eafl offered prizes and rewards to tliefe different 
 performers, and on the celebration of the marriages between the 
 Macedonians and the Perfians, the mofl; celebrated practitioners 
 were fearched after and fent for. Some played on the flute, fome 
 on the harp, others accompanied them with their voices, and thofe 
 who diftinguiflicd themfelves were magnificently rewarded. The 
 crowns and garlands, which were diflributed on this occafion, 
 amounted, according to Chares, to ten thoufand five hundred ta- 
 lents, and even the fingers, the tragic and comic charafters, and 
 the figure-dancers had a fliare in the donations. " 
 
 The Macedonian Monarch had been a great admirer from his 
 infancy, as may be gathered from Dexippus, ° of a variety of 
 vigorous and athletic excrcifes. He excelled in running,' he 
 wreftled with Griffon, ■* and amufed himfelf at the ball with Arif- 
 tonicus, to whom the Athenians erefted a flatue and gave the 
 
 rights 
 
 Xia zjxi^wrxis ti z!xtu ri 'aiçr.'m Tnt iiTiTxiTiixv aura iij xarafnaiv." De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. 
 Tom. 1.- 667, 668. 
 
 " "A dix mille talents." " 'Oi ot •ae/j.^Sitris (pncri ^sÇiavoi luo rut tsçiapivrm K/ rmhomuv ra- 
 \xyrm ntrm iJLVçim ■usiTinx.yja-^iKii:-)'" (Athenaeus. Lib. 12. Tom. 1.--539.) where there is a long 
 and entertaining account of this fplendid carouLl. 
 
 ° " riaa-an «(Txijo-Jnio-xrif/CEv©- o-a;fiaTix»i»'" Syncelliis. 263. — Eufeb. Chronic. 57. 
 
 P "EAa?ij©- St WÏ !<^ TOjSi;x>if." Plut. Apoth. Tom. 2.-179. 
 
 1 Plutarch tells us, that this conteft of the Macedonian Monarch with Criflbn was in running. 
 ".'n<rwEf Kfio-o-ti» Ô 'if^Efai©- a-niXa^i-n S/a&wv îjçoî AAt^avî^o»." (De Adulât. Tom, 2. --58.) See 
 however Palmerius. Obfervat. in Audor. Gra;c."2i4.
 
 206 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 rights and privileges of a citizen, ' on account of his wonderful 
 agility, Alexander entertained indeed fuch a fincere regard for 
 him, that having perceived fome likenefs between him and Pala- 
 medes, in a pifture of the latter at Ephefus, where he was repre- 
 fented expiring in the fnares of his enemies, he was affefted with 
 the tendereft concern. ' The Prince feemed alfo to have a fimilar 
 regard for the pugilifl Dioxippus ' before the unmerited difgrace, 
 which he fell into. Clitomachus, one of the unfortunate inhabi- 
 tants of Thebes, who furvived its ruin, and gained many prizes 
 by his performances on the lute, and in the pancratium, prevailed 
 upon the Conqueror, from thefe fuccelfes, to alleviate his captivity, 
 though it is not true as Tzetzes reports, " that Alexander rebuilt 
 Thebes out of refpeft to him. Thefe inflances are fufficient to 
 render doubtful what Plutarch relates of this Prince's averfion to 
 the wreftlers. " Yet we may, notwithflanding, believe with this hif- 
 
 torian, 
 
 ' '"Af (roï/KOv, Tov Ka^vçiov Tov A£ja»5f« crpaififtiv Ahva'cii ctoXitjiv tiroirurati Sia rm rc^vrii J^ at^^iay- 
 rx anrxirar" Athenjeus. Lib. i.— ig. 
 
 ' " risfi AX£^a»Jf8 TS l3xai\iu:s Çrjaiv, us tv E<pi<rai Sfao-a/*!»©- naXaixrioriti StiXofOv»/A£vov e» irivaxi, 
 eSofu/SiiSî)' S/oTi £wx£i Tw SoXoÇoirB^Eïw Af/s"<i»£'>i®' Ô <rÇaif<STis AX£|a»SfS." Ptol. Hephïft. Hill. Poet, 
 Script. 305, 306. S^o 1675. 
 
 ' " Dioxippus Atheriienfis pugil nobilis, et ob eximiam virtutem regi pernotus et gratus;" (Q, 
 Curt. Lib. g. C, 7. Tom. 2.— 717, 718.) who feems to have copied the account of his fatal fuc- 
 cefs from Diodorus Siculus, Lib, 17. Tom. 2.-237, ^3^' 
 
 " Chilo. 139. 
 
 * " <txmra.i 61 x^ xafloXs zi^os to tw» «SXjitbv 7E»®- «X^otj i©^ t^m. •D^E/raj yt roi Sus uyuims a IJ.OK* 
 r^ayuSuv K/ aïKiirut j^ xi^a^uau», aXAa )^ favJ/wSwv, Cufar te ZTavrn^wms K, fa/3Soji*ay(as, «Tt zivy- 
 i^-^s, 8T£ CT»vxfaTi8 ^£T« Tjv©- «DTJjSjis iSnxE» »9hot'" Ds Vit, Alcx, Plut. Opera, Tom. 1.— 
 666.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 207 
 
 torian, that it was with fome rekiftance he permitted the intro- 
 duftion of pugiUfm and the pancratium into the gymnaftic games, 
 in the fpe6lacles, which he gave to his troops. This appears to 
 be the fair and candid conflruftion of the text of Plutarch, though 
 the learned Monfieur Burette hath fuppofed, that the Macedonian 
 Monarch " thought fo little of both pugilifm and the pancratium 
 as not to give himfelf the trouble of allowing them a place amongfl: 
 the other games, of which the public feftivals were compofed." '' 
 It is therefore very probable that Alexander's antipathy was only 
 to the pugihfts by profelhon, and thofe who devoted themfelves 
 to the pancratium, without any other occupation. We may ea- 
 fily conceive then, that in the games at Ecbatana, and in thofe, 
 where the children only entered the lifts, ^ the Conqueror might 
 follow with lefs embarraflment his own inclinations ; and as thofe 
 games were not there very common, they might with lefs diffi- 
 culty be va. ied. The Stadium or fimple foot-race, and the Doli- 
 chus or long courfe, where children contended for the prize in 
 Nemean, Afclepian, JElean and Olympic games ; " or even the 
 Diaulus or double courfe, " in which children engaged at the Pythi- 
 an 
 
 > " II faifoit fi peu de cas du pugilat et du pancrace, qu'il ne fe mit jamais en peine de leur 
 donner place parmi les autres fpeftacles, qui compofoient ces fortes de fêtes publiques." Acad. 
 desinfcript. Tom. 3.-263. 
 
 ^ This was fometimes the cafe, as may be learnt from Arrian. "naiSw» 7»^ aywv «v i-mm tn 
 7Jf*ej« ytifcwK®-." De Exped. Alex. Lib, 7. C. 14.--508. 
 
 * See an infcripiion found in the city of Tegœa. Corfini DilTert. 4, — And his obfervations 
 on it. 
 
 •" The Stadium was a fimple foot-race, revived by Iphitus, taking its name from its length: the 
 
 Diaulus
 
 208 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 an games, might have been preferred to. the pancratium and 
 pugUifm. Alexander, previous to his departure for Afia, offered 
 the facrifices to Jupiter Olympius, ^srhich had been inflituted by 
 Archelaus, one of his predeceflbrs : and both celebrated the Olym- 
 pic games at ^gae, ' and alfo treated the public with gymnaftic 
 exercifes on every remarkable occahon. 
 
 The circumftances that have been mentioned, will have thrown 
 fome little light on Alexander's education, whofe private life de- 
 ferves as much attention as his viftories. In following the different 
 hiftorians of his aftions there is a philofophical kind of duty, 
 which fliould not be forgotten. The Son of Philip hath been 
 called the Great, but fuch an epithet hath been fometimes volun- 
 tarily proftituted by the vileft adulation, and at others compul- 
 fively extorted by arrogance and tyranny. Without being over- 
 awed by the authority of a great name, let us endeavour, by a 
 cool and candid examination of the Macedonian Monarch's pre- 
 
 tenfions, 
 
 • Duulus was a double ftadium, in which they ran from the barrier to the goal, (the modern Ama- 
 teur of the turf will excufe an adherence to ancient terms) and returned to the barrier; and the 
 Dolichus was a ftill longer courfe, confining of fcven, twelve, and fometimes twenty-four ftadia. 
 (Suidas ad AoXi;)^©-. Tom. 1.-214.) ^" ^^^ '^^o former, fpced was generally fuccefsful ; butin 
 the latter, both ftrength and fpeed, and, in the language of Newmarket, bottom, were abfolutely 
 neceffary. Much curious information on the fubjeit of the Grecian games may be collcded from 
 Corfini, (Diflert. Agonift.) \vho hath touched on alraoft every interefting particular that relates 
 to them. 
 
 ■^ "Célébra à JEgas les jeux Olympiques qui y avoient été établis par Archelaus." The Baron 
 de St. Croix refers to Arrian, and I have almoft verbally tranflated him. "An ra> 0\\jftmiui t/i» 
 %tTixi Tov x7i' A^ytXau tri )iahiçua-<xii î^vat, k, to» xyuix £» Aiyxis S/eSijxe t« OXf/^wia;" " Exped. Alex. 
 Lib. 1. G. H.--45.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 2O9 
 
 tenfions, to difcover if he had any right to the title. Juftin ■* 
 reports that Alexander, before he fet out for Aha put all his Hep- 
 mother's relations to death, and that every individual, the brilli- 
 ancy of whofe talents might have raifed in them any royal ex- 
 peftations, was included in this profcription, but there is not a 
 veftige of this calumny in the writings of the Ancients. 
 
 The reftoration of the privileges of the Grecian colonies in 
 Aha, and the deftruftion of an odious Oligarchy were the firll 
 fruits of Alexander's viftories. ' His moderation and his jullice, 
 were in many inftances undoubtedly confpicuous, but the hifto- 
 rians may have multiplied them, and they ought not to be admit- 
 ted in a group without confideration. 
 
 We are informed by Q. Curtius, that Strato having been de- 
 prived of his dominions from his attachment to Darius, the Con- 
 queror permitted Hephaeftion to difpofe of the vacant diadem as 
 he pleafed. ^ The Favourite call his eyes upon two young men, 
 
 E E who 
 
 «i "Proficifcens ad Perficum bellum, omnes novercae fua? cognatos, 
 
 terfecit. Sed nee fuis, qui apti regno videbantur, pepercit," Juftin. Lib. 11. C. 5.-265. 
 
 ^ " K«i ras fAE» oXiy»f;^iaj zsxtra^u nxTxHeiv sxiJ-svc-c, ^viJi.ox^arias Se ys syxaSfrava', >9 raj vajMs 
 rasa-lpuvlxaTois ofno^Htai." Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 1. C. 18.— 68. 
 
 ' "Regnabat in eâ Strato, Darii opibus adjutus; fed quia deditionem magis popularium, quam 
 fuâ fponte fecerat, regno vifus indignus ; Hephœlf ionique permilTum, ut quem eo faftigio e Sido- 
 niis digniffimum arbitraretur, conftitueret regem, Erant HephEcftione hofpites clari inter fuos 
 juvenes, qui fadâ ipfis poteftate regnandi, negaverunt, quemquam patrio more in id faftigmm re- 
 cipi, nifi regiâ ftirpe ortum. Admiratus Hephasftio magnitudinem animi fpernentis, quod alii 
 
 .per
 
 210 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 who were then his guefts, but they declined the honour, and re- 
 commended to him Abdolominus, defcended from their ancient 
 kings, but reduced to a ftate of poverty, in which he laboured 
 for a maintenance. ^ 
 
 Hephaeftion confirmed their choice, but Juftin feems to hint 
 that the new monarch was not of a noble extraction, "■ and Dio- 
 dorus Siculus tranfports the fcene to Tyre after its capture, where 
 he fuppofes Balonymus ' to have fucceeded Strato. The latter 
 
 hiflorian 
 
 per ignes ferrumque peterent. Vos quidem maâi virtute, inquit, eftote, qui primi intellexiftisj 
 quanto majus effet, regnutn faftidire quam accipere. Ceterum, date aliquem regije flirpis, qui 
 meminerit, a vobis acceptum habere fe regnum. At iUi quum multos iraminere tam<B fpei cer- 
 nèrent, fingulis amicorum Alcxandri, ob nimiam regni cupiditatem, adulantes; ftatuunt, nemi- 
 nem effe potiorera quam Abdolominum quemdam, longâ quidem cognatione ftirpi regiïE adnexum, 
 fed ob inopiam fuburbanum hortum exiguâ colentem ftipe." Q. Curt. Lib. 4. C. i. Tom. 1, 
 -156 158. 
 
 8 If we could fuppofe, with Q. Curtius, the converfation between the new Monarch and his 
 Royal Patron to have really paffed, an inftruflive and ufeful leffon might be collefled from it. 
 "Admittieum Rex protinus juffit; diuque contemplatus, 'corporis,' inquit, 'habitus famœ generis 
 non répugnât: fed libet fcire, inopiam qua patientiâ tuleris?' Turn ille, utinam, inquit, 'eo- 
 dem animo regnum pati poffim: hae manus fuftecere defiderio meo : nihil habenti, nihil défa- 
 it.' " Q, Curtius. Lib. 4. C. 1, Tom. 1.— 160. 
 
 ■> " Juftin pretend que ce nouveaux roi etoit d'une nailTance obfcurc." The Latin hiftorian 
 fays nothing of the birth or family of Abdalonimus, and the conftrudlion, which the Baron de 
 St. Croix hath put upon the paffage, can only be inferred by implication. "Infignis praeier cxle- 
 ros fuit Abdalonimus, rex ab Alexandre SidoniîC conflitutus: quern Alexander, cum operam ob- 
 locare ad puteos exhauriendos, hortofque inrigandos folitus effet, mifere vitam exhibentem, re- 
 gem fecerat, fpretis nobilibus, ne generis id, non dantis beneficium putarent." (Lib. ij.C. 10. 
 -282, 283.) I have lowered the force of the French expreffion. 
 
 ' "Tus /*£» Tufi«»'!j(»X£«ixaTEr)io-f To»ovoj*aÇo(AiK), BaMaytf^o»." Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2. 
 -»95-
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 211 
 
 liiftorian however, deceives himfelf, for Azelminus then reigned 
 inftead of Strato. The author of the fécond differtation on the 
 fortune of Alexander, attributed to Phitarch, '' aflures us that this 
 event happened at Paphos, which was at that time under the 
 dominion of a vicious and tyrannical prince of the family of the 
 Cinarides. After the tyrant had been dethroned by the Macedo- 
 nian Monarch, a perfon of the fame Royal lineage was fubftituted 
 in his room, who had lived till then unnoticed, from the produce 
 of a garden, which he cultivated. On his acceffion to the throne, 
 he took the name of Alunomus, but the circumftance of Hephaef- 
 tion's recommendation is wanting. — The variation and difagree- 
 ment of the different hiftorians afford a ftrong fufpicion of the 
 anecdote, and the fdence of Arrian renders it ftill more dubious. 
 As Strato, in the abfence of his father Geroflratus, the king of 
 the Aradians, who had then joined Autophrodates with the Phoe- 
 nician fleet, went to meet Alexander, and to put Aradus, Mara- 
 thon, Mariamne, and the reft of his dominions under the Mace- 
 donian Monarch's proteftion,' the fable may be owing to his 
 offer of obedience. 
 
 E E 2 MoR 
 
 ra, Ta Kirjgx^uv yivas >iSr) çBitiHt K/ airoXfCffciv Soksvtm* hoc S'a» i^aijon 'sa^mtxi Xûtrnra. y^ aSaJov ai- 
 Sfwro» E» KtiTiiii riti 'ssa^iA.i'Kyiii.iyus J/aTfE^o/nEvov' mi tbtov ô; cte/aÇÔevtej wov, Éi/fsÔ») Se CTfauwiî tSa-'j 
 rT-T-T\.vr ffV^"" ^' lûjoî AAE|avSfov e» ei/teXh afvSowx»), ^airiXtvs «myofEi.flii, Kj ■ao^Çvfxv Ojx.- 
 
 (■?£, £ l(î w Tw» ÉT«(f4i» wf oi7»7ojEi«)(*£ii«»* ExaAfiTo Se «f» AAvvo/*®-," Plutarchi Opera. Tom. ::. 
 --340. 
 
 ' Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 2. C. 13.--144.
 
 212 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Moft probably the fame Hiftorians have reprefented Alexander s 
 conduft, in a more favourable, than correft light, refpefting the 
 Queen and mother of Darius, after the battle of liïus. The 
 miflake which Syfigambis made, when (lie imagined Hephscftion 
 to have been the king, and the anfwer of the Macedonian Mo- 
 narch are only given by Arrian as traditions, "' which were nei- 
 ther taken notice of by Ptolemy nor Ariftobulus. Yet he does not 
 think they were entirely deftitute of probability, " and he laviflies 
 much praife and commendation on Alexander's ° virtue, which, he 
 argues, muft have been highly celebrated from the circulation of 
 fuch a vague and uncertain adventure. 
 
 Monfieur de Bougainville hath amply, as well as ably vindi- 
 cated the honour of Statira, '' whofe charafter and conduft had 
 fuffered and been fufpefted from the ambiguity and inaccuracy of 
 Plutarch and Juftin. His defence of this Princefs is founded on 
 the moft fagacious obfervations, and the fubjeft is handled in fuch 
 
 a mafterly manner, that it wants no additions. 
 
 The 
 
 ■n "Aoy©- Ss s;;^?*. — " Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 2. C. 12.— 141. 
 
 " " Kai ravTu syw «S'ws «XdS»?, kte ûi zsmTn airicx xyiy^a^a." Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 
 
 2. C. 12. --141, 142. 
 
 ° One of the fineft eulogies upon Alexander that is to be met with in any language, may be 
 found in Montefquieu. "Qu'eft-ce que ce conquérant, qui eft pleuré de tous les peuples qu'il a 
 fournis? qu'eft-ce que cet ufurpateur, fur la mort duquel la famille qu'il a renverfeé du trône 
 verfe des larmes? C'eft un trait de cette vie dont les hiftoriens ne nous difent pas que quelque 
 autre conquérant puïlTe fe vanter." De l'Efprit de Loix. Lib. 10. C. 14. Tom. 1,-198, 4'"' 
 Ed, 1767. 
 
 î Hiftoire de l'Académie des Infcriptions. Tom. z^,—^-.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 2I3 
 
 The Macedonian Monarch's generofity to the Royal family of 
 Perfia, which Tyriotes had related to Darius, induced him, accord- 
 ing to Q. Curtius, '' to fend ambalfadors to his more fortunate ri- 
 val, and fue for peace. Neither Diodorus Siculus' nor Jultin' 
 have fpoken of the pathetic converfation between Darius and Ty- 
 riotes, or Tyrcus, as he is called by Plutarch, though they have 
 recorded the embaffy, which had the peace of Afia for its objeft. 
 All the hiftorians, fix the time of this embaffy fome days after the 
 battle of Gaugamele. Arriari dates the converfation of the Per- 
 fian Monarch with his Eunuch to have been foon after the battle 
 of Ilfus, but he allows its certainty depended on ver)' loofe re- 
 ports, ' and to fuch reports little credit can certainly be due. 
 
 One 
 
 1 "Itaque qnamqiiani pace fruftia bis pctitâ, omnia in btllum confilia convertcrat ; viftus tamen 
 continentiâ hoflis, ad novas pacis condiiiones ferendas decern legatos cognatorum principes mifit," 
 {Q. Curt. Lib. 4, C. 11. Tom. 1.-249.) The aff'efting interview between Darius and Tyrio- 
 tes is luxuriantly defcribed in the preceding pages. 
 
 ' " riaAiv eJette/a-vJ/e» aWm ■a^f^^Hs, ntxt^ni ^ev auTov iiti ru tcxhus xi^^ridxi -m n //.ir^i iq rots aA- 
 7,0(5 «(;^a>.iuTo;s, a^iut Se ÇiXo» ysvctrBxi, x^ \xSeiy T)jv e»t©- Etpf ara jjwfay, ty rx\a.iTX x^yjem reia- 
 ^'f^'X, 7^ rriv Irc^av ra sxvTH Svyxrs^:,;» yjtxixx." Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.--202. 
 
 '■In itinere nuntiatur, uxorem ejus ex collifione abjcfli partus deceffiflTe, ejufque mortem ilia- 
 chryinatum Alexandrum, exfequiafque bénigne profecutum, idque cum non amoris, fed humani- 
 tatis caufâ feciflTe. Nam femel tantum earn Alexandro vifam eflTe, cum matrem filiafquc ejus parvulas 
 frequenter confolaretur. Tunc Darius fe ratus vere vidlura, cum port pra;lia etiam beneficiis ab 
 Jiofte fuperaretur, gratumque fibi efle, fi vincere nequeat, quod a tali potiffimum vincerctur. 
 Scribit itaque et tertias epiftolas^ et gratias agit, quod nihil in fuos hoftile fecerat. Offert dein- 
 ceps majorem partem regni ufque flumen Euphraten et alteram filiam uxorem : pro reliquis captivis 
 triginta millia talentum." Juftin. Lib. 11. C. 12.--287, 288. 
 
 ' "Kai To/vf» j^ A07©- xxr!y(et." Arrian. Exped. Ales. Lib. 4. C. 20."3o8.
 
 214 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 One of the firfl; politicians of our age hath admitted, that Alex- 
 ander was guilty of two difgraceful aftions, the burning of Per- 
 fepolis, and the murder of Clitus. But Montefquieu appears to 
 have been led into an error by Q. Curtius, who relates that the 
 Conqueror of Afia, on the infligation of Thais and flufhed with 
 wine, at the end of an entertainment fet fire to the palace of 
 
 Perfepolis, and that the city was entirely confumed, " The 
 
 Latin hiftorian hath given, however, too extenfive a conftruftion 
 to the text of Diodorus Siculus, from which he feems to have 
 borrowed his relation, as the Greek author merely tells us, that 
 the environs of the palace were burnt. " Arrian fpeaks only of 
 
 the 
 
 w Q. Curtius, with fome introductory fcntences dc-rcripiive of the Royal debauchery, gives the 
 following detail of its deftruftion. " Thais et ipfa temuleina, maximam apud omnes Grsecorum 
 inilurura gratiam adfirmat, fi regiam Perfarum juffit incendi. Expedare hoc eos, quorum urbes bar- 
 bari delefTent. Ebrio fcorto de tantâ re ferente fententiam, unus et alter, et ipfi mero onerati, ad- 
 fentiunt. Rex quoque fuit avidior, quam patienter : quin igitur ulcifcimur Gnciara, et urbi fa- 
 ces fubdimus ? omnes incaluerant mero: itaque furgunt temulenti ad incendendam urbem, cui ar- 
 mati pcpercerant. Primus rex ignem regite injecif, turn convivae et miniftri, pellicefque, Mul- 
 taccdro œdificaerat regia: quœ celeritâ igne concepto, late fudit incendium. Quod ubi exerci- 
 tus, qui haud procul ab urbe tendebat, confpexit; fortuitum ratus, ad opem ferendam concurrit. 
 Sad ut ad veaibulum regis ventum eft, vident regem ipfum adhuc adgerentem faces. Omiffâ igi- 
 tur, quam portaverant, aqua, aridam materiam in incendium jacere ciperunt. Hunc exitum habu- 
 it regia totius Orientis, unde tot gentes ante jura petebant : patria tot regum ; unicus quondam 
 Gra^cia: terror; molita mille navium claffem, et exercitus, quibus Europa inundata eft ; contabu- 
 hto mari molibus, perfoffifque montibus, in quorum fpecus fretum immiffum eft. Ac ne longâ 
 quidem a:tate, quse excidium ejus fequuta eft, refurrexit. Alias habuere urbes Macedonum re- 
 ges, quas nunc habent Panhi, hujus veftigium non inveniretur, nifi Araxes amnis oftenderet. 
 Haud procul mœnibus ftuxerat, inde urbem fuifle XX ftadiis diftantem, credunt magis, quam fci. 
 untadcola." (Q. Curt. Lib. 5.-67. Tom. 1.--336, 357, 358.) The learned reader may con- 
 fult Salmafius, (Plin. Exercit. 846.) on the Araxes. 
 
 •'" "nxîôîjEf/ Ta /SaiTiXf*» TOTT®- )c«TEpji£;f5)j'" Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2, —216.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 215 
 
 the difafter which befel the ancient palace of the kings of Perfia, ^ 
 and agrees in this particular with Strabo "" and Clitarchus. " Plu- 
 tarch even diminifhes the conflagration, and we may colleft from 
 him, that this edifice was the fole building expofed to the flames, 
 that a part of it was only burnt, and that Alexander, recovering 
 from his Bacchanalian phrenfy, ordered the flames to be extin- 
 guiflied. " The ruins of this celebrated palace are ftill fubfift- 
 
 y Thais docs not appear in Arrian's narrative to have had any Ihare in the tranfaftion, and the 
 Bacchanalian riot is totally fupprerted. Parmenio oppofed the Macedonian Monarch's intention 
 with arguments dravi^n both from honour and prudence, but in vain ; and the Royal palace of Per- 
 fepolis, if we are to believe this Greek, hiltorian, fuffercd in retaliation for the Perfian ravages in 
 Greece. "Ta QxtriKua, Sj to, Tlt^a'ixa tuTT^nin, naf;u.t»ji'v®< o-w^fyn o-vixlieXzwiT®-, rx ti aXXoc >c on 
 8 xa:^ov avra KTD(x.aTa >iîig a-noXKutcti, ^ on uy^ ■jiaoiVTus zj^oai^H^n avTu at xurji rnt Aaixt avâf«7ro(, 
 us HOC ocvTio lyyuH-OTi xaTEj^rtv TÏ5Î Affias a^^r,v, aXytxtrtX^eti/ f^owv vtauvra' o Jf, Tifjiù.'^viaaa9xt tôfXeiv Tlee- 
 cxs fÇ'atrxfi', avQ'uJv tirt Tm EXAaoa iXxaavris^ rets Tf A^tivxs xaTteDtaiJ/aw, k, to. h^x tvETrfiricxv^ )c oaa 
 aXXx xaxa ras 'EXXritas H^yxaxito, iiff thtoiv Jixaf XxÇm' AAA'aS's/iWi Soxh avt vu ^^xaai t«to yt AXt^- 
 at^^ov, nil eitxi Tis xvry> rit^a-uv ruv Z!xXxi rifjiu^ia." (Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. 18.— 224, 225.) 
 The evidence is unexc ptionable from its conclulîon. 
 
 '■ " EvE'STf H(T»i St Ô AAt^avS^©- Ta £w Tlcca-xizsoXH Px<tiXhx, nixu^uv tois'EXXiiitii, In x-xkhvuv Itfx jc 
 zioX&s Ô1 Tli^aai zjvfi >^ ai^rifu ^ifrro^^wTxv." Strabo, Lib. 15.--1061. 
 
 * " 'Oi Sf jjLtyxs AXflavJf®' a @aiSa H^^e iA.t9'tatirn rw Arhum iraipxt' zjtfi is (ftia-i KX(iTafy®j us 
 xirixs ytniAnns TU cjA'Tt^yiT^mxt r» tv ritpo-fTroXH ^aaiXeia." Athensus. Lib, 13---576. 
 
 •> Plutarch after mentioning the Bacchanalian entertainment, and the fedudive appeal of Thais to 
 Alexander's pallions, adds " A^a Si tw AoyuTsrw xfora i^ Sofufa y£Ki/i£»a Se zja^x>icXiv<Tcuis rut Irxi- 
 f wv >^ ÇiXon/xixs, fnicJTxa^as ô ^xaiXivs ^ atxiniriiras, t^uy ftipavoii >^ Xxfi.'nx'Sa ts^oYiyst' ii St tVo/.ttvo/ 
 ^U[À.ui ><J ^os) CTtfiiravTo rx ^aaiXeix' ly ruy aXXuti MaxtSojw» oi •avv^xvoiji.ooi o-uvtTft^o» f^trà XajATrxSuy, 
 ^et^ovrcs' yiXiri^pv yx§ an rois 01x01 zj^oa-c^ovrcs tr< to» »«►, >^ ^ii ij.£!Aovrxs tv ^x^Qx^ois o;xf/y, to ■cr/fx.- 
 •n^xtxi rx ëxiTiXeiX xj Sia^St/çf*»' 01 ii.iv ârui rxuTx yettcr^ai Cxaiv, 01 ^e ana yvui^DS' ors S'a» ^ETtuOîiorv 
 rxyv Kj Mtraa^taxi -n^oatrxhv, ifi,oXoyiirxr" (De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.— 687.) 
 The dubious anecdote oi Thais was moft probably adopted on the very dilputable autliority of Cli- 
 tarchus, and the "'Oi St awo ytafitis" appears to ftrengthen Arrian's relation.
 
 2l6 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 ins/ but exclufive of this circumflance, fuch immenfe mafles of 
 ftone of the aftoaifliing thicknefs and flrength, that Le Brun ^ hath 
 defcribed, could not have been fo completely deftroyed, that no 
 remains of them were left. We may reafonably prefume, that 
 the fire, after having reduced every thing that was combuftible 
 into allies, then gradually expired. Many writers ' having adopt- 
 ed the opinion of Q. Curtius, it appears more neceffary to excul- 
 pate Alexander, and to (hew that the city of Perfepolis exifted 
 ages after his death. 
 
 Diodorus Siculus fpeaks of a facrifice by Peuceftes, a Perfian 
 Satrap, to the Manes of Philip and of Alexander in the city of 
 Perfepolis, ^ fome time after the death of the latter monarch ; and 
 Antiochus Epiphanes, according to the book of Maccabees, ^ at- 
 tempted 
 
 ' Mons' le Comte de Caylus, whofe opinions are certainly refpeiflible, thinks differently. 
 See a long dilTertation on the fubjedt in the Hift. de I'Acad, des Infcript. Tom. 29.-139. 
 
 d Voyage de Le Brun. Tom. 4. C. 52. 
 
 ' Salmafius. Exercit. Plin. 226, 228. — Bochart. Geograph. Sac. Lib. 2. C. 2 Prideaux. 
 
 Conneft. of the Hiftory of the old and new Teftament. Book 8. Vol.i.— 397. Folio. 1718. — ^Plin, 
 Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. C. 26. Tom. 1.--710. 
 
 * " 'ns St irofl'iîxov Hî Hej o-swoX;» to /Sas-i^aov, neuxfrrij (At», m Txvrns rits yu§ns SaTfairus j^ rfaT^y©-, 
 
 riEf o'iî®' îtf «il» Kj rai) aXXuv rut Hs ivuyixv Jo TJXny'S" X?""?**" ''^1^®') £'r'»0'£ Triv Stma/x/v. " Diod. 
 Sicul. Lib. 19. Tom. 2.-334. 
 
 Ï " EKTEXïiXvâa yxf hs rrj» Xtyc/jitny Off irtiroXi», k, EWfj^Hfiff!» hpoavXeiy, K/ Ti» woX/w <nycy(^eif' Sio Sj) 
 Tuii ctXïiSw» ôfjjiriiTxiiruv, tiTi TU» Tw» oTtXuy (3o>)^««» crfxnriaat' ty ar'tnpn Tfwir«3s»Ta to» AvTiir^oii iTn 
 rx\i t^y(iifiut, stj^ri/Mfx rnt mx?yyriii 'ai)iri^a<r9aii," 2. Maccab. C. 9. V. 2.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 217 
 
 tempted to plunder its temple famous for its riches, but was re- 
 pulfed by the inhabitants and put to flight, which proves both 
 the opulence and population of the city, about 164 years before 
 Chrift, the period of this attack. — Ptolemy the aftronomer, who 
 lived under Hadrian and Antonine*" reckons alfo Perfepolis a- 
 mongft the principal cities of Perfia, ' and Ammianus Marcelli- 
 nus " fpeaks of it as exifting with eclat, as late as in the reign of 
 Julian. 
 
 The total deflruftion of this celebrated city is to be referred to 
 the firft ages of Mahometifm, and its inhabitants having violated 
 a treaty, which they had concluded with the Muffulmen, they were 
 maffacred and their city ruined. Adula-Katil-Mich afterwards 
 completed its entire deftruftion, ' and its remains were employed in 
 the ftru6lure of Shiras, which was at no great diftance, and was 
 founded in the 76"' year of the Hegira, under the Ommiades. 
 This was the real epoch of the total ruin of Perfepolis, called If- 
 takhar by the Orientals, and it now only offers to the traveller a 
 few ragged hovels in the midft of immenfe wrecks of its ancient 
 glory. "" — But it may be perhaps obje6led, that Perfepolis had been 
 
 F F rebuilt 
 
 h Petav. Doflrina Temp. Tom, 2."634. 
 ■ Ptolem. Lib. 6. C. 4. 
 
 ^ "Inter quae Perfepolis eft clara." Ammian. Marcell. Lib. 23. C. 6.--40-. £d. Gronovii. 
 4'" L. B. J693. 
 
 ' Geograph. Turc. 488. A manurcript in the late French King's librarj'. 
 "> Voyage de la Bruyn. Tom. 4.--301. — See alfo, Voyages de Pietro dalla Valle. Tom. 5.- 
 312.
 
 2l8 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 rebuilt after it was burnt by Alexander. The facrifice, however, 
 of Peuceftes was too near this fuppofed event, for the city to have 
 rifen from its afhes in fo fliort a fpace of time. To add a more 
 decided proof, Strabo, and Arrian tell us, that Alexander refided 
 in this ancient capital of Perfia after his Indian expedition, and 
 mention alfo its flourifhing ftate, and that it wanted only the 
 palace of its ancient kings. ° The palace of Perfepolis was ima- 
 gined to have been burnt 330 years before Chrift, and Alexander's 
 return to this city was 326 years before Chrift, which leaves only 
 an interval of four years, and they could not have been fufficient 
 ÏO have reinftated it in its former fplendour. 
 
 The fame of Alexander's \'i6lories had been widely fpread 
 throughout the Eaft, and Thaleftris, the Queen of the Amazons, 
 is faid to have formed the romantic projeft of a journey to fee 
 him. — Q. Curtius and Juftin ° fix her arrival after the reduftion 
 
 of 
 
 » "Strabon et Arrien rapportent qu'Alexandre fejourna dans cette ancienne capital de la Perfe 
 au retour de fon expedition des Indes, et ajoutent, en parlant de l'état floriflant oii elle trouvoit, 
 qu'il ne manquoit à fa fplendour, que le palais de fes anciens rois." For the proof of this affer- 
 tion, the Baron de St. Croix refers his reader to Strabo (Lib. 15.--5OI.) and Arrian, (Lib. 4. 
 C. 30.) but after a minute examination, both perfonally and by proxy, I have not difcovered a 
 fingle fentiment in either of the books, referred to in ihefe authors, with this import. Sirabo, 
 •when he fpeaks of Perfepolis, does not mention Alexander's return to it, after the expreffion 
 ♦♦ Evtw^'KrE ra. n Ui^a-oiiTrcXet 0a<Ti\eix'" (Lib. 15.-1061.) and Arrian does not even men- 
 lion Perfepolis, in the thirtieth chapter of the fourth book. There is, however, the following 
 paffage in Arrian : " EvSt» It a ret ^aaïKno. »« rm Tïiçam, à. Sjj Wfoo-St» xaTtfAe^jv auT©'"" (Exped. 
 Alex. Lib. 6. C. 30.— 473.) which proves that the palace, or, at leaft, a part of it, was ftill in 
 being. 
 
 » Q, Curtius (Lib. 6, C. 5, Tom, 1.— 419 423.) bath given the galant adventure at full 
 
 length ;
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 219 
 
 of Hyrcania ; Diodorus Siculus '' after Alexander's fécond expe- 
 dition into that country ; Plutarch '' after the paflage of the lax- 
 artes ; and Arrian introduces it amongfl the events after the Indian 
 campaign. The firll three hiftorians fpeak of this vifit as of a 
 faft, which had pofitively happened, and endeavour to affign the 
 fame motives of Thaleftris for the journey. Plutarch hath pre- 
 ferved the names of the hiftorians, who gave credit to this extra- 
 ordinary adventure, in which, galantry according to their account, 
 had a principal fhare, and they were Clitarchus, Policritus, An- 
 tigènes and ' Ifter. Anticlides, Philo the Theban, Philip of The- 
 angela, ' Hecateus of Eretria, Philip of Chalcis, and Duris of 
 Samos, very properly rejefted it as a fable ; and as Alexander, 
 
 F F 2 though 
 
 length: Juftin hath abridged it, "Hyrcaniam Mardorque fubegit, Ibi ei occurrit Thaleftris fi- 
 ve Minithya, Amazonum regina, cum trecentis mulicribus, viginti quinque dierum inter infeftiffi- 
 mas gentes itinere confedo, ex rege liberos qua^fitura: cujus confpeelus adventufque admiratione 
 omnibus fuit, et propter infolitum feminis habitum, et propter expetitum concubitum. Ob hoc 
 tredecimdiebus otio arege dalis, ut vifaeft uterum impIelTe, difcelTit." Lib. 12.C. 3.--308, 3O9. 
 
 BaXijrf'f, (3ao-;X£uo-« Se t>ij yurx^v Ta ^ao-iS®- kJ QtfMwSovT®- ;^a>f jtr • d» Se ru rs xx\Xn j^ r-/i rn o-«/xa- 
 T®- f ff^l S/aftpso-a, ^ CTafa rais Ô^xoeSveo-; Sat>/iAa^o/iE»») xar'awSf aay' Kg to /ae» îjX»iÔ©- rris rf «T/atj etti ru* 
 oput Tris 'Tpxatias xTroMKoiTrvix, (x.ETa Se t^xxixtiuv A^<J£^o»/Sw» xnuuTi^tfAriym zn\i(j.ix.ois hitXots CTaf «yfK)(AE»r/ 
 T8 Se (îaCTiXEwj Sai/jAa^ovT©» to, te •nr«f aSo|ov tw 'ssa^uaixs, >^ to h^iùi/ax Tii» -/v>xix.iiii, -Kj rm OxXnrf" 
 tenucva, rivx venxt tyaint «rafEr'Vj airtlpxmTO 'axiSoirtiiixs hextt ixeit'" Diod. Sicul, Lib. 17. Tom. 
 2,— 220. 
 
 1 " Kai rov Oft^z^rm tixiSxs ctotji^ov, ô» atir©- oieto Tava/v mai iiravSx Se zt^os x:roi x^i- 
 
 Kfo-Oai rm AfMx^ovx Ô, 'SioXXoi \(y>iaiii'" De Vit, Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom, L.-ogi. 
 
 ' De Vit, Alex, Plut, Opera, Tom, 2,-691. 
 
 ' I have adopted the emendation "TTheangela," fuggefted by Langhorn, (Plutarch's Lives. 
 Vol, 4,-286,) on the authority of Athenzeus. ^iAcbt©- ©EœyrE^Evr. Lib, 6.--271.
 
 220 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 though he mentioned in one of his letters to Antipater, the offer 
 which the Scythian monarch made him of his daughter's hand, 
 neither took any notice of tlie Amazons, nor of the Queen, they 
 were confirmed in their opinion of its falfity. ' Plutarch hath 
 added, that Oneficritus reciting before king Lyfimachus the fourth 
 book of his hiflory, in which this adventure of Thaleflris was 
 included, the prince could not help laughing at its abfurdity and 
 inquiring how it happened, that he had been fo long ignorant of 
 
 it. *" Arrian " alfo affures us, that neither Ptolemy nor Ariftobu- 
 
 lus, nor any one refpeftable hiftorian had given it his fanftion. 
 To fhew that even the Amazons did not exift in Alexander's days, 
 he reafons from the filence of Xenophon, who mentions the in- 
 habitants of Colchis and Phafis, in his defcription '' of the retreat 
 of the ten thoufand Greeks, without naming the Amazons, who 
 were fuppofed to have formerly occupied that tra6t of country. 
 
 The 
 
 ' " Ka; fAafTuftivauTo/jto/xEv AXfJavSj®'* Avriinitr^cii yaç àiravrx y^x^uy ax^i^us, rov f/.!t '2xv9m Çn- 
 aiv avTuotùoyat rviii ôvyxTt^a zj^os yai/.oy^ A/x«^ov©- Se tt^£ lAvri^onveu" De Vit, Alex* Plut, Opera. 
 Tom. 2.— 691, 
 
 ■" " A£7£T«( Je ijoXXois- j^fovoir Owi<7(xf/T©- vçi^o» A jSaffiAsfovT/ Auaif/My^u rm /SifXiaiv to Ttraj to» 
 avayivwaxt/», tv w yiy^xTTTui ■ratf/ rns AfxaÇjn©»' to» «» Ava-iij,x^ot ar^tjAX fAtiSixvavrx, Kai ■ZJS (Çavai) 
 ToTt îîfAw cyu'" De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera, Tom. 7.-69», 
 
 * " Taura Se art AfiroCeX©., «Tf riToXt/AjH©-, bte ris a>J\<^ a»Eyfa4-EV, opj I'xa»©" firsf T«» TijXi- 
 Kuran ri>ifA.ii^iuaai." Arrian. Exped, Alex. Lib. 7. C. 13.— 506, 
 
 5' Oval SoKBi /Mi £» TU TOTE <ru^s<T^ai TO yE»®- Tai» A/iaÇovo;», «Je tis cjf AXE^avSca n Srvo^w» anf^vria^r) 
 auruv, ^aa-iatuv n (Amtr^tis k, KoX;^i;», j^ oca aXAœ «iro Tf airt^SïT©- ôf/^w/AEvo/, » ■etj- 1» £s T^avd^utTx wc- 
 TeXce/v oi EXXwvEr £7r»xSo» £^y>) /3affeaf/)ux* iva ■cjEf jc Ta/y A^a^oo-/» E»T£TfYijxEff'«», jiTXEC e» f T* ijffav AfAOt- 
 ^o»K'" Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib, 7. C, 13.--506, 5O7.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 221 
 
 The chronicle of Paros, '^ refers this wonderful retreat to the Ar- 
 chonfliip of Lachis, 400 years before Chrift, which was 44 years 
 previous to the birth of Alexander. 
 
 The aftive and martial life, to which even the Sarmatian women 
 were devoted, gave the Scythians undoubtedly the idea of the 
 Amazons ; a fittion which the Greeks adopted, and which corref- 
 ponded fo much with the tafte of their writers, that the hiftories 
 of many of their heroes were embelliflied with it. ' Strabo refutes 
 with great judgment the flory of Thaleftris, who was fuppofed to 
 have travelled from the borders of the Thermodon and the Caf- 
 pian gates, which were more than fix thoufand ftadia diflant from 
 each other. This able geographer confiders every thing as fabu- 
 lous, that had been circulated refpefting the Amazons ; " and his 
 authority is certainly preferable to that of the learned French Aca- 
 demician, 
 
 ' Epoch. 67. 
 
 » Monfieur Freret fuppores the Greeks to have invented the fable of the Amazons. Hid. de 
 I'Acad. des Infcript. Tom. 21.— 106. 
 
 ^ "Strabon refute avec raifon le voyage de Thaleftris qu'on pretend être venue des bords du 
 Thermodon jufqu'aux portes Cafpiennes." " KXîiTafj^©- ipyjo-; tij» ©aXr,ç-fiav «170 Kao-mwn zsvXojv, 
 iCj Qe^iA.uoovT®' ôfiAriSiiirûit t>\6tiy ■STfoj AXt^at^^oy' ii(ri S'airo KaoTiiuv lis 0c^i/.u^o>rix çaSioi ■nXtias IJa- 
 x«t;^(Xiw»*" (Strabo. Lib. 11.— 771.) I have adhered to Strabo's copulative K«i, which increa- 
 fes the improbability, that he criticifed. The Baron dc St. Croix feems to have miftaken him. 
 
 " Vli^i 0£ r^v AfjLxl^ovaJv rex, acvrx Atyeraf, j^ vvy, x^ zjccKxt^ rsçxTuùri t'ovtcKj Kj zsitiius zro^^u' T/y 
 
 yxp (XV zyti-£'j(Tii£Vf us yvvtxmuv ççxr<^j mzroXiSj ri i^v^ wçaiTi av zjote ^ufas ay^^uv j iù u fxoyoy ys a-v^xtT)^ 
 aXXas iy £(po<Stis 'njciYjtrai e'Jti rytv cx.XKQTÇiccy<' yù A'JUTUS otTTo^xtyoyrai' yta^acns^ )C TTsfi ®a}^r,<^^iuts^ 
 
 "ny AAt^av^^oJ a-ui^fAi^{X,i Çxtjiy £v r») TpKxyix^ x^ avy>evEo-^act nayaiToiixs %«f'v, fyvvxçtvuffxy ruv AfAxÇoyuy' a 
 yacf ôfxoÂoysiT»! tbto" «âAx rm ovyffaÇtw» to<7BT*iv ovruy, 01 /xaAifix Tits otKii^iias (fi^oyTiaayns ox n^nxa-
 
 222 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 demician, ' who fubfcribes to the vague reports of the Indians of 
 Maragnon, and fome other parts of South America, and hath at- 
 tempted 
 
 <rt*' B S'ô< TsiTCUofi.svoi (/.aXirm bSev©' f45/x»»vTai rnrm' « S'oi ei-jrovm ra aura ti^Kaa-i." (Strabo. 
 Lib. 11.--770.) And Arrian gives as little credit to their exiftencc. "Mri yina-Oxi iji.e» yxf wa»- 
 TtXaiJ TO ye»©» ruTut rut yvvxtxu», « ■cj/ro» Joxsi i/AOiye, zs^as Totrarai >y rotarur tyxyijSt»." Exped. 
 Alex. Lib. 7. C. 13.--507. 
 
 <= "Je fais, que tous, ou la plupart des Indiens dcl'Amerique méridionale font menteurs, crédu- 
 les, entêtes du merveilleux; mais aucun de ces peuples n'a jamais entendu parler des Amazones de 
 Diodorede Sicile et de Juftin. Cependant il etoit déjà queftion des Amazones parmi les Indiens 
 du centre de l'Amérique, avant que les Efpagnols y euffent pénétré, et il en a etè mention depuis 
 chez des peuples qui n'avoient jamais vu d'Européens. C'eft ce que prouve l'avis donné par le 
 Cacique à Orellana et à fes gens, ainfi que les traditions rapportées par le père d'Acuna, et par 
 le père Baraze. Croira-t-on que des fauvages de contrées éloignées fe foient accordes à imaginer 
 fans ancun fondement, le même fait; et que cette prétendue fable ait etè adoptée fi uniformément 
 et fi univerfellement à Maynas, au Para, à Cayenne, à Venezuela, parmi tant de nations, qui ne 
 s'entendent point, et qui n'ont aucune communication." (Voyage de Condamine dans l'intéri- 
 eur de l'Amérique Méridionale. 111, 112.) The Baron de St. Croix obferves that it was neither 
 from Diodorus Siculus, nor Juftin, nor even the Europeans, that thefe people received the fable 
 of the Amazons ; their own natural charafler, as they were declared to be "Menteurs, crédules 
 et entêtes de merveilleux," having fuggefted it to them ; and he alks, with very forcible propriety, 
 if the exiftence of the country of El Dorado is to be admitted, becaufe the different inhabitants of 
 Peru, Brazil, and Guiana, have believed it. The concurrence of traditions, whenever they are 
 properly authenticated, under thefe circumftances, is certainly extraordinary ; but two rules may 
 perhaps be laid down, which, in a great meafure, may ferve for our general dircdion. When 
 traditions of things, which were poffible, are handed down to fucceeding generations, in diftant 
 and unconnefted nations, they undoubtedly carry with them an appearance of authority: where 
 they run in a direft oppofition to the known and immutable laws of nature, they can only be con- 
 fidered as repeated inftances of weaknefs and credulity. Such a focicty as that of the Amazons, 
 could not have fubfifted without a total metamorphofis of the human fpecies, and the annihilation 
 of its wants and paffions. To make ufe of Strabo's ftrong expreffion, it would be literally " 'n» 
 «1Ï £i ris Xfyoi, T8J fi£ï avisas ymaixxs ymfmas ras rare, ras^c ymaixxs ttv^ças'" (Lib. n.— 77O.) 
 
 Bryant (Analyfis of Ancient Mythology. Vol. 3.-457 486.) hath blown away this hiftorical 
 
 chaff with uncommon ability, and induftry i I cannot abridge his laboius, without depriving them 
 of (Irength, and paring off fome beauty.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 220 
 
 tempted to eflablifli their exlftence. The female form is certainly 
 too delicate to fupport the regular and fevere labours of military 
 fervice, and the two fexes, united by mutual defires and mutual 
 wants, could not have feparated without the violation of the 
 
 ftrongeft and moft general laws of nature. We are told, that 
 
 Atropates, a Satrap of Media fent a hundred Amazons to Alex- 
 ander, who direfted them to return into their own country, and 
 to inform their Queen that he intended paying her a vifit. Ar- 
 rian, '' who relates the circumftance, conje6lures very plaufibly, 
 that this Satrap ordered fome of the Barbarian women to drefs 
 themfelves like the fuppofed Amazons, on purpofe to amufe the 
 Macedonian Monarch, and that the epifode of Thaleflris was 
 founded on this piece of pleafantry. 
 
 The confpiracy and death of Philotas, are related in the moft 
 interefting and pathetic manner by Q. Curtius, and the paffage is 
 indeed the moft brilliant morfel of his work. There is a noble 
 flow of eloquence in the fpeech of Philotas, and the affefting 
 apoftrophe to Parmenio, deferves the warmeft admiration. "Muft' 
 
 you 
 
 ttycti rwv AfjLailovuv' tù rcfjTocs anturiavo^wv iirrrtuv ts'a^^f^vxs^ zsXrDfyeCiOTtzjt^^sxBisctvrtàoçxTMVtÇofiiy^ 
 
 hL «vti «oTfiSay TrtXras' Ei ît iTittixas Sri mas ymaixas Ar^oTrarns «Sti^tv AM^at^fu, 
 
 fiaeSa^as rivai oiXXas yvyaixas iifnivciy riaxrniAttas Soxai on tiei^iv, ts rot Myo/Âitot S») Tut Af^ai^otut ffaX- 
 Hitas'" Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. C. 13.— 506 508. 
 
 ' " Ergo, cariflime pater, et propter me morieris, et mecum. Ego tibi vitam adimo, ego 
 feneftutem tuam exftinguo I Quid enitn me procreabas infeliccra adverfantibus Diis ? an ut hos ex 
 
 me
 
 T' 
 
 224 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE ;, 
 
 you then, my dear father, not only die for me, but alfo with me ? 
 I am the unhappy wretch, that take away your life, and put a 
 period to your old age ! Why did you beget me in the difpleafure 
 of the gods ? I cannot determine whether my youth be more mi- 
 ferable, or your grey hairs : I am fnatched away in the bloom of 
 my years, and the executioner mufl; put an end to your days, 
 whom the courfe of nature would have taken out of the way, 
 had fortune had but a little patience." ^ Yet thefe beauties would 
 undoubtedly have been introduced with more propriety into any 
 other work than hiftory, which ought only to admit the cold 
 and correft truth, and fliould convince by a rational appeal to the 
 underftanding, without attempting to dazzle and feduce it by any 
 ornaments. Stripping the narrative of its adventitious decorati- 
 ons, are we to colleft from it, that Philotas was really guilty of 
 the treafon, with which he was accufed ? his defence by the Latin 
 hiftorian apparently proves his innocence, notwithftanding we are 
 afterwards told, that his execution did not merit the pity and 
 commiferation of his friends. ^ It may be difficult to reconcile the 
 
 cruel 
 
 me fruflus perciperes, qui te manent ? Nefcio, adolefcentia mea miferior eft, an feneélus tua : ego 
 in ipforobore a:t,uis eripior ; tibi carnifex fpiritum adimet, quem fi fortuna expeftare voluiffet, 
 natura repofcebat." Q. Curt. Lib. 6. C. 10. Tom. 1.— 461. 
 
 ' Digby's Q. Curtius, Book 6. Vol. 1.-365, 366. 
 
 s It is fit that the Latin hiftorian fliould be heard in his defence. " Parmenio et Philotas, 
 principes amicorum nifi palam fontes, fine indignatione totius exercitus non potuiiTent damnari. 
 Itaque anceps quteftiofuit: dum inficiatus eft facinus, crudeliter torqueri videbatur : port con- 
 feffionem, Philotas ne amicorum quidem mifericordiam meruit." (Q. Curt. Lib. 6. C. 11. 
 Tom. 1.— 472.) The confeffion of the charge varied the whole face of the proceedings, v;hethei 
 real or imaginary. 
 
 ?
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 22;; 
 
 cruel indifference to his fate with the regrets of the Macedonian 
 army, at firfl extremely exafperated againft Philotas, and after- 
 wards very clamorous againft the authors of his punifhment. '' 
 Perhaps that fort of oftentatious vanity, which in the tide of prof- 
 perity is apt to affume an offenfive afpeft, and irritate the vulgar, 
 though it may be defpifed by the Sage, was the only crime of the 
 unfortunate General. Death cancelled in all likelihood the failing, 
 and the Macedonian foldiers both forgot his foibles, and recollefl- 
 ing his virtues fincerely bewailed his lofs. 
 
 G G In 
 
 >" " Philotan Ccut recentibus fcclcris ejus veftigiis jure adfeflom fupplicio cenfuerant milites ; 
 ila poftquam defierat efle, quern odiflent, invidia in mifericordiam vertit. Movcrat et claritas 
 juvenis ; et patris ejus feneclus atque orbitas. Primus Afiam aperuerat regi omnium periculorum 
 ejus particeps ; Temper alteram in Acie cornu defenderat : Philippo quoque ante omnes amicus ; 
 et ipfi Alexandre tarn fidus, ut Decidendi Attalum non aliominiftro uti mallet. Hprum cogilalio 
 fubibat exercitum ; feditiofsque voces refcrebantur ad regem." (Q. Curtius, Lib. 7. C. u Tom. 
 2.-473, 474.) Popular clamours and prejudice, after the facrifice of their victim, have fre- 
 quently been followed by Popular regret, and the 
 
 "Virtutem incolumem odimus 
 
 Sublatam ex oculis qujerimus invidi." 
 
 Horat. Od. 24. Lib. 3. 
 is verified in almoft every age. Livy fpeaking of Manlius, gives us one inftance of it. " Popu- 
 lum brevi, poftquam periculum ab eo nullum erat, per fe ipfas recordantem virtutes, defiderium 
 ejus tenuit." (Lib. 6, C. 20. Tom. 2. --350, 351. Edit. Drakenborch. 4'° 1738.) and Corn. 
 Nepos, in his life of Dion, fupplies us with another. " Hujus de morte ut palam fadum eft, mi- 
 rabiliter vulgi mutata eft voluntas. Nam, qui vivum eum tyrannum vocitarant, eundem liberatorcm 
 patris tyrannique expulforem prsdicabant. Sic fubito mifericordia odio fubceflerat, ut eum fuo 
 fanguine, fi poffent, ab Acheronte cuperent redimere." (Vit. Dion. C. 10.-325. Ed. 8^° L. B, 
 1773.) Velleius Paterculus, hath fubfcribed to the principle and explained the motive, " et his 
 nos obrui, illis inftrui credimus." (Lib. 2. C. 9. Tom. 1.— 379. 8^° L. B. 1779.) though the 
 feeds of the fentiment may be found, as Ruhnkenius obferves, in Thucydides, (Lib. 2,— 118.) 
 and his imitator Salluft. Bell. Catil. C. 3.-35 37. 4'° Amft. 1792.
 
 226 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 In Alexander's addrefs to his troops he accufed Parmenio, ac- 
 cording to Q. Curtius, of being an accomphce with his Ton, who 
 confefTed, on being put to the torture, that his father was the 
 author of the plot, and to confirm the declaration, made a dif- 
 covery of the criminal projefts of Hegelochus. ' Arrian and Plu- 
 tarch have not left a fyllable refpe6ting the charge againft Par- 
 menio, and they are equally filent as to Hegelochus. But Diodorus 
 Siculus, who furnifhed to all appearance Q. Curtius with the 
 principal circumftance of this important accufation, affures us, 
 that Parmenio was one of thofe condemned to death with his fon 
 Philotas, " and the exprelTion may have induced Juftin ' to believe 
 that he fufiered with him. The error, however, was a grofs one, 
 for this great man was aflaflinated a little afterwards in Media, by 
 Cleander, Sitaces and Minidas, the obfequious minifters of the 
 Macedonian Monarch's cruelty, who fufpefted Parmenio to have 
 
 been 
 
 ' "Pater, inquil, meus Hcgelocho quam familiariter ufus fit, non ignoratis. Ilium dico He- 
 gelochum, qui in acie cecidit : illc omnium malorum nobis caufa fuit. Nam quum primum Jovis 
 filiura fe falutari juffit rex, id indigne ferens illc, hunc igitur regem agnofcimus, inquit, qui Phi- 
 lippum dedignatur patrem ? aftum eft de nobis, fi ifta perpeti poffumus." (Q. Curt. Lib. 6. C» 
 11. Tom. 1.— 466, 467.) Admitting this confeffion to have been made, there are ftill doubts of 
 its truth, for we are told in the preceding fentencc, " Pliilotas, verone an mendacio liberare fe a 
 cruciatu voluerit, anceps conjcflura eft, quoniam et vera confeffis, et falfa dicentibus, idem doloris 
 finis oftenditur." — The ftrongeft of all arguments againft the ufe of Torture. 
 
 '' " IloMuit Je priOc\irm Xoyut, 01 MaxsSovtî xaTcyvua-cct t8 «fjAiora k, rm >ixrxirix9i)iT:^t ^ocvxrot' £» 
 iis vmpxc naf/xtwaiv* 'O wfirToj t.yai Soxwv Tai» AAt^^'^f « fiAwv, rare h s Trafoi», ceJAx Solar S/a tm iSjh 
 4(8 4>iAaT» TjiTromo-flai TJiï fjri^MXn»'" Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2. --222. 
 
 ' " Parmenio quoquc fenex, dignitate regi proximus, cum Philotâ filio, de utroque prius quarf- 
 . tienibus habitis, imerficitur." Juftin. Lib, 12. C. 5.— 312, 313,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 227 
 
 been deeply involved in the confpiracy of Philotas. It is pofilble 
 alfo that Alexander afted on political principles, however oppo- 
 fite to thofe of juftice, and confidered the experiment to be a 
 dangerous one, of fuffering the father to furvive his fon. "" 
 
 Both Philotas and Parmenio, if we are to rely on Juflin, " were 
 put to the torture. It is certain, that the latter at leail efcaped this 
 ignominious treatment ; and notwithftanding the teftimony of Di- 
 odorus Siculus, ° Plutarch, '' and Q. Curtius, ^ there are doubts, if 
 even the fon was expofed to it. Ptolemy and Ariftobulus, ' who 
 
 G G 2 mud 
 
 ■" " Ewi naf/Myimx Jt ^xXmxt rioXt/da^avra, c>x ran irxifuv, yjixfijAxra ptfotrx itaf AKe^xv^fu mtc 
 ras TfxTvyHs rss j» M>)îiaî, KXîavJfov Te, K/ ttrx\y.m, k, MenX»»' btoj yaj nti r-ns rfxnxs, is vfxf Tlaf/U' 
 viiiv, TiTxyij.s»oi tiaxi' Ka/ irfof rmnut airoOxtiiy naff«nwv*' Tu^^o» f«», on ov vifov eookei eiyai A\i^at- 
 Sjp«, ^iXiiTx tiTi&ovXtuatTO!, fi.ri ifii/.yL(rx<jy(çn ïlxfiuviuvx tu tixi^i ru ^aXtu/Aaroj' ri/^ov Je ôri n li (*>) 
 Jt//A/*ETE(7j^£, cpaXEfOî ijî» »iy znfiut nxf/Aitiu», T« craiSof xvra anfiiA.itov, tv TotrauTi ut a^iucrci zrx- 
 fas m XVTU AXtJavîfWj >C, es to xM.o f^xTaifiM ii.r> in ro Mxxt^oyixot, aM^x >Ç ruï aWuf ^evwv'" Ar- 
 rîan. Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. 26.--243, 244. 
 
 " Lib. 12. C. 5.-213 the paflage already cited. 
 
 " " 'O /xEV e» iiXurxs, Sxa'xviaBcis •ZTfOTffov, >^ ôjM^oyyio'xs rr,t tcT(/3ol;^»ly, xxTx to ru» MaxeSonfc» 
 i9os IMTX rut <rvyxarxyiiu(T9eiTuv [9xiixru9n'" Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2. --222, 
 
 » " Ex Tara h cvtAtifOas atix^iyero, rut Irxt^m iipcçuruy rxis /3ixi7avo<r, A^.tfavîf « Se xaratxaovT®- 
 t?u9ty av\xias 'siagxrtraiAcnis." (Plut. De Vit. Alex. Tom. t. --693.) A linking inftance of 
 Royal feeling for one, who had been a confidential friend ! 
 
 » " Per ultimes deinde cruciatus, utpote damnatus, et inimicis in gratiam regis torquentibus 
 laceratur." Q. Curt. Lib. 6. C. 11. Tom. 1.— 465. 
 
 ' "OÛ ils rapportoient feulement que Philotas avoit etè percé de traits." Arrian had before 
 mentioned feme circumftances as related by Ptolemy and Ariftobulus, but he drops Ariftobulus, 
 
 and
 
 228 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 mufl: have been almofl fpeftators of the dreadful application, omit 
 it in their memoirs, and Ptolemy fpeaks only of the death of Phi- 
 lotas, from his having been pierced with darts. 
 
 Juftin' is again deceived, when he advances, that Alexander* 
 perfonally boafted of his own exploits at the tragic end of the en- 
 tertainment, when all the laurels of the Conqueror of Darius 
 withered. Plutarch, on the contrary, informs his readers, that the 
 difpute arofe from the recital of fome verfes compofed by one Pra- 
 nicus or Pierio, in which he had made very free with the ancient 
 Officers, who had been unfuccefsful againfl the Barbarians. ' The 
 
 Philofophical 
 
 and gives the remaining particulars only on the faith of Ptolemy. " nroXejAai©- St ô AayaAeya. 
 
 miQti>.ns." Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. 25.--243. 
 
 ' "Solemni die amices in convivium vocat. Ubi ortâ inter ebrios rerum a Philippo geftarum 
 mentione, praeferre fe patri ipfe, rerumque fuarum magnitudinem extoUere cxlo tenus csepit, adfen- 
 tante majore convivarum parte. Itaque cum unus efenibus Clitus, fiduciâamicitiï regije, cujus 
 palmam tenebat, memoriam Philippi tueretur, laudaretque ejus res geftas, adeo regem offendit, ut 
 telo a fatellite rapto eumdem in convivio trucidaverit." Juftin. Lib. 12. C. 6.--315, 316. 
 
 • "rioTB S{ nxvixa av^^ayivr®', riStro zioiri/yunra Flfay/x» Tiv®. [us St (fiatr/v i»ioi ITiEfw»©-) Bf rotis 
 r^amyns «jsirooi^e»» ras uaey;^©' rirlnfAttus L'no ruv ^«{Catfuv, tTr'aia^vni >y ^tXuri' rut Si 'Sj^toÇvrifui 
 Si/o-^^içotnouTom, K. ^oiSog-uvToiv Toy TE CToirT>iv >^ TO» aStnra, r» it AXi^a»Sf« j^ rui TOEfi a^ro» viÈius xxfo- 
 ut*ttut >^ Xfya» x£^îl»llTBl»■ 'O KXfiT©- riî>) ^ifluw», >y ÇvtrH r^xy^ys m >y anQx^ris ïjyavaxTW, /MxXiTa 
 focxu» a xaXas tv 0ix^Ça^ois )^ CToXtftioij LÇçi^t(r9as MaxiSovacs ■cjoAu 0i\rioytts rut ytAur^j-/, h ly Sufu- 
 ^la xix^trai'" (De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom, ».— 693.) " Ce récit eft confirmé par ce- 
 lui de Quinte Curce," concludes the French fenlence. I have omitted it, becaufe Q. Curtius nei- 
 ther mentions Pranicus, nor Pierio, and inftcad of agreeing with Plutarch, he confirms, as far 
 as his authority hath any weight, the relation of Juftin. "Sollemni et tempeftivo adhibetur con- 
 vivio. In quo rexquum miilto incaluiffct mero, immodicus aeftimator fui, celebrare. quœ geflerat, 
 *«pit; gravis etiam eoruip auribus, qui fenliebant vera metnorari." Q. Curt. Lib. 8. C. 1. 
 Tom. 2,-568,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 220 
 
 Philofophical hlftorian aggravates what fell from Clitus, and en- 
 deavours to palliate the atrocity of Alexander's condu6l by his 
 provocation, '' but this will be found, from attentive obfervaiion, 
 to have been the precife period of the change in the Macedonian 
 Monarch's difpofition. 
 
 Man often ftruggles to advantage with diftrefs, and rifes fupe- 
 rior to the malignity of fortune ; in more favourable moments he 
 frequently becomes its vi6lim. Elate with happinefs and fwoln 
 with profperity, he is no longer the mafter of himfelf ; the palTions 
 rage with augmented violence ; and the refolution which exerted 
 itfelf under the prelTure of adverfity, is totally overpowered by its 
 new and more dangerous antagonilts. Alexander, at the fummit 
 of earthly grandeur, and commanding, as it were the univerfe, 
 foon ceafed to be diflinguifhed by the virtues, which had acquired 
 him the public admiration and efleem, when he had a formidable ri- 
 val in Darius, and his fuccelTes depended on the uncertain fate of 
 war, and the precarious ilTue of numerous battles and engagements. 
 
 The hlflorians of the Macedonian Monarch have not fufficiently 
 attended to this change in his charafler, and are rather to be 
 confidered as his apologifts. To Plutarch, the objedion is more 
 particularly applicable, but the Scripture hath marked with a 
 jufter and more impartial hand the progrefs of his vices, and after 
 
 having 
 
 " Dc Vil. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.--694. Q. Ciirtius (Lib. 8. C. i. Tom. 2.-568 
 
 573.) gives a full account of ihe difpule, but as to the indifcreel language, which Clitus le- 
 
 pcatedly made ufe of, he coincides with the Greek hiftorian.
 
 230 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 having touched on his conquefts, hath recorded the melancholy 
 effefts, which they produced upon his mind. "^ 
 
 Human glory, like the great luminaries of the heavens, hath 
 its phafes and eclipfes : at one time it is overfhadowed by a few 
 momentary indifcretions, at another it wholly difappears, and be- 
 comes obfcured by a thick mafs of vices. It is the peculiar pro- 
 vince of hillory, to obferve minutely thefe various revolutions, to 
 give a faithful defcription of them, and to deliver down to pofte- 
 rity the real charafters of the great men whofe aftions it relates, 
 without either leflening, or adding to their merit. 
 
 The death of Callifthenes called for the tears of Theophraftus, * 
 and indignation of Ariftotle. Alexander, cruel and vindidive, 
 now lent a ready ear to every injurious tale or flanderous accufation, 
 and under the pretence of the confpiracy of Hermolaus, embra- 
 ced the opportunity of ruining the difciple of his ancient mafter. 
 Some fatirical expreflfions and imprudent cenfures, which fell in an 
 unguarded moment from the philofopher, irritated the Macedonian 
 Monarch, and provoked his refentment. '' Ptolemy and Ariftobu- 
 
 lus 
 
 " " ^'>" i^l-aSi, lè «wiiçS» i xafS,a: avrs." 1. Maccab. C. 1. 3. 
 
 V "Ut Theophrallus interitum deplorans Callifthenis, fodalis fui." Cicero. Tufcul. Que/t. 
 Lib. 3. Se£t. 10. Tom. 2.— 307. 
 
 » "naff„<7.aî-/K««fo» ^«^8vTa n, 0ac,T,>.(,, ^ ^„ ■anBoi^ivo, avru." (Diogen. Laert. Lib. 5. 
 Tom. 1.-271. Ed. Meibora. 4>o Amft. 1709.) "Gravitas viri et prompta libertas invifa erat 
 rcgi, quafi folus Macedonas paratos ad tale obfequium moraretur." (Q. Curt. Lib. 8. C. 5. 
 
 Tom,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 23I 
 
 lus" fuppofe, that Hermolaus and his accomplices had imbibed their 
 rebellious principles from Calliflhenes, whofe leftures they had at- 
 tended. All the other hiftorians allure us, on the contrary, that 
 his intimacy with Hermolaus was the fole reafon for the fufpicions 
 of his loyalty, and that trivial and unfounded as they were, his 
 enemies magnified them, by their hatred and malevolence, into 
 proofs of guilt. '■ In the opinion of Q. Curtius, Calliflhenes was 
 innocent, ' and his defence of Hermolaus, though it may be per- 
 haps 
 
 Tom. 2,-596.) '■ Haudquaquam auls et adfentantium adcommodatus ingenio." (Q. Curt. 
 Lib. 8. C. 8. Tom. 2.-618.) " KaXA/ffotw hcym ij.it m ovvxr®', ^ /A£y««, n» Se ax e;^f>." 
 (Ariftot. apud Plut. De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. i.— 695.) Such was the prevailing opinion, 
 and there remains little doubt that Callifthenes owed his ruin to the rigid aufterity of his manners, 
 and a want of that fupple and accommodating habit, which, like old age, as defcribed by 
 Catullus, 
 
 " Omnibus omnia annuit," 
 
 20g. Ed. Vulpii. 4" 1737. 
 and is an eflential requifite in every corrupt and luxurious Court. 
 
 * " Afifofs^®' /^E» ^fyf^j Ôt/ i^ KaXX;crSt»»i» tirx^xi a(fixs iÇxaxt ts to ToXf*>jf«a* «^ nTo?vi^i®. 
 li(Txvrus Xeya." Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 4. C. 14. --293. 
 
 ^ " '0< Of ztoWot a rxvrri fitytKri», xT^x ^ix jaiit®' yxf to riSri oy Hfoj KaXXio-9f>ri» f| Wt^avi^n, >^ 
 iri Ô 'Ef^oXaw es rx ia.xXi^x eiriruSfi©' m toi KxA^itrQitet, u yxKimus TSiTtva-xi tx x^t'^ ^''^'f KaXAio-fit- 
 »BJ AAt^avS^ov" HSrj oc Titis >^ rx xtty^x^xv' TOv 'Eff*oAao> 'OÇ0xy(9itTx ts ras MaxiSovaj ô|iAoAoyH» Tt 
 tvi^aXsviTxr" Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 4. C. 14.— 293. 
 
 "= "Initi confilii in caput regis innoxius : (Q. Curt. Lib. 8. C. 8. Tom, 2.— 618.) but he 
 admits that the philofopher lent a ready ear to forae improper cenfures of his Sovereign. "Callif- 
 thenes non ut participera facinoris nominatum effo, conltabat; fed folitum puerorum fermonibus 
 vituperantium criminantiumque regem faciles aures pnbere." (Q. Curt. Lib. 8. C. 6. Tom. 
 2." 607.) Plutarch, notwithllanding, hath etiec^ually vindicated Callifthenes. ^'Kxi m Tut-ai- 
 p 'EffAoAaov uIhs «5e Jia w (7^xrns xyxynns m KaMicrSttas Hartmtn" De Vit. Alex, Plut. Opera. 
 Tom. 1.--695.
 
 232 CRITICAL INf^UIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 haps too ingenious, leaves no doubi. whatever of the injuftice that 
 was done to him. '' 
 
 The Latin hiftorian adds, that Calhfthenes was condemned with- 
 out being heard in his defence. ' But this idea feems to be con- 
 tradifted by the evidence of Ariftotle, and we learn that his anci- 
 ent fcholar was condemned by the Macedonians, ' v^ho had pre- 
 ferved their right of trial for Hate crimes, and had carefully ex- 
 cluded the Royal authority from any fliare in their deliberations, e 
 If the Macedonians tried Callifthenes, the fentence mufl have 
 been conformable to their laws, and the philofopher mufl have 
 been either Honed to death, or pierced with darts, " inftead of 
 expiring on the crofs, according to Ptolemy ; ' being confined in a 
 
 cage, 
 
 * Q. Curt. Lib. 8. C. 7. Tom. 2.--608 612. 
 
 ' "Callifthenes quoque tortus interiit. • Itaque nuUius caedes majorem apud Grae- 
 
 cos Alexandre excitavit invidiam, quod pr«editum optimis moribtis artibufque, a quo revocatus 
 ad vitam erat, quum interfefto Clito mori perfeveiaret ; non tantum occiderit, fed etiam torferit 
 indicia quidem caufâ." Q. Curt. Lib. 8. C. 8. Tom. 2.-618, 619. 
 
 ' "OfyiÇs/iîïs TU S»//Hi CTg«oi yaf yiyvoiiTai, ôrav ets a)Aot t»iw ofyrv araXwo'wo-iv' ô/o» 
 
 xatrayvurai Sasvaro»*" Ariftot. Rhetor. Lib. 2. C. 3. Arift. Opera. Tom. 3.-751. 
 
 s "De capitalibus rebus vetufto Macedonum more inquirebat exercitus, in pace erat vulgi. Ni- 
 hil poteftas regum valebat; nifi prius valuiflet auétoritas." Q. Curt. Lib. 6. C. 8. Tom. s. 
 -444» 445- 
 
 " Which were Macedonian punifhments, as we learn from Q. Curtius (Lib. 6. C. 11. Tom. 
 1.-470, 471.) andArrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. 26.-243. 
 
 ' " riToXeftai®. 5e ô Aays rfefAwfliirra >^ xftf^eirStvra «wo^avwy." Arrian. Exped, Alex. Lib, 
 4. C, J4---294'
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 233 
 
 cage, and dying from filth and vermin, by the report of others ; 
 and fl-ill Icfs being expofed to a lion, '' or fhut up in a cavern after 
 having the nofe, lips, and ears cut off, ' which were the common 
 punilhments of the Eaflern and barbarous "' nations. Arillobulus 
 related that Calliflhenes was carried a prifoner, and in chains, 
 along with the army, and that he died a natural death ; " and 
 Chares confirms this account, and aflures us, that he died in irons 
 after a confinement of [even months, when Alexander befieged 
 the city of the Malli, ° The Prince in a letter to Antipater, in- 
 forms him, " The Macedonians have floned the young men to 
 death. As for the Sophift I will punifh him myfelf, and thofe 
 that fent him too, nor (hall the towns that harboured the con- 
 
 H ii fpirators 
 
 Diogen. Laert, Lib. 5. Tom. 1.— 271, 272. 
 
 ' Ouippe cum Alexander Magnus Callifthenem philofophum, propter falutationis PerficzE inter- 
 pellatum morem, infidiarum, qua: fibi parati fuerant, confcium fuilTe iratus finxiflet; eumque, 
 truncatis creduliter omnibus membris, abfciffifque auribus ac nafo labiifque, déforme ac miferan- 
 dum fpeflaculum reddidiflet : infuper cum cane in caveâ claufum ad metum ceierorum circum- 
 ferret. &c." Juftin. Lib. 15. C. 3.-396. 
 
 ■" See Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2. —213. — Ammian. Marcellinus. Lib. 30. C. 8. --656. 
 Ed. Gronov. 4"» 1693. — Juftin. Lib. 1. C. 10. -51. — Q. Curtiiis. Lib. 3. C. 8. Tom. 1. 
 --loB. 
 
 " " KaX^/o-fltwiy Se Af/ro^8Ji©-(*E» Jvsya StSs/jitvo» tnCTfSa'î |u^irefiaysaSai t» rf T/a, mur» toc^rt- 
 Xiurriaai," Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 4. C. 14.-294. 
 
 ° " Xa^ris h, juet» rijv auWit-^iy cTsrx /AWas ^uXxrlia^ai SeSe^evov, us e» ti>i crvnl^w xfiSfi»;, uajoD- 
 T®. Af ij-oteXsj* £» â/t v[j.!^xis A^E^aySf ©- t\i MxWois O^v^^xxxis ETf i)^ CTEf 1 T>1» lySiav X'TTO^XMt iltif 
 zjit^uii ytKfMm K/ ^^d^iaT-aira," De Vit, Alex. Plut. Opera, Tom. 1.— 696,
 
 234 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 fpirators efcape." •" Plutarch, who preferved this fragment of a 
 letter, adds, that feveral authors believed, that Calliflhenes finifti- 
 ed his days by a natural death in prifon. '' The writers of antiquity, 
 who have taken notice of the death of the philofopher, do not 
 mention any extraordinary punifhment, that he fuffered/ and 
 their filence feems to ftrengthen the opinion of Ariftobulus and 
 Chares. Alexander, with his confummate political knowledge, 
 could not have been fo inconfiderate as to difplay before the Ma- 
 cedonians, the refined modes of torture invented by the people, 
 that they had conquered. From this prudential fyftem the execu- 
 tion of Calliflhenes was probably fufpended, and the hazard of 
 another infurre6lion of the troops avoided, who might have con- 
 fidered the philofopher as a viftim facrificed on account of his 
 adherence and attachment to the cuftoms of their country. 
 
 Alexander hath been accufed with ftrift juflice of fhedding the 
 blood of his beft friends, ' but malice may have augmented the 
 
 number 
 
 *■ Langhorn's Plutarch. Vol. 4.-299. " O* t^tv Tlai^cs {ij>r,a-iy) vito rut Maxi^otut xarc\tva%iTm' 
 Tov Se o-oÇis-îjy tyu xoKaa-u, j^ rus cx.'Trct^^atras avroy, x^ rus viro^i^o/jnyas rais zsoXsai Tsj ((/.at eTri^aXju- 
 oïTaj'" De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom, 1.--696. 
 
 ra." De Vil. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. J.--6g6. 
 
 ' Dial. Mortuorum. 13. Luciani Opera. Tom. 1.--394. — Val. Max. Lib, 9. C. 3.— 817. 
 — Ed. Torrenii, 4'° 1726. — Excerpta ex Polybio. Lib. 12.— Seneca. Quaeft. Nat. Lib. 6. 
 Tom. 2.--805. Ed. 8''<= Amft. 1672. 
 
 » Plutarch. De Multitudine Amicorum. Tom. 2.-96. — Dialog. Mortuorum, 13, 14, Luci- 
 .ani Opera. Tom. 1.-394— .sgô.—Tit. Liv. Lib. 9. C, j8, Tom. 2.-907. —Arrian. Exped. 
 
 Alex.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 235 
 
 number of ihofe, who were fuppofed to have been put to death from 
 his fufpicions and caprices. Juftin pretends, that Lyfimachus, 
 who mounted the throne after Alexander's deccafe, had been ex- 
 pofed to a lion, on account of his connexions with Calljflhenes, ' 
 under whom he fludied, and that he difpatched the ravenous beaft, 
 by thrulting his arm, wrapped in his mantle, down its throat. 
 The origin of this fable, which was adopted by feveral hiflorians, 
 was clearly feen by Q. Curtius, who tells us, that Alexander, on 
 a hunting party in Sogdia, was in great danger from a lion, and 
 that Lyfimachus ruflied in to his affiftance. " This cirumftance 
 might eafily have given rife to the fable, but far from being ex- 
 pofed to the wild beafl; as a punifliment, the danger of Lyfimachus 
 was both voluntary and accidental. Plutarch even reckons Lyfi- 
 machus amongfl; the perfons who accufed Callifthenes, " and on 
 
 Hh 2 this 
 
 Alex. Lib. 7. C. 4.--483. — Dion. Clirj'foll. Orat. Lib. 9.--598.--DC Vit. Alex. Plut. Ope- 
 ra. Tom. 1.--697. 
 
 ' "Lyfimachus. audire Callifthenem, et prîccepta ab eo virtutis accipere folitus, mifertus tanii 
 viri, non culpas, fed libertatis poenas pendentis, venenum ei in remédia calamiiatium dedit. Quod 
 adeo aegre Alexander tulit, ut eum objici ferociffimo leoni juberet. Sed cum ad confpeélum ejus 
 concitatus leo impetum feciflet, manum amiculo involutam Lyfimachus in os leonis immerfit, ad- 
 reptâque lingua, feram exanimavit." (Jullin. Lib. 15. C. 3.-396, 397.) Valerius Maximus 
 alfo hath the expreffion of "Lyfimachus leoni objeflus." Lib. 9. C. 3.--817. 
 
 ■" "Alexander cum toto exercitu ingreffus agitari undique feras juflit. Inter quas quum leo 
 magnitudinis rarze ipfum rcgem invafurus incurreret ; forte Lyfimachus, qui poftea regnavit, 
 proximus AlexandrOj venabulum objicere ferdc cœperat. Quo rex repulfo, et abire ju.To, adjecit, 
 tam a feraet uno quamaLyfimacho leonem interfici pofTe. Lyfimachus enim quondam cum vena- 
 retur in Syria, occiderat eximia; magnitudinis feram folus : fed livo humero ufque ad ofla laceratus 
 ad ultimum periculum pervenerat." Q. Cuitius. Lib, 8. C. 1, Tom. 2,— 566. 
 
 * "EwHTa Avaifix^oi >y Aymns ivi^noyrOf Ç>x7K0iTiS •ac^iittai rot aop/ri», us fjri xx\x>.vith Tvgxm- 
 S®- (Aiyx Ç^otuvrx, 1^ atnr^t^at ■EJfOj xvrot rx (/.eifXHix, >^ ■cjfj'itwflv, us f^ovov eJ.Evfltfot i» roirxurxis fti'- 
 jiao-i»'" De Vit, Alex, Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.--696,
 
 236 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 this fuppofition, he could not have forfeited the Macedonian Mo- 
 narch's favour from an undue partiaHty to the philofopher, and 
 an improper intimacy with him. 
 
 The condemnation of Agathocles of Samos, refis only on the 
 fame weak foundation. The tears, which he dropped over the 
 alhes of Hephseftion, could not have been criminal in Alexander's 
 eyes, who had (lied them in abundance on the fame occafion ; be- 
 fides, Lucian is the fingle author, that hath tranfmitted to us this 
 dubious anecdote. '' 
 
 Alexander felt fome poignant regret on the death of Clitus, it 
 was, however, of fhort duration, and he foon abandoned himfelf 
 again to the fame vicious excefles, which have fo difgraced his 
 charafter. Adoration was the firft obje6l of his wifhes, but the 
 manly eloquence of Callifthenes, had checked the criminal incli- 
 nations, which the tribe of his obfequious fycophants was well 
 difpofed to gratify. Yet the motives of the Macedonians for re- 
 fufmg him their adoration, though perfe6lly proper, were not 
 taken up on juft principles, or from found diflinftions. The Per- 
 fians had been always accuftomed to render their kings honours 
 purely civil, and the Greeks deceived by this external fliew of 
 veneration, which was ftill in ufe with the Eaflern nations, con- 
 
 fidered 
 
 Ï " Tote î^ AYafloxXijj Saftj©. ra^iacy^ut 7r«f AXt^avScw, ty T/^i'/i(v©< îraf 'atiTB. fxiy.^» J«» «niyxa- 
 T«çj(9ii Ato»T/, SiafcAiiSaj ÔT1 Saxfvo-fiE w«f(«» rev 'HC'aT'fi')'©. TaÇ>ov," Lucian. Calumn, non tern, 
 cred, Tom, 3.--149.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 2 
 
 2>7 
 
 fidered it as a mark of a religious and profane wordiip, with which 
 they ought not to comply. This extraordinary homage, which 
 the Perfian monarchs appeared to receive from their fubjecls, arofe 
 from their peculiar tenets, and the belief that their kings, ac- 
 cording to the Zend-Avefta, were animated with fome particles of 
 the facred fire, which is perpetually burning in the prefence of 
 
 Ormazd. ^ The great author of the fpirit of laws, pretends that 
 
 Alexander, " affumed the manners of the Perfians, that he might 
 not chagrin them too much by obliging them to conform to thofe 
 of the Greeks, " and Arrian hath likewife apologized for the Ma- 
 cedonian Monarch's conduft on this occafion, '' but it is flill liable 
 
 to 
 
 » Zend-Avefta. Tom. 3.-607. This facred fire, immediately preceded the Perfian monarclis 
 in their proceffions, as may be learned from Xenophon; " Kai •zji/j oir/trSfK avru tit' i!T-)(x^cii fj.tyix,- 
 }^ns at^^cs hvotTo Çc^otTis, Ew/ Ss Taro/r, m avr^ tx rm zsi'Xuy zy^>i(l>xiv!To Ki'f®.." (Cyropjcdia. 
 Lib. 8.-595.) and Ammian. Marcellinus informs us it was fuppofed to have originally fallen from 
 heaven. "Feruatque fi juftum eft credi, etiam ignem caelitus lapfum apud fe fempitcmis foculis 
 cuftodiri, cujus portionem exiguam ut faullam praeiffe quondam Afiaticis regibus dicunt." Lib. 23. 
 C. 6.— 406. 
 
 " Nugent's Tianflation. Vol. 1.— 212. "II prit les mœurs des Perfes, pour ne pas defoler 
 desPerfes, en leur faifaiit prendre les mœurs des Grecs." Montefquieu, de l'Efprit des Loix. 
 Lib. 10. C. 14. Tom. 3.-198. 
 
 '' " 'P-î i/Aoïyc >y v Tltfa-txri o-xjui) a-otpiTjAX awi Soxfi, TOfor te tus /3«ff«f8J, ûi (x»! ziavn «XXcTfw» av- 
 rut (paivsa-^ui nt ffaa-tXia' k. ■a^os tus MaxiSovas, ùs ai.7iOTfoÇyi> ritx mxi avroj xTia rris olvTJiT©- T£ x} 
 fS'fEws MaxsSowxus." (Arrian. Lib. 7. C. 29.-544, 545.) Yet the Macedonian troops had open- 
 ly exprefled ftrong fymptoms of diffatisfadion, at their Monarch's adoption of the Perfian drefs and 
 luxury. '-Hoc luxu et peregrinis infefla moribus veteres Philippi milites, rudisnatioad volup- 
 «ates, palam averfabatur, totifque caftris uiius omnium fenfus ac fermo erat, plus amiifum viiftoria 
 quam bello quxfitum elfe. Tum maxime vinci ipfos, dedique alienis moribus et extcrnis: tantx 
 morze pretium, domos quafi in captivo habitu reverfuros : pudere jam fui. Regem vi(5lis quam 
 viftoribus fimiliorem ex Macedonia imperatore Darii fatrapen failum." (Q. Curtius, Lib. 6. 
 -C. 6. Tom. 1.-427, 428.) The reafons for their dilTatiifaaion, Q. Curtius had before explain- 
 ed
 
 238 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 to objeclion. The adoption of the cufloms of a conquered nati- 
 on, is a kind of infult on the viftorious troops, and dettroys at 
 once the happy confidence of fuperiority, which is the life of 
 mihtar)- enthufiafni, and the firft caufe of thofe powerful exertions, 
 wliich are generally decifive and fuccefsful. Afiatic luxury and 
 the Eaftern manners, could not fail of enervating the courage of 
 the Macedonian army, and of ftifling that noble ardour, which is 
 fimned into a blaze by the reaftion of the foul, on the objefts, 
 which have forcibly affefted it. "It was not prudent," as an able 
 politician hath obferved, "to fliock the Macedonians, in order to 
 gratify the Perfians. Wherever the manners of a conquered 
 nation are adopted by the conquerors, their ruin follows, and is 
 certain. Is it polfible that Alexander was either ignorant of this 
 common maxim, or confidered the degradation and corruption of 
 the Macedonians as the foundation of his power? the Afiatics, 
 who had been ufed to creep under the yoke of defpotifm, might 
 fubrait to their chains with fome docility, but the Greeks muft 
 have required management." ' 
 
 Alexander's hiftorians have let only a few anecdotes efcape from 
 them^ that bare to open bs^view the vices of their Hero, which 
 
 it 
 
 ed to us. "Perfarum fpolia geftare dicebat : fed cum iUis quoque mores induerat : fuperbiamque 
 habitus animi infolentia fequebatur." Lib. 6. C. 6. Tom, 1.-425. 
 
 ' "Pour plaire aux Perfes etoit-il prudent de choquer les Macédoniens? Donner aux vain- 
 queurs les mœurs des vaincus, c'eft preparer leur ruin: c'ft la rendre certaine; et l'on veut qu' 
 Alexandre, ignorant cette vérité commune, ait regardé la corruption et l'aviliffement des Mace- 
 aoniens comme le fondement de fa puifTance : les Afiatiques accoutumés à ramper fous les defpo- 
 lifme, dévoient porter leur chaine avec docilité; les Grecs feuls meritoient des ménagement»." 
 Obferv. furl'Hift. de la Grèce, par M. l'Abbe Mably. 225, &c.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 •39 
 
 it ^\'as their confiant fludy to conceal. Arrian, though the leaft 
 culpable ■" in this refpeft, is not entirely excufable, but Ariftobulus 
 hath the aflurance to advance, that the Macedonian Monarch never 
 exceeded in the pleafures of the table, except in compliment to his 
 friends, and that he feldom made free with wine. ' This is far from 
 coinciding with the teftimony of many writers of Alexander's life, 
 and the exprelTions of Menander, ^ prove that the Prince's intempe- 
 rance was even become proverbial. Chares of Mit)'lene relates, that 
 the Macedonian Conqueror having ordered fome gymnaftic games 
 on the funeral of Calanus, in which fome prizes were offered for the 
 greatefl drinkers, thirty-five of thefe heroes died in this honourable 
 field of battle, and fix others expired a few moments afterwards in 
 their tents. ^ Promachus carried off the firfl prize ^vhich was a 
 
 talent. 
 
 ^ Where Arrian could not defend, he has endeavoured to palliate. — See Expcd, Alex. Lib. 
 7- C- 29' 30---543 545- 
 
 AXî|av5fo») aXKa (piX<i(p(oavr/is -ns HS ras irxi^Hf" (Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. C. ao.— c^â.) 
 " H> 61 K; ztfoi oiKOy -ôrlot >) e^oKfi xxrxifiçns' t^o^i St Sist Tov xi"'*' °' " ■CTivwv /^aXXov tj J.aXt'» 'iif^xtr, c^' 
 éxxTns xv^iK®' xiH /J-xx^iiii riyxXoyov ^lari^tfAii^, j(^ Taura, •=jo?.>.))f <r;^oA>)s e(rr,(." De Vit. Alex. 
 Plut. Opera, Tom. 1.--677. 
 
 ' " MtMïSf ©. S'iv KoAaxi Ç^tj-i, 
 
 KtjOVAoy XÇ^^**" rÇtt^'Cfi T^tS ITTIOV fAffOV yE 
 
 AAi^avSça ïjAeoï zuttuxxs m ^x(jiXtus' 
 
 Athenaeus. Lib. 10.— 434. 
 
 8 " Xafnf S'ô MiTwXwau®- cv rxis zjt^i AXfÇavSçov Iço^iais, zjs^i K.x\xtu fnrwt ra h^a ÇiXonfu, 
 
 o Ti >Cj mi ru jxniÀJxri aura SiîSnxt» AAt JavSf ©- "yu/*y(xo» xyunx xxi (aucixov lyxufniut' iVvixt 01 tprivi >C/ 
 Se» rrn ^lAo/yia» rm IvSs/y, i^ ax^oTtcaix! ayuyx' xj 1» aîAo» T« /*£» ■Krf.>;Ta; T«Aa>roy, Tw et SifTif» Tfia- 
 
 XO»T»
 
 240 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 talent. Nicobulus afTures us alfo, that Alexander at a fupper 
 
 with Mcdius, drank as much as twenty other guefts who partook 
 of the entertainment, and that on retiring he fell into a profound 
 fleep, *■ a ftrong fymptom undoubtedly of fobriety. 
 
 Plutarch recedes the lead from his profeflTed chara6ler of Alex- 
 ander's apologift, and he would have us to believe, that the Prince 
 highly difapproved of the effeminacy of Agnon and Philotas. ' 
 ^lian in oppofition tells us, that he had perfonally corrupted 
 them," and the opinion is confirmed by the t:ftimony of Agathar- 
 cides of Gnidus, ' and the letter, which Alexander wrote to the 
 
 inhabitants 
 
 xoircc (txxi, '9 rw rçiru SsKa" rm m zjiovrm nv omov Z!Xfx^^i^a. p«v snXevrvrat vtto m ij/v;^»; t^ixxovtx xxi 
 •atvri' /j-ixpov Se SiaAiwovrtj e» rxis a-xvvxis i^' ô h zi^etrov ■cjiuiv ty vmiiirxs cmc fct» xx^xm ypxs ria-ax^xs' 
 CKxXetTo h rifo/x.^xx®'' (Athensiis. Lib. lO.— 436, 437.) The Xoxi retra-x^is were fomething 
 fliort of two gallons, but the prowefs of Proteas was as remarkable. Athenius. Lib. 10.— 434. 
 
 ^ "NixoÇkA)) oe (pn<ri9, on zjx^x Ms^aai ru @£<T(Tx\u ^êimm A^ElanSf®-, dxaan aaiv ly nj 
 
 (rvi/.Tsaatu, zjx^it zj^ovwis •crafa CTxyTiiv Tx lax Xa/^favw», ^i/ xyxçxs tu avfi.'jToaia, (/.sr s isoXv xnnxvsro." 
 
 Athenaeus. Lib. 10.— 434. 
 
 ' " V/rrn Se tsî zsip âurov l:;i^a zix)irx':jxaiy cxTirfv^yixorxs, Jt^ (po^rixHS rxis oixirxis, ly zioXirt'Kuxis 
 oyrxs, wrt A7v;<J»a /ae» Tmioï x^yv^us £v rxii xçtnriinv lÎAat Cpo^eiii, Atonxru Ss ■EroXAa/r xa^ijXo/j xir'Aiyvn- 
 T« xott» HS rx yv^axaix ■ax^xxoyi.Xfaàxi, <^iKurx Se, ■srfoj Sufat raS/iu» exxrot xv\xsxs yiyonvxi, (/.v^u 
 Se ;çço^EVBs (Evai ■cjços aX«^/iu» î^ ABTfov itras Mi tKxiu, r^iTrrx! Se k, xxTWtxrxs zji^ixyof^svss' ew/ti^îj- 
 au z!çxus, K, ÇiKoaoÇius- (De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.—688.) Athenasus gives near- 
 ly the fame oftentatious account, (Lib. 12,-539.) ^'''"" whom it defcended moft probably to 
 Plutarch and ^lian. 
 
 '^ " 'Ot( SieSj kwte t«! Irxi^n: AAE^avSj ©i', r^v^x» tw/^wf wv xuron' Eiyi ty Ayvut ^cvans riXas 11 rxis 
 xjtwr;o-(» tÇiof«." (^lian. Var. Hift. Lib. g. C, 3. Tom. 1.— 570.) Whether thefe nails or 
 ftuds were golden ones or filver ones, the vanity of Agnon was equally ridiculous, 
 
 ' "AyaflasfX'^"^ ^' ° KviS/©- ev cySo» Aaixrtxm iço^ei, us 01 kiutrts AXs^xt^^o* to» ^i>.iVïïii twv Ç{-
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, 241 
 
 inhabitants of Ionia, and his orders for a quantity of purple, witli 
 which he meant to clothe his friends."" Inftead of laying any 
 rellraint on luxury, it was authorized by his own example, and, 
 according to Phylarchus, the daily expences of the Royal houfe- 
 hold were enormous. " The Prince's tent alone contained a hun- 
 dred beds, the pillars which fupported them were incrulled with 
 gold, and the ceiling was beautified and embellifhed with the fame 
 extravagance." When he gave audience, he was feated on a 
 throne of gold, furrounded with numerous guards, and Iphippus 
 of Olinthus adds, that the floor was fprinkled with delicious li- 
 quors and perfumes, and that myrrh and all kinds of the moll 
 odoriferous incenfe were burnt before him.'' This is certainly no 
 
 1 1 proof 
 
 Xi'Vj TO /xeW.o» CTaf aTESuo-EO-Sa!/ Ti'v r^0Lyvifj.xrm otf/E^^fuo-a»* ots oi SfXoisv cù)i^h%rA.m, zn^akmns Toy y^v- 
 o-ov â/jiM rois oiKKois c^tjSxXoy, ivx tjjî /^e» CToXfrAwat oi (piXoi ^txrai ysvu.-iiTxi, hi ùi cixirxi xv^m'" A 
 thcnseus. Lib. 4. --155, 
 
 " " Eyf atvj/j St jç^ TOTE A>.É|avSf ©- ran tv luvix '7ro\e(7it, Kj ■sr^uTois Xiois, oviiis xvru CTOf ^I'f av aTroff >.ai- 
 «•(»• n^û.c yxç mslraigus âirxyrxs â>.KpyxsitSvaxi ^oXa:," Athenœiis. Lib. 12.-539; 54'-'' 
 
 " Athenjeus. Lib. 12.-539. 
 
 ° " AvTu OS AP>E|avof il i5 i^iy camri »» xAivii Ixxnt' %Çf aoi oe x/ovEf zjDiTmotrx àiaXn^nj-xt ai/r>;v, k, 
 Tov opo^ov acvTvis xyeiyov' Avr^ ^e c^oÇ^^^xv^uir^ viVj -^ txiTiTroiriro 'SSoiy.iXyt^affi 'ujoXvriXoTi' iC'^p^' 
 TOI fJiCM ïïz^irai ■CTEVTaxotr/oi, 01 xaXs/xEvoi MtjXopofoi, •sjEf; x<irr,i evt®. îiçrtxeia-xif, -ao^^v^xs x^ fi.i)>.i\ix! 
 yti7èr,fj.îvoi foXaj* tiî^xvrotsôt roïxrxt yjXiQt^ Ç?.oyivx ev^eSuxoteî )c^ tj<7yiyo(3xpyi* -ct^o Oe thtuv w et^yv^xir 
 iti^si 'ZSivrxy.otTiot yixxLOovis' Ev ^eotj oe r»î ctxïîv» ^^t/trtff eti^eto d(^p©-, j^ !7r'at<Tû/ x«Cï3/aev©- AXE^aEv5]pS- 
 E^çV/^aTiÇ?, zjE^iîçuTiitv avru "ZSxyTo^iv T'MV tTu:^xro^iXxK'j:v, Tlt^fuHut rm CK^ivriv z^içtlSoX^y ev^xr.a-zjf 
 MjîxeSoïes ^iXio», ^ riiça-xi fAv^ior" (yElian. Var. Hift. Lib. g. C. S-— 57I) 572, 573-) Sjc 
 alfo Athenaeus. Lib. 12.-539. 
 
 P "Efa»£ Se à AAt^avSf©' ly (/.-j^u) a-ïïa^xiu), ^ oitui svxùh to ^xmSot' t^i'[Aixro ôi a'jru ctJ.:'fvx, >ù ri 
 <tW.« ^vyLixiAXTa." Athenxus. Lib. 12.-537, 538.
 
 242 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 proof of Alexander's tnoderation in his pleafures, of which Am- 
 an ■' w'ifhes to perfuade us, and is not calculated to authenticate 
 what Montefquieu aderts. " He ' was clofe and referved in his 
 
 private expences In regulating his houfehold, he was the 
 
 private Macedonian."' It feems extraordinar)', that this acute 
 and penetrating writer fhould have imagined Alexander found 
 the means of augmenting his power by his drift frugality, and 
 of furnifhing himfelf with refources from his private ceconomy. 
 Such perhaps might have been the cafe when he firfl; commenced 
 hoftilities againfl the Perfian empire, and his policy, and even his 
 neceffities pointed out to him a line of conduft very different from 
 that, which he followed after the battle of Gaugamele. From 
 this period of his life, he difplayed a luxurious parade and 
 pomp, which equally infulted the feverer manners of his own 
 country, and the misfortunes of the people that he had conquer- 
 ed. Nothing had perhaps hitherto reached the magnificence on 
 the celebration of the marriages between the Macedonians and 
 the Perfian women. No lefs than ninety-two nuptial beds were 
 prepared in one fpacious chamber, and the coverture of each was 
 valued at twenty minae. ' — Alexander's was diftinguifhed by feet 
 
 of 
 
 1 X^ijj.xrm Si ts tj.it riSotas ras ours, pnSwXoTatT©^' is^i fjiroiiat rm TsiXas, a^SovaTaT©-* " Ar- 
 tian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. C. 28.-543. 
 
 ' "Sa main fe fermoit pour les depenfes privées falloit-il régler fa maifon? 
 
 C'etoit un Macédonien." Monlefquieu de I'Efprit des Loix. Livre lO. C, 14.--200. 
 
 ' Nugent'sTranflalion. Vol. 1.-214. 
 
 ' 64^. iij. 8^. ftetling.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 243 
 
 Û 
 
 of folid gold. — All the courtiers and a great number of flrangcrs 
 were invited to the entertainment on this occafion, and it was 
 given in a tent, fupported by columns nearly thirty feet in height, 
 plated with gold and fparkling with jewels and precious flones, ' 
 The ableft tragedians and comedians, and mod celebrated mufi- 
 cians afTifted at the feftival, and Athenacus hath preferved their 
 names which he extrafted from Chares, as well as the particulars 
 that have been mentioned. ^' 
 
 T 
 
 Plutarch hath endeavoured to frame fome little excufe for Alex- 
 ander's adoption of the manners and habits of the nations that he 
 conquered, andattempts tojuftify him, by faying, the drefs which 
 he made ufe of was a medium between that of Perfia and of Media. " 
 
 1 1 2 But 
 
 K/ rm aXXuy ÇiXuy imnxoyrx ly Juo ^x\xfA,H! xxTxaxivxa-cciJuv®^ e» rw xvru roirW jjv oe ô o/x®. Ixxntra- 
 xXiv®-, sv Û luxçri r,v y.\tn, xehoct/aii/aevu rnJ^u yx/Aix» fototrj jj-nm x^yv^u/v, i Se xvm y^^Haaims m' avu.'mei- 
 XaÇt Se ets ro (ni^naam, yy Tus i^io^stus à.iia.nns' --i, xaiTExXivEv xntTt^oa-unns IxvTu te i^ ri>is aWois n'/xZi- 
 
 OIS my TE Xoimi ÎVVXIAII, OTE^»» T£ y.Xt vauTJimv, KXI rxs OTj-EcrtE/as-, HXI TUS 'ZJX^Sm^yj/j.n-jrxS ED TJ) xiXri, 
 
 xxrsaxsvxîo Se ô otx®^ zyoXvriXujs xxi ixcyaXo-n^i'Ttais tij.xrtoii te xxi oBn:ois 'SsohvTiXiTiv' I'jta Se rxurx itap- 
 Çivgois XXI ipoiviKois jjfuuaipES'/v* TB 0! fynvsiv Tilt (Dtiviv vTTzxiiv TO xiotis tixoax-nfiyiis mfty^fvaoi iù iix>.i9oi >C, 
 'uJEPtx^v^ot' 'sis^n^s^XYivroocvrwzjE^iÇoXbj'CjoXvrEXusavXxtxtÇtijuroij xxi otx^^uffoi^ xxvovxs eynvxi 'Sjs- 
 çijjfU(78f !^ 'CJEf/afyffSf' rri! ot xvXns Ti» ro z!s^i(A,srpoy 'i-x^ioi Tora-xçcs'" Athéniens. Lib. 12.— ."'j8. 
 
 " "Les plus habiles hilloriens et les muficiens celeb.es." The hand, according to Athcnœus 
 (Lib. 12.— 538, 539.) confifted of the '■Qxvij.xtottoioi, Px^u^^., ■iiXoxSx^iTui, AvXumoi, AvXrirxi, 
 AmvaoKoXxxis, AXi^xv^^oxoXxkb!, TjaywSa;, Ko'jui'Soi, ifxXryis," and fome chorus-fingers and vocal 
 performers. The hiftorians are not mentioned, and I have omitted them. The Baron de St. 
 Croix may have perhaps included them under the Px^uo^, 
 
 ' " EnESuaaTO rm 0x^Sxfixviy roXiv, an (3aXo/>i£»®- xuto» crvyoixaav TOfj eTriv^'pwis yo/z-ois, ij /'■fyx Trfor 
 r.^ri/Aiçuaiy avCfsjTTwv to (Tvyri^es >y o^olpuXn' ht' a-noTtH^x tiî v^hto Tr,s zs^o(TKmn<rsiiis àuTit rois Maxiii-
 
 244 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 But the Conqueror carried his extravagance much further, and 
 Iphippus of Olinthus relates, that he fonietimes appeared at thefe 
 feftive entertainments in purple, with the horns of Jupiter Ammon, 
 and that he was drawn in a car with a Perhan mantle over his 
 flioulders, and the quiver of Diana at his back. Amongfl his 
 friends he appeared fometimes like Mercury, with feathers to his 
 heels and a Caduceus in his hand, which he exchanged for the 
 lion's fldn and club of Hercules. '' " Hills and mountains," ob- 
 ferves Plutarch, " are not eafily taken by ftratagem or ambufcade, 
 but a weak mind, fwoln big and lofty by fortune, birth, or the 
 like, lies naked to the affaults of every mean and petty aggreffor. " ^ 
 Alexander was foon captivated with the grofifeft flattery, and 
 his defpotic temper prevented his friends from approaching him 
 either with freedom or fnicerity. Maximus Tyrius feems to indi- 
 cate. 
 
 ■astyrairao-iv, (Baffafixiv >^ «XXoxoto» uaav, «Je avx^v^i^ccs, ah y.xv^vi, eSt Tia^m E^aftv, œXAa e» /^eo-v 
 Tiva T)is HEfiTiKW >è T»l$ MriîiKir, ^(|ajiA£v©- Euwwf, «TO^oTE^a» fAE» fxfiVKS-, TauT>if Je o-ofjifijTEfoyeo-ai'." 
 
 De Vit, Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. i.— 690. 
 
 ' " EÇiTTr®. Je Çrcriv, us AXj^avS^ ©- )^ ras U^as to-Suraî Epoj e< sv rots ^ctitmis, in /ACt mi tm A(*- 
 j*»)»®- raoçÇiKÇiSa, x^ 'sji^ier)(i^eis >y xEjasTa, xaSawEf ô ©s©-' ore Se k, rns Af te/x/S®-, m jc ettj t» aj-fwi- 
 T©- Epoff), utiW.ax/j T»» ntfo-ixi» foXn» iwopcuvw» a.ia%.i rut uiauiv, to te to|ov k^ rm cri^unv' itiori Sr 
 
 tC, T»v T8 '£►/*« rx f*£v a^x erytJiiv e« Je t>i avyu<Tix rx ri ■zjEJiAa, xj tov 'atracav ect; 
 
 T» KEÇiaXti, 19 TO xvjfvxEiov £» T.J ;(;£/f;, cjoXXax'J Se Xeoïtîjw )^ ^oirxKot ùirtrc^ 'l-IfaxXw" Athcnxus. 
 Lib. 12.-537. 
 
 » Plutarch's Morals. Vol. 2.-135. ^''° Edit. 1704. "Twv ^ev yaf rcmuv rx JvJ/JiXa Suo-tt^o- 
 o-iiSai xa; Swt^/xTa ^evoïTo rois mi^uXivùiai' to Je ev ■J/i'X.'' "" *"* tZ''<'''' J-'ekti';^!»» J) Ji'fuipi'ia» ij-®- xotJ 
 Ççovîifta, Tois (Aixfoii xa( TaTtivoir (*«X(s-a (3o«ti;aov Ef'" Plutarch. De Adul. ct Amic. Difcrim, 
 Tom. 2.— 65.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 245 
 
 cate, that this was one principal reafon of the rapid progrefs, which 
 aduLition made amongft the Macedonians. " When fear and ty- 
 ranny prevail, adulation," in the words of the philolopher, " re- 
 gularly flourilhes, and friendfliip defcends into the grave." ' 
 Iphippus of Olinthus informs us, that Alexander's bed friends 
 were under the necefïity of applauding what they could not ap- 
 prove ; and in thofe riotous exceffes, which tarnilhed the Prince's 
 glory, they obferved a profound filence, from the apprehenfion of 
 increafmg his outrageous pafTions, or affording him any pretext 
 to indulge his favourite propenfit)' of fhedding human blood. '■' 
 Lucian affures us likewife, that calumny and flattery had a ready 
 accefs to the Macedonian Monarch ;' and Anaxarchus, to confole 
 him for the murder of Clitus, defended in his prcfence the exe- 
 crable maxim that juflice had no other rule than the will of kings. ^ 
 " This miferable Sophifl was one of the mofl diflinguiflied of the 
 infamous band of Medeus, that arch parahte and enemy to the 
 Macedonian nobility, and chief of all that numerous train which 
 Alexander entertained in his court. • r-This man taught his difciples 
 
 to 
 
 * " Oira yatf otos x.ai i^ua'ix Seitttotixi to «f j^ojxeïo» «'/%!' avxyim otufo xoXixxiixv ij.cv avSt», CiJ^ict* oi 
 <aTafa'f^x^a!i." Maximus Tyrius. Tom, 1.— 393. Ed. Reilke. 8"° Lips. 1774. 
 
 ^ " Ey^>)/A(at Tc Kxi aiyri KXTtiy^s zjxvtxs tiro otn: rus 'sr^c^avrxf* «^sçïjt^ yx^ >îv, y.xt Çovta.^' ' A- 
 thenaeus. Lib. 12.— 538. 
 
 ' " 'H ysv xoAaxE/œ xai 11 S/aooXn Tote ftaXira j^irf.ïv f(7;^£ zx^os ra AAt^avSfa CTaS®- avtTi9!iA.m'" 
 
 Lucian, Calamn. non tern. cred. Tom. 3.— 150. 
 
 ^ "Tnv o/xJi» i^si zsxfsoço'j à Zem, xa/ rnv 0£/xi», '•■jx zjxv to zux^x^iit Itio ra x^aTtivT®' ^i/j-irot ri 
 ka/Jixaio»; ToiBTo/r T/(7; ^oyo;s ^ÇïlffafAEï®- Avafaç;^'®') to/aev •nraS®. exaÇicTE tb (Sao-i^EttT, to ot >)9oj «t 
 TioWx y^xvyoTi^ov iC/ •ax^xtojj.'jiTi^ot ciroiriaey," Dc Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. L'-pg^.
 
 246 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 to flander boldlyhand pufli home their calumnies ; for though the 
 wound might probably be cured and flcinned over again, yet the 
 teeth of flander would be fure to leave a fear behind them : by 
 thefe fears (or to fpeak more properly) gangrenes and cancers of 
 falfc accufations, fell the brave Calliflhenes, Parmenio, and Phi- 
 lotas, whilft he himfelf became an eafy prey to an Agnon, Bagoas, 
 Agefias and Demetrius, who tricked him up like a barbarian ftatuc 
 or antick, and paid the mortal, the adoration due to a God."° This 
 gloomy pifture of the eH'e6ls of adulation on Alexander's conduft, 
 muft notwithftanding be correft, as it comes from the hand of 
 Plutarch. It may be more eafily relied on, as he is always difpofed 
 to palliate the Macedonian Monarch's excefles, and would wil- 
 lingly perfuade us, that he courageoufly refifted the folicitations 
 of Agnon and Philoxenus, when they would have feduced him 
 into fome unnatural fenfualities. ' But admitting thefe fycophants 
 
 to 
 
 ' Plutarch's Morals. Vol. 2.-134, 135. " H» Je 5 Meoj®- tb 135^ i AXtfawSfo» ;(0f a rut xvXxxuv 
 im ^l^fX®", >Çt °''"?'S"')s xofy^ai®- im tous apço'js armnrxyixsv©'' îxi>^tviii «ï SaffBvraf, âTiTKj^ai >y 
 SaxvEi» rais dixSoPvxis, diàx<7y.Kiv an na» ^s^xTTivrj-s to e'Ax©' ô ^E^nyiJ.iti®', i «^i ^evb rris ^ixSuXm. rxv- 
 Txts /xEV rot Txis wAaK, fxxWov ÙE yxyÇ^xnxiSf Kf y.xçvi}i!tj{A.xi7t ^txC^oj^eis A?v£çavoç®-, a'jruT^as ^ KaA- 
 >./2-5ewi, ic Hx^/j-iviuvx !^ 'pjXwTav' Ayv'jKTi Se i<^ 'Zxyiiixts -^ kyniixts yi/ Ar}ijimf:ois x<l>eiàus mouxiv îxv- 
 Tov vwoo-xEXj^Etr^a/, ■CT^oo'xyi'a^Evov }y xxTx^oXiCifAsvov Kj xvxTrXxrio^syov lit xvruv uirmq ayaX/Adc jSa^ta^/- 
 «»." (Plut. De Adult, et Amici. Difcrim. Tom. 2.-65.) Monfieur de Theil hath added to his 
 trandation of this part of Plutarch's Works, fome curious obfervations upon the ancient Parafites- 
 
 " <I>iAo|£»®' Ey^av).;» hixi ^x^'xvru Qiodij^ov nix Tx^nrimy, syotTx ■sjaiSar «was tvo, 
 
 Tfii o-^/ii» fTTE^^UE/r, !t, CTyv^avo^EV^ H ZT^tviTxi, ^xXstTojs inyx'jiv^ iQox zioXKatxts iT^os Ttis ^iX»;, EfwTwv n 
 ■awirsn 4>;Ao|e»@' asio-jjjov aurai trvicyiuxus, roixvTX cyaSiri CTfo^EVi'v xx^yiTx' Tov Se •i>i\o^ttov xvrot eï faia- 
 n\n ■aoM.x \oià<if7iaxs, ekeXeuev avnis Courtois to» ©eoSwjoï hî tov o?,e%o» airo^ûJ^m' EirEWJui^E» Se j^ 
 Ayrxii tixviaxu, yfx>]^xvri zs^os avrov, in K^uCvXoti tudoxiiAUira £» Ko^iy^u, CsXtra/ «fia/*»»©» ayxyB* 
 ■B^ns xvTot." De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.-676, 677.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 247 
 
 to have had the power of exciting the Prince to the deflruttion of 
 his ableft generals, and moft faithful friends, we may eafily con- 
 ceive their influence mufl have been as fatal, when they offered to 
 him new fymptoms of criminal debauchery. 
 
 The fliameful pafTion of the Greeks for unnatural vices * was a 
 matter of public notoriety, and little doubt can remain of the 
 infamous commerce between the Macedonian Monarch and the 
 Eunuch Bagoas. Dicearchus informs us, that he embraced him 
 in the moft lafcivious and indecent manner in the theatre, before 
 a crowded audience, which far from blufliing at the fcandalous 
 
 tranfaftion, 
 
 5 Some learned men have endeavoured to refcue feveral of the great charafters of Antiquity 
 from this deleftable fufpicion, (See Tou^. Appcndicula Not. atque Emend, in Theocritum. 26. 
 -■-Potter's Grecian Antiq. Book. 4. C. 2. Vol. 2.-390.— Philo. De vita contemplaiivâ.— 
 Max. Tyrius. Differt. 8, g, 10, 11.— Hift. of .'Ylhens. 321.) and to explain away the appen- 
 dant tribe of young men and boys, celebrated for their beauty, that conftantly clung around them. 
 Many virtuous individuals muft certainly have rifen fuperior to the general depravity, and the 
 young men, under their patronage, muft have been trained up to every thing that was good or 
 great; butwhilft fuchpraiSicesand fuch premiums exi (led, as Mofehus and Theocritus have defcribcd, 
 
 Mofchi Idyll. 3.-84.-28. Oxon. 8"» 1748. 
 'Os Je xe CTfOO-ftaîi 'y\vKc^urif!c ^ei\t<ri x^Ad 
 
 H rjtt Tov ^afoTTo» Tavu/xiiSfa tsoW'cnibuTçei, 
 
 AvSn iffoï sj^fvv TOïTçn rof*»' " 
 
 Theocrit. Id. 12.— 30. Tom. 1.-55. Oxon. 4'» 177O. 
 U is in vain to combat, by any arguments, the " 'EAA/i^mo» tçotto»" and the profligacy of thofe 
 licentious times. Athenaeus tells us, without equivocation, " 'ilXus S« tus zjxi^ixes t^urxs ruvttri 
 raij 3>;XB«if CTfoxjoBo-i •EJoWvo/," and he adds, to (hew its notoriety, *'n«fayaf raJJ «XXajj raij ii- 
 »c(ABjAtv«« ■EjoXto-i» tm Tnj EXAoS©- <nr«Sa<79'i»j" TO St TO tS®-." (Lib, 13. Tom, j.— 6ou,l There 
 is not a more infamous acknowledgment upon Record!
 
 248 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 tranfaCtion, teftified its fatisfaftion by a very general applaufe. ' 
 The feVere obfervations of Orfines, refpefting this Eunuch, in Q. 
 Curtius," evidently prove the unnatural connexion between his 
 mafler and the Catamite ; but the Latin hiflorian, with unaccount- 
 able inconfillency, afterwards afTerts, that Alexander in his fen- 
 fual gratifications had not ftrayed beyond the bounds of nature, 
 or wandered into forbidden paths. *" 
 
 Alexander's humanity to the nations, that he conquered, hath 
 been boafted of, but it is fometimes problematical. Many 
 aftions of his life demonftrate to a certainty, that in the latter 
 period of his reign he had forgotten the clemency, with which in 
 an early ftage of glory and of viftory, he had foothed the 
 misfortunes of the different people, over whom he triumphed. 
 Vanity and political finefTe might have perhaps fuggefted to him 
 
 fuch 
 
 BayoiB TH c\imvx>i «ruis ainrot Cniri n^xc-^x:, us e» o^ei Ôe«tç8 ÔX« xxrxÇ:iXm avnv ataxXixa-xiira, xl Ti'» 
 ^ixrm tTritpuvnorxttnn iA,£TSi xfoTB «x «TTEiâiKTaf, 'aa\it xtxxXaaxs i^tXriasv." Athenxus. Lib. 10. 
 Tom, 1.--603. 
 
 ' "Les reproches qu'Orfines fait clans Quinte Curce à cet eunuque." I have made a trifling 
 alteration in the fcnfe of this fentcnce, as the only reproach, which Orfme& pcrfonally made to 
 Bagoas was the "Audieram in Alia dim regnaflfe Feminas ; hoc vero novum eft, rcgnafle Caftra- 
 tum." (Q. Curt. Lib. to. C. 1. Tom. 2.-755.) To a friend, who wiflied to put him on 
 his guard againft the Eunuch's machinations, with more cauftic acrimony, he had previoudy ob- 
 ferved, "Amicos regis, non fcorta fe colere." Q. Curt. Lib. 10. C. 1. Tom. 2.-752. 
 
 ■■ "Veneris intra naturale defiderlura ufiis, nee uUa nifi ex permilTo voluptas." (Q. Curtius. 
 Lib. 10. C. 5. Tom. 2.-786.) I am utterly unable to reconcile the "Naturale defiderium" 
 with the "Bagoi fpadoni, qui Alexandrum obfequio corporis devinxerat fibi." Q. Curt. Lib. 
 10. C. 1, Tom. 2. —751.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 249 
 
 fuch a laudable and advantageous line of condu£l, at the outfet of 
 his military career, and the mafk dropped when it was no longer 
 necefTary. True virtue, which really fprings from the heart, fel- 
 dom varies, but continues to animate the bofom, until it ceafes to 
 tlirob itfelf. The devaftation of the country of Sambus,' and 
 that of the Pathalians ; " the burning of the city of the Agalafll- 
 ans ; " the crucifixion of the Indian prince Muficanus, ° and the 
 
 K K punifliment 
 
 ixxi, )^Jl^£x(J^l/E Til» Batffafi'V iwij TJif oxTaifxffiaSar." Diod. Sicul. Lib. 1-j, Tom. 2.-230. 
 
 ™ " In proximam gentein Palhaliam perventum eft. Rex erat Moeris, q\u urbe déferla in mon- 
 tes profugerat. Itaque Alexander oppido potitur, agrofque populatur." (Q. Cur'tius. Lib. q. C. 
 8. Tom. 2.— 729.) Under the fame circumftances, perhaps the modern rules of war would au- 
 thorize the fame treatment. Arrian gives a very different account of the bufinefs. " 'o Se Kxra, 
 S'u^iy Tuv ipsvytitTuv £itwf/x>J^*j T»s r^xrias ras Mu^arizriss, nsci rites aurui luyiXn(p9Ti<Txt, aziùintt.zsa rov- 
 rus CTaf » ras xWas, {«TfiXa^svos ssra/ntvai Suffatras' eitxi yap avrois n» rt ttoXit o(K$tt us m otrffjv >t, rnt 
 Ywfx> ffya^Eafl*!* ;c tnœvrjXÔov 01 woAXoi at'Tw»"" Expcd, Alex. Lib. 6. C. 18.--44Q. 
 
 1 " Twv S{ oXXiJv ty^fwpiwv cvvxSfoiaStiruv, a1aiJ.vf4asiJ.ft xxrjtipvyotrxs Hs iroXiy f^iyxXnt kxtx xpx- 
 ros fiAt* ruv 5e IvSuv otx^fx^xtruv ras çevuiras, j^ awo ruv oiniuv ^x^Ofxsyuy ivpu^us^ ^ix^n^itos xtte^xXi rx'V 
 MaxtSo»ai» owe oX/yoff* Six Se T>i» o^y»)v EfUifieraf rn» tJoXj», <rvyKxrtxav(ri ras mKn^as'" Diod. SicuL 
 Lib. 17. Tom. 2.-235. 
 
 » This unfortunate Indian prince had neglefted, according to Arrian, the following duties ci- 
 ther to Craterus, or his Royal mafter, " Ouitu «tronTtjxfi xvru Maaixxtos, ivSiSous âi/rov ri >ù rrityupxv, 
 evrt tJfcalieis mi ÇiXix ixuefi-zjet, ovSt ri evri ai'T©- iiscTjo/jitsei, à Sv /^fyaXtn PxitiXh fix©-, mn ri ■Drnxu 
 «5 AXfljcïSfa*" (Exped. Alex. Lib. 6. C, 15.— 439.) Thefe offences were however afterwards 
 forgiven, on the feveral expeftations being fully gratified, and the Prince had his territories re- 
 ftored to him. A citadel was notwithftanding built in the Prince's capital, and Craterus had the 
 command of it. " Otj fami^tioi xvru ipxm to ;^i<f/o» ts n ■Kxrty^eaGxi ra xfxXa> tflm ÇivXxrro/xiyx'" 
 (Exped. Alex. Lib, 6. C. 15.— 440.) Whether Muficanus was dilTatisfied with, or ill treated 
 by this Grecian garrifon, we are not told, but he withdrew himfelf and foon appeared in arms. 
 The ilTue of the conteft was foon decided, and the Indian prince was brought a prifoner by Pyiho, 
 
 who
 
 250 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 punilliment of many Brahmins, whofe only crime had been that 
 of encouraging their countrymen to defend their liberty and laws ; 
 and, in a word, the deflruftion of many Indian cities, which had 
 the courage either to oppofe or retard the projefts of the Mace- 
 donian Monarch, are not the moft decifive fpecimens of his cle- 
 mency. 
 
 After having granted terms to one of thefe cities and accepted 
 its furrender, he fell upon a part of the garrifon in its march, and 
 flaughtered the whole of the detachment. Plutarch, from whom 
 the faft is borrowed, admits it to have been a difgraceful (lain in 
 his Hero's '' life, and he confefles alfo, that the Macedonian Mo- 
 narch put, with his own hand, Orfidates to death, who had revolt- 
 ed againft him, by piercing him with darts. '' 
 
 Alexander's 
 
 who had been fent againft liira. The remainder of his liiftory, is fummed up by Arrian in a few 
 lines. " Kai rourov xfiixaarai A^E|lZ^Sf ©- xi\ivei iv t>i avrs y», j^ run Bfa^Q^xtuv a<ni anmi rw azsoça,- 
 aius ruMua-iy-avu HoiTtçnara.»'" Exped. Alex. Lib. 6. C. 17. --442. 
 
 P " Apres avoir accordé la paix a une ville Indienne, ce prince retourne bientôt fur fcs pas 
 entre dans cette malheureufe cité, et en maffacre tous les habitans." The following paflage in 
 Plutarch is referred to, " Ewf* Ss rm h^uv 01 //.a^'y-'^T^Toi ixiaOoÇio^uvrsi izyipairut rxis vo^ca-iv, see'-o- 
 (iLDiiis ajj.movr[s, j^ xjcra •EToXAa to» A^-i^av^^ot txaxoCTo/oi/», o-ctho-ji^ev©- tv riyi -noXn zjfos avrovs, wcui- 
 evTas E» ô5« Aafw», âoravraf «CTsxTftvE» ><^ t«to tois •ncM/xtxciis içyoïs avTU, raXXa voij.iiAwi k. 0aa-iXixcÊjs 
 woAf^ïio-avT®-, us jtijAiî ■Ejfoo-Eriï'" (De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera, Tom. 1.— 6y8.) I need not 
 I apprehend, point out the propriety of the alteration, 
 
 1 ' Ka* Twn «CTOfavTw» Ba^Cx^m O^ao^aTtu avr®' xaTCTo^iiKTo'" (De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. 
 Tom. 2.-697.) The Baron de St. Croix, in all likelihood, overlooked the pafTage in Plutarch, 
 where Alexander ordered that quarter was not to begivcn, merely from political motives. " *o- 
 mv f4tï otï cvravBx zsoXiv run à7i.io-xo(Atiut ytna-6ai o-i/fEWEo-Ev* y^aipH yxp but®, us Wfii^i/v avru TBTo Xv- 
 iriTtKm, exeXeue» «TToo-f aTΣtrfl*( T8f «ïSfwww" De Vit. Alex, Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.-686.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 2/^1 
 
 Alexander's cruelty is flrongly marked by tlie pointed enero-y 
 of the Scriptural exprefTion, which hath loft much of its original 
 force in its tranfition into another language. ' The profane wri- 
 ters have, notwithftanding, concealed and kept back from public 
 view the reprefentation of the bloody fcenes, which paffcd at a 
 diftance, though the truth fometimes efcapes them, and Arrian 
 honeftly avows his inclination for very fevere, as well as difpro- 
 portionate punifliments. ' 
 
 The Gentoo annals mention the Conqueror of Afia, and have 
 beftowed on him the terms of "moft mighty robber and murderer,'î ' 
 but moft of the Oriental traditions have fuppofed him to have 
 been beneficent and humane. Yet the Indians in all probability 
 formed their opinions from comparifons, and the mifery, which 
 
 K K 2 they 
 
 ' " Interfecit" is employed by the Vulgate, and our Englifh verfion hath, " he flew the kings 
 of the earth." Neither of thefe expreffions may poffibly convey the full fenfe of the " lapa^c," 
 the Greek word " o-pa^a)" or " o-p*TTw" being properly rendered, " mado, jugulo, imniolo." 
 
 ' "L'inclination qu'Alexandre avoit pour les executions fanguinaires." " Oy p.i) aAAa ;^ «vr©- 
 AJii^avcg®' o|-JT£f ©- ^lysraj yevia-9xi tv ra totî (S to iri'^vjaxi TC tois ECTOcaXorjasvoif, as zsiùxvDis ovi iv 
 ■aatTi ovat' ■'ù izii to riyi,u(naa.a&ai fÂ,tyoi,Xus rus tzsi (j.ixfo:s s^i?\iy^9£»rxs'" Arrian. Lib. 7. C. 4- 
 -483. 
 
 • " Mhaahah, Dukkoyt é Kooneah." (Holwell's interefting Events relative to the Provinces 
 of Bengal, Part 2, 4.) We learn alfo from Chardin, that " les Parfes ou Guebres au lieu d'ad- 
 rairer ce Prince, et de révérer fon nom, comme font tant d'autres peuples, le meprifent, le 
 deteftent, le maudiffent, le regardent comme un pirate, un brigand, comme un homme fans juf- 
 tice et fans cervelle, né pour troubler l'ordre du monde et pour détruire une partie du genre 
 humain." Voyages en Ferfe, Tom, 2,-185. Ed. 4'°
 
 252 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 they perfonally fuffered, might have recalled their attention from 
 that, which their ancellors had experienced under the Macedonian 
 arms. Since the reign of Mahmoud in the eleventh age, who 
 fubdued India, and treated the natives with the rigour of an ex- 
 afperated conqueror, and the inhumanity of a fanatic, thefe mild 
 and inoffenfive people have been accuftomed to the horrid ra- 
 vages of war, and to an unvarying repetition of pillage, flames, 
 and bloodflied. Such were the certain and terrible effefts of the 
 different invafions of their country, and reafoning from thefe 
 fcourges of human life, they confidered Alexander as a conqueror 
 of extraordinary moderation, and even attributed to him the moil 
 remarkable and magnificent monuments in that vafl country," 
 The Perfians, however, had ferions and fubftantial reafons to 
 confecrate the Macedonian Monarch's memory in their annals. 
 When he became poffeffed of the Perfian empire, profperity had 
 not corrupted him with its baneful influence, and the Conqueror 
 of Darius treated his new fubjefls with a gentlenefs and lenity, 
 till then unknown, under any violent change of government. 
 But the condition of Perfia was not improved, and it received no 
 benefit or advantage whatever from the Grecian conqueft. It 
 continued to be governed by a defpot, and fuffering the vexations 
 of rapacious officers, was alfo expofed to every fhock of the fuc- 
 ceeding revolutions, without having either its chains loofened, or 
 their galling weight diminifhed. 
 
 * Zend-Avefta, par Anquetil. Tom, i,— 392.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 253 
 
 O. Curtius hath been accufed," with injuftice, of having written 
 the panegyric of Alexander rather than his life, as the ingenious 
 writer hath both frequently brought forward, and ftated with im- 
 partiality, his faults and crimes. The Prince, he fays, abandoned 
 himfelf, after the change in his charafter, to a fyftem of voluptuouf- 
 nefs, and though the Perfians could not prevail againfl him, he was 
 conquered by his own vices. ^ Feafts, feftivals, and games, be- 
 came the common occupations of the Conqueror of Afia, who 
 palfed whole nights in drunkennefs and debauchery. '^ The fame 
 hiftorian, in another part of his work, informs us, that Alexander's 
 charafter was totally altered, and that the moderation and conti- 
 nence, which he had profefTed, were fucceeded by intemperance 
 and pride. His palace was filled with three hundred and fixty 
 concubines, and the guard of the feraglio was compofed of a troop 
 of Eunuchs. " Thefe anecdotes, and others of the fame tendency, 
 that are fuppreffed, are not ufually introduced into a panegyric ; 
 
 and 
 
 " Clerici Judicium de Q. Curtio. 9. 
 
 y " Sed ut primum inftamibus cuds laxatns eft animus, militarium reram quam quietis otiique 
 patientior ; excepere eum voluptates ; et quern arma Perfarum non fregerant, vitia vicerunt." 
 
 Q. Curt, Lib, 6, C. 2. Tom, 1.--395. 
 
 » " Intempeftiva convivia, et perpotandi pervigilandique infana dulcedo, ludique et grèges 
 
 pellicum. intempeftivis conviviis dies pariter noâefque confumeret ; fatietatem cpula- 
 
 rum ludis interpolabat," Q. Curtius, Lib. 6. C, 2, Tom. 1.--395. 
 
 » "Hie vero palam cupiditates fuas folvit, continentiamque et moderationem, in altiffimâ 
 quâque fortunâ eminentia bona, in fuperbiamac lafciviara vertil. Patries mores difciplinamque 
 Macedonum regum falubriter lemperatam, et civilem habitum, velut leviora magnitudine fuâ du- 
 cens ; Perficae regiae, par Deorum potentix faftigium œmulabatur. Jacere humi venerabundos pati 
 
 ccrpit.
 
 254 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 and we cannot rationally fuppofe.from them, that Alexander, 
 even in the conflagration of his palTions, was condufted by the 
 flafli of reafon, that Montefquieu *" hath fpoken of, " which thofe 
 who \vould fain make a romance of his hiflory, and whofe 
 minds were more corrupt than his, could not conceal from our 
 view. 
 
 Q. Curtius is undoubtedly alluded to, and he little deferves 
 fuch a farcaftic animadverfion, for having faithfully expofed the 
 conduÊl of this Prince. 
 
 Notwithflanding the charge of an unjuftifiable partiality for the 
 Macedonian Monarch in Q. Curtius, he may be fufpe6led, on the 
 contrar)^, of having imagined fome circumftances, that have af- 
 fefted his reputation. The death of Orfmes is of the number. 
 This illuftrious Perfian, of high birth and dignity, made fome 
 prefents, as we are told, to the Conqueror of Afia, and the prin- 
 cipal courtiers, amongfl whom Bagoas was either omitted or for- 
 gotten. The exafperated Eunuch could not pardon the indignity, 
 and in revenge for the fuppofed affront, he accufed Orfines of the 
 
 pillage 
 
 cjepit, ruperbiamque habitus animi infolentia fequebatur. Pellices C. C. C. et fexa- 
 
 ginta, totidem qui Darii fuerant, regiam implebant, quas fpadonum greges, et ipfi muliebria pati 
 adfuetij fequebantur." Q. Curtius. Lib. 6. C. 6. Tom. 1.--424 426. 
 
 •> "Qui ceux qui avoient voulu faire un Roman de fon hiftoire, et qui avoient I'efprit plus 
 gale que lui n'ont pu nous dérober." L'Efprit des Loix, Lib. lO. C. 13. Tom. i.-.igô. 
 
 ' Nugent's Tranflation, Vol. 1.--210.
 
 OF ALEXvVNDER THE GREAT. 255 
 
 pillage of the tomb of Cyrus, and affured ]iis Royal Mailer, that 
 the embezzled plunder, amounted to three thoufand talents. The 
 funeral monument was direfted to be opened, and as it contained 
 only two Scythian bows, a fabre, and a crown of gold, the Eu- 
 nuch had the addrefs to perfuade Alexander of the truth of his 
 affertions, and the unfortunate Perfian was led to execution. * 
 
 The relation however of Q. Curtius, does not agree with that 
 
 of any of the other hiftorians. Plutarch informs us, that Po- 
 
 lymachus was condemned to death for the pillage of the tomb of 
 Cyrus " ; and Strabo believes a band of robbers were the authors 
 of the crime, as they deflroyed what they could not carry off. ' 
 Arrian pretends, that the Magi, who had the care of this monu- 
 ment, underwent the torture, though no difcoveries were derived 
 from it. ^ The lafl hiftorian fpeaks afterwards of the punifhment 
 of Orfmes, who had the government of Perfia after the death of 
 Phrafaortes, and was convifted of extortion, and of having plun- 
 dered 
 
 ^ The ftory is told at fome length, and with many interefting circumftances, by Q. Curtius. Lib. 
 10. C. 1. Tom. 2.-751 755. 
 
 atm/AoraTw» Ô tjXii/x^îAuo-as-, omiAx noAi//Aaj^®.'" De Vit, Alex. Plut, Opera, Tom. 1,-703, 
 
 • *' Hpovo^Ei'Ti^v E^yov jjVj ovy^é rov ^cct^xttouj xuTuki'jioyruy â (xyi avyarov »iv çaoéus ixxofAiaai* 
 
 Strabo, Lib. 15,-1061, 1062. 
 
 8 " AXslavSc®- Je ifXAatew» rus Mayus res ÇvXxxas rs raips c7^cS>,ui7tv, us xareiveit rss Sfao-«»Taj' 
 0/ oE «T£ o-ipwy BTe «XXb xaTaTTo» rfE^AsfAEvo;, b5e ahXii irri ^vtviXeyvptro ^vyetdons ru e^yu." Arrian,. 
 Expcd, Alex, Lib. 6. C. 29.-473.
 
 256 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 dered the temples and Royal tombs at Perfepolis, *■ monuments at 
 il diftance from that of Cyrus, who had chofen Pafagardis ' for 
 the place of his interment. Ariftobulus hath given a defcription 
 of the place of fepulchre, and Arrian " hath preferved it. 
 
 The tomb of Cyrus was fituated in a facred wood, watered by 
 fprings, that fertilized the earth, which was covered with thick 
 rich grafs, and equalled that of the moft beautiful meadows. In 
 the midll of the fliady trees of this facred grove, a little edifice 
 arofe, to which only a narrow entrance opened. The allies of 
 Cyrus were depofited in a golden cafe within the building, and it 
 contained alfo a couch with golden feet, a throne of gold, fome 
 fplendid garments, and carpets of exquifite workmandiip, fwords, 
 collars, and jewels fet in gold. A colleftion of fuch riches is far 
 from coinciding with the fenfe of the epitaph, which Plutarch 1 
 
 hath 
 
 c^ri\ty^6yi Of |imj jEfa rt on aîavXyixe, x^ Taptrr px<riXi«.as, jc Iljf o-a'v zsiWus on 8 Jyy Jot» airtxrHvi* tb- 
 rov ij.tt ^1 ois crx^^ri vTTù AXf|a»Sf« EKftjuatrav"" Arrian, Exped. Alex. Lib. 6. C. 30. --473. 
 
 ' " Eij waiTvZfyjsSaj ixC Kf tbto l\i pjjo-iXaov «f^a/oy* tyraiiS» Se iC/ Toy KufB rafo» o5e» tv wafaSw- 
 erai'" Strabo. Lib. 15.--1061. 
 
 •^ " rifj-i avnt aXa®- ijATrip-JTiva-^xi StySfwv isxutoiu», j^ t'Sari avxi xarafft/Toy k, uoay ffx^nat «;£- 
 
 ^xfyflu cv Tu Xçi^uvi atvw^EV 01 otKnixx I'neivxi Xj^iyoy Eç-E-yajr/xEvoy, Svfida EJ^oy Çeçatrxv 
 
 iuu rtyiy; "-'f f/t-oXu «y eh aySj ; B ^tyaXai, otoXX» xxMitx^atTi vix^iX^Ht' it Se tm oixriiA,xn isvcXoti ^^um» 
 HHŒ^xif tvx TO aufjix ra Ki>fB «TECawTo, x^ xXiyijy zjx^x rrt zjviXu* Tso^xs ot entxt rv x\tyri y^^ffus o-Çv 
 çriyxTHS^ ît, TXWftTX l'ainX-nij.xrùjv BxjSv^^uivtuiv, î^ xxvtxaxs zjoçÇv^us liroççuvvuu^xi' tireivxt ^c yÇj xxiùvs^ 
 tif aXXss jfirwyaî tdj px^vXntm i^yxa-ixs' ^ xvx^v^&s Mn^ixxi xj çoXxi Ixxit^ttoSx^cs XEye* Ôt< EXHyTO 
 — "^""9 rfEWToi 1^ axiyaxse;, j^ lywT/j! XfUB te )^ X<5ay xoXXîjra" k, r^xiTil^x ixhto'" Arri- 
 an. Exped. Alex. Lib. 6. C. 29.--470, 471. 
 
 ' " n ANQPnnE, 0£TI2 El, KAI noeEN 'hKEIS ('OTI men rAP 'HEEI2 oiaa) Era 
 
 KTPOS
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 257 
 
 hath tranfmitted to us. " Whoever thou art, and whenfoever thou 
 comefl;, for come thou wilt, I am Cyrus, the founder of the Pcrlian 
 empire ; envy me not the little earth that covers my remains !" 
 The modefty of this infcription, in all probability, fuggefted to 
 Xenophon a hint for his fpeech of Cyrus, a few moments before he 
 expired. "" " My children, when I am no more, neither enclofe 
 my body in gold nor filver, commit it as foon as poffible to the 
 earth, for there cannot be a greater happinefs than to mingle with 
 the duft." 
 
 ) By the Perfian cuftoms, their kings had only the honour of 
 fepulchres," and their tombs, which are ftill exifting, are fituated 
 to the Eafl of the mountain of Iftakhar, and have no refemblance 
 with that, which Ariflobulus hath defcribed, no more than thofe 
 of Naxi-Ruftan. ° The facred wood, with which he furrounds 
 the tomb of Cyrus, betrays the falfity of the defcription. This 
 
 L L mode 
 
 KYPOS EIMI 'O HEPSAIS KTHZAMEN02 THN APXHN' MH OTN THS OAIFHS TAÏTH2 
 FHS <I>0ONHZHS, 'H TOTMON 2f!MA nEPIKAAïnTEI." (De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 
 1.-703.) Strabo (Lib. 15.— 1062.) and Arrian (Lib. 6, C. 29.-472. ) vary the concluding 
 fentence of this epitaph. The former reads ^' Mn a ç>^oncrHs," and the latter "Mri a c3ov« ^o< tb 
 ft.nfA.ar®'-" which is more confiftent with the relation of Ariftobulus. Perhaps, however, the 
 whole is a mere fiiSion. 
 
 m "To S'tjAO» o-oi/**, a ■D-aiStj, ira» rcXiurri(ru, fjLvrt cii x?"*'") S»", i/yirt ti apyv^a, jjLvi^e ev «X- 
 fM lAviSiti' aWx rri yn us ■ia.-)(j';a, awoSoTt" Ti 7af T8r« fiaxafiwTffo», Ta 7^ ^ly^tuxi," Xenophon. 
 Cyropaedia. Lib. 8.-658. 4'° Oxon. 1727. 
 
 ■• Hyde. De Religione Veterum Perfarum. C. 34. 
 
 o See the obfervations of Monficur Caylus, Hift. de I'Acad. des Infcriptions. Tom. 29.— 144. 
 — ^Voyages de Le Bruyn, Tom. 4.-393. — Chardin. Tom. 2.-162.
 
 258 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 mode of burial was not in ufe in Perfia, and the Grecian cuflom 
 of interring their dead in (hady groves *■ is introduced amongfl: a 
 people, who were utter ftrangers to fuch rites. The pretended 
 riches in the tomb of Cyrus have alfo been imagined from the 
 common tales, which Ariftobulus incautioufly adopted. Q. Cur- 
 tius hath taken care to undeceive us, and we are told by him, that 
 Alexander exprefTed his furprife, on finding fuch a powerful mo- 
 narch as Cyrus, had been interred with fo little magnificence and 
 pomp. *' 
 
 Arrian informs us, that Cambyfes committed the cuftody of his 
 father's Maufoleum to the Magi, who received a daily allowance 
 of a fheep, a meafure of flour, and one of wine, and every month 
 a horfe, which compofed the facrifices to the fhades of Cyrus. ' 
 
 This 
 
 P Vangocns. Diatribe de Cepotaph. C. 4, 5, 6. 
 
 1 "Auro argentoque repletum cflc crediderat, quippi; ita faina Perfe vulgaverant ; fed prater 
 clypcura ejus putrem, et Arcus duos Scythicos, et aciiiaccm, nihil rcperit. Ceterum corona aurca 
 impofita amiculo, cui adfueverat ipfc, rdium, in quo corpus jacebat, velavit ; miratus tanti nominis 
 regem,tantis prseditum opibus, baud pretiofius fepultumene,quam fi fuiflet e plebe." (Q. Curt. Lib, 
 lO. C- I.Tom. 2,-754.) I haveomilted the "Alexandre, felon cet écrivain, en reconnut la faufle- 
 te," as I am not able to difcover any direfl authority for this opinion, and fuch an acknowledgment 
 would have left Alexander no pretext whatever for the punifliment of Orfincs, which Q. Curtius 
 immediately relates. The crafty Eunuch naturally took advantage of his Mailer's furprife, which 
 might arifc even from his difappointimcntj and the unity of the piece, whether real or fiilitious, 
 is by tbefc means prcfcrved. 
 
 ' " E/»ai ût e»T®^ ru ■ac^iSoXa, -afos rn ayccCaan r^i cat to» Tapov (pe^tKrn, omriiiM a-fiiK^ov this Mayois 
 ■otwoiïifit»ov, Ô; Se Ept(^a(7o■o» to» Kuja Tjipo», sn «wo Ka/xfuo-B T« Kuf», zraiis vjxfx, ■ciaTf®- tK^iy^ptuioi 
 T>j» ÇuXax»». Kai rovrois zj^oÇaron tc u i/xcfM tS/JsTO tn ^aatXius, k, aXiufut te xJ o/»8 riTayiiinx, 1^ 
 iiM»©< K«r« |*»i»ia( It SyaiiCT T« Ki/f«." Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 6, C. eg. —471,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 259 
 
 This account is certainly erroneous. %The Perfians never admitted 
 their departed heroes into the number of their Deities, but their 
 religious opinions are as incorreftly fpoken of in Q. Curtius. Da- 
 rius there facrifices to the local Divinities of Cilicia, ' and Arrian ' 
 is equally exceptionable, when he fuppofes Jupiter to have been 
 addrelfed by the Perftans, who were neither acquainted with his 
 name nor worfliip. In their defence, it may be obferved, that 
 they were perhaps feduced by the moft celebrated authors of an- 
 tiquity, who were as ignorant and miftaken on the fubje6l of the 
 religion of this people. " 
 
 Harpalus efcaped by flight, and avoided the punifliment which 
 Orfines fuffered. This Macedonian officer, during the life of 
 Philip, had been intimately connefted with his Son, and when 
 Alexander mounted the throne, he had the treafury under his 
 
 L L 2 direftion. 
 
 ' "Ipfe in jiigum editi montis adfcendit, miiltifiivic conliicentibus facibus patrio more fatrifici- 
 iim Diis prxfidibus loci fecit." Q. Curt. Lib. 3. C. 8. Tom. 1.--11O. 
 
 • " Eiri to;î 5s «vaTHvai Aafsiov £f TO» Otifawv Toif ;teif ar, xj ti/lauSa; uae. AXX'w Zti; /Sao-iAti', oru 
 
 iut rrit «fxi», iitrntc «» i^ tSwxaj'" Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 4. C. 20. --308. 
 
 ■" The Greeks, as the Baron de St. Croix vcryjuftly obferves, wiflied to impofe iheir religious 
 tenets ("Faire hellenifer en matière de religion" is his expreffion) on all the nations of the 
 earth. In the happy pofleffion of arts, fcienccs, and literature, with a fingular abfurdity, ihcy 
 both invented and propagated the ftrangeft inconfirtencies; and with a few grains of allowance, 
 the reproach of LaiSantiiis, to one of their firft-rate authors may be transferred, without much 
 apprehenfion of impropriety, to their writers of almoft every clafs. "Quorum Ixvitas inftruda 
 dicendi facultate et copia incredibile ell quantas mendaciorum nebulas excitaverit." (De Falfa 
 Religione. Lib. 1.) If we are to believe the modern travellers, the Greeks of our days have not 
 degenerated.
 
 26o CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 dire6lion. But the gratitude of Harpalus was not equal to the 
 new Monarch's patronage and confidence, and liftening to the 
 pernicious counfels of Taurifcus, he mifbehaved in fuch a man- 
 ner, that, from apprehenfions of perfonal danger, he fled to Me- 
 garis, a little before the battle of Iflus." Alexander pardoned him, 
 prevailed on him to return, '' and after placing him at the head of 
 his finances, again intrufted him with the treafury at Ecbatana.* 
 It is neceffary to ftate thefe fa6ls with accuracy, which Arrian 
 hath preferved, becaufe they throw a degree of light on the con- 
 du6l of Harpalus, with which the other hiftorians have not fur- 
 niflied us. All of them fupprefs his firft offence, which (hould be 
 Ipecified, to prevent its being confounded with the crime, of 
 which he was afterwards guilty. The news of the rigid and exem- 
 plary chaftifement, that Alexander had infliéled on the governors, 
 convifted of extortion and opprefTion in the provinces during his 
 abfence, had already reached the ears of Harpalus, whofe conduft 
 was not free from cenfure and fufpicion. Unable to face the ga- 
 thering- 
 
 Tav^iaxu'" Arrian. Exped, Alex, Lib. 3. C. 7.-192. 
 
 > " AgraaAo) St £» T» Msyaf jS/ Çvyri nv' aAA'AAt|avJf®- •S7f(9« avTct >tart\6iiv, CTir«$ ^ovs ovÈit aura 
 1*00» i<«<r6«i tTTj T)) ifvyn- 01/St lyitcro faan\So»Ti, aXS'tzu rut xf/^^Tw» avdis itx^Qyi 'AfwaX®-." 
 
 Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. 7.— 192. 
 
 'AgztaXa Trafoi'&ovmr" (Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. :9.--227.) It is difficult to decide on 
 the greatnefs of the indifcretion, or the generofity of fuch a confidence : we might be templed, in 
 the words of Valerius Maximus, to make the vigorous exclamation, " O ! fiduciam non folum 
 
 fortem fed pene etiam temerariam, quae, acerrimis odiis latera fua cingere aufa eft, ufumquc 
 
 minifterii vix tutum in amicis, e finu inimicorum peterefuftinuit." Lib. 3. C. 7,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 261 
 
 thering florm, this guilty and ungrateful minifter again fled with 
 an efcort of fix thoufand men, that he entertained in his pay, and 
 took refuge at Athens, with a part of the immenfe treafures that 
 he had embezzled. ' O. Curtius relates, '' that ehe Macedonian 
 Monarch " received letters of advice, that Harpalus had indeed 
 entered Athens, and by large fums gained the chief citizens ; 
 notwithflanding which, in an affembly of the people, he had 
 been commanded to leave the town, whereupon he retired to the 
 Greek foldiers, who feized him, and that he was afterwards treache- 
 roufly killed by a certain traveller." ' It is extraordinary that a 
 prifoner, and furrounded by a body of troops, fhould have been 
 affalTmated by an unknown traveller, and little credit is certainly 
 due to fuch an anecdote. 
 
 Harpalus was undoubtedly obliged to quit Athens, as Diodorus 
 Siculus affures'' us, and we may eafily conjefture from the circum- 
 
 ftances, 
 
 =" ' ' 'ApCTa^©' Ss ruv sv Bab uXa»; Svi<rccvfut >y rut zt^oito^uv rm ÇvXannv zniTiçsv^sii®-^ ivei^xt rxvi^x 
 i ^a.tri'kivs eis t»iv IvSix»» erfaTiucsy, ctzsifnu rm tuavoSo» atim' S«s- S'tai;Tov as rpj^riv, • to 
 
 pit» zs^-jirav HS i^^Hs y-jva/nw» >^ vta^amyMs t^uras Ba^Ca^Kif t^tl^ant^' >y TroWx rns ya^ris ax^oRt^cnais 
 
 ■n^ovais xamvaXi/trt»' re St AXi^atoçu (/.ira. rw c^ haut faxm^ov zjoXkas rut aar^xzsut xar^jyo- 
 
 fnoavTas avtAovT©-, Çiofijôas Til» Ti/xwçia», Kiav(T>i.iuxa-ùiij,it^ a^yv^m f^tt rxXcitTX Z!it\jiKi<ryiXia, ^nirOo- 
 Ço^ovs yaOfotaxs s^XKia^tXtHSj aiun^st £k rrts A(Ttv)s, iy axrsTrXÊva'St sis rrit ArriKriv'" (Diod. Sicul. Lib. 
 17. Tom. 2.-245.) '^^^ fi''^ ihoufand talents, according to Lempriere's calculation, amount to 
 £"968, 750, of our money. 
 
 '■ " Litsn ei redduntur; Harpalum intrafTe quidem Athenas, pecunia conciliaflTe fibi princi- 
 pura animos : mox concilie plebis habito juffum urbe cxcedere, ad Grscos milites pervenifle, a 
 quibus intcrceptum et trucidatum a quodam viatore per infidias." Q. Curt. Lib. lO. C .2.— 760. 
 
 ' Digby's Q. Curtius. Vol. 2.-174, 175. 
 
 '' " E|a(T8(AE»©- Îe Stt'a »T/CT«Tf a x^ OXf/iCTiotS©-, >y -aoXf^x ^^(iura o(aSus reus tcrff avru S>if*))- 
 yefBtrifijTofo-/, S/eJ^»'" Diod. Sicul, Lib. 17. Tom. 2. -.-245,
 
 202 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 fiances, M'hich Plutarch mentions on the exile of Demollhenes, 
 that he was not attended by his men to Athens/ When he left 
 this city, he joined them at Taenarus in Laconia, where they had 
 been ftationed, ' and he afterwards retired into the ifland of Crete, 
 where Thimbron, one of his affociates, who afterwards pofleffed 
 himfelf of Cyrene, retaliated his treafon on him, and flew him. ^ 
 This Thimbron was certainly the traveller of Q. Curtius, and he 
 is guilty of an anachronifm, in fixing the death of Harpalus be- 
 fore that of Alexander, Arrian aflerts, that the faithlefs treafurer 
 of the Macedonian Monarch furvived his mafter, and Diodorus 
 Siculus may pofiibly add fome flrength to his evidence. '' The 
 
 faying 
 
 * It is a rcafonable inference from Plutarch's filence, who mentions only Harpalus. The hif- 
 tory of his reception at Athens merits fome attention. " 0/ jkev x\Koi fuTojec euÔw swoffljiA/jna- 
 (TJtvTts TTf OS Tov ctXbto», £to))S«v, Kj minHH^onus A^motias otysir^xi i^ aru?fiy ray Jxfrij»* ô Je AtifMa-Bms 
 XjguTot fxiv am>.xvyeiv fffvE/ooXtw toï 'AfWaXov, j^ ÇvXxIrtaSxi /at) rm wo?,iy i/xÇa^ua-t» eis ■sjoXf/xo», c^ ova 
 /tvxÏKxixs K, aSiKH 'a^oipxji:^!'" Twenty talents, however, (£^3974) and a cup of great value, to- 
 tally changed the queftion, and the trimming Orator, by a convenient hoarfenefs, had the next 
 day loft his voice. The wits of Athens termed it a Silver Quinfy. " Kxi /j^cê' ■i^t^xv cu ^ kxXus 
 thiols K) rxitixi! xxTX TB Tfa;^>)Xoy xaT!Xi|a/iEv®-, as mv exxXncr/a» zj^oriXSi' x^ xcKrjotrut x>itx(t9xi kL 
 Xtyan, S;£>t!;£w is «iroMxo/i/AfHK avru rris Çumis' ôi S'ti/Çufiir nMuxl^oyrcs, ax Izyo o-jsxfxns eÇ>^x^oii, aXKx 
 «w'APrYPArXHS iiMp^xi rjxruiç to» ^vifixyMyor" De Vit. Demoft. Plut. Opera. Tom, 1.— 857. 
 
 * " KasTuftw m Txitx^ou crfos TBs/Anrô-.pofoys*" He had before exprefslyfaid, " rvs Se /aio-So- 
 
 Ço^ovs xTrtMiTt zjtPi Tanx^oy rns Axxmi)ins'" Died. Sicul. Lib. jy, Tom. 2.-245, 
 
 * AixXx/jMxtH de us 0/Ê'fw» ô AaxùaiiAtin®' 'AfiraXov (ro» rx AA£|a»J(!s jjj x/Aara, ^wvr®^ cxHvov, 
 açrrxiTxvTx, >y Çvyotrx ■aços txs A9mxs) tstov Exffv©- arooxrf/vaf, iCj ôa-x aWEXiWfro XaÇuv ^f «ftaiT* 
 VfuTx iA.it tzji K.vSwtixt TMï ECTi KfiiTJij EfaA))'" Photii Biblioth. 217. 
 
 •> Diodorus Siculus. Lib. 18. Tom, 2 The Baron de St. Croix's expreffion is, "Il eft de- 
 montre parle témoignage de Diodoreet d'Arrien." I have been under the neceffity of lowering 
 its import, as Diodorus Siculus does not demonftrate what the Baron de St. Croix imagined. He 
 takes up again the hirtory of Harpalus in the eighteenth book, but without fixing the precife 
 
 time
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 263 
 
 faying alfo of Diogenes, who died in the fame year with Alexan- 
 der, which Cicero' hath left us, confirms the account of the Greek 
 hiflorian. The Cynic philofopher made a praftice of citing Har- 
 palus, as an inftance of the inattention of the Gods, and reproached 
 them with their long connivance at the happinefs and good fortune 
 of the traitor. The expulfion of Harpalus from the Attic ter- 
 ritories, may be dated in the third year of the 1 13"' Olympiad, 
 in the Archonfhip of Chrêmes, '" two years before the death of 
 Alexander. Ulher' fuppofes, with fome probability, the affalTi- 
 nation of Harpalus to have happened the year after his Mailer's 
 death, and 323 years before Chrift, when Cephifodorus was Ar- 
 chon. The Jefuit Petau "' includes the flight and death of Har- 
 palus in the fame year, but he relies on Arrian and Diodorus 
 Siculus for his authority, and Arrian dire6lly contradifts him. — 
 Alexander's intention of returning into Europe, is not mentioned 
 
 by 
 
 time of the events which he relates. " 'iifsraXs yaj rot ik rris Aa-ixs Sfao-fxoy 'aoina-afj.tta, xj xart- 
 Ai/a'«i'T®' ets KfJiT«» iJ.iTcc ruit (xiaôopofaiVj xxSûctti^ £» T»i cifo rxvTris /3/bAw StoJiAfxa/^f». ©i/*tf«» lis 
 Twy ÇiXujv Kî^iCofAfiv®-, ûo?i0^ovi3(T«î Tov 'i^ç-MTjeXoy, kv^ios syatro ruv ^^y]f/.tzTuv k^ ruv ^^ariurutv ovruf 
 i'7traKi(7X,'^i>"'" (Lib. 18. Tom. 2. --272.) From this paffage it might even be fuppofed that 
 Harpalus was aflTaflinated foon alter his tfcape into Afia. 
 
 ■ " Diogenes quidera Cynicus, dicere folebat, Harpalum, qui temporibus illis prxdo fclix ha- 
 bebatur, contra Deos tellimonium dicere, quod in ilia fortunâ lam diu viveret." Cicero de Na- 
 turâ Dsorum, Lib, 3. Tom. 2.-514. 
 
 * Corfini. Fait. Auic. Tom. 4.— 40. 
 
 ' UfTerii Annales. 2:5. Folio. Genev, 1722, 
 
 "■ Petav. Dod. Temp. Lib. 13. Tom. 2.-597. "L'autorité de Diodore et d'Arrien fur 
 lef(jMels il s'appuye lui font abfoluraent contraires." I have varied the cxpreffion for it was not 
 warranted.
 
 264 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 by any hiftorian, Q. Curtlus excepted, aad its execution muft 
 have been at that time very prejudical to the Prince's intereft, who 
 had jufl met with a fevere misfortune in the lofs of Hephaeftion, 
 and was in great afflidion for him. We are told by fome authors 
 that Glaucias, the unfortunate phyfician was crucified, " that Alex- 
 ander conduced in perfon the car, which conveyed Hephaeflion's 
 remains to the tomb, and that the temple of ^Efculapius at Ecba- 
 tana, was by his orders razed to the ground. It is alfo faid, that 
 the Oracle of Jupiter Ammon was applied to, and confulted on 
 the propriety of divine honours to the Favourite. ° It is however 
 doubtful, if iîLfculapius was known at Ecbatana, and Arrian hath 
 judicioudy reje6led thefe abfurd marks of regret, which he con- 
 fiders as indecent in a Sovereign, and more adapted to the cha- 
 rafter of a Barbarian. '' 
 
 Plutarch and fome other writers,'' appear to have compiled 
 
 thefe 
 
 " " 0( oj, >y m-/ lecr^ot rAawjav on i^^iy.aai, j^ todtov us czji (paçiJ.oi.ii.u xaxus Soflsuri* 01 Jt 
 
 r^ TO «îf^z-ca Ep'oTu) to truif/.cc iÇs^tTO, avT©^ fc-;v ore riviO^H rovTO'^ a>^Mi Je, ot/ Kj tov AcrxAï]î7/0f To 
 
 «Soi t» ExCaravois jtaraaxai^ai EXf^twE"" Arrian, Exped. Alex. Lib. n, C. 14.--5O9, 510. 
 
 " " Oi oi XiytKTiv oT( ;^ «J A/a;*4i»©< tWE|iA\J/Ev, tfn(7oitt)isi TotQiotj CI lij us Qtu^vin (jvyy(u(ii'ii^»i(z- 
 Tiini'" Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. C. 14.— 510. 
 
 P " OuSa^» cifoy E/iOiyE Kiynnis BafS'afixov S»i TMTo, ti, sJa^jj AAE|avîfw ■crfoa-Co- 
 
 fov." (Arrian. Exped. Alex, Lib. 7, C, 14.--509. 510.) ^lian and Plutarch, whilfttheyre- 
 portthefafls, admit their impropriety. "AAX'i»T«u5a( ewevSei Baf(3afixwf AXE|avSc®. tiS»." (iEli- 
 
 an. Var. Hift. Lib. 7. C. 8. Tom, 1,-486.) '-Tai^Ta/AEw «» «Js/iA/aî ;^açiT©- »iy «5e t/. 
 
 (ins, oka h Ba^^cc^ixn, >^ T^vifns ^ a>.a)^onias im^ci^is as xcicc yy a(^r,Xx tw zji^mciat ^ixTiBi/xoim." 
 (De Vit. Pelopid. Plut. Opera. Tom.i.--296, 297.) Juftin hath alfo '«Quern coiura decus re- 
 gium Alexander diuluxit." Lib. 12. C. 12.— 335. 
 
 1 ^Uan.Var. Hift, Lib.7. C. S.Tom. 1 .-483-487.-LUC. Caluran. non tem. crea.Tom. 3.-1 47, 148.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 265 
 
 thefe fables without any judgment, but the Greek philofophi* 
 cal hiftorian affures us alfo, that Alexander levelled the bat- 
 tlements and parapets on the walls of the neighbouring cities, 
 and cut off the hair of the horfes and mules. ' This laft fpe- 
 cies of mourning is not in the leaft improbable, as it was a Per- 
 fian cuftom, which he might have followed, and the army 
 of Mardonius, from the fame refpeftful motives, clipped their 
 horfes and other beafls of burthen on the death of Mafifti- 
 us/ Diodorus Siculus' informs us, that Alexander went ftill 
 farther, and commanded the Aliatics to extinguifh their facred 
 fire, which was only cuftomary on the deceafe of the kings of 
 Perlia. This writer adds likewife, that Hephaeftion died from 
 the confequences of intemperance at Ecbatana, " and not at 
 
 M M Babylon, 
 
 * *'AXt|««îj©'ô ftsyaî, 'H})a;r'wv©'a'B-oôayi)»T®', a /[iovov iViraj ixsiff J^ iî;x(oy«f, aWu li, ras fnix\- 
 î,(i: afi.XB rm ti'x^v, m m Soxoifv «. otoXe/s znyB^it." (De Vit. Pelopid. Plut. Opera. Tom. i. 
 — aq6.) "T«To bSeïi Xo7((7(iu) To'EraS®' AXE|a!ïSf®-w£yxe», «M'tufcs-fw» iWsf Te xei^ai tomtos im 
 •BEV^Ei, K, iiJ.iov>is £x:X£vcrcy, t^ Twv 131^1^ ■aaXiuv aÇciXcv Tas i'nx\ieis." De Vit. Alex. Plut. Ope- 
 ra. Tom. 1.— 704. 
 
 » " AiriMfA.ins Se thî Jirwa ts to ç^aro-nt^oy, ci»S©- E'jro/»i<7-a»To Ma<r/r'B wao-a ri fi rfarm ^ MafSo. 
 «.©-//.Eyis-oï- aÇsas n auras xnfoms, Kg rus lirms >y Ta imol^vyia, oi(*«yD Tf x?""/*"»' a'^^fru-" He- 
 rod. Lib. 9.--7O2. 
 
 « " Hao-i Se Toiî x.x.Ta T>!» Affia» oinu<ri TsçoorralE n zjacx rots Ut^a-ais Ufot iKf xa?.BfiEvo» iTTifitXas 
 «Çtcai, iMx^i a» T£^E<^» rmtxÇo^a*' rura h iiu^ticat ôi liifa-ai noiti» ««Ta ras rm^aa-Acu» riMuras. 
 
 Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.--250. 
 
 ■w "Aiîjwo-iï as Yj^araia rm MiiSias" 1» ô« 'HÇjuriwv oxaifOK f*i9a(î X?*"'*'*"®'' ^'^'Ç''"""^' 
 
 «fçuTia, TO» f/ov x«T£Ai7»v" (Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.-247.) P.lutarch is rathermore cir- 
 cumftaiitial. " 'fis Se we» fls ExÇ«Tava tw Mv^.as mx' ^' ^'f '''" ^1^'^" ""'"" '""
 
 266 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO TPIE LIFE 
 
 Babylon, which was reported, * as appears from Polyaenus. ' 
 The details, into which Diodorus Siculus hath entered, refpefting 
 the pompous funeral, that Alexander bellowed on his Favourite, 
 and the fumptuous monument, which he erefted to his memoiy, 
 are liable to lefs objeclion, as they agree with the rules of art. * 
 Iphippus of Olinthus, compofed a work on the deaths of Alex- 
 ander and Hephaeftion, * and Diodorus Siculus appears to have 
 extraded his information from it. 
 
 The Conqueror of Afia advanced towards Babylon, and the 
 deputies of numerous and diflant nations, met him with congratu- 
 lations on his different fucceffes. Lybians, Carthaginians, Bruti- 
 ans, Lucanians, Tufcans, Scythians, Celts, and people, who had 
 fcarcely ever heard of the Macedonian name, haftened to offer 
 their homage " to the Conqueror of the Eaft, or rather to his 
 
 fortune. 
 
 tat ets ro Scarfo* ctij i a^i^or ysmij.st®', ty xxra^xyuit x'Kix.r^imx iipSo», >^ ■^vx.rn^fx fuyat iKinvt oiiu, 
 xatuus cv^er, >y lux^or iia\mut avcSxtsi'" De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.-704. 
 
 * "Comme Juftin et Polyen l'ont fauflement avance." I have been again under the dilagree- 
 able neceffity of deviating from the French fentence. With refpedl to Juftin, the charge is total- 
 ly without foundation. " Dum haec aguntur, unus ex amicis ejus Hephecftion decedit," (Lib. 
 12. C. » 2.-335.) " '^'s account of the Favourite's death, in which Babylon, is neither menti- 
 oned nor referred to. 
 
 » " 'Hxt» T1Î «tTiXA»)» 'Hfa(f<4in» B«ffX«;»< TfS»))xeir." (Polysenus. Lib. 4. C. 3."354-) I flat- 
 ter myfelf the " 'Hm» tii ay&XXai»" will juftify the alteration that 1 have made. 
 
 ^ Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.-250,251. — Hift. de I'Acad. des Infcriptions. Tom. 31.-76. 
 Their confufed ornaments, the Baron de St. Croix hath, notwithftanding, already cri<icifed. 
 
 ' Athenacus. Lib. 4. Tom. 1.—146. 
 
 ^ "Babylonemad Alexandrum ex omnibus fere orbis terrarum partibus legati venerunt. Nam 
 jpriEtei eos quos Aliae natione^ civitates et principes miferant; etiain jnulti ex Africa et Europl le- 
 gati
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, iSj 
 
 fortune. Diodorus Siculus' declares in general terms, that the 
 inhabitants of the extenfive country, between the northern fides of 
 the Adriatic gulph and the pillars of Hercules, difpatched ambaf- 
 fadors to him. Ariftus and Afclepiades, '' have left an account of 
 the audience given to the Roman envoys, and tell us, that 
 Alexander, having learnt from them many particulars, rela- 
 ting to their government and manners, predi6led the future great- 
 nefs of the Roman empire. Clitarchus adopted, with his ufual 
 credulity, the embaffy. ' Arrian fufpefts it with reafon, ' and gives 
 
 Mm 2 little 
 
 gati acceflerunt. Ex Africa, »b Hammoniis, /Ethiopibus, Canhaginienfibus cjcterifque Pœnis, et 
 cunAis qui mare ufque ad Columiias Herculis accolebant. Ex Europâ, a Grzecorum civitatibu^ 
 et Macedonibus, Thracibus, Illyriis et Scythis, Brutiis quoque Lucanis, ac Tufcis Italiam colen- 
 tjbus, Siciliae et Sardinix infuUs ; ab Hifpanis etiam ac Gallis, quorum nomina ac cultum tutti 
 primum Macedones cognoverunt." UlTerii Annales. 207. 
 
 ^ *'Xwf(f yxf Tuv xvo nns A(Tixs eSvwv, :^ CTC-XtaiVj trt ࣠Avyxcuv ijoWoi j^ twv fx Trit Eu^o'ffTjr iù 
 
 ruf'B^axt^Hin^v^m." Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.-249. 
 
 ** " Afif^ Se iy AtruX-rmixotiS Twv Tx AXc^xvo^a xvxyçx^xvrwv, Kj Pw/xaiHr XcÇsffi* on I'JTfiaQiXfffav" 1^ 
 
 rot T£ X0(T/AO» TO» XW^UI lSo»Ta K, TO ^lXoWO»0» T£ î^ cKluilflOt, ;^ CTEfi TS ■aoXlTfVfAMT®- ajiCl S<aVf>Ca«0- 
 
 j*£»o»." Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. C. 15 — 514. 
 
 « "Clitarchus Icgationem ad Alexandrura miiïani." Plin, Hift. Nat. Lib. 
 
 3. Tom. 1,-324. 
 
 ' "Kaj TBTO BT« is «TfJXfS, UTC US X-KlTOt "nxiTri Xyt'/^X'^X' tjXïlV yi Si) BTt T(f PufA/XIU» iWIf TDÎ 
 
 açiS^nxs TXVTris, Us waja AXt|iJ(»ïfoï fx\n<nts, /aïd//.»» E7ro;»!7aTo T/»a, aSt ran rx AXtJa»of(i yfaxj'*'" 
 Tw» (Ô1J T<(7i ;*3t>iAoï eyw Jiyxf ffo/x<ai) nToXe^xai©' ô Aïya ^ Af irofsX®"* aJi Tw Puixxioii ■sroAiTttiftnTi 
 iirtoix®. IV, sXiuâtça Si) ToT£ IS rx /jixXifx otri, 'ax^x pxinXix «XXopuXo», aXXus « >^ is roa-mSi xno rris 
 uxeixs TD^iaCtvirai, en IfaQa £^»»ay)t*^o»T®-, ars x^t'eXtiS* w^fXaar, yuan T£, fc7r»f mas aXXar, r« tv- 
 çanix» ynas ri >^ ojoftar®. xiT£;(o^£»oyf." (Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. C. 15.— 5»40 1'' 
 tus Livy is of opinio:), that even the Fame of Alexander's exploits, hid not reached Rome. 
 " Quern ne fama quide.a illis notum arbitrer fuiffe." Lib. g. C. t8. Tom, 2.— go8.
 
 268 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 little credit to this ftrange catalogue of people, fuppofed to have 
 fent deputies to Alexander, which he only fpeaks of as a common re- 
 port, deferving no attention in his work. The refutation of fables 
 does not fall within the province of hiftor)% it ought to be found- 
 ed only on an affemblage of truth or probabilities ; a critical 
 examination of fafts, is the fcafPolding of the buildings 
 
 >l-Amongfl; the projefts, which Alexander had in view after his 
 return from his Indian expedition, Q. Curtius fuppofes one very 
 appofite to the charafter of the Macedonian Monarch, but fhe 
 means of carrying it into execution, can only have been imagined 
 by the Latin hiftorian. The governors of Mefopotamia, as we 
 are told by him, were ordered to cut down the wood on mount 
 Libanus, from whence it was to be tranfported to Thapfacus, A 
 number of feven oared veflels were defigned to be conftrufted there, 
 and they were afterwards to drop down to the fea by Babylon, ^ 
 and to form a Macedonian fleet. Thapfacus was fituated on the 
 Euphrates, at the diftance of four thoufand eight hundred ftadia 
 from Babylon, according to the calculations of Hipparchus, but 
 Eratofthenes reduces the diftance, *■ and the former writer after- 
 wards 
 
 8 "Mefopotamiaeprœtoritus impera\»it, materia in Libaiio monte csefa, deveOaque adurbemSy- 
 riae Thapfacum, ingentium carinas navium ponere : feptiremes omnes effe, deducique Babylonem." 
 <l. Curt. Lib. 10. C. 1. Tom. 2.-749, 75°' 
 
 * " Awo BaS'tXa'»©' RÎ ©aij/axov atai ^aôms rira,>U(Tyi\ies mracnoaiHs' (Strabo. Lib. 2.--130.) 
 This feems to have been the opinion of Hipparchus: Eratofthenes differs with him. "Oi/Tawt- 
 f »»«ro aSa^B ^x^<:a^ms rm ea^axcii fns Bafi-X«*©. 'a^os uc^kths ma^ai ■aKaacit v 7tT^axi(7X'>.iois i^ 
 
 'ainTOix.orioit
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 269 
 
 wards reckons three thoufand ftadia, from Babylon to the mouths 
 of the Euphrates. ' Reafoning from nautical principles, on the 
 proportions, which the ancients allowed to their feven oared gal- 
 lies, "^ they mull have drawn thirty-nine feet eight inches of water, 
 nearly what the modern three deckers of 100 guns require, and 
 it is not poffible to believe that in the Euphrates, at fuch a diftance 
 from the fea, there could have been a depth of water for veflels 
 of that burthen. At this diftance alfo from the fea, the alTiftancc 
 of the tide to float them muft undoubtedly have been wanting, 
 Polybius' informs us, that the Euphrates was very low in winter, 
 though it was increafed in the fummer-months from the melting 
 of the fnow upon the mountains ; but as the water of the river, 
 during the heatof fummer, was diverted into a thoufand channels, 
 for the purpofe of refrefhing the country, the ftream of the Eu- 
 phrates could be fcarcely navigable, and ftill lefs adequate to the 
 tranfport of troops, and the various ftores and implements of war. 
 
 The 
 
 ztcvraxotTiois rxSiois'" (Strabo. Lib. 2.— 131.) Thp Baron de St. Croix fuppofed lliem to have 
 agreed. 
 
 " " EvTfu5tt S'tm ras txSoXas t» Eu^gara r^iirj^i'Kiiss'" Strabo. Lib. 2.— 134. 
 
 •■ Scheffer. De Milit. Nav. Vet. Lib. 1. C. 4. 
 
 ' " IvfjiSxtiei, rm iirtvamx» Çi/mv tp(pt reroti rots oXarou mv «or«/iw»* toiî ^tv yao aWois av^îlxi 
 TO ftvi^ce, xaS'ôw at zi^erns ^la^tgotTai toiths' jy fA.iys^oi /ai» uti xxrcc Toy yetnutst, Txitanri^oi Se Axrx 
 tin axjjLiiv T8 SffBf ' «T©- OE >^ uXas"©- yi[tcrxi ru ^ivjaxti xara; Ku»©- ewtoAïiv, 1^ (xEyif®- cv rois xxtx 
 Sff/a» TOWO/Î* aci Se ts^oiun c>,xt1u>' aiTiot ot Tsro'i', on n'/A^xtm, rm j»ev av^rurn ux ix Ttif av^^'irtm 
 rut yftiu^ituv ofjtSguv, aK\'tx riis avxT^^ius rut yjatuv yiyna^'hxi' tu» Se ^tMudit oi« rxi ixx^vncii rets twi 
 T)jïj^aifav, yÇ, rot i/sçi<rijkai otvrv to» ilti rxix^liva&s. 'h >C, tote ./3f aSaa» avfiJoaitei yi'tta^xi rr,t xo/a.!^ 
 Sîi» Tw» SuKxfiEfti», «TE xxrayoiAut fiit otrm rut TuMiut, rxianarxru Se ra zToTx/jt-a, >y re>^ius tf «X" '''' '"'' 
 «fy8<r»ï T»J tb fEVfAfliT©' (S/ow t^oj TO» ■ktXs»*" Polybius. Lib. 9. C. 43. Tom, 3.-181,
 
 270 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 The Armenians, on this account, when they dercended as low as 
 Babylon, made ufe of little ofier boats which they covered with 
 {kins, "■ and even in the place, intended for the dock-yard of the 
 feven oared gallies, there was a ford, when the Macedonian army 
 crofTed the Euphrates to enter Mefopotamia. " The whole there- 
 fore proves, that the proje6l inftead of being Alexander's, was only 
 the imaginary one of Q. Curtius. " 
 
 The prédirions of Calanus, of the foothfayer Pythagoras, and 
 thofe of the Chaldaeans, as well as a multitude of other prefages, 
 which announced the diffolution of the Conqueror of Afia, have 
 
 been 
 
 m "Ta îjXoi* avni(7i tçi rx kxtcc to» 'Oorafjiot ooftuo^tvaf ts to» BatffuXwva tonrx xtxXarifta, zranrx 
 axariyx' iTrca» yxgiy roiai Aç(«»ioiffi Toio'i xaTfirtfSt A<nrv^w» oDciit-iKitri yofi^xs inris rxiMjxiKi aomeruv 
 rcci, ■crejiT«veo-J tbtoio-i SdpStfaJ reyjsrfiSas- «|«Se», tSaipe®- rfoiro», are -agu/xtriv amxgmtrss urt zs^a- 
 PU» (rj»ayo»TEf, aXX'aaTriS®- Tf oiro» xwcXoTtft* CTOnia'«»T«f, j^ xxXaitm tjX-iivxtris irxt to uXojo» thto, arrt- 
 «<n KxrxrotztorxiMv^e^ia-ùai, ÇofTiw» ■EjX»(7-a»TEf." Herod. Lib, 1.— 92. 
 
 n "II y avoit au milieu de ce fleuve un guè, lorfque l'armée Macédonienne traverra l'Euphra- 
 te pour entrer dans la Mefapotamie." The Baron de St. Croix, for the proof of this aflêrtion, 
 refers his readers to the feventh chapter of the third book of Arrian. I cannot pretend to re- 
 concile either the " KxrxXa/jil^am ïuoj» ycÇvfccif tÇtt/rfitvo» to» Trojo»"" or the " Kai tcri ru 5f ov ^m- 
 Y11Î n yi^vfx w t^tuy^tryi tr t£ oe iirt tîj» a^tnzjtfxs o^wj», -rots ^xxîooat ortpLxivoviri fx-rt zzjtQotvro 01 xfi-Ct 
 Ma^aio» TJ) ytipufa, !»a iwawTO'" with his conftruflion. The " Kai ti/fltu wf tpi/yt Ma§»i®-, <i«0A>i- 
 Sqirix» XI yi((ni(xi Ti) oj^fli) T>) zjcixt, nxi ùiiÇri i-n' oivTut^ui Ttt TfxTix AAe^avSf®.'" (Arrian. Exped. 
 Alex. Lib. 3. C. 7.— 193-) is in a more peremptory ftyle of contradidion. 
 
 • Yet Ariftobulus relates, according to Arrian, the defcent of fome veffels of burthen from 
 I'hapfacus to Babylon. *' KxrtXxSt St e» BxCeXu», us Myti A^iro/SeX©-, ixi to »aaT(xo», to fxi» hxtx 
 
 TO» Ew^f«T»i» ijoTxtAJn avxviitXtvx®^ xtta SaXouwiif Tns ïlt^aiytyis' to Se ex 4>o/»(x>iî a»axExojiiWf4i»o», 
 
 fnnri^eis fu» Sira t«» ex <1>oj»ixw», Ts!fnj«f St Tf «r, T^iuf at Sc SniSixa, Tfiaxo»Tof«f Se eî Tjiaxo»Ta' tow- 
 •rxs ^xmfvriQuiTxs Miua-^iitxi etti to» tvtp^x-rrn ooTa/*o» tx *oi»ixnî ej ©ai}'*'"'» tJoXi»* txs St |f(AWi);^S«= 
 «•«< «Aij i«aT«iXiv9-«i «J B«f tXiiva." Arrian. £xped. Alex. Lib, 7, C, ig.--52a, 523,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 27» 
 
 been reprefented in melancholy and fombre colours by the hifto- 
 rians, to render, according to Plutarch's ideas, ■■ the laft concluding 
 fcene of Alexander's life more flriking and pathetic, and to give 
 it a tragical effed, both produ6live of terror and of pity. Such at- 
 tempts are, notwithftanding, more proper for the ftage, as Poly- 
 bius hath ably remarked in his obfervations on the death of 
 Agathocles, '' and the hiftorians who related it. The fame ob- 
 fervations are applicable to the writers of the life of Alexander, 
 though they may be entitled to fome indulgence. The incertitude 
 of all fublunary things, hath been, in every age, a favourite fubje6t 
 of mournful declamation, and the fudden and inftantaneous ex- 
 change of a throne for the dreary grave, is frequently dwelt 
 , upon with a gloomy confolation, as it levels all diflindions, and 
 ' reduces the monarch and the fubjeft to the fame equality. 
 
 The difaftrous omens, which preceded the death of the Conque- 
 ror of Afia, were not invented by the hiftorians, and Plutarch is not 
 juftified in fuch fuggeftions. The different prediftions, to which fu- 
 perftition lent afterwards its aid, were circulated with officious induf- 
 try, by almoft all the governors of the conquered provinces ; in fome 
 inftances from motives of intereft, in others from apprehenfions for 
 their perfonal fecurity. Confcious of many a6ls of extortion and 
 
 oppreflion, 
 
 t " 'fliTWff SgxiA.xT®' lityaJiU r^xyimi i|oS/oi> j^ wtfiwaSt; w^ayavrtj*" De Vit. Alex. Plut. 
 Opera. Tom. 1.--706. 
 
 1 Polybius. Lib. 15. C. 33, 34. Tom. 3.--562. The fentiments of Polybius will not admii 
 of abbreviation : by an introdudlion of them at length, I might offend againft the very rules, 
 which the judicious author lays down, in the paffages that are referred to.
 
 272 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 oppreiïion, that Alexander in fimilar employments had feverely 
 punifhed, they naturally wifhed to keep their mafter at a diftance, 
 and to prevent, as long as they were able, his return to the capi- 
 tal, where his leifure would have afforded him an opportunity of 
 inveftigatirig their conduft, from which they had every thing to 
 fear. Under thefe circumftances, Appolodorus of Amphipolis, 
 who had the command at Babylon, prevailed upon his brother 
 Pythagoras the foothfayer to favour his defigns, and he difcovered, 
 with obfequious ingenuity, portentous appearances in the entrails 
 of the vi£lims, which forbade the Macedonian Monarch's entry 
 into the city. ' 
 
 The Chaldaean priefts had alfo ferious reafons of alarm, and 
 they feconded the governor's endeavours from the fame princi- 
 ples, which Arrian hath explained to us. Xerxes, on his return 
 from his unfortunate expedition againft Greece, had deftroyed the 
 Temples of every denomination at Babylon, and even the celebra- 
 ted one of Belus, which was immenfely rich, had not efcaped the 
 general deftruftion. To this Temple of Belus, the kings of Affy- 
 ria had annexed confiderable demefnes, and a great revenue was 
 fet apart to defray the expences of the priefts and facrifices. From 
 the time of its deftrudion, however, the Chaldaean priefts con- 
 tinued in quiet and undifturbed polTeflion of the fums, appropriated 
 
 for 
 
 • *' tSritvtrius yiwi(uns Mira AwoXXoSwf» t« ^garnyts -ns BaGvXui®^, us «ii -aigi owrn TtSt^/xs»©-, 
 maXa Tlv^ayo^at to» fMiiTtf' ux afvB/A£»a St m» ft^a^iv, tfait>)*e Tuv itf«» to» rpmoi' CtjaavT©' St on to 
 WafwaAofo», Xla-mut {eiTut) itrxu^oy to ayif^ot,'' De Vit, Alex, Plut. Opera. Tom. 1—705.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 273 
 
 for its ufe ; and though Alexander had given orders for the re- 
 building of the temple, the work proceeded very flowly in his 
 abfence. To give more rapidity to the execution, he had deter- 
 mined to employ his troops in it, and the Chaldaean priells, fear- 
 ful, both, of being called to account for thefums, which they had 
 received, and being deprived of their future revenues, publiflied 
 many predictions, that the entry of Babylon would be fatal to its 
 new Mafter, and invented likewife many omens, with the hopes of 
 preventing his approach. ' 
 
 If Alexander had appeared to have given credit to thele 
 prophecies and prefages, he muft have weakened the belief of 
 his Divinity, which he wiflied to propagate. His ambition was 
 to pafs for an Immortal, and fully fenfible of the advantages to 
 be reaped from fuch a received opinion, both in Greece and Afia, 
 he was little folicitous whether death deftroyed the illufion, pro- 
 vided the fuppofition of it, in his life, impreffed the world with 
 awe, and afhfted him in the completion of his great defigns. Q. 
 Curtius, in Alexander's fpeech to Hermolaus, hath extremely well 
 developed the Macedonian Monarch's condu6l. " It ' was ridicu- 
 
 N N lous 
 
 acoSov ECT/o-x^v f» TO) tJafovT)'" (Appian. de Bell. Civil. Lib. 2. Tom, 2.-853.) '-Tivas ivrv'^en 
 avru XaXlxias, ■uafaivoyvTasa'Osjjso-Sai BafuA.w»©' tow AX£|aySjow*" De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. 
 Tom. 1.--7O5. 
 
 ' "lUud pene dignum rifu fuit, quod Hermolaus poflulabat a me, ut adverfarer Jovem, cujus 
 oraculo agnofcor. An etiam quod Dii refpondeant, in meâ poteftate eft? Obiulit iiomen filii 
 
 tnihi :
 
 2 74 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 lous enough in Hermolaus, that he would have had me oppofe 
 Jupiter, who thought fit by his Oracle to own me for his fon : 
 Do the anfwers of the Gods depend on me ? he was pleafed to 
 offer me the title of Son ; and I thought, to receive it, would very 
 much contribute to the fuccefs of what I had in view ; I wifli the 
 Indians could be perfuaded that I was a God ; for war depends 
 much upon Fame, and fometimes a falfe report believed has had 
 the effeft of a truth." " 
 
 The Conqueror of the Eaft often employed the means of Su- 
 perftition, when they were likely to be ferviceable to him, and had 
 frequently recourfe to them with fuccefs. When he defired to 
 remove a fubjeft, whofe fidelity was fufpicious, Ariftander inter- 
 preted one of the Prince's dreams agreeable to his inclination, and 
 Alexander the fon of ^Erope was difmifled. " The accidental ap- 
 pearance of an eagle was fufficient to rejeft the opinion of Parmenio,'' 
 and to counteraél the influence of this old and able general with the 
 troops. The Greeks were to be intimidated, and their anxiety appea- 
 fed ; a thoufand prefages immediately announced the deftru6lion of 
 
 Thebes. 
 
 mihi: recipere ipfis rebus, quas agimus, haud alienum fuit, Utinam Indi quoque Deum efl"e me 
 credant, Fama enim bella confiant ; et fspe etiara, quod falfo creditum eft, veri vicem obtinuit." 
 
 Q. Curt. Lib. 8. C. 8. Tom. 2,--6i5, 6i6. 
 
 « Digby's Q, Curtius. Vol. a.-.go. 
 
 * The dream, and the interpretation may be found in Arrian, Exped. Alex. Lib. j, C. 25. 
 --90, gj. 
 
 " Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 1. C. 18.-70, 7».
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 275 
 
 Thebes. ^ Alexander's einifï'aries undoubtedly augmented tliefe 
 prodigies, and increafed their number in proportion to the cf- 
 fetls, which they were intended to produce, but the hiftorians of 
 his life cannot be charged with the invention of them. They 
 might adopt them incautioufly without confidering how they ori- 
 ginated, and they may have applied them to the Macedonian 
 Monarch without examination, but it is time to return to the 
 circumftances which attended his death. 
 
 In a fragment of the Ephemerides preferved by Arrian, " and 
 copied incorreftly by Plutarch, '' we have a daily account of the 
 progrefs of the Macedonian Monarch's lafl malady, and its fymp- 
 toms are fo accurately ftated, as to render a miftake impoffible 
 on the caufe of its fatal termination. 
 
 Having paffed the day with Médius in play, notwithftanding 
 he had a feverifh complaint, he indulged himfelf in eating in the 
 evening. " Ariftobulus relates, that being in a high and burning 
 fever, with a great third, he ftill made free with wine, and a de- 
 lirium following in confequence of this imprudence, he died the 
 
 N N 2 twenty- 
 
 » vEUan. Var. Hift. Lib. 12. Tom. 2.--821— — .823. — Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom, 2.-167, 
 168. — Faufanias. Lib. 9. C. 6.-724. 
 
 » Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. C. 25. --537, 538. 
 
 <> De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. i."7o6. 
 
 * " A/»iiitf EUE CTf M M>iSio» xuffti/w»* aT*o4/£ Aoi/0'a/xï»®., )^ Ta îtf« TOit 0£«f ewS»ï, tf*^«yw», Siawx- 
 TM twjE^e»'" De Vit, Alex. Plut, Opera. Tom. i.--7o6.
 
 2/6 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 twenty-eighth day of the month Daefius. '' This account agrees 
 in general with the Ephemerides, with that of Diodorus Siculus, ' 
 and many other authors, though Q. Curtius and Juftin perfuade 
 us, that Alexander was poifoned. The two Latin hiftorians pre- 
 tend, that Alexander's fucceiïbrs had power fufficient to ftifle the 
 proofs of their guilt, and prevented the communication of it to 
 pofterity. ' But a different conclufion may, perhaps, be more rati- 
 onally 
 
 rix<rai, >^ rt^svTna-ai, rfixxioi Aai<rt!>vfj.rims'" De Vit, Alex, Plut, Opera, Tom, i.— 706, 
 
 ' " Diodorus Siculus mentions the entertainment given by Médius, and adds, that Alexander 
 drank off an Herculian bumper, and was immediately taken violently ill, '"' IlafjxXiifl:? ■apos nvx 
 rut ÇiXuv MnSiov rot QsrlxKoy e-ari xofuit eXÔh»* >ucxei ctoAuh axfxrot fjMpofuSa? , cm riXmr/is 'H^xxXms yA'yx 
 ■sjoTJip/w» ziXyi^uiB'xs E^ECTiE»" x^rj Of, âtrcjtf ùsjo Tmoj zsXriyris itr^v^xs 'aeirXvyiJicy^ avt^iyx^s jjnyx jSon- 
 axs, tif tmo ruv (fiXait xtrnWxrliro yet^xyuiysiuy®^." (Diod. Sicul. Lib. ly, Tom. 2,-252, 253.) 
 Plutarch formally contradids this afleriion, " Ovrt o-xt/po» 'Hf «xXeom cx-nniv, ovre x(fvai ^laXyns yei/o- 
 /iisy©' TO ^ETa^f £»ov, âo-OTEf Xoy;^»iOT£7f?njyws*" (De Vit, Alex, Plut, Opera, Tom, I.— 706,) and Sene- 
 ca believes it. (Epift.83. — ^Tom.2,345.8''° 1672,) Athenseus is more circumftantial, "A^.E^a». 
 Sf ©^ you» anrnrxs zsore ■njoTîifio» S/j^ov», k, inuy is^ovnit ru Tl^airtx' Kj is ^.xCaiv ly nroWx l/Atntrxi to» 
 Sa(TiXia, EW/E» wr Jro zrxtrm x^arxXia^txi' Kj //.er oXiyat to xvra ■sjoTrifio» xiryiaxs i n^orzxs, k. zsxXiy 
 tsian zs^ovntn Tu QxaiXH' 'O os AXE|a»Sf ©. KxGuv ea-axirc ^e» yoixius, ov jjuiit eznysyxcr, oAA'ectexA/je» 
 si!ii TO 'KTfOlTXEpa^a;o», x^ets raiv j^fif «» to ctotm^io»' >y ex toutok yoanirxs xiTiOavz'" (Lib, iO,--434,) 
 The " TToTrifiov S/;^oD»" is fuppofed to have been nearly equal to two gallons, 
 
 * "Veneno necatum efle credidere plerique : filium Antipatri inter miniftros, Jollam nomine, 
 
 patrisjuflu dediffe. Hoc per Caflandrum adlatum, traditumque fratri JoUae, etabeo 
 
 fupremae regis potioni inditum. Hsc utcumque funt tradita, eorum, quos rumor adfperferat 
 
 mox potentia extinxit," (Q. Curt, Lib. lO, C. 10, Tom. 2,— 811 813,) " Amici caufas 
 
 morbi, intemperiem ebrietatis difleminaverunt : re autem vera infidix fuerunt, quarum infamiam 
 fiicceiTorum potentia oppreffif" (Juftin, Lib. 12. C. 13.— 338,) Diodorus Siculus alfo relates 
 the fame received opinion, and the fuppofed reafons for the fuppreffion of it. " ^xa-i yxg Ayri- 
 
 w«Tfo»— — — Six ts iSia tin), rsrxyiAiyu irt^i to» xuaflo», ^nyxi mety Sxyxa-inot ÇxgfMtxo» ru fiaat- 
 
 Xer nira St T»i» TtXtuTn» •D^f<ro» io-jju<r«»T©. t«» xxt» T)i» Ei/fwTru», >^ (J-trx raura K«a<ra»ofB ts vm
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 277 
 
 onally drawn from fuch filence. Their mutual diflfentions would 
 moft probably have given birth to mutual accufations, and each 
 Pretender to the throne would doubtlefs have found his interefl: in 
 ruining the charafter, and blafting the reputation of his rival. 
 
 Q.Curtius^ hath given us notwithflanding a detail of this imagina- 
 ry confpiracy. Alexander had been long dilfatisfied with Antipater, 
 
 and 
 
 SiaSc^xiAtta -nil 0x<ri\Hm, zjoWas ar'yx^^s lAti T)i?./i»v y^x-^xi cte^i Ç>açtA.xKeixs''' (Diod. Sicul 
 Lib. 17. Tom. 2.-253.) Pliny mentions it, and adds wiih becoming afperity, that Ariftotle 
 was very (hamefully a Privy Counfellor on the occafion. " Ungulas tantum mularum repcrtas 
 neque aliam uUam materiam, quse non perroderetur a veneno Stygis aqua:, cum id dandum Alex- 
 andre Magno Antipater mitteret, memoria dignum eft magna Arillolelis infamia excogitatum'" 
 (Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 30. Tom. 4. --769, 770.) For an account of the Stygian water fee 
 Vitruvius. Lib. 8. C. 3.— 163. Amft. 164g. 
 
 s Q. Curtius. Lib. 10. C. lO. Tom. 2.— 811 813. Juflin hath entered into it more ful- 
 ly. "Audor infidiarum Antipater fuit, qui cum cariffimos amicos ejus interfeiSos videret; Alex- 
 andrum Lynciftam, generum fuum occifum; fe magnis rebus in Graeciâ geftis, non tarn gratum 
 apud regem, quam invidiofum efTe ; a matre quoque ejus Olympiade variis fe criminationibus vex- 
 atum. Hue accedebant ante paucos dies fupplicia in prxfedos devidarum nationum creduliter 
 habita. Ex quibus rebus fe quoque a Macedonia non ad focietatem militiic, fed ad pœnam evocatum 
 arbitrabatur. Igitur ad occupandum regem, Caflandrumfilium dato veneno fubornat,qui cum fratribus 
 Philippoet Jollâminiftrareregi folebat : cujus veneni tanta vis fuit, ut non acre, non ferro, non teflâ 
 contineretur, nec aliter ferri, nifi in ungulâ equi potuerit; pramonitofilio, ne alii quamTheflalo et 
 fratribus, crederet. Hac igitur ex caufâ apud Theflalum paratum, repetitumque convivium eft. Phi- 
 lippus et Jollasprajguftareac temperarepotum regis foliti, in aquâ frigidâ venenum habuerunt, quam 
 
 prjeguftatJBJampotioni fupermifernnl." (Juft.Lib. 12.C. M-— 338, 339.) A late noble Author, 
 
 who, finifhed his Political career, after balking in the warm funlhine of a Court, by paflâng through the 
 TorridZone of MinifterialPerfecution,intothe Frozen Region of Oblivion, hath touched in his ufu- 
 al animated manner on the Macedonian Monarch's charafter and end. ''Alexander had violent palli- 
 ons, and thofe for Wine and Women were predominant, after his ambition. They were fpots in his cha- 
 raâer, before they prevailed by the force of habit : as foon as they began to do fo, the King and Hero ap- 
 peared lefs, the Rake and Bully more. Perfepolis was burnt at the inftigation of Thais, andCli- 
 
 tus
 
 278 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 and was belie\ed to have fent Craterus with orders to dcflroy him. 
 The Macedonian governor efcaped the blow, and dehvercd to 
 Cafl'ander a mortal poifon, which he was direfted to give his bro- 
 ther loalas, the Royal cup-bearer, who was to introduce it into 
 the Monarch's cup. This fable hath afforded grounds for many 
 writers'' to fufpe6l that he died by a violent death, but Arrian' 
 relates the confpirac}% rather that he might not appear to have 
 been ignorant of it, than from any idea of its authenticity. — Ac- 
 cording to Plutarch, there were not any fufpicions that Alexander 
 fell by poifon at the time of his death, and they were moft pro- 
 bably lirll circulated by Olympias, who had vowed an eternal 
 hatred to Antipater. Eight years after the death of her Son, to 
 overwhelm with infamy the memory of Antipater, fhe fcattered 
 
 in 
 
 tus was killed in a drunken brawl. He repented indeed of thofe two horrible aftions, and was 
 again the King and Hero upon many occalions; but he had not been enough upon his guard, 
 when the ftrongcft incitemcnls to vanity and fcnfual plcafurcs ort'crcd tlicmfclves, at every mo- 
 ment, to him: and when he ftood, in all his eafy hours, furrounded by Women, Eunuchs, by 
 the Panders, Parafites and Buffoons of a voluptuous Court, they, who could not approach the 
 King, approached the Man, and by fcducing the Man, they betrayed the King. His faults be- 
 came habits. The Macedonians, who did not, or would not fee the one, faw the other; and he 
 fell a facriticc to their rcfcntmcnts, to tlieir fears, and to thofe factions, that will arife under an 
 odious government, as well as imdcr one that grows into contempt." (Idea of a Patriot King. 
 Lord Bol ingbrokc's Works. Vol. 3.— 112, 113. 4'° 1777.) Whether the Conqueror of Afia 
 died in confcquence of his own intemperance, or fell by poifon, is one of thofe Problems, on 
 which there may be dill much Argument cxhaufted without convidlion, 
 
 '' iElian. Dc Nat. Animal. Lib. 5. C. 29. Tom. 2.-272. 4'° J744. — Dion. Chryfoft. O- 
 rat. De Fort. — Sext. Emp. contra Grammat. Lib. 1. C. 12. — Paufanias. Lib. 8.-636. — Ta- 
 citus. Annal. Lib. 2. Tom. 1.— 121, 122. 4'" Paris. 177», 
 
 ' " K«( rauT» i/j-oi, us /x» ayvaetn ^o^ai/j.! piaXAov on ^.tyo^n» jfi», n us t7(r« " aCiyiiT*» atnyiy^xp- 
 f^." Arrian. Exped, Alex, Lib, 7, C. 27.--542.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 279 
 
 in the wind the aflies of loalas, who had been unjuflly accufcd oi" 
 having diftributed the fatal potion." Under the pretence alfo of 
 punifliing his accomphces, (lie put to death a multitude of per- 
 fons, equally the vitlims of her vengeance and caprice. 
 
 The Royal diary reports the death of Alexander, on the twen- 
 ty-eighth day of the month Dacfius, of the Macedonian year, which 
 anfwers to the month Thargalion, the lad of the Attic year. ' 
 This important event may be then afcertained to have happened 
 at the end of the firft year of the i^"" Olympiad, when Hegefi- 
 as was Archon, 430 years after the foundation of Rome, and 324 
 before Chrift. Alexander was thirty-two years, ten months, and 
 twenty-two days old, when he died, inftead of thirty-two years 
 and eight months, three days excepted, according to Ariftobulus," 
 and he reigned twelve years and eight months. " The Jefuit Pe- 
 tau fixes, without authority, the death of Alexander, at the com- 
 mencement of the firft year of the 114"' Olympiad." Corfini"" 
 
 hath 
 
 ^ "^ac^lMXKeixs h vTTo^iatavTDuiiJt.tv uSeiSt(TXi'' 'Ektu it trti Çxri» iMnmus yttoiAtyra, rn» O^w/a- 
 TtiaSx WoAXsj f*!» «ytXe/v, Exf iv},*! Js rx >.£i\J/ai»a ra loaXa TtSyijxoT®', us TBTa to Çaj^axo» fy^^iayT©-." 
 
 De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.--707. 
 
 AS>!»io-iy." Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. C. 28.-542. 
 
 ■" " E/3/a) St Suo >C) Tf/otxoïTos tm, i^ ra Tfira jj-mas tiiiXxGit oktu, us \iyii Afij'oCaA©^." Arrian. 
 Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. C. 28.-542. 
 
 " "E/3«(r(?.£D« St SwSex» «T»." Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib, 7. C. 28.-542. 
 
 ' Petavius De Dodrin. Temper. Tom. 2. --859. 
 
 f Corûni. fdcl, Attic, Tom, 4.-50—54.
 
 28o CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 hath refuted the opinion with great ability, and with a force of 
 reafoninîï that wants no afliftance. 
 
 Are we to believe the writers of Alexander's life, who have af- 
 fured us, that he did not name a fucceffor, and that he replied 
 only in general terms, when his inclinations were confulted on 
 the future government of his empire, that he left it to the moft 
 worthy and deferving? ' A declaration of this kind appears at 
 firft to be contradifted by the Book of Maccabees, but the difa- 
 greement may poffibly be explained away, without either doubts 
 of that part of the facred writings, or a violation of critical 
 confiftency. 
 
 We learn from the Book of Maccabees, according to the Vul- 
 gate,' with which the Greek text' and the Syriac verfion corre- 
 
 fpond. 
 
 1 "Querentibiis his, cui relinqueret regnum? refpondit ei, qui efTet optimus." (Q. Curt. 
 Lib. lO. C. 5. Tom. 2.— 781.) " 'O; Se j^ raSc «Hyfai^a», i^KT^ai fj^st rus crai^us uvn», iru rtiv 
 73a!7iX£<a» awoXEiTTji* rov os tvox^ma^xi, or/ Tw K^arifw." (Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 7. C. 26. 
 —540.) "Cum deficere eum amici vidèrent, quirunt, quem imperii facial hsredem. Refpon- 
 dit, dignilTimum." (Juftin. Lib. 12. C. 15.--341.) "Tm 01 (piXuvim^urmrm, rwTTiv ^»<ti?ji- 
 ên omaXtiinis; ciin, rx K^ariTu." Died. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.-253. 
 
 ' "Et poll hxc decidit in lei5tum et cognovit quia moreretur. Et vocavit pueros fuos nobiles, 
 qui fecum erant nutriti a juventute, et divifit illis regnum fuum, cum adhuc viveret." 1, Mac- 
 cab. C. 1.— 5, 6. 
 
 = K«i /x£Ta ravTx injtatv etti rw noiTm, >C, lyvu oti atro^vtiaKci' Kai ExaXEOï ths aai^as avru res 
 t»Sij|sj rus (Ti/vTf oipBs- aura am «iotdt®-, ^ S/ejXev avrois rm ^aa.Xiixi aura tri (j4i»T©- avra'' ' ( 1 . Mac- 
 cab. C. 1.-5, 6.)— For an explication of the "na<W or "Pueros," fee Menochius, Com- 
 ment. Script. Tom. 2. Ed. Aven. 356.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 28 1 
 
 fpond, that Alexander, " fell fick, and perceived that he fliould 
 die. Wherefore he called his fervants, fuch as were honourable, 
 and had been brought up with him from his youth, and parted 
 his kingdom among them, while he was yet alive." ' 
 
 The general meaning of this paffage hath been differently un- 
 derftood by various commentators ; but it may be placed, not- 
 withftanding, in a new light, by a iew fimple obfervations. The 
 expreffion, "he parted his kingdom among them," may be taken 
 in a more reftrifted fenfe than it hath ufually been underftood, 
 and may fignify that Alexander divided his empire amongll his 
 great men as Satraps, without any intention of diftributing to them 
 their refpeftive diftrifts, as Sovereigns of fo many little and de- 
 tached kingdoms. We read in the eighth and ninth verfes of 
 
 the firft chapter of the firft Book of Maccabees, that. " His fer- 
 vants bare rule every one in his place. And after his death they 
 all put crowns upon themfelves." ■* This account perfeftly af- 
 certains the conduft of the Macedonian Monarch's fucceffors, 
 who firfl extending their power, fecured themfelves by the deaths 
 of their competitors, and then proclaiming themfelves kings, 
 ufurped the Royal diadem. The text of Scripture clearly dif- 
 criminates two fa6ls. Alexander's choice of many of his gran- 
 dees to govern the different parts of the kingdom, and their ufur- 
 
 O o pation 
 
 ' 1. Maccabees, Chap. j. Verfes 5, 6. 
 
 " " K.M swEXf «Tixra» ot 'aaihs avm Ikx^os ev tw rorru xvm' Kxt i7ii%no Z!x-ms iixSni*arx furx t» 
 «woSaiiEj» avTovj KjQivioi a,\irm omicu aurm irrizioiC^'" i. Maccab. C, 1.--8, g.
 
 282 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 pation of Royalty, after the death of the Macedonian Monarch, 
 who had no ideas of wrefting the fceptre out of the hands of his 
 «kfcendants. If the author of the Book of Maccabees had in- 
 tended to infinuate, that Alexander's choice carried along with it 
 the right of mounting the throne, he would not undoubtedly have 
 diftinguifhed in fuch a decided manner the emblems of Royalty, 
 which they fo prefumptuoufly arrogated. The inheritance of a 
 crown, and its ufurpation by the fame individual, include a contra- 
 diftion. 
 
 The firft of thefe fa6ls is not literally mentioned in any profane 
 author, but it appears to be a neceffary confequence of the events, 
 which they relate, as they fuppofe it to have happened. It is 
 ftrengthened alfo by a tradition, the vefliges of which, are to be 
 found both with the Ancients, and all the nations of the Eaft. 
 
 Aridaeus the brother of Alexander, mounted the throne, on the 
 death of the Conqueror of Afia, " and after a reign of fome years 
 died ; but the Macedonian Monarch's generals, who had only the 
 authority which they exercifed under his name, and that of his 
 children, did not ftill venture to declare themfelves kings. Rox- 
 ana and her fon having been put to death by the order of Caf- 
 
 fander, 
 
 » " Eu9m Si ^«<riXE« xartrwaw Tov *iX(WW8 wo» Af f /îa/o», }y ijielumixarx» ^Aiiriri»'" (Oiod. Sicul, 
 Ijb. 18, Tom. 2.--258.) Juftin hath given more at large a detail of the immediate difputes on 
 Alexander's death, which ends with the "InAridasum regem conlentiunt. Servata eft portio 
 
 regni Alexandri filio, fi natus effet." (Juftin. Lib. 13. C. 2, 3, 4.--351 355.) And Q, 
 
 Curtius hath entend into ihem ftill more fully, Lib, 10. C. 7, 8, 9. Tom. 2.-788— —807.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 28'^ 
 
 iander, " and Hercules the fon of Barcine by Polyperchon, '^ the 
 ambition of Antigonus was no longer reftrained by any bounds, 
 and finding his duplicity no further neceffary, he openly laid 
 claim to the title and ornaments of Royalty. ' His rivals foon 
 followed the example. Till this period, the different governors 
 and generals had ufurped the power, and extended the territories 
 of their mafler, under the fpecious pretext of his fervice, and 
 obedience to his commands. *" Seleucus had fubmitted indeed with 
 impatience to this artifice, and though he had always fears and 
 apprehenfions of appearing before the Macedonians with any ex- 
 ternal marks of Royalty, he had not fcrupuloufly confined himfelf 
 
 Oo 2 to 
 
 o/aSiîo/xEïBf, art xa3>ix« zs^oayHt iv. r-is puXaxnr rov CTa.iî«, i^ rm traTfiU» ^«o-iXaa» roafaSiSoizi, Çj. 
 Stilus JwEf Ixvm, 'a^<itrirx%z rX»vx/a ru STf oestjxoti Tijt t« îjaiS®- ^uKxuns rm ^£» Pu^mm i^ to» Pxiti- 
 Xix xatTaea^a^a*) là x^V'^at to. ffwfJMlxj to ^e yEyo»©- f^t^EVf rwy aWuv x'rrxyÇttXxt* ^oivi^xyt^ oxvtS 
 TO ■E7joi-««^3£V, at ■CTEfi Kao-iravSfov, )^ Avtrj/Ax^oy >^ riroXE^aio», tri S'AvTi'/ovoy, x7rv,>,\ayr,iTXi rm tm» 
 TV ^xariXius 'zy^oa-^oKUi.iivm Ço^M»." Diod. Sicul. Lib. ig,--398, 399. 
 
 " "A/x.«Se TSTo;r CTfaTTojitEvoif, noXtaWEf^^ov, /Atv y>9^oiKiJ! âS^xv Svix/j-iy, KXTxyxya svi rvit raxT^uxt 
 
 (oaiTiXa*» 'H^xxXsx to» AXeJaivJfB !^ Bx^irms 'Sn^xs ô K«o-<ra»Sf©- ;xr,CTOT£ fi'<r« crjoj 
 
 f*iT«foX»)» o»T« ojaj 01 MasxeSojEf xvroiAoXnru^t tugos to» 'HfosxXca, hiii^tirSevtrxra uf or noXvo-wef;^o»Ta," 
 The iffue of the embafly follows in a few words. " riEfaj St, 'noWxis >^ ij.!yx\xis e'nxyïo.ixn ituvxi 
 •ni TiiiKvimi^yo^rx, Kjinn^n^xi u xttn^cti-tan auy^ii^tyo!, i7f0ETf!\J/«To So>,o(po>n7«i to» ^«7;Xe«." Di- 
 od. Sicul. Lib. 20, Tom. 2. --425. 
 
 ^ Diodorus Siculus however informs us, that Antigonus took the favourable moment of fome 
 military fuccefs againft Ptolemy to declare himfelf King. " 'O S'A»T/yo»®-, «jt/^o/itE»®- td» yEfEft- 
 Htm» WKM», 1^ fxETEWf /o-3f<j tm ru f/.cye^fi tm wj oTEjti/xaT®., ^ix^nixx ctej ieSito, >^ to Xo/wo» EjjftjftaTi^t: 
 BxariXevs." (Diod. Sicul. Lib. 20. Tom. 2.-445.) And Plutarch confirms the fuppofiiion. 
 Vit. Démet. Tom. t.-Sgô. And Juftin alfo, Lib. 15. C. 2.--395. 
 
 '' "Quippe paulo ante regis miniftri, fpecie imperiialieni procurandi, finguli ingcntia inva.e- 
 rant regna." Q. Curt. Lib. 10. C. 10. Tofin. 2, —809.
 
 284 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 to fuch reftriaions, when he gave audience to foreigners, and ftran- 
 gers. ' If Alexander had dillriboited the full Sovereignty of the 
 different provinces to the great men, that he made choice of, his 
 orders would have been at lead in part executed, and they would 
 not have failed to publifh their titles to the high dations, which they 
 occupied. Inftead of any proclamations of this kind, the Royal 
 family continued to be refpefted, and enjoyed its rights as long as 
 any branch of it exilled, ' and till the death of Perdiccas and of 
 Eumenes, who were confidered as its proteftors,' had left an open 
 field for the difputes of the contending parties. It may perhaps 
 be objefted, that the Macedonian grandees parcelled out the em- 
 pire,* but we may eafily difcover, that the credit and authority of 
 the feveral Pretenders were the only obftacleSj that counterafted. 
 Alexander's laft wifhes. 
 
 In 
 
 ' " Kai 7af Auiti[/.x^@' ri^^aro (po^m SiaJu/Aa, >^ Ze^ehk©' tvrvy^mto» rois EXAumv" (Tth this yi B«f - 
 fasfo/j iJfoTefov, «twî wi ^«(rAEW£xf!(**T(Çt." De Vit. Demetrii, Plut. Opera. Tom, 1.-896. 
 
 ^ "Hujus honoris ornamenta tamdiu omnes abftinuerunt, quamdiu filii regis fui fuperefle 
 potuerunt. Tanta in illis verecundia fuit, ut, cura opes regias haberent, regum tamen nominibus 
 iequo animo caruerint, quoad Alexandre juftus hîercs fuit." Juftin. Lib. 15. C. 2.-395. 
 
 « " Alexandre Babylone mortuo, quum régna fingulis familiaribus difpartirentur, et fumma 
 rerum tradita effet tuenda eidem, cui Alexander moriens annulum fuum dederat, Perdiccx : ex quo 
 omnes conjecerant, eum regnum ei commendaffe, quoad liberi ejus in fuam tutelam perveniffent." 
 (Corn. Nep. de Vit. Eumenis. C. 2.— 5O5 — 507.) " Petiit autem ab Eumene abfenie, ne pate- 
 letur, Philippi domus et familiae inimiciffimos ftirpem quoque interimere, ferretque opem liberis 
 Alexandri. Quam veniam C fibi daret, quam primum exercitus pararet, quos fibi fublidio addu- 
 ceret. Id quo facilius facerct, fe omnibus prœfeftis, qui in officio manebant, miffiffe literas, ut 
 ei parèrent, ejufque conlilio uterentur." Corn. Nepos. de Vit, Eumenis. C. 6.-525. 
 
 ' Q. Curiius. Lib. lO. C. 10, Tom. 2.— 807 809. Diod. Sicul. Lib, 18. 
 
 ^..
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 285 
 
 In that fpecies of military anarchy, which followed Alexander's 
 death, power naturally prevailed over right, and became the only 
 rule of the illegal and unequal divifion of the empire, that enfued. 
 It is pofTible, that Perdiccas, who prefided at the numerous deli- 
 berations, in which the fate of the empire ^ was decided, might, 
 either from caprice or interefled views, have made fome changes 
 in the direftions of his mafter, from whom he received a ring; as 
 a fort of appointment to the offices of executor of his orders, of 
 prote6lor of the kingdom, and of guardian to his children. ■" It 
 is natural to imagine, that this general, who was attached to Alex- 
 ander by the ties of blood, ' might be the perfon that he had in 
 contemplation, when he anfwered, " to the mofl worthy and de- 
 ferving," on being aflced how he wifhed to difpofe of the kingdom ; 
 and that he intended only to vefl the regency in him, during the 
 minority of his children, without the remotefl idea of altering 
 the fucceffion, and giving him the power of tranfmitting it to his 
 family, in preference to his own immediate defcendants. Perhaps 
 alfo the Macedonian Monarch, leaving only children in a ftate of 
 infancy, by widows or daughters of the natives of the countries, 
 
 that 
 
 E "Perdicca, perdudo in urbem exercitu, confilium principum virorum habuit, in quo impe- 
 hum ita dividi placuit." (Q. Curt. Lib, 10. C. 10. Tom. 2.-807.) "Out©- Se ■stx^a.Xxffut 
 
 Aaojulotr I li r a yinvhwaiu '2,11^10,1, &c. &c, &c." Diod, Sicul, Lib. 18. Tom. 2,-258. 
 
 '' " EwfttX»)Tii» Se ms Ba(Tihiiixs OEfSixxav, « J^ ô ^xaihivs to» SaxTfAiov riXtvruv eSeSioxe'"" Diod, 
 SicuL Lib, 18, Tom, 2.-258. 
 
 ' " Ki/»«»)i $iA(ff7rs SuyaT)ig ■ yTiiJ.afi^tn St AjAun* tb Tliq^mxa'" Polyacni, Sirat, Lib. 8. 
 
 "816.
 
 286 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 that he had conquered, was oauiious of declaring them in exprefs 
 terms his fuccefTors, from the fear of infulting the Macedonians. 
 Such might have been his reafons, and with thefe fentiments he 
 might have confidered it prudent, to leave his grandees the liberty 
 of choofing out of his own family, the fuccelfor mofl capable, in 
 their opinions, of fuftaining the weight of empire, and filling up 
 the void by his lofs. The lafl words of the Macedonian Monarch 
 will plaufibly admit of this explication, and by the diflribution 
 of his conquefts, as Satrapies, he might flatter himfelf the ambiti- 
 on of the great men would be fatisfied, and that their veneration 
 of his memory would preferve to his children the Supreme power 
 and Sovereignty. Yet there is a poflibility that even the lafl words 
 of Alexander have been fuppofed by his officers, and this fug- 
 geftion is rather favourable to the Book of Maccabees. The 
 doubts of the Prince's intention exculpated in the minds of the 
 troops their tumultuous behaviour, and were fome excufe for 
 the different pretenfions, in the fupport of which torrents of 
 blood were foon flied. " From the fame motives, the expiring 
 
 Monarch 
 
 ^ "Orofius in a profuflon of metaphor, opens his narrative of the Macedonian diflentions with, 
 
 " At ego nunc rcvocor, ut per h^c eadem tempora qus inter fc bella geflerint Macedonum 
 
 duces, revolvam qui mortuo Alexandro diverfas fortiti provincias, mutuis fe bellis confumpferunt, 
 quorum ego tumultuofiffimum tempus ita mihi fpeâare videor, quafi aliqua immenfa caftra per noc- 
 tem de fpeculâ montis adfpeflans, nihil in magno campi fpatio praeter innumeros focos cernam : 
 ita per totum Macedoniae regnum, hoc eft per univerfam Afiam et plurimam Europse partem, Ly- 
 biaeque vel maximam, horrendi fubito bellorum globi colluxerunt ! Qui cum ea praecipue loca, in 
 quibus exarfere, populati funt, reliqua omnia terrore rumoris, quafi fumi caligine, turbaverunt. 
 
 Alexander per duodecim annos trementem fub fe orbem ferro preffit. Principes vero 
 
 <jus quatuoxdecim annis dilaniaverunt, et veluti opimam prsdam a magno leonc proftratam avidi 
 
 difcerpfere
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. £87 
 
 Monarch is imagined to have forefeen the fatal diflTentions, that 
 his death would produce, and the very extraordinary funeral 
 games that would attend ' it. 
 
 We are told by many ancient authors, whofe entire works have 
 not reached us, that Alexander dillributed by a will the different 
 provinces of his empire. The expreffions of Q. Curtius on this 
 fubjeft are by no means equivocal, and they agree with the Book 
 of Maccabees. We are not to conclude, however, with the Latin 
 hillorian, that thefe traditions were falfe, "' and, on the contrary 
 it may be reafonably prefumed, that Alexander's fucceffors might 
 influence the pens of their cotemporary writers, and prevent a 
 publication of the Prince's teflamentary difpofitions. Political 
 fagacity pointed out to them, that, without having been chofen, 
 the title of Royalty, which firfl; arofe from the powers, which 
 Alexander had confided to the great men around him, " whilft he 
 was yet alive," and which they afterwards ufurped on the death 
 of the different branches of the Royal family, was literally ex- 
 tin£l, and that the people, opprelfed by their defpotic governments, 
 
 might 
 
 difcerpfere catuli : Teque ipfos invicem in rixam irritates prxdx zmulatione fregerunt." Orofius, 
 Lib. 3. C. 23.--201. 4'° L. B. 1767. 
 
 * "Ceterumproviderejam ob id certamen, magnos funèbres ludos parariCbi." (Q, Curt. Lib. jo. 
 C. 5. Tom, 2.-781.) " Airo3m<niaiw St, CTf>s T«J îtijwjbî iS»;», tipv, Mcyav içu /jm Tot tmraCiot iffo- 
 IMWi." Plutarch. Apothegm. Tom. 2.-181. 
 
 >» " Credidere quidam teftamento Alexandri diflributas elTe provincias ; fed famam hujus re:, 
 quamquam ab auiloribus tradita eft, vanam fuiife comperimus." Q, Curtius, Lib. 10. C. 10, 
 Tom. 2."8og.
 
 288 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 might have feized the pretext to emancipate themfelves. Q. Cur- 
 tius is not the only writer of antiquity, who mentions the lafl; dif- 
 pofitions of the Macedonian Monarch. Diodorus Siculus alTures 
 us, that he had depofited with the Rhodians, a teftament, con- 
 taining his direftions concerning his empire," and Ammianus 
 Marcellinus fpeaks alfo of this will, in which he had named his 
 fucceflbr. ° Mofes of Chorene, '' a writer of the fifth century and 
 of fome authority, hath not forgotten alfo the divifion of the 
 Eaftern empire, nor the laft difpofitions of the Conqueror. Ma- 
 lala*" tells us in his chronicle, that Alexander jufl before he expi- 
 red, gave direftions that the governors, whom he appointed in 
 the different provinces, fhould reign in them, and the author of 
 the chronicle, of which Scaliger publifhed ' an extrada, agrees 
 with Malala, but the tellimony of thefe writers of the middle age 
 deferves little credit, for they have in faft but copied the Book of 
 Maccabees. 
 
 The 
 
 ■rijï Jttej ÔAus TV /3jt3-;Ae(aj Sia3))x)iy £!tf( Sso-^a/." Diod. Sicul, Lib. 20. Tom. 2.— 464. 
 
 " " Ut bella pretereamus Alexandri, et teftamento nationem omnem in fucceiToris unius jura 
 tranflatam," Amm. Marcellinus. Lib. 23. C. ô.—sgS. 
 
 P " Igitur Alexander ille Macedo totius orbis imperio potitus, cum regnumfuum inter 
 
 plures teftamento partitus eft, ita tamen ut Macedonum imperium generatim univerfeque appellare- 
 tur, ipfe e vita exceffit." Hift. Armen. ex Vers, Whifton. Lib. 2. C. 1.— 82, 83. 
 
 1 "MeXXwv Sî TfAjuTav ô avr®^ AXc^av^^®^, titra%aro ore "aairas ras avi avru lin^xmriTas K, ovy*- 
 f*aj^« /3a<7(XEw/» Tw anTM j^oifaj, Itiu m auTss txo'scs , >y x^xreiy Tm sxeKTC rotruy," Malal. Chronic. 
 Lib. 8.-82. Apud Byzant. Script. Tom. 23. Ed. Venet. 
 
 ' Chronic, 72.
 
 OF ALEXAXDi: R 'i H E GREAT, 289 
 
 Tlie Eaftern nations have preferved in their writings, fomc re- 
 mains of the traditions refpecling the partition of tlic empire, 
 which Alexander made, and the Tarikh-Montekheb intimates, 
 " that the King divided, a little before his death, the provinces 
 of Perfia amongll the defccndants of the princes, that lie had 
 Ihipped of them, on the condition of their doing him fealty and 
 homage.'" Sangiac-Tharikcle adds, that after Alexander's deatli, 
 thefe Feudatory or tributary princes became independent Sovereigns. 
 But the divifion of Perfia, amon^fl the iffue of the dethroned 
 princes is an error, and by the Feudatory princes, thefe authors 
 undoubtedly meant Satraps, who had almoil as extenfive an au- 
 thority, as the vaflals of the ancient European monarchs. Cy- 
 rus, to fupply the w'ants of his vaft empire, and to relieve himfelf 
 and his fucceffors from the fatigues of fuch an extended govern- 
 ment, created the office of Satraps, to whom he delegated his 
 authority. Thefe Satraps exercifed indeed powers almoft with- 
 out bounds. They had the right of levying taxes and importions, 
 and they were even charged with the pa)ment of the troops in 
 their governments, ' which were given in Apanage to the fons of 
 the Perfian monarchs, Hyftafpes the fon of Xerxes, held Baftria 
 as Satrap, " and the younger Cyrus enjoyed under the fame title, 
 
 P P tlie 
 
 ' Herbelot. Bibliothèque Orientale. 318. — See alfo Mirkhoud. Sect. zi. 
 
 ' " SaT^jtîjaf zysiA-^l^H f/fOi doxrt, otrivts cc^^ovji ruv syoiKovyruVj s^ Toy oaa^-ov >^xfji.v>xiOiTis nij rt 
 ç^ugois ^airouai f«o-9o», t^ a\Ko teXes-ko-;» ol ri av Sei)'" Xenoph.Cyropœdia.Lib.S.— 637. 4"" 1727. 
 
 *" " 'Yfaiams, «woSji/a©. 0», nar'cKHmv Ton xaifov" et^c yx^ tjjv e» Bxxr^ois vxr(iejrna>' ' (Diod. 
 Sicul. Lib. 11. Tom. 1.--457.) The Baron de St. Croix (lyles Hyftafpes "fils d'Artaxerxes," 
 
 but
 
 290 CRITICAL INQUIRY I N I () THE LIFE 
 
 the government of Afia Minor. We may judge from the preli- 
 minaries of his campaign, ^\•hich terminated with the battle of 
 Cunaxa, of the great and important powers intrufied to a Satrap, 
 and how danjrerous the office was in the hands either of an ambi- 
 tious perfon, or one with military abilities of any confequence. 
 
 Alexander not only adopted the manners of the Perfians, but 
 even their principles and form of government, and eftablifhed 
 Satraps in all his empire, Moll of the hiftorians, who have fpoken 
 of the divifion of it, which he made at his death, have intended 
 by Satrapies to fpecify the portions which fell to the fhare of each 
 of his generals, and gave the titles of Satraps to the governors of 
 them, Appian, " in mentioning the events, which followed the 
 Macedonian Monarch's death, informs us, that thefe generals from 
 being Satraps became Kings. Yet this was by an abufe of their 
 power. When Alexander made the partition of his kingdom, 
 " whilft he was yet alive," he undoubtedly was not aware of the 
 danger attending fuch appointments, which were originally little 
 different from thofe, that Cyrus juft before his death conferred 
 upon his friends, who appeared to him mofl proper to be intruded 
 with the government of his kingdom. '' The fame confequences 
 
 might 
 
 but he was the fon of Xerxes, according to Diodorus Siciilus, (Lib. 11. Tom. 1.—456.] and I 
 have reflified the error. 
 
 " " Kan 0a:(7/A«r âejavTts EX 2aTf aTTii» tyiyvoïTo*" (Appian. de Bell. Syriac. Tom. 1.--197. 8"" 
 Amft. 1670.) Juftin hath the fame idea, " Sic reges ex prxfeftis fadi." Lib. 8. C. 4.--361. 
 
 " EziHTa d£ «r lyiyvuane rait ^iXum tzji rois «jm/^sho/j £Z!iSviJi.omras istxi, txAE^a^E»©- avrm vovs 00- 
 KocvTai ECTiTt)JH0T«T8î «»«;, £î3ff*îj£ lar^xtsxs'" Xenoph, Cyropxdia. Lib. 8, -638,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 2(}1 
 
 might have flowed from them, if Cyrus, like Alexander, had only 
 left a brother of inferior talents, and children in a (late of infancy. 
 
 or likely to be born. The Prophecy of Daniel, refpecting tlie 
 
 Macedonian Conqueror, authorizes the explication, that hath been 
 given of the feventh verfe of tlie lirfl Book of Maccabees, and 
 agrees with the relation of the profane writers. ^ After having an- 
 nounced that, "a^ mighty king fliall iland up, that fliall rule 
 with great dominion, and do according to his will,'"' the Prophet 
 continues his prediftions in the following terms, "and" vv^hen he 
 fliall ftand up, his kingdom fliall be broken, and fliall be divided 
 toward the four winds of heaven ; and not to his })ollerity, nor 
 according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom fliall 
 be plucked up even for others befides thefe." ^ Daniel wiflied to 
 indicate by thefe expreflions, that the united empire of the Ma- 
 cedonian Monarch fliould after his death be divided, and the 
 event juftifies the prediftion. Not only the conquefts of the Ma- 
 cedonian Monarch were fplit into four great detached kingdoms, 
 but even ftrangers according to the Vulgate," or Amply other in- 
 
 P p 2 dividuals, 
 
 ^ Arrian. De rebus port Alexandrum apud Photium. 215. — Diod. Sicul. Lib. 18. Tom. 2. 
 — S58. — Dexippus apud Photium. 202. — Juftin. Lib. 13. C. 7.-357 361. 
 
 * "Ka/ avxTVS^raii &a<Ti>^vs Suy»T©- Kj xvfitvaei xv^nas woX^Jif, i^ uo/tio-ft xccra to SeXuft* avra." 
 
 Daniel. C. 11. V. 3. 
 
 t Daniel. Chap. 11. Verfe 3. 
 
 ' "K«i WÎ a» rn «/Sao'iXfiaai'TB, aiyr^Syiirtrxi, >^àiaiçtir,^crxt earns riaax^as aniens ruu^xtb^ Jtj 
 «X ets Tcc layxrx x-jtu, b5e xxra rm xv^hxv avra, rm tx.v^itv<ny, or; tKTi>>>iTf rai i Qx<7i}.ax aura, k, fU- 
 fo« txT®. TouTi;»." Daniel. C. it. V. 4. 
 
 ■> Daniel. Chap. 11. Verfe 4. 
 i" «' Lacerabitur enim regnum edam in externes exceptis his." Daniel. C. 11. V. 4.
 
 292 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 dividuals, agreeable to the Hebrew text and Septuagint/ had a 
 fhare in the difmemberment, and proclaimed themfelves kings. 
 Arrian, Diodorus Siculus, Dexippus and Juftin, have furniflied 
 us with the names of many of the great men ^ who filled thefe 
 employments, and in the diftant provinces, they took advantage 
 of the Macedonian dilTentions to eflablifli their authority and in- 
 dependence. Theodotus of Baftria, firft flaook off the Macedo- 
 nian yoke, and the example was foon followed by the neighbour- 
 ing nations. '' 
 
 ' " K»i ÉTSfoif EXT©- T«Tw>*" Daniel. C. 1 1 . V. 4. 
 
 8 " Arrien, Diodore, Dexippe et Juftin, nous apprennent que plufieurs Satrapes des provin- 
 ces éloignées de l'Orient profitèrent des diffentions des Macédoniens, pour fe fouftraire 
 à leur domination." The Baron de St. Croix in fupport of the aflertion, refers his readers to 
 Photii Biblioth. 215, 216. — Diod. Sicul. Lib. 18. Tom. 2.-258. — Juftin. Lib. 13. C. 4.-- 
 
 355 36'' — But thefe authors, in the palTagcs referred to, principally confine themfelves 
 
 to the difiribution of the provinces after Alexander's death. 
 
 ^ "Theodotus mille urbium Baârianarum prsefeftus, defecit, regemque fe appellari juffit .• 
 quod exemplnm fecuti totius Orientis populi a Macedonibus defeccre." Juftin. Lib. 41. C. 4. 
 -686. 
 
 END OF THE THIRD SECTION. 
 
 SECT.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 293 
 
 SECTION. IV. 
 
 "' — Orbis situm dicere aggredior, impeditum opus, et 
 facundi^ minime capax." 
 
 P. Mel^ Proœmium. 
 
 A. HE ancient hiftorians, colle6led with great labour and atten- 
 tion the materials for their works. The moderns have been re- 
 proached with compiling in their clofets and at their eafe memoirs 
 of the fads with which they are acquainted, and fupplying, by the 
 help of imagination, any chafm that might remain to be filled up. 
 Reports, often faithlefs and commonly infufficient, concerning the 
 countries, which have been the theatres of the events, that they 
 pretend to defcribe, are almoft the whole refource of this clafs of 
 authors. — Polybius fcaled the fummit of the Alps, to trace out 
 with fidelity the march of Hannibal, and he matured his hiflory, 
 by adding to his own reflexions the advantages acquired from a 
 knowledge of the world, which he reaped from his travels. The 
 wifdom of the plan was indeed caught from Herodotus, whofe 
 defcriptions are fo very exaft, as to be in general preferable to 
 
 thole
 
 294 
 
 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 thofe of the later writers, and, in the inftances refpefting Alex- 
 anders expeditions, e\'en to the geographical details of the Con- 
 queror's own hillorians. 
 
 The knowledge of the terreflrial globe, was undoubtedly ex- 
 tended by the companions of the Macedonian Monarch's arms, 
 but, without allowing themfelves time for cool and ferious reflec- 
 tion, they took up every thing from its firft impreffion, which is 
 frequently inaccurate, and their cotemporaries, dazzled with 
 their profperity, fell into their errors. 
 
 Of ASIA MINOR. 
 
 The learned Salmafms ^ hath well obferved, that Q. Curtius ^ 
 confounds the Marfyas, which paffed by Celœne, a city deftroyed, 
 and afterwards rebuilt at fome diftance from its original fituation^ 
 under the name of Apamea, by AntiochusSoter," with the Ly eus, 
 which bathed the walls of Laodicea. Thefe two rivers threw 
 
 themfelves 
 
 " Sdlmafii Exercit, Plin. 582. ' • 
 
 ^ "Ad urbem Celaenus exercitum admovit. Mediam ilia tempeftate interfluebat Marfyas amnis." 
 
 .Q. Cun, Lib. 3. C. 1. Tom. 1.-51, 52.'. 
 
 ' Strabo. Lib. 1 2.-866.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 295 
 
 themfelves into the Meander, at the dillance from each other o< 
 more than five hundred fladia, from the North to the South-Eafl, 
 in Pacatian Phrygia. "^ 
 
 Q. Curtius, fpeaking of Alexander's arrival at Gordium, the 
 capital of Phrygia, and which had been formerly the refidence of 
 Mida», affures us, that this city was fituated on the river Sangaris, 
 and at an equal diftance from the feas of Pontus and Cilicia. ' 
 Gordium, which was reduced to an infignificant village in the 
 time of Strabo, ' was afterwards reftored under the reign of Au- 
 guftus, and had the name of Juliopolis. ^ Monfieur d' Anville, " 
 places it twenty-five leagues from the Pontus Euxinus, and eigh- 
 ty-four from the fea of Cilicia, equivalent to the Latitude of forty- 
 degrees and ten minutes, agreeable to Ptolemy, ' and the fituation 
 is authorized alfo by the diftance between Juliopolis and Conftan- 
 tinople, according to the itinerary of Antonine. '' Q. Curtius hath 
 
 therefore 
 
 ■• See la Carte de I'Afie Minor par d* Anville. 
 
 ' "Tunc habebat quondam nobilem Midi rcgiam ; Gordium nomen eft nrbi, quam Sangarius 
 amnis interfluit, pari intervallo Pontico et Cilicio raari diftantem." Q. Curt. Lib. 3. C. 1. 
 Tom. 1.-55, 56. 
 
 ' " Oi/5'j;^»t) aai^owT» ■SToXtai», a\Kx)U»fji,xi, ^<xf ai /xsjjjf T«v »^^»/." Strabo. Lib. 12,"852. 
 
 S Plin. Nat. Hift. Lib. 5. C. 39. Tom. 1.-624.— Strabo, Lib. i2,--86o. 
 
 " La Carte de I'Afie Minor par d'Anville, 
 
 ■ Geograph. Lib. 5. C. 2. 
 
 ^ Antonini Itin. Ed, WelTeling. 142— =-144.
 
 296 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 therefore fixed this city, twenty-feven leagues farther Southward 
 than he ought to have done, ' 
 
 VThe Latin hiftorian is guiky of a more confiderable error, in 
 giving to the iflhmus of Aha Minor the Longitude of Gordium, 
 thouo-h it is formed by that portion of land fituated between the 
 gulph of Amifus and that of Tarfus, near the mouth of the Cyd- 
 nus. ■" It is therefore five degrees to the Eaft nearer Gordium. " 
 Something may perhaps be difcovered in the text of Q. Curtius 
 to iuftify him, but it will, notwithftanding, be very difficult to 
 make any fenfe of the following paffage. ° " Thefe feas almoft 
 unite, having but a fmall neck of land to part them, each fea 
 driving to encroach upon the land, and reducing it into a narrow 
 ftrait. But yet though it reaches the Continent, and as it is 
 almoft furrounded with water, it feems to reprefent an ifland ; in- 
 fomuch, that were it not for this flender partition, thefe feas would 
 join." '' — The ifthmus, which joins that part of Afia Minor to the 
 
 great 
 
 ' Yet Titus Livy feems to entertain the fame opinion as to the fituation of Gordium. "Pofle- 
 ro die ad Gordium pervenit. Id haud magnum quidem oppidum ell, fed plus, quam Mediterra- 
 neum, célèbre et frequens emporium, tria maria pari ferme diftantia intervallo habet." Lib. 38. 
 C. 18. Tom. 5.-- 191. 
 
 "P Strabo. Lib. 14.--99O. 
 
 " La Carte de I'Afie Minor par d'Anville. 
 
 • " Inter hjcc maria anguftiffimum Afire fpatium efle comperimus, utroque in anas fauces com- 
 pellente terram. Qui quia Continenti adhiret, fed magna ex parte cingitur fluilibus, fpeciem 
 infulae praebet; ac nifi tenue difcrimen objiccret, maria, qnx nunc dividit, committeret." Q, 
 Curt. Lib. 3. C. 1. Tom. 1.-56. 
 
 r Digby's Q. Curtius, Vol, 1.-149.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 297 
 
 great Continent of this quarter of the world, and tlie country 
 between the gulphs of Amifus and Tarfus, was divided into three 
 great kingdoms, Pontus, Cappadocia, and Cilicia, embracing 
 an extent of twenty degrees of Latitude, and is defcribed, as one 
 might have fuppofed, that of Corinth would have been. 
 
 Arrian hath confounded the Greater Phrygia, '' watered by the 
 Sangaris, of which Galatia, where the ancient Gordium flood, 
 was once a part, with the Leffer Phrygia; more diiHnguiflied by 
 Phrygia above the Hellefpont, in which the Troad was included. ' 
 
 This error, as Cellarius' remarks, produced many others. 
 
 Alexander marched from Gordium to Ancyra, a city of Galatia, 
 according to Arrian. ' It is certain that Ancyra, in the time of 
 this hiftorian, was a city of Galatia, but in the age of Alexander, 
 this country which was only inhabited by the Gauls, about two 
 hundred and fifty years before Chrift, and took afterwards its name 
 from them, wasthencalled the Greater Phrygia. In the itinerary 
 therefore of the Macedonian Monarch's army, the term of Greatc 
 Phrygia fhould be preferved. 
 
 Qq We 
 
 9 "To Se rofJiov tr' (AEvnjf ^^t'yi^î T>)îf9"EW,£a")7o»Ta, y.arxi^s cïïi r>i 'Zxyyxçiti zjotx/au." Arri- 
 an. Exped. Alex. Lib. i, C. 29.--100. 
 
 ' Ptolemy (Lib. 5. C. 2.-117.) fuppofes the Leffer Phrj-gia to have been the fame with the 
 Troad, though it was only a part of it. (See Strabo. Lib. 13.) Strabo allows that he has en- 
 tered into a defcription of tlie Troad, with fome prolixity. Lib. 13.-871 ' 878, &c. 
 
 ' Geograph. Ant. Tom. 2.-97. 
 
 ' Arrian. Exped. Ale.x, Lib, 2. C. 4.--111.
 
 298 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 We find a fimilar miftake in Q. Curtius, and we are told, that 
 Amphoterus and Hegelochus, reduced under fubjeftion the iflands 
 between Achaia and Afia. -^ Achaia was fituated on the North of 
 the Peloponnefiis, and as it comprifed at that time no greater 
 extent than in the days of Herodotus, " it ought not to be confi- 
 dered as the Continent oppofite to Afia, though its boundaries 
 were enlarged under the Roman empire, and the term might then 
 be a proper one. 
 
 The ancient geographical writers are not free from miftakes of 
 this kind, which they fell into from their inattention to hiftory, 
 which ought always to be connefted with geography, and indeed 
 renders it only ufeful. On this account the migrations of different 
 nations, the various revolutions, and the limits and names of 
 countries, that were either conquered, or exchanged their mailers, 
 fliould be difcriminated, and the diflferent periods of thefe feveral 
 changes marked in a chronological manner. Stripped of thefe pre- 
 cautions, geography will be found a dry catalogue of names, which 
 fatigues the memory without improving the underflanding, and a 
 number of anachronifms and contradiftions mufl inevitably follow. 
 Afia Minor in particular was fubjeft to many revolutions, which, in 
 the defcription of this part of the world, are abfolutely neceffary to 
 be known ; and Strabo, who joined to the views of the philofopher 
 
 great 
 
 " "Amphoterus et Hegelochus centum fexaginta navium clafle infulas inter Achaiam atque Afi- 
 am inditionem Alexandri redegerunt." Q. Curt. Lib. 4. C. 5. Tom. 1.--193, 194. 
 
 " Herodotus. Lib. 1.-7», 72.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 299 
 
 great geographical information, hath not overlooked them, "The 
 migrations of the Greeks after the Trojan war," fays the judicious 
 Avriter, " that of the Treres, the Cimmerians, Lydians, and thofe 
 afterwards of the Perfians and Macedonians, and lalUy that of 
 the Galatians have created great difhculties and confufion. The 
 removal of nations has not only been the caufe of much obfcu- 
 rity, but the different authors, who have written of the fame pla- 
 ces, have given them different names, and do not agree with each 
 other. Phrygians are called Trojans, and with the licence of the 
 tragic poets, the Lycians, Carians. 
 
 Notwithftanding thefe impediments, every poffible advantage 
 ought to be endeavoured to be obtained, and where the dark- 
 nefs of ancient hillory cannot be dilfipated, (as the duty of 
 the geographer is not folely confined to it) the aftual fitua- 
 tion of places fhould be explained." ^ Thefe obfervations point 
 out to us not only the changes that have happened in Afia Minor, 
 and the miftakes, which they have occafioned, but fliew us the 
 route that we fhould take in our refearches, and the ufe and 
 benefit of them. 
 
 Qq 2 Of 
 
 y "Met» Set» Tfoixa ài ri ri)y 'EXArvw» ummx:, ^ xi Tfupw», s^ ii Yiin.ymfiu\i t^olot, xj AtW, k, 
 U£T» Tai/T* ntfo-wv, >^ MaxEOOvoiv, rsXivTxioi TaXarw», crx^x^xt ■uxvTa, K/ (XfvEj^Ea»* FEyovE 5e >i airx- 
 Çetx, 8 Sia Txs jj.ctxSo>-xs ij,im)i, xWx iC, otx rxs Tuv avyl'^x^cut avo/jioXoyixs, zjigi ruv xvruv « rx xvrx 
 ^tyotruy' Tus jasv T^uxs xaXuvTw» <t>^vyxs, xx^xvi^ ii rgxyixoi, ras Se AvkWS Kxgxs, >^ aXAsj «Twf "— • 
 
 -^— ^— — 'O1/.U5 Se xaiTTEf ToiBTDV onTw», zsH^xriot SixiTXv cxxTX eis Svuxijuv, o, f' " xv aix- 
 
 Çivyoi Tw 'axXxixs /fofaf) tkto ij,î» cxnoii (« yx^ ttrav^x to rfis yiuyqx^zus Efyo») rxoc nt otrx /,£■<- 
 Teov." Strabo. Lib. 12.--859, 85o.
 
 300 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Of yE g y P T and L Y B I A. 
 
 Little is to be gleaned refpefting ^gypt in the hiftory of Alex- 
 ander's campaigns, which Diodorus Siculus hath left us. On the 
 divilion of the Satrapies after the Macedonian Monarch's death, 
 he fpeaks very fuperficially of the provinces, which formed his 
 immenfe empire, and the following paffage hath neither a claim 
 to accuracy nor precifion. ^ " All the extremities of Caelo-Syria 
 and the neighbouring deferts, through which the Nile flows, fepa- 
 rating ^gypt from Syria." Short as this fentence is, it 
 may be ftill difficult to conceive a jufl idea of what the Greek 
 author meant. Cselo-Syria, properly fo called, was fituated in 
 the middle of the country between Libanus and Anti Libanus, ^ 
 and it extended under the reign of Alexander's fucceffors to all 
 the Southern part of Syria, as far as the frontiers of ^Egypt and 
 Arabia. " Diodorus Siculus hath adopted the whole extent, and 
 hath confounded alfo Arabia Petrea with the Arabia of Heroum, 
 
 confined 
 
 ^ " n«5* 5e T« -ai^arx aiititaiKfis Xv^ixs ly T))v <jvyty(us xa/i*Evti» EfU/AO», xaS'w ô Na^©- Csff/xE»©. ôf/- 
 lulvfixi Tt Kf Tftv Aiyvnnv." Diod. Sicul. Lib. 18. Tom. 2.— 261. 
 
 ' "KoiXjiOT-'fia x«?vf(T«i" i^iasVn Tw A(/3avw -^ rto AiTiKiÇxvu !x(pii^ierij.m." Strabo. Lib. 13 
 -1097. 
 
 '' See the commentary of Euftathius on Dionys, Perieges, V. 970.--123. Ed. Steph. a.'" 
 »577'
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 301 
 
 confined to ^gypt, whofe limits were bounded by the lake Serbo- 
 nis, near the promontory Kas Kazaron or cape Delkas,' and the 
 mount Cafhus of the Ancients. ' The lonians reduced ^Egypt as 
 far as the Delta, and pretended that the country to the Eafl of 
 the mouth of the Pelufiacus made part of Arabia, as the trad 
 beyond that of the Canopus, was annexed to Lybia. This opi- 
 nion, ably refuted by Herodotus, ' was the fource of all the er- 
 rors of Diodorus Siculus, and alfo led him to flretch even to 
 the Nile, that portion of Syria which ended at the lake Serbonis, 
 
 and had the Arabia of Heroum to the South. If Diodorus 
 
 Siculus hath however extended too far to the limits of Syria, 
 Arrian hath compreffed them, when he tells us that Gaza was the 
 laft town on the road to ^Egypt. ^ Syria had notwithftanding 
 many other remarkable cities, and amongfl them, Anthcdon, Be- 
 thaila, Jenyfus, Raphea and Rhinocolura, according to Pliny, ^ 
 
 the 
 
 ■^ jEgyptc Ancienne et Moderne par d'Anville. gg. 
 
 '' Herodotus. Lib. 2.-106. 
 
 ^ Herodotus. Lib. 2.-1 10, iii. Where the Point is well argued. 
 
 f " Eo-^jœTu Je wx«T(j, us iTt' A:yi'vrti ix <Por/i>im imri." (Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 2. C. 26. 
 — 174.) The Baron de St. Croix hath rendered the '' Eir^scrn h uxHra" by "La dernière ville 
 habitée" and Dr. Gillies (Hiflory of Greece. Vol. 2.-609.) as well as Rooke, the tranflator of 
 Arrian, have underftood the expreffion in the fame fenfe. May I be permitted to doubt, whe- 
 ther Arrian did not rather mean to intimate, that Gaza was the city lalt built and peopled on the 
 
 roadto^gypt. By this conftruâion, the inadvertency, with which the Baron dc St. Croix 
 
 hath charged Arrian, is at an end, and Pliny's apparent contradid'tion will be no longer vilible. 
 
 8 "Telles qu'Anthedon, Bethaila, Jenyfus, Raphia, et Rhinocolura, cclleci, le dernier lieu 
 de cette province felon Pline." I cannot comprehend how tlie "Oppida Rhinocolura, et intus 
 
 Raphea :
 
 302 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 the laft of which flood on the confines of Sj'iia towards ^gypt, 
 and was nearly four hundred Olympic ftadia from Gaza. 
 
 O. Curtius informs us, that the country of Ammon was termi- 
 nated to the Eaft by the Ethiopians ; to the South by the Trog- 
 lodite Arabians, whofe territories reached the Red Sea -, to the 
 Weft by the ^Ethiopian Scenites, and to the North by the Nafa- 
 mons. "■ We may colleft fome ideas of the accuracy of the Latin 
 hiftorian, from a comparifon of his pofition of thefe different na- 
 tions with thofe both of the ancient and modern geographers. 
 
 The Oracle of Jupiter Ammon, in Marmarica, ' and not in the 
 Cyrenaic, as Pliny ^ and Pomponius Mela ' have advanced, had 
 Lybia on the North, whofe coafts were inhabited, if we are to 
 
 believe 
 
 Raphea: Gaza, et intus Anthedon," (Plin. Lib. 5. Tom. 1.— 566.) can warrant fuch a fen- 
 tence. I have releared Pliny from the weight of the obligation, and made the Baron de St Croix 
 accountable for his own aflertions. 
 
 '' " Adcola; fedis funt ab Oriente proximi yEthiopum : in meridiem verfus Arabes fpeflant 
 Troglodyli cognomen eft : quorum regio ufque ad rubrum mare excurrit. At qua vergit ad Occi- 
 dcntem, alii ^thiopes colunt, quos fcenitas vocant: a feptentrione Nafamones funt, gens Syria- 
 ca." Q. Curtius. Lib. 4. C. 7. Tom. 1.— 212, 213. 
 
 ' I doubt whether the " 'O; Maj/Aoif iSai ct^ oo-j^wf B^rtî etti «jXeoh tj; Ki^funxia, y^ TjxgxreitovTes /^iv- 
 (I Afj-ixuv®^," (Strabo. Lib. 17. --1 195.) will include the Oracle, See howe.xr Cellarii Geo- 
 £raph. 68. 
 
 '' "Cyrenaica, eadem Pentapolitana regio illuftratur Hammonis oraculo, quod a Cyrenis abeft 
 C C. C. C. M. pafluum." Plin. Nat. Hlft. Lib. 5. C. 5. Tom. 1.-541. 
 
 ' " Cyrenaica provincia eft ; in eâque funt Hammonis oraculum, fideiinclyt^: etfons, quern 
 Solis appellant." P.Mela. Lib. 1. C. 8.-46. B^» L. B. 1748.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 303 
 
 believe Herodotus, "" by a wandering and unfettled nation ; Mgypt 
 on the Eaft ; on the South the Nobates and Garamantians, though 
 Herodotus places them twenty days' journey to the Weft of the 
 Ammonians ; and the Inner Lybia on the Weft, ^he Troglo- 
 dites, who were fituated on the Weftern coaft of the Arabian gulph, 
 to the South of ^gypt, " cannot be included in the lift of the 
 neighbouring nations of the Oracle, nor the Ethiopian Scenites 
 and Nomades, refiding near the ifland of Meroe, ° whofe po- 
 
 lition to the South of Thebes is well known. According to the 
 
 ancient geographers, the Nafamons refided near the Great Syrtes, 
 and the borders of Cyrene and Carthage, diftinguifhed by the 
 Aras Philenorum. '' Herodotus throws back the Southern frontiers 
 of Lybia, as far as Augila, "• ten days' journey from Ammon, 
 whofe Latitude will not then differ more than one degree and ten 
 minutes, from that of the country of the Nafamons. Q. Curtius 
 fcarcely merits a reproach, for fuch a trifling miftake, but Dio- 
 dorus Siculus is unpardonable, for having placed this Lybian na- 
 tion to the South of the Oracle. 
 
 Of 
 
 "■ Herodotus. Lib. 4.-360. 
 
 " Strabo. Lib. i.— •ji. 
 
 *> Herodotus. Lib. 2.— 116. 
 
 P Strabo. Lib. 2.-193. — Plin. Hid. Nat. Lib. 5. C. 5. Tom. 1.--543.— Scylacis Peripl. 
 111. 4"' L. B. 1700. — Euftath. Comm. adDionys. Pericg. V. 209.--31. 4"> 1577. — P, Mela. 
 Lib. 1. C. 7.-40. 
 
 1 Herodotus. Lib. 4.— 361.
 
 304 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Of t]ie countries beyond the EUPHRATES. 
 
 We learn from Arrian, that the Macedonian army on leaving 
 the banks of the Tigris, in their march to Gaugamele, had the 
 Soerdian mountains on the left. '. The error muft have arifen from 
 the negligence of the copyift, who probably, inferted Sogdian in- 
 ftead of Gordian or Corduan, as both Palmer ' and Holftenms ' 
 have obferved. The necelTity of this correftion is nideed evident, 
 from the march of Alexander's army. The Gordian or Corduan 
 mountains, were fituated to the North of Arbela, and confequently 
 the Macedonian troops muft have them on the left. Strabo, * Q. 
 Curtius, " and Plutarch, '' unite their teftimony in fupport of this 
 emendation ; but inftead of endeavouring to difcover in the text 
 of Arrian, a folution of the difficulty, in which he is involved, 
 
 Monfieur 
 
 ' " Ev «fifEfa (X.EV E^i'v ra So-ySiawv o^vj." Arrian. Exped, Alex. Lib. 3. C. 7.— 195. 
 » Exercitat. in Auûores Graecos. 238. 
 
 * Ad. Not. in Steph. Byzant. 
 w Strabo. Lib. 11. --802. 
 
 * "Secunda vigiliâ caftra movii: dextrâ Tigrim habebat ; a Ijevâ montes, quos Gordïeos vo- 
 tant. " Q. Curt. Lib. 4. C, 10. Tom. 1.-242. 
 
 y "ric^iot ro fMr»^u ru îiifxratyrmogui rut ToghtaiuY." De Vit. Alex, Plut. Opera. Tom. 
 1.--683.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 305 
 
 Monfieur Freret'' is difpofed to fuppofe he gave the name of Sog- 
 dian, a term fignifying, ia Jiis opinion, a valley, to all the 
 country round about Arbela. This learned writer hath notwith- 
 Ilanding, inconfiftently advanced in his memoir on the chronology 
 of Afl'yria, " that ' the name of Sogdian was ufually applied to any 
 mountainous country." — Abulfeda, however, leaves little doubt 
 upon the fubjeft. Soghd, according to this Arabian author, is 
 the name of an extenfive province of Trans-Oxiana, of which 
 Samarcand was the capital. — Alfragan " reckons Sogdiana as a pro- 
 vince of the Khorafan, and the other Oriental writers, from whom 
 Monfieur Freret appears to have taken up his conjeftures, are not 
 favourable to him. Herbelot alfo contradifts him. 
 
 Alexander croffmg Mefopotamia, in the direflion of North to 
 South, from Gaugamele to Memnium or Memin, left a great part 
 of the country on the right. Q. Curtius affures us, that the Ma- 
 cedonian army had on the left Arabia Felix,' which is to the 
 South-Eaft of the Defert, near the Euphrates and Babylon, "^ and, 
 thus miftaking " Arabia Deferta" for " Arabia Felix," he places 
 on the left, what was upon the right. But indeed the account of 
 
 R R this 
 
 ' Gbfervat. furlaCyrop. Hilt, de I'Acad. des Infcriptions, Tom. 4. —611, 612. 
 
 ^ Hilt, de l'Académie des Infcript. Tom. 5,-190. 
 
 '■ Element. Aftronom. C. 9. 
 
 ' " Euntibus a parte Ixvâ, Arabia, odorum fertilitate nohilis regie." Q. Curt, Lib, 5. C. 
 I. Tom, 1.--302. 
 
 ^ Strabo, Lib. i6."iii2.
 
 306 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 this hiftorian, might induce us to beHeve, that Alexander had 
 Arabia on the right during the whole of his march, which was 
 the cafe only during a fliort part of it. 
 
 An alteration of a fmgle word, in a geographical defcription, 
 may fometimes occafion confiderable errors, and Juftin furnilhes 
 us with an inftance of it. The Lycus, a river which flows through 
 the plains of Arbela, is termed the Cydnus, a river of Cilicia, 
 which waflies the walls of Tarfus. ' We may reafonably fuppofe 
 this was owing to negligence in the copyift, but it has notwith- 
 ftanding bewildered P. Orofius, who follows the exaft footfteps 
 of the abbreviator of T. Pompeius, and, with the greateft abfurdity, 
 liâtes Alexander's laft decifive engagement with Darius to have 
 been fought near Tarfus. ' 
 
 The Tigris and the Euphrates are faid by Q. Curtius to crofs 
 both Media and Gordiana : ^ on the contrary, thefe rivers direft 
 their courfe to the Weft of Media, and to the South and Weft of 
 Gordiana. Diodorus Siculus may poflibly have been the author 
 
 of 
 
 ' Juftin. Lib. ii. C. 14.— 293. Voffius, however, in oppofition to Q. Curtius (Lib. 4. C. 
 16. Tom. 1.— 293.) and Arrian, (Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. 15.-214.) maintains the prefent 
 reading of Juftin, and fuppofes the Cydnus and Lycus to have equally difgorged themfelves into 
 the Tigris. 
 
 • "Apud Tarfum bellum opponit." (Orofius. Lib. 3. C. 17.--184.) The error is indefen- 
 fible. 
 
 « Q. Curtius. Lib. 5. C. 1. Tom, 1.— 305.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 3O7 
 
 of the error, for he makes the Tigris and the Euphrates, to water 
 Media and Parsctacene, '' a Northern province of Perfia. ' 
 
 In the letter, which Q. Curtius fuppofes Darius to have addreffed 
 to Alexander, he informs the Macedonian Monarch, that " he ^ 
 would find himfelf obliged to pafs the Euphrates, the Tigris, the 
 Araxes, and the Hydafpes, which were like fo many bulwarks to 
 his dominions.'" Thefe expreffions would naturally lead us to 
 imagine, that the Perfian empire lay beyond the Hydafpes. The 
 Araxes appears alfo to be tranfported to the Eaft of the Tigris. 
 Perhaps however a river of that name, which pafTed by Perfepolis, 
 might be alluded to; though from the circumftance of the Araxes 
 being mentioned amongft the other great rivers of Aha, it might 
 be fufpefted to be the river, which difcharges itfelf into the Caf- 
 pian fea. — Alexander in his anfwer to Darius, informs him, that 
 his intention was to make himfelf mafler of Perfepolis, the capital 
 of the Perfian monarch, and afterwards of Ba6tra, and Ecbatana. 
 Q. Curtius mentions Ecbatana the laft, "' as if it had been beyond 
 
 Baftra. 
 
 Rr 2 , The 
 
 Lib. 2. Tom. 1.— 125. 
 
 ' Herodotus. Lib. 1.--52. 
 
 *■ "TranfeundumelTe Alexandra Euphraten, Tigrinque et Araxen, et Hydafpen, magna muni- 
 jnenta regni fui." Q. Curt. Lib. 4. C. 5. Tom. i.— igi. 
 
 ' Digby's Q. Curtius. Vol. 1.-212. 
 
 " "Petfepolim caput regni ejus, Bailra deinde ct Ecbatana." Q, Curt, Lib. 4. C. 5. Tom. 
 5.-192.
 
 308 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 The Macedonian army, in its march from Sufa to penetrate 
 into the interior provinces of the Eaft, was obliged according to 
 Diodorus Siculus " to pafs the Tigris, This error is probably but 
 the confequence of the former miflake, which he had made, re- 
 fpefting the courfe of this river, and which hath been already 
 noticed. The judicious Palmer" hath not perceived it, becaufe 
 he wilhed to fubftitute the Pafitigris for the Tigris, which often 
 occurs in the text of Diodorus Siculus. The repetition itfelf 
 proves that the common reading is correft, and to vary the paf- 
 fages of the ancient writers upon frivolous pretenfions, would be 
 to expofe them inceflantly to the caprice of critics and gramma- 
 rians. The opinion that the Tigris, from its receiving the waters 
 of Sufia, and the different channels of the Euphrates, took after- 
 wards the name of Pafitigris, '' feems to be confirmed by the na- 
 vigation of Nearchus, '' and fome expreffions of Pliny. ' Alexr 
 ander's hiftorians have, notwithftanding, confounded the Pafitir 
 gris with the Orates or Oroatis, ' which feparates Perfia from Sufia, 
 
 and 
 
 " Diodorus Siculus. Lib, 17,-211, 
 
 " Palmer, Exercit, apud Auflores Graecos, 138, 139, 
 
 P Recherches Geograph, fur le Golfe Perfique par d'Auville.— Hift. de I'Acad, des Infcriptionsi. 
 Tom, 30,-173, &c, — See alfo Strabo, Lib, 15.— 1060, 
 
 1 Arrian, Hift. Ind. C, 42,-633. 
 
 • "Ubiremeavere aqui, Pafitigris vocatur," Plin. Hift, Nat. Lib. 6, C, 27. Tom. 1--716. 
 
 ' Yet Strabo tells us, " nao-JTiyj-iv «wo tb OjoaTiS®- SiE;^f<» srsfi 5ic-;i(jX(Bj raJiej," Lib. 15. 
 "IO60.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 309 
 
 and which in all probability Diodorus Siculus hath taken for the; 
 Tigris. 
 
 After the death of Darius, Alexander pui"fued the Perfian mo- 
 narch's aflaffins, and the remains of the Perfian army, and preffed 
 forward into that part of Afia near the Cafpian fea, and beyond 
 the laxartes, which was an important difcovery to the Greeks, 
 who had only been till then acquainted with the countries to the 
 Well of the Tigris and Euphrates. The Athenian orators were 
 fti'uck with the rapid conquefls of the Macedonian troops, and 
 the tribune refounded with harangues on the aftoniOiing relations 
 of their exploits, .^fchines cried out' in the midft of one of the 
 popular affemblies, " that " Alexander was at a diftance farther 
 than the Pole, almoft beyond the limits of the habitable world." * 
 Such was the impreflion that the difcoveries of the Macedonian 
 Monarch made upon his cotemporaries. The orator may indulge 
 himfelf in a paroxyfm of enthuhafm, but the philofopher will 
 fcrutinize more calmly the hillory of events, and fanftion only 
 thofe, which have the fupport of reafon, and are authorized by 
 
 truth. 
 
 Of 
 
 ' "Efchine s'ecria." I give the French expreflîon to juftify the correfponding paffage. One 
 part of the Athenian Senate, either in the pay or intereft of Alexander, or from views of oppofi- 
 tion, might find their purpofe in magnifying the vidories of the Macedonian Monarch, but the 
 Greek, orator, in the fentenee alluded to, reafons merely from the diftance, which then feparated 
 them. 
 
 w " 'O St A^£|a^Sf©' £|« rris Afxra tC, r-i)S oma/^emj oAiya â«ir zjaa-ris j/.iQeiTVx.ei," yEfchines con- 
 tra Ctefiph. Demoft. Opera. 454. Folio, Franc. 1604. 
 
 " Leland's Orations of iEfchines and Deraofthenes. Vol. 3.--1OO, 8"°
 
 310 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Of the CASPIAN SEA. 
 
 The ancient Perfians had fome correft notions of the Cafpian 
 fea, though they were not fufficiently acquainted with the whole 
 of its fliape and figure, as we may gather from Herodotus. This 
 Greek hiltorian moil probably borrowed his ideas from the Perfi- 
 ans, who neither pufiied their knowledge very far, nor acquired 
 that degree of certainty, which might have been expefted from them, 
 owing to the abhorrence of all maritime expeditions, which they 
 derived from their religious infl;itutions. '' They were perfuaded 
 alfo, that the coafl;s of thefe feas were frequented by evil Genii, 
 
 of whom they had fears and apprehenfions. ^ The Greeks, who 
 
 fucceeded them in the empire of the Eaft, failed generally to the 
 Southward, and the Eafterly and Wefterly winds, ' which blew 
 almofl incefifantly in thofe roads, with the want of proper and 
 convenient ports, " prevented them extending their voyages on 
 
 fuch 
 
 y We are told by Pliny, fpeaking of Tiridates, "Navigare noluerat, quoniam exfpucre in ma- 
 ria, aliifque mortalium neceffitatibus violare naairam earn fas non putant." Hift. Nat. Lib. 30. 
 C. 2. Tom. 4.— 730. 
 
 ' Mémoires de Monfieur Anquetil. Hift. de I'Acad. des Infcriptions. Tom. 31.— 373. 
 
 * Q, Curtius informs us, that there is alfo a great and heavy fea, which fets in from the North. 
 '• A Septentrione ingens in litus mare incumbit." Lib. 6. C. 4. Tom. 1.— 410. 
 
 ^ "Onneatroxj faevum, fine portubus, procellis undique expofitom ; ac belluis magis quam 
 
 cetera
 
 OF alexaînDer the great. 311 
 
 fuch ftormy coalls. They relied on the neighbouring nations foa" 
 information, and what they picked up from them was the fource 
 of numerous and multiplied errors. It is to the Ruffians that we 
 are indebted for the prefent geographical fyftem, and they have at 
 laft dilfipated that mifl of ignorance, in which this part of the 
 world was enveloped. By repeated obfervations, the greateft 
 length of the Cafpian fea hath been demonftrated to be from 
 North to South, ' and that it has neither any communication with 
 the Ocean, nor adjoining feas. 
 
 The ancient geographers were divided in opinion refpefting the 
 figure of the Cafpian fea. By fome, it was fuppofed to be of an ob- 
 long fliape : '^ others concluded that it was round. It is aftonifliing, 
 however, that the fentiments of Herodotus were not univerfally 
 admitted. We underftand from him, that an oared veffel might 
 fail in fifteen days from end to end, and might crofs it in eight. ° 
 If we reckon, according to the calculation of many of the anci- 
 ent authors, and even of Herodotus, the track of this veffel at 
 
 five 
 
 cetera refertum, et ideo minus navigabile." (P. Mela. Lib. 3. C. 5.-267.) The "Belluse" 
 might be the evil Genii of the Perfians. 
 
 ' Mémoire de Monfieur de rifle. Hift. de I'Acad. des Sciences. 1741.— 245. 
 
 '' MriwfiSjif eo-a, xara Xt T(»aj>^ Wfo/xtjxw." Agathemerus. Lib, 1. C. 3.— 184. Ed. Gronov. 
 4*° L. B. 1700. 
 
 !«>' fnf®. Se, rn tugvTarn cTi auTn luvTiis, oktu if/ii^cuv." Herod, Lib. 1.--96.
 
 3^12 CRITIC- AL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 ii\e hua(ircd iladia, ' Avhich ought in faft to be eight hundred or 
 .1 thoufand, the lengih oï the Cafpian fea, will be found within 
 ueaidv five hundred fladia of that given to it in the modern dif- 
 coveries, though the eight days' paffage cannot be reconciled with 
 any correcl chart. The calculation of Agathemerus is more mo- 
 derate, and he reduces it to two thoufand fi\'e hundred fladia, ' 
 the extent which it really has on the Southern fide ; but the mea- 
 fure of eight thoufand t^v•o hundred fladia, which he allows to 
 the coafls of the Cafpian fea, from the mouth of the Cyrus to 
 that of the laxartes, is not equally jufl and accurate. 
 
 Eratoflhenes had collected with care the obfervations of dif- 
 ferent perfons, on the diflance and extent of the coaft of the fea, 
 which bordered Albania and the country of the Cadufians, for 
 the fpace of five thoufand four hundred fladia ; the country of 
 the Mardi, as far as the mouths of the Oxus, for four thoufand 
 eight hundred ; and from thence to the laxartes, which again 
 took in two thoufand four hundred fladia/ amounting in the 
 
 whole 
 
 Tzrçay.iiryj'Km." (Heredot.Lib. 2.— 1O7.) Thefe four thoufand eight hundred and fixty ftadia allow 
 five hundred and ninety for each day's fail, and the calculation appears to be adopted in general by 
 the ancient authors. The turbulence of the Cafpian fea might however reduce the reckoning, 
 
 E " nXar©. St cjXfts-ov B. Ç. j«.iAiwv Sf T. X. S." Agathemerus. Lib. 2, C, 14. --243. 
 
 '' "4»i»'' S'EfaToirôsinis TO» liro ran 'EM.rivuy yviif/jAOv zji^tirXuvrris SaXariijf TauTtjf , rov f/si zjx^a rm 
 AXfaïSs, Kj TBÎ KaSairiBî, mxi 'aurax.tuyf^iXiut j^ TSTfaxoo-iwn* to» Se zja^x to» Atcc^iaxur, K/ MajSw», 
 1^ •Y{Ka»!t», fJ-'X?' '''" ro/AasT©- m 0|b ■aoracfA.ii, TETfaxiy^f^w» ^ oxTaxsyw»' evSe» S'sw tb ix%xqT<i 
 S(a;(A(w» Tir^oDviiTiM," Strabo, Lib. 11. —773.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 313 
 
 whole to twelve thoufand fix hundred fladia, Artemldorus com- 
 puted the diftance at fifteen hundred and feventy-five, ' which is not 
 widely different from the prefent ideas, though they are not ftill as 
 accurate as might be wifhed. Strabo affures us, that the Cafpian 
 fea was little known beyond the laxartes, and that too much caution 
 cannot be taken, in giving credit to any accounts of the Northern 
 part of it, '' with which the Ancients had but a very dubious ac- 
 quaintance. The name indeed of the Cafpian fea, accordino- to 
 Pliny, did not extend beyond the Cyrus. ' 
 
 It appears from the different computations, which have been al- 
 ready alluded to, that many authors of antiquity were aware, 
 though their notions were far from being perfeft, that the 
 greateft extent of the Cafpian fea was from North to South. Ptole- 
 my, however, hath totally difregarded the opinion, and allows 
 twenty-three degrees and a half from Wefl to Eaft, which is four 
 times its extent. " 
 
 S s The 
 
 > "Eratofthenes ponit et menfuram: ab exortu et meridie, per Cadufiae et Albania Oram quin- 
 quies mille C. C. C. C. Had. Inde per Anariacas, Amardos, Hyrcanos, ad oftiuin Oxi flu- 
 minis, quatuor mille D. C. C. C. ftad. Ab eo ad oftium laxartis M. M. C. C. C. C. (lad. 
 Qua; fumma efficit quindecies centena feptuaginta quinque M. pafluura." (Plin, Hift. Nat, 
 Lib. 6. C. 13. Tom, 1.— 668, 669.) The calculation therefore was that of Eratofthenes, and. 
 Pliny is only refponfible for the reduftion of the ftadia to the Roman meafure. 
 
 '' " A« Se WEf/ Tarv £v rri jjLt^t^i ravm, xj rois tm tothtoi tKTero'KujiAitois atrXnTeft» axuetv, ^ (ia^u;^ 
 'sngi rut ^larviMtrm." Strabo. Lib. 11.-774. 
 
 ' "A Cyro Cafpium mare vocari incipit; accolant Cafpii." Plin. Hi,ft. Nat. Lib. 6. C. 
 13. Tom. 1.— 670. 
 
 "" See the obfervations on the Cafpian fea. Hiftoirc de l'Académie des Science». ijii,—i^j. 
 
 t
 
 314 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 The refult of this extenfive and undue extent in Longitude 
 has been, that all the countries of Afia, within the twentieth and 
 fortieth degrees of North Latitude, have been flretched to one 
 hundred and ninety degrees of Longitude, and by this means, 
 China is placed fix hundred leagues more Eafterly than it ought 
 to be, " and the pofition of the different nations hath been thrown 
 farther to the Eaft. The Weflern regions have been equally mif- 
 placed, and a part of Albania, the Cafpians, the Caducians, and 
 the Geles, inftead of occupying the Weftern (hore of the Cafpian 
 fea, have been tranfported to the South. ° Monfieur de Buffon, 
 attributes the origin of this error to a fuppofition, that the lake 
 Aral was confidered as a part of the Cafpian fea. "We fhall find," 
 this great Naturalift informs us, "that the Weflern coaft of the 
 Cafpian fea, to the Eallern fhore of the lake Aral, extends to a 
 greater length than the diflance from the Southern coafl to the 
 Northern coafl of the fame fea." '' The befl modern charts do not 
 agree with this fyflem, and on meafuring the fpace of which Mon- 
 fieur de Buffon fpeaks, it will be found, on the contrary, that the 
 Cafpian fea will have a third more of Latitude than Longitude. 
 Befides the ancient geographers have not in the leafl confounded 
 the lake Aral with this fea, and the Orientals, who have given us 
 
 fome 
 
 =■ Hift. de l'Académie des îiifcriptions. Tom. z^,../^^, 
 - Ptolem. Lib. 6. C. 2. 
 
 ' "On trouvera 'encore que la longueur, depuis le bord Occidental de la mer Cafpienne, juf- 
 qu'au bord Oriental du lac Aral eft plus grande que la longueur depuis le bord meridional jufqu'au 
 bord feptemrional de la même mer." Hift. Nat. Tom. 2...41, Ed. la""»
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ^ir 
 
 fome very particular information relative to this lake, have been 
 equally deceived as to the extent of the Longitude of the Cafpi- 
 an fea. 
 
 Abulfeda, an Arabian prince, and an author in the early part 
 of the fourteenth centur)^ relates the opinion of Kotiddin, who 
 fixed the Longitude of the Cafpian fea, at two hundred and fe- 
 venty parafengs. '' Ali-Kohcfgi, a celebrated Oriental aftronomer 
 of the fifteenth century, included twenty-two parafengs in a de- 
 gree, with a fraCiion of two thirds of a mile, three miles forming 
 a parafeng. ' According to this calculation, Kotiddin will only 
 have allowed eleven degrees a third and two miles of Longitude 
 to the Cafpian fea, which reduces it more than one half of Pto- 
 lemy's computation» 
 
 It is probable that the extent of the Cafpian fea was not always 
 the fame, on the Eaftern, Weftern, and Southern fliores, and that 
 it hath been fubjeèl to many changes. Perhaps even the Cafpian 
 fea might have once covered the fandy furface which now fepa- 
 rates it from the- lake Aral, and indeed its waters muft have been 
 much more confiderable, as many great rivers, which formerly 
 opened into it, have had their courfes turned and flow into it no 
 longer. Mr. Hanway's journal proves, that many alterations have 
 
 S s 2 happened 
 
 t "TraditKotiddinus ejus Longitudinem ab Oriente ad Occidentem 170 Parafengas," Abul- 
 feda ex Verfione A(k. 
 
 ' D'Anville Mefures Itin, 96.
 
 3l6 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 happened in the neighbouring countries, and this fagacious tra- 
 veller remarks, that on entering the bay of Allrabad, on the South 
 fide ' of the Cafpian fea, it had gained fo much on the coafl and 
 eaten it away, that in many parts of it, trunks of trees blocked 
 up the fhore and made it difficult to land. When the Ruffians 
 firfl navigated the fea, they pretend that they found only five feet 
 of water, during nine leagues to the South and South-Eaft of 
 Chiterie Bogorie ; but for the lad thirty years, the water hath 
 deepened fo much, that Mr. Hanway could not meet with any 
 foundings at fome diftance from the coafl, with a line of four 
 hundred and fifty fathoms. ' 
 
 Perhaps thefe alterations may have been the reafon of the un- 
 certainty of the figure of the Cafpian fea, with which the Orientals 
 were as little acquainted as the Ancients. The former have fome- 
 times fuppofed that it was round or oval, at other times that it was 
 triangular, and like the fail ufually carried by one of their oared 
 vefiels. The obfervations made in the reign of Czar Peter 
 the firfl, at lafl determined its figure, ^ though not exaftly with 
 
 geometrical 
 
 • Hanway's Hiftorical Account of the Britifh Trade over the Cafpian fea. VoL i. C. 25.--164. 
 C. 26.--166. 
 
 ' Hanway's Hiftorical Account of the Britilh Trade over the Cafpian fea. Vol. 1. C. 24.-155. 
 
 « For the Honour of Great Britain, the Moderns are indebted, as Dr. Robertfon ob- 
 ferves, (Hiftorical Difquilition on India. 205.) to Anthony Jcnkinfon for the firft correft idea 
 of the Cafpian fea. The following is what Hakluyt terms "a iiotabledefcription" of it. "The 
 Cafpian fea (to fay fomething of it) is in length about two hundred leagues, and in breadth one 
 
 hundred
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 3^7 
 
 geometrical precifion, for the chart of Monfieur d' Anville, pub- 
 hOied in 1754, differs in many particulars from the Czar's laid 
 down by de I'Ifle. The gulph of Jemba, which forms a bay, 
 whofe fhores are the mofl Northern parts of this fea, hath chan- 
 ged its fliape in the chart of Monfieur d' Anville, and advances a 
 degree and a half to the South. 
 
 The point with the name of Mertovit Kultuk, is there extend- 
 ed in Longitude more than any part of it in Monfieur de I'lfle's 
 chart. The figure of the bay of Balkan hath experienced a fi- 
 milar variation, and in (liort Monfieur d' Anville's obfervations, 
 have induced him to alter many of his predecefibr's pofitions and 
 
 bearings on the borders of this fea. Herodotus aflures us, that 
 
 the Cafpian fea had no communication with the neighbouring 
 ones, "" and Ariftotle defcribes it as a lake, fituated at the foot of 
 
 mount 
 
 hundred and fiftj', without any ilTue to other feas: to (lie Eaft ^vhereof, joyneth the great defcrt 
 countrcy of the Tartars, called Turkemen; to the Well, the countreys of the ChyrcalTes, the 
 mountaines of Caucafus, and the MareEuxinum, which is from the faid Cafpian fea a hundred 
 leagues. To the North, is the river Wolga, and tlie Land of Nagay, and to the Soutli part joyne the 
 countreys of Media and Perfia. This fea is frefli water in many places, and in other places as 
 fait as our great ocean. It hath many goodly rivers falling into it, and it avoideth not it felfe ex- 
 cept it be underground. The notable rivers that fall into it) are firft the great river of Woîga, call- 
 ed in the Tartar tongue Edell, which fpringeth out of a lake in a Marrifli or plaine ground, not 
 farre from the citie of Novogrode in Ruffia, and it is from the fpring to the fea, above two thou- 
 fand Englifh miles. It hath divers other goodly rivers falling into it, as out of Siberia, Yaic and 
 Yem; alfo out of the mountaines of Caucafus, the rivers of Cyrus and AraQi, and divers others." 
 
 Hakluyt's Colledlion of Voyages, Vol. 1.--334. 
 
 * " 'H St Kaoir/)) S«X«aaa tf 5w' liiit;T»)f, a trvj/.jA.ia'yuffa ti ersfi SaXafrjT)." Herodot. Lib. 1. 
 -96,
 
 3l8 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 mount Caucafus, and adds that they called this lake, which was 
 eircumfcribed by the habitations of different people, a fea. " 
 
 Alexander's conquefls, inftead of confirming the want of a 
 communication in the Cafpian fea with the neighbouring ones, 
 gave birth to a multitude of errors or lent them frefli credit and 
 fupport. Diodorus Siculus ^ is the only one of the Conqueror's hif- 
 torianSjthat embraced the opinion of Herodotus; and though Plu- 
 tarch confeffes that the Macedonian Monarch could learn nothing 
 certain of this fea, he ftill hath no fcruples of advancing that it 
 was a gulph of the Northern ocean. '' This erroneous conclufion 
 was adopted by moft of the Greek and Latin writers, " whofe 
 names it is unneceflary to mention; and even the judicious Strabo ' 
 is not to be excepted, who criticifes unjuftly Polycletus, on his 
 having termed the Calpian fea a lake. Monfieur de I'iile believes, 
 that the Ancients were deceived by the great refemblance between 
 
 the 
 
 y "AXX'iî <y£ \/no TO» Kawaa-o» Xz/u,»», lîv xaXam» Ji ixn îlxka.ua3,i," Arift. Meteor. Lib. I. C. 
 13. Tom. 1.--770. Folio, 1654. 
 
 ^ Diod. Sicul. Lib. 18.--260, 261. 
 
 * "Aut©-Se fiET* Twaxj^a/oTamjj 5t;va^£4Wflr 'Tfxawav xjtrsfajM* )^ utXayBj iJw» xoXtto», ux Aar- 
 rova y.11 ra wovtb Çaystrx, yXmuregoy Se tijs aXXvs SaXarlr;!-, axÇlss (/.ly «St» ta^iy zju^ia^ai cjEf/ «utb, 
 fMiXira 5s axao-E Tijs Ma/«T(S®- Xi/xtris a!»<)[KOTr>j» Ei»ai' k, toi rus yt ifva-iy-HS a»Sfas ax tXa^i rnXfi^n, aX- 
 >,x Z10M.01: trt(Tiy ifi.'n^cKi^iy rris AXs^xtS^a ççxruas iVofixjttri» in ri<T(Tx^uy xoXttd» fjrExojTm» airo tijj i^w 
 3aAœff-o->i$j ^offfoTcxT©- ôijT©< Ef», to 'Tfxa»/oi U£X«7®- :^ Kaamo» ô^^b •a^ocayiemofuyoï." De Vit. 
 Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom, 1.-690. 
 
 >> Plin. Nat. Hill. Lib. 6. C. 15. Tom. 1.-668, 669, &c. &c P. Mela. Lib. 1. C. 2. 
 
 — Dionys. Perieg. V. 722. Euftath. Commenu 96. Ed. Sieph. 4"> 1577. — J. Solinus. C. 21. 
 « Strabo. Lib. 11.— 777.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 31g 
 
 the ftrait, by which they fuppofed this fea opened into the Northern 
 ocean, and the mouth of the Volga. This river runs from the 
 North in a Southerly direftion, and widens at its entrance into the 
 Cafpian fea, which receives many rivers without ever overflowing. 
 The phsenomenon may be perhaps explained on the principles of 
 evaporation, by which a quantity of water pafles off, equal to that, 
 which the fea receives. '' 
 
 A conjefture, not lefs probable, arifes from the route of the 
 Scythians, when ihey formerly engaged in commerce on the 
 Northern ocean. They mounted the Volga and the Kama, and 
 to reach the Petzora, which throws itfelf into this fea, they carried 
 their merchandife about half a league over land, though it was 
 not mentioned, being only a trifle in comparifon of their tedi- 
 ous paflage by water. ' We have another example of this mode 
 of executing a long voyage principally on rivers, in the chart of 
 Japan, which Kcempfer brought along with him into Europe, and 
 depofited in Sir Hans Sloane's mufeum. It hath been fincepub- 
 liflied by Monfieur de Guignes. ' The Saghalion, is there repre- 
 fented as united by the lake Paikal or Baikalmore to the Lena, 
 notwithfi;anding there are two carrying-places in this route. The 
 
 North 
 
 •' See the very ingenious theory of Dr. Halley. Philofoph. Tranfaft. 1687.— 186. Qoa. Per- 
 ry (State of Ruffia) hath even calculated the quantity of water, which the Cafpian fea received 
 from the Volga every minute. 
 
 ' Confiderat. Geograph. par Mons. Buache. 147. 
 
 ' Hift. de I'Acad.. des Infcriptions, Tom, 28.--503,
 
 320 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 North American Indians, entertain nearly the fame ideas with the 
 Japanefe, on the junftion of their refpeftive lakes and rivers, as 
 may be gathered from a comparifon of the chart, traced by Oc- 
 hao-ach the Indian, before the French officers fent to make difco- 
 veries, and the obfervations, which they had perfonally made. ^ 
 Champlain, to whom the French eltabHfhment in Canada owed its 
 origin, related that the Indians informed him by mounting the 
 Saguena, in forty or fifty days he might arrive at the Northern 
 ocean. We know decidedly that this river receives that of the 
 Chefoumatau, by which there is a palfage, with one carrying-place 
 to the lakes of the MiftalTms, and from thefe lakes they defcend 
 by the Kiche-Kupitan, or the great opening into Hudfon's bay. 
 
 Objefts frequently prefent themfelves under the fame afpeft to 
 thofe people, whofe knowledge is very limited, and to thofe, who 
 are not civilized. The Scythians were the Savages of the ancient 
 Continent, and it is from their accounts, that Scymnus of Chio, 
 in all likelihood, hath related that the Tanais derives its fource 
 from the Araxes, '' which is the Rha or Volga. But the Araxes 
 was a term applied by the Ancients to many rivers, notwithftanding 
 Herodotus principally defigns by it the Volga, which approaches 
 very near the Twia, at the diflance of eight leagues from the 
 
 Tanais, 
 
 « Confiderat. Geograph. dc Mons. Buachc. Chart 8. 
 
 To pvjj.' A^x^ius eiTiij.;aycTxi ^' 
 
 Scymni Fragm. 1 28, 1 29. Geog. Vet. Script, Min. Greec. Tom. 2.--5O.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 32 1 
 
 Tanais, ' of which it was fuppofed by Ariflotle to be a branch. "^ 
 The Scythians, -who navigated the two rivers, circulated a report 
 that they joined each other, jufl as the Cafpian fea was imagined 
 to have had a communication with the Ocean. A pafTage of Ar- 
 temidorus, publiflied a few years' fmce, confirms this explanation, 
 and we learn from it, that the Tanais had two openings, by one 
 of which it fell into the Palus Ma:otis, and by the other flowed in- 
 to Scythia, The Rha or Wolga is to be underftood by the latter, 
 that erodes Afiatic Scythia before it throws itfelf into the Caf- 
 pian fea, which Artemidorus after Ariflotle's opinion, adopted 
 alfo by Ptolemy, confiders as a branch of the Tanais. 
 
 This is not, however, the only example in geography of fuch 
 communications, "" which may be traced to the Scythians. The 
 whole fpace of country between the Euxine and Cafpian feas be- 
 ing inhabited by thefe people, the Phafis, Araxes, and many other 
 rivers, which on a junftion with them loll their own names, ferv- 
 ed to conneft them with the different tribes of their extended na- 
 
 T T tion, 
 
 • The BaroB de St. Croix obferves alfo that even this diftance is reduced by two other rivers, 
 one of which runs into the Don, and the other into the Wolga. See likewife Perry's State of Ruf- 
 fia. 
 
 '^ "K»j ÔA(x^ris' Tara S' Ô T«va/i avgoa-xi^sra: (iff ©- wv." Ariftot. Meteor. Lib. i. C. 13. Tom. 
 1.-768. 
 
 ' Vangoens Notes on Porphyrins de Antre Nympharum. 87. 
 
 ■" There is a very curious and intelligent memoir of Monfieur Buache, on the fuppofed commu- 
 nications of different rivers and feas, which have in our times difappeared. Hift. de I'Acad» des 
 Sciences.
 
 322 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 tion, and with a very fhort pafTage over land, which they do not 
 mention, they generally moved by water. Their relations might 
 then have very naturally eftablifhed the fuppofed junftion of the 
 Phafis and Araxes with the Lycus, of which Apollonius Rhodius " 
 hath fpoken. That of the Ifter with the Ionian fea or Adriatic 
 gulph and the Pontus Euxinus, which we are told of by the fame 
 author, have no other origin. The Greek poet adopted the opi- 
 nion of Tiraagetes, ° who affures us that the Argonauts on mount- 
 ing the Ifter reached the fea, which bathes the fides of Italy '' and 
 part of Greece. We know the Danube, at fome diftance from its 
 
 rife, 
 
 -Tlx^x zsço^ovuTi Arxoio, 
 
 ^x(Tioi av{jt.ÇE^ETXi U^ov ÇOOV' ot 5f trvv xiJ-^u 
 Kavxxamv «aoS'bj t» tXavioiABtoi 'St^oyfuaDi." 
 
 ApoU, Rhod. Lib. 4. V. 132 134. 
 
 See alfo the Scholia. Ed. Hoelzlin, 398. 8^° L. B. 1641. 
 
 • "Ce poete a fuivi l'opinion de Timofthenes." " Ti/x.ayijT©- Se ev a raff / X;ft£vi», tov Irfo» ^jjo-i 
 KXTxfc^ca^xi IX TUf KeXt/xo»! o^uv' CiTx ExSiSoyEva» «s KeXt/xdv ^.i/avW jj.!rx Se Txvrx H! mo a^i^fa^xi 
 TO SS«f 5 iij TO ij.iv HS Toy Etijfivov ■ctoïto» e/<r5'aXAa»j to Se ek T>i» KE^Tixnv SaXaa-o-ay* Sia Se tbtb th ro- 
 (Axr®' z}Xw<Txi Tus A^yorxvTxs, >y iXBeti iis T-j^^nxt' xxrxxoXn^ii ^i xvru -^ A'7!o>Auyi®'," (Scholia, 
 ad Apoll. Rhod. Lib. 4. V. 258. Ed, Hoelzlin. 409.) The Baron de St. Croix for Timage- 
 tes hath boldly fublUtuted Timofthenes, who had, he fays, the command of the fleet of Ptolemy 
 Philadelphus, and was the author of fome geographical details in ten books. The name, how- 
 ever, of Timagetes again occurs in the commentary on the 284"' Verfe of the 4'*' Book of Apol- 
 lonius Rhodius, and I have reflored it. From the repetition of the words, it cannot be fuppo- 
 fed to be an error. 
 
 » "EvSa h^ri TO ^(v ct^x (jiir'loviYit âXx ffxKKei 
 TriS' iSfcif , TO ù'oTia^c Sa^vt Sia xoXiroy 'mo't 
 SxfÇj^iy©. wtvTB Tf/vaxfiB {(0'«yE;^oyTa." 
 
 Apoll. Rhod, Lib, 4.-289 291.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 323 
 
 rife, approaches the Adriatic gulph, with which a communication 
 might eafily be opened, if a junftion of it was formed with the 
 river, which runs into the Adriatic gulph near Aquilea, and which 
 is only feparated from the Danube by a narrow tratl of country. 
 
 It is then very probable that Patroclus, who commanded the 
 fleets of Seleucus and Antiochus, might more eafily have taken 
 the mouths of the Volga for a lirait, '' as the miftake was fupported 
 by the opinions of the natives, and they went by water to the 
 Northern ocean. This navigator would naturally lofe no time in 
 publifliing his pretended difcovery, or rather the confirmation of 
 the report of the Macedonians, who followed Alexander ; and 
 from this circumftance we may date the errors of the cotemporary 
 and later writers, P. Mela hath reprefented this ftrait, which 
 ferved as a communication with the Cafpian fea and that of the 
 Northern ocean, as long, very narrow, like a river, and conti- 
 nuing its courfe in a dire6l line, as it approached its opening ' in- 
 to the fea. Under this defcription the Volga cannot be miftaken. 
 
 Ptolemy, with the advantage of various relations, comes over 
 to the fentiments of Herodotus, Ariftotle, Diodorus Siculus and 
 Polycletus, and he tells us in his geography, that the Cafpian fea 
 
 Tt 2 is 
 
 1 Strabo, Lib, 2. 
 
 • "MareCafpium, ut angufto, ita longo etiam freto, primum terras, quafi fluvius, irrumpit." 
 
 P. Mela. Lib. 3. C. 5.-266.
 
 324 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 is furrounded on all fides by land, and that it refembles, when 
 compared to the Continent, an ifland in the midft of the waves. ' 
 
 In the number of events and revolutions, which Providence 
 hath brought about in different ages of the world, though they 
 may have been fatal to the inhabitants of the countries that were 
 immediately expofed to them, the circle of human knowledge was 
 certainly extended. By one of thefe political convulfions, the 
 opinions refpefting the Cafpian fea were reduced to a certainty, 
 and its fuppofed communication with the Ocean proved to have 
 been imaginary. Under the Arabian Caliphs the Northern regi- 
 ons were explored, and their conquefts and incurfions are clearly 
 afcertained by the medals of thefe Sovereign princes, that are 
 often found in the ancient tombs which are fo numerous on the 
 borders of Petzora. ' It was then generally known, that the Caf- 
 pian fea had no communication whatever with the Northern ocean, 
 and Abulfeda indeed with the other Oriental geographers were 
 never ignorant of it. * — Arrian, " however, and Q. Curtius ' have 
 
 notwithftanding 
 
 • Ptolem. Lib. 7. C. 5. 
 
 « Strahlenberg's Hift. Geographical Defcription of the North and Eaftern part of Europe and 
 AGa. Seift. 6.— 117. 
 
 " "Nee conjungitur cum mari ambiante, nee cum alio ex maribus de quibus fermo prxceffit." 
 
 Abulfeda ex Verfione Aik. Eldrifi. Geog. Nub. 243. 
 
 • Arrian, Lib. 5. C. 26.-396. 
 
 1 "Quidam credidere, non Cafpium mare efTe; fed ex India in Hyrcaiiiam cadere." Q. Cur- 
 tius. Lib. 6. C. 4. Tom. 1,-411, 412,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 325 
 
 notwithftanding declared that the Cafpian fea had a communication 
 with the Indian ocean, by which the traft of land between the two 
 feas muft be confiderably narrowed. This erroneous idea of the 
 two hiflorians perhaps induced Artemidorus to believe, that the 
 Cafpian fea was at no great diftance from the Ocean, "" and that the 
 Cafpians, who dwelt upon its fliores, were the borderers of Perfia ; 
 from which, that part of Alia fituated between the Cafpian fea 
 and Indian ocean, the later including the whole expanfe of water 
 that wafhes the Southern fide of Afia, was diminifhed five degrees 
 in Latitude, and all the nations, that occupied this fpace of coun- 
 try, are made to difappear. 
 
 We learn from Polycletus, ' that the water of the Cafpian fea 
 was frefh, and Plutarch " and Q. Curiius ' have adopted the opi- 
 nion, which is not altogether deftitute of truth. Abulfeda relates, 
 after a traveller, whofe name he does not mention, that the water 
 of this fea changes its colour on the Northern fhore, and that it 
 is frefhened fo much by the river Atal or Atalcus, which is the 
 modern Volga, as to be ferviceable even at the diflance of a day's 
 
 fail, 
 
 raOncavs." Schol. ad Appol. Rhod. Lib. 3. V. 858. Ed. Hoelzlin. L. B. 8™ 1641. 
 
 vTToyXvxv ei»ai TO li^u^.' Strabo, Lib. ii.—jy-j, 
 
 ^ "rAi/KtiTtjo»SET>)ji»XÀ>iîSa^aTl)if." De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.--69O. 
 
 * "Maeotim paludem in id cadere putant: et argumentum adferunt : aquam, quo dulcior fit 
 quam cetera maria, infufo paludis humore mitefcere," Q. Curtius, Lib. 6. C. 4.— 410.
 
 326 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 fail, which may be calculated at nearly twelve leagues. ■* Father 
 Avril on the contrary lintits its eflefls, and afiures us that the frelh 
 water extends only two leagues from the {hore. ' The Ancients, 
 who feldom ventured out of the fight of land, concluded that the 
 reft of the Cafpian fea was like that, which they had before their 
 eyes, but Le Bruyn ' and many other travellers ^ have not forgotten 
 to mention the fingularity. Perhaps we may be tempted to fup- 
 pofe, with Monfieur de BufiFon,'' that it became only fait flowly, 
 and b)' degrees. The rivers, that lofe themfelves in this fea, have 
 continually brought along with them faits, which they detached 
 from the earth in their paffages, and thefe faits have not been dif- 
 fipated by evaporation. It is poffible alfo, that the difference be- 
 tween Abulfeda and Father Avril, may be owing to the obfervati- 
 ons made on the different parts of the coafts, on which they 
 landed. The frefhnefs of the Cafpian fea could not have 
 been always the fame at an equal diftance from the coaft, but 
 
 muft 
 
 ' "Mercator, qui in hoc mari navigavit, ita dicens, cum ad finem illius maris ad feptentrio- 
 iiem pervenimus, illam aquam falfam ac limpidam colore mutatam comperi ; tunc didlum fuit mi- 
 hi illam aquam effe fluminis Ataici maris aquis mixtam, cumque ex ilia bibilTem eam dulccm cffe 
 deprehendi, et ita prope diem per mare dulce navigavimus." Abulfeda ex Vers. Afk. 
 
 ' Voyages en divers Etats d'Europe et d'Afie. 86. 
 
 ' Voyages de Le Bruyn. Tom. 3.-459. Ed. 4"> 
 
 E Voyages d'Olearius. 513. 
 
 " Hiftoire Naturelle. Tom, 2.-176, Ed, 12"° The Baron de St, Croix obferves that Pliny 
 appears to ftrengthen Monfieur de Buftbn's fyftem. "Prœterea apud Badros amnes Ochus et Ox- 
 us, ex appofitis monlibus deferunt falis ramcnta." Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib, 31. C. 7. Tom. 4, 
 -805, 4"> 1685.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 327 
 
 muil have varied according to the quantity of water, whicli the 
 neighbouring ri\ ers poured into it, and the velocity with which 
 it was difcharged, as it would be conveyed to a diflance propor- 
 tionable with its rapidity. ^|l Strabo reproaches the companions of 
 Alexander's arms with ilie invention of many falfities on the fub- 
 je6t of the Cafpian fea, ' and with having confounded it with the 
 Palus Maeotis : Plutarch " and O. Curtius ' inform their readers 
 that this lake of European Scythia joined the Palus Maeotis, but 
 this error may be attributed to the incorreft notions of the Anci- 
 ents relative to the lake Aral, which they imagined to be the Pa- 
 lus Maeotis. — Herodotus relates that the country inhabited by the 
 Chorafmians, the Hvrcanians and fome other people, was watered 
 by the river Aces or Akes. The precife place, where it difgoro-- 
 ed itfelf, was between two mountains : " being banked up and fe- 
 cured with locks by the orders of the king of Perfia, its courfe 
 was thus flopped, and it formed a fpacious lake, covering the 
 plain between the two mountains. " The whole country became 
 
 very 
 
 * " n^oirùo^xiT^ij 0Ê tù zjs^i TVS ^xKxtItis ctdXXj: 4,£uoj) Six Tijy A>.i^xvûçu ^'^»r ';-rrTi' ^^^ 
 
 !» «» (T-'Hjyo» Ti!» T£ MxtuTii X(^»ri» Tn» Sej^ojaevij» tov Txtxit, Kf Trtu KxfTTrix» ^xKarlxt," Strabo. ii, 
 
 --777' 
 
 '' "MxXiçx Of etxx^i TvsMaiuri^®' ^//xnjj avaxoim» mxi," De Vit, Alex, Plut. Opera. Tom. 
 I .—690. 
 
 ' "Maotim paludem in id cadere putant." Q. Curliut. Lib. 6. C. 4. Tom. 1.-410. 
 
 "> The Baron de St. Croix obferves thefe Locks are termed by Sherefeddin "Coluga," or ihe 
 "Iron Gate." Hift. de Timur. Lib. 3. C. 2. Lib. 6. C. 23. 
 
 " "Taf ^laaÇixyxs tvï k^cuv f/letfixs i 0x<ri>,ws, zivXxs m'iKart lia<r(payi t^riirt' awoxtxAJifuca Ji to 
 vOar®' rris E|o5a, to zji^m to evt©' tw» «jeiiv, WEXay®- yinrai," Herod. Lib, 3, --256.
 
 328 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 very clamorous on the occafion, and the Perfian monarch, 
 throwing down the mound, which he had ordered to be erefted, 
 the Akes or Aces returned into its old channel, and on the ufual 
 tribute being paid, was again permitted to fertilize the country. ° 
 In this defcription the Oxus is clearly afcertained, and the pafs of 
 Dehani-Chir, where the river is compreffed into a narrow compafs 
 is exaftly pointed out. We need not be aftonifhed that Herodo- 
 tus, who took up his information from report, fhould have con- 
 founded this pafs with the lake formed by the waters of the Oxus, 
 which is in fa6l the Aral. The mountains or bold fteep fides, 
 with which it is furrounded gave fome reafon for the miflake, and 
 the Greek hiflorian had certainly fome proper ideas of this lake, 
 known afterwards under the name of the Oxian lake, though all 
 of them were not correft. In the remoteft antiquity indeed, the 
 Oxus always in fome meafure ran into this lake, and augmented 
 it with at leaft fome part of its waters. 
 
 The Turkifli geographer informs us, that the Dgeihoun, which 
 is the Oxus, on quitting the fands, which will be hereafter taken 
 notice of, divides itfelf into many ftreams ; thofe of Kiahvare, 
 Hezar-Afb, Kierdan Kierb, and Hare, fupply the whole country 
 
 with 
 
 " " ETOav uv fiiSm <rÇ!i ziaçalî^urai m fôar©-, tX^ovrcs is res Ui^iras avm rt yy yimixis, fa'TEf xoclx 
 Tat Si'faj TB ^ao'iXt®', bouiri u^vaiyicm' à dt ^acriXws tokti SeofAimai avriuv iJi.aXira evtiXAeto» aKiyetv 
 ras 'UsvXxs ras es raro Çe^naas' zttixv oî ùtaxo^'^ 17 yri (rÇiuv yeyvirxt 'sjivuo'ac to v^up^ àvroti fj-ev àt 'SjvXai 
 airoKAi)(ovT«i, aXXus VivriKXirai amiyeiv aXKoiat rota-i ^co^imia-i (naXi^a rm Xoiirut' us S'tyw oiVaxnaaSj 
 XffwtT* fA,iy(x}\x zj^vcaojAo®' ayoiyei, •aa^t!^ tb Çofs." Herod. Lib. 3. --256.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 329 
 
 with water and are navigable. ■■ Some of the branches of the 
 Dgeihoun throw themfelves into the lake Kharefm or Aral, whilfl 
 this river pafTes along the valley of Kierlave, roaring fo as to be 
 heard to the diflance of two leasjues, and afterwards difcharo-es 
 itfelf into the Cafpian fea near Kahlkahl, ten days' journey from 
 Charefmus. 
 
 Thefe details ferve to illuftrate the text of Ptolemy, from whom 
 we learn that many flreams rife in the Sogdian mountains, fitua- 
 ted between two rivers. Thefe two rivers can only be the Oxus 
 and laxartes, that receive the tributary flreams, of which one forms 
 the Oxian lake. "" Ammianus Marcellinus, who hath often tranf- 
 lated Ptolemy, and fometimes appears to have added to him, gives 
 us fome idea of the Oxian lake by the exprelTion of "far and 
 widely extended," ' which can only agree with the lake of Aral, 
 Pliny alfo mentions it by name, but he is miftaken in the fuppo- 
 fition of its being the fource of the Oxus, ' that Ptolemy fixes in 
 the thirty-ninth degree of Northern Latitude,' the lake being in 
 
 V V the 
 
 P Geograph. Turc. 821, 822. and 884, 885. 
 
 ■i fit lis 'ooia Trn Cl^ianv Xi/jLvm." Ptolem. Lib. 6. C. 12. 
 
 ' "Oxiam nomine paludem cfficiunt longe lateque diftufam." (Ammian. Marcell. Lib. 23, 
 C. 6." 410, 411. 4" L. B. 1693.) The Baron de St. Croix remarks that Ammianus Marcelli- 
 nus hath tranflated the Greek word "\iiAnv" of Ptolemy by "paludem" whereas it fignifies 
 both a lake and a marfli or fen, and that the former term would have agreed better both wiih the 
 a£tual ftate of the Oxian lake, and the text of the Greek geographer. 
 
 ' "Oxus amnis, ortus in lacu Oxo." Plin. Hirt. Nat. Lib. 6. C. 16. Tom. i.--67b. 
 
 ' Ptolem. Lib, 6. C. 12.
 
 330 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 the forty-fifth, which perfeftly correfponds with the modem ob- 
 fervations. It is true that the Greek geographer allows this Lati- 
 tude to the middle of the lake, which fhould have been given 
 to the Northern fide of it, but the error is the refult of the Ptole- 
 mean fyflem, which throws back all the part of Afia beyond the 
 Paropamifus, much farther North than it really is. Monfieur de 
 rifle hath remarked, with great propriety, that the mouth of the 
 Volga, which ought to be placed at the forty- fixth degree, is to 
 be found at the forty-ninth, and the Southern fhore of the Cafpi- 
 an fea at the fortieth degree inftead of the thirty-feventh, '" an inac- 
 curacy of great confequence and moment. With thefe errors, it 
 is extraordinary that Ptolemy fliould have fo nearly approached 
 the true Latitude of the Aral or Kharefm, which is fl;ill called 
 Ogouz by the Tartars. Its ancient name of Oxian was derived 
 from the Oxus, of which the Aces or Akes was probably a cor- 
 ruption, and the affinity of the Oxus with the modern Ogouz is 
 eafily perceptible. 
 
 In the Calmuck and Mungal tongues, Ongon lignifies the Gift 
 of God, and Ogouz feems to be derived from this word. The 
 Carakalpak Tartars, that inhabit the country near the lake Aral, 
 condu6l a thoufand little fl:reams from it over their fandy plains, 
 and when the water is evaporated, their furface is covered with a 
 fort of cryflallized fait, which is the only one thefe Tartars as 
 well as thofe of Cafaftichia-Orda, and of Charefmus are able to 
 
 procure. 
 
 * Mémoire fur lamer Cafpienne. Hift. de I'Acad. des Sciences. 1721. 248.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GRE A T. 331 
 
 procure. From the great advantages which all thefe nations re- 
 ceive from the Aral, its Tartar name may have been given to it 
 on principles of gratitude, and they might confider it as one of 
 the immediate gifts of heaven. On the whole, it may be reafon- 
 ably inferred, that the Oxian lake is that of the Ogouz or Aral, 
 which was known to the ancient geographers, though the contrary 
 hath been fuppofed. ' 
 
 Polycletus *■ had confounded the Palus Micotis with the Cafpian 
 fea, which received into it, according to Plutarch ^ and Q. Cur- 
 tius, " this fpecies of lake, whofe true pofition Arrian " hath efla- 
 blifhed in his hiftory of Alexander's expeditions. From this cir- 
 cumflance, however, the Periplus of the Erythrean fea appears to 
 have been falfely attributed to this Greek hiftorian, as its author 
 
 V v 2 hath 
 
 " The Baron de St. Croix obferves, though Monfieur de Buftbn afTures us before the conqueft of 
 Peter the i*' "On ignoroit jufqu'à I'exiftence du lac Aral, qui en eft éloigne (de la mer Cafpi- 
 enne) vers TOrient, d'environ cent lieus, ou fi on connoiiToit quelques unes des cotes de ce lac 
 Aral, on croyoit que c'£toit une partie de la mer Cafpienne," (Hift. Nat. Tom. 2.-160. Ed. 
 12"°) that Eldrifi, who compofed his Work, in the 527''' year of the Hegira, which anfwers to 
 the 1149''' and 1150''' of the Vulgar Era, exprefsly mentions tlie lake of Aral, Kharem, or 
 Chouarafm, according to the Maronite orthography, and that it is accurately diftinguilhed from 
 the Cafpian fea. (Climat. 3. Part. 8.-138. Ed. 1619.) Abulfeda alfo fpeaks of this lake un- 
 der the name of the Chourafmian lake, which opens into the Dgeihoun or Gihon. Defcript, 
 Chorafm. Geograph. Minor, Tom. 3.-23. 
 
 y Strabo. Lib. 11.-777. 
 
 » De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. 1.-690. 
 
 * Q. Curtius. Lib. 6. C. 4. Tom. 1.— 410. 
 
 *■ Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. 30.--254. See alfo Dodwell. Diflert. in Script, Geo- 
 graph. Minor. Tom. 4.-85.
 
 332 CRITICAL INQUIRY INi'O THE LIFE 
 
 hath advanced, that the Palus Maeotis and Cafpian fea difcharge 
 their waters together into the Ocean. " 
 
 Thefe errors, refpefting the communication of the two Teas, 
 poflTibly afforded reafon for Clitarchus '' to beheve, that the Caf- 
 pian fea and the Pontus Euxinus were the fame. Q. Curtius per- 
 haps adopted the opinion, ' but he is little foHcitous as to any 
 confequences, which depend upon his fentiments, and both relates 
 contrary hypothefes, and admits them without caution or diftinfti- 
 on. The name of Tanais given to the laxartes, from a corruption 
 of the word Ikfaerte, which in the Mungal language conveys the 
 idea of a great river, may have ftrengthened the opinion. Dio- 
 dorus Siculus, ^ Juftin, ^ and Q. Curtius "" have confounded thefe 
 
 two 
 
 ' "KaS'w." Geograph. Minor. Tom. 1.-37. 
 
 ^ "Qui a crû que la mer Cafpienne etoit la même que celle du pont Euxin." The Baron de St. 
 Croix fupports ihe affertion by a reference to " Nam et irrumpit e Scythico oceano in avcrfa Afise, 
 pluribus nominibus accolarum appellatum, celeberrimis duobus, Cafpio et Hyrcaiiio. Non minus 
 hoc effe quam Pontum Euxinum, Clitarchus putat." (Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. G. 13. Tom. 
 1.— 668.) Of the validity of the evidence the reader will judge. 
 
 " "Opinion adoptee par Q. Curce." The Baron de St. Croix direils his readers to the fol- 
 lowing paffages. "Cum vero venti a Pontico mari fpirant quidquid fabuli in campis jacet conver- 
 runt." (Q. Curt. Lib. 7. C. 3. Tom. 2.-509.) "Afize omnia fere flumina, alia in Rubrum, 
 alia in Cafpium mare, alia in Hyrcanum et in Ponticum decidunt." (Q. Curt. Lib. -j. C. 3. 
 Tom. 2.— 501.) On the former, Cellarius hath defended the Latin hiftorian, though weakly, and 
 argues that the wind blows, in the fame direction, both from the Euxine and Cafpian feas towards 
 Baflria : in the latter, Q. Curtius feems to have diftinguifljed them. I have added the hypotheti- 
 cal "Perhaps." 
 
 ' Diod. Sicul. Lib. 18. Tom. 2.-261. 
 
 8 Juftin. Lib. 12. C. 5. — 315. 
 
 >" Q. Curt. Lib. 7. C. 6, Tom, 2.-525. Lib. 7. C. 7. Tom, 2,-531, 538»
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 333 
 
 two rivers, which Plutarch' and Arrian" have difcriminated, 
 though the pride and vanity of the Macedonians wiflied to unite 
 
 them.' 
 
 Ptolemy "' knew the difference, but bowing with fubmifTion to 
 the authority of the hiftorians of the Conqueror of Afia refpefting 
 the ahars, which this Prince erefted on the banks of the laxartes 
 in memory of his conquefts, the Greek geographer hath tranf- 
 ported them near the river Tanais, where, after running in a 
 Southerly dire6iion from its fource, it approaches the Rha, and 
 then turning to the Weft, ftretches to the Palus Maeotis, in which 
 it lofes itfelf. 
 
 The Greek geographer following the fame guides, hath multi- 
 plied the Scythians, as well as the Aorfes and Agathyrfes, Thefe 
 nations inhabited one fide of the Tanais, where Ptolemy places 
 them," but he reckons them, notwithftanding, a fécond time 
 
 amongft 
 
 ' De Vit. Alex. Plut. Opera. Tom. i.-ôgi. 
 
 '' Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib, 3. C. 30.— 254. 
 
 ' " EirfiSi '/af ô/xoJvoy>iTo, on ix 'nurrxv ^m^yn rm Amoit airo rns Ev^utt'/is ô Tamis roora/u.©^, to St 
 fAfTa|u TDS CaXarliif, Kfm TavaiS©- •cjoAi/ jLtEj©- T-rts Ao-ias 0», isy^ Wfrrmri rois MaxtWi." Strabo. 
 Lib. 11." 777. 
 
 "> Ptolemy. Lib. 3. C. 5. The Baron de St. Croix accufes the editor of Ptolemy with a wil- 
 ful intention of mifunderftanding him, and of removing the altars in oppofition to »he Text of 
 Ptolemy, to the foot of the Riphaean mountains. 
 
 . » Ptolem. Lib. 3. C. 5.
 
 334 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 amongft the Afiatic Scythians. " If Pliny "■ appears to have not 
 entirely avoided this miftake, he diftinguifhes at leaft by additional 
 names the people of European Scythia, that he places near the 
 Cafpian fea, and underftands the Aorfes by the Nafotiani, and the 
 Arimafpians by the Cacidari. ' But perhaps thefe Afiatic Scythi- 
 ans were colonies of the European Scythians, and preferved their 
 names after their migrations. 
 
 The ignorance of Q. Curtius equalled his credulity. Deceived 
 by the name of the Tanais, improperly given to the laxartes, he 
 fweeps from the furface of the earth all Afia fituated between thefe 
 two rivers, and fpeaks of Ba6lria as the lafl province of Afia, 
 and feparated only from Europe by the Tanais, which he con- 
 fiders as the boundary of thefe two quarters of the world. ' In 
 dire6l contradiftion to fuch a declaration, he pretends in another 
 part of his work, that the Scythians, who lived above the Cim- 
 merian 
 
 • Ptolem. Lib. 6. C. 14. 
 
 P "Ultraque Chorafmii, Candari, Attafini, Paricani, Sarangae, Parrhafini, Maratiani, Nafo- 
 tiani, Aorfi, Gelje, quos Grjeci Cadufios appellavere, Matiani." Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. C. 
 16. Tom. 1.— 675, 676. 
 
 « "Arifmafpi antea Cacidari." Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. C. 17. Tom. 1.--678. 
 
 ' "Tanais Europam et Afiam médius interfluit." (Q. Curt. Lib. 6. C. 2.-398.) "Baari- 
 anos Tanais ab Scythis, quos Europaeos vocant, dividit. Idem Afiam et Europam finis interfluit. 
 
 Si veroTanaim tranfierimus Quis dubitavit patere etiam Europam viiloribus ? 
 
 unus amnis interfluit, quem fi trajicimus, in Europam arma proferimus." Q. Curt. Lib. 
 
 7. C. 7. Tom. 2.--53t 535.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 33c 
 
 nicrian Bofphorus, belonged to Afia. ' The region, which extends 
 above the Bofphorus and Palus Maeotis, is notwithflanding to the 
 Weft of the Tanais, and confequently fituated in Europe, and is 
 inhabited by the Roxolanes and lazyges, two nations of European 
 Scythians. ' Q. Curtius hath fallen into this error, from having 
 varied the fituation of the mouths and the courfe of the Tanais, 
 and advanced the Longitude five degrees. He adds afterwards 
 that the Scythians, from whom the Parthians fprung, did not 
 come originally from the Bofphorus, but out of Europe. "^ In this 
 manner he removes the Cimmerian Bofphorus into Afia, whilft the 
 ftrait, by which the Palus Maeotis difcharges itfelf into the Pontus 
 Euxinus, forms the feparation of Afia and of Europe, whofe limits 
 have been fo ftrangely defcribed. 
 
 The falfe and erroneous pofition of many nations is a necelTary 
 confequence. The Cercetes, the Mofynœcians, and the Chaly- 
 bians, are placed on the left of the Cafpian fea, and the Leucofy- 
 rians and the Amazons on the right. " But the ancient geogra- 
 phers 
 
 • "Qui fuper Borphorum colunt, adfcribuntur Afije." Q. Curt. Lib. 6. C. 2. Tom. i.-« 
 398- 
 
 « Ptolem. Lib. 3. C. 5. 
 
 w " Nee dubitatur, quin Scytha?, qui Parthos condidere, non a Bofphoro, fed ex regione Eu- 
 rope penetraverint," Q. Curt. Lib. 6. C. 2.-398, 
 
 " "Cercetae, Mofyni, et Chalybes a Isevâ funt : ab altera parte Leucofyri et Amazonum cam- 
 pi ; et illos qua vergit ad feptentrionem ; hos ad occafum converfa profpeflat." Q. Curt. Lib. 
 6. C. 4. Tom. 1,-409.
 
 336 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 phers have uniformly eftabliflied the Mofynœcians, the Chalybians, 
 and their neighbours the Cercetes, called in later times the Apaites, 
 in the mountains near the Pontus Euxinus/ and the Leucofyrians 
 werethe inhabitants of Cappadocia, "" whofe fituation is well known, 
 as well as the country of the fabulous Amazons, who were fup- 
 pofed to have occupied the plains of Themifcyra, * on the banks 
 of the Thermodon. A fmgle error in geography is the parent of 
 many others, and Q. Curtius again juftifies the obfervation. This 
 Latin hiftorian, after having varied the pofition of the Chalybians, 
 adds that they were neighbours to the great cities of Sinope and 
 Amifus. "■ Amifus was at the diftance of twelve hundred Olympic 
 ftadia to the North-Eaft of the Chalybians, ' and Sinope, a cele- 
 brated 
 
 T Strabo. Lib. 12.— 8.25. — Scylax. 79. — Dionys. Perieg. V. 768. — Et Euftathii Comment, 
 ad Loc. — Xenopbon. Exped. Cyri. Lib. 5.-379. 4" Oxon. 1735- Thefe Mofynocci were alfo 
 called MolTuni, and tbe learned reader may confult on the clymolojy of the name, Apollonius 
 Rhodius. Lib. 2. V. 1018. &c. with tlie Scholia on it, and alfo on Lib. 5. V. 37g. — Bochart. 
 Phalcg. 3.-12. 
 
 ^ Herodotus. Lib. 1.-35. •'^" '^^ "'^'^ wafhed by the river Halys feems to be called, by the 
 
 ancient authors, indifcriminately, Syria, AlTyria and Leucofyria. SeeApoU. Rhod. 947 q66. 
 
 with the Scholia — Dionys. Perieg. V. 733. — Strabo. Lib. i2.--8i9 P''"- Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. 
 
 C. 3. Tom. 1.-651. 
 
 => Strabo. Lib. 12.-823 ^- Mela. Lib. 1. C. 19.-108, 1O9. 
 
 b "Get hiftorien, après avoir change la fituation des Chalybes, ajonte que ce peuple etoit vois 
 in de deux villes célèbres, Sinope et Amifus." The Baron de St. Croix muft be refponCble for 
 his own aflertion, for though he refers his readers to the fourth Chapter of the fixth Book of Q. 
 Curtius, not a fyllable refpeCling either Sinope or Amifus is to be found in it. 
 
 * See the Chart of Afia Minor by d'Anville.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 337 
 
 brated city of Paphlagonia, was twelve hundred ftadia to the 
 North-Weft of Amifus. ' 
 
 Of the people and COUNTRIES of HIGHER ASIA. 
 
 Pharafmanes the king of the Chorafmians came, according to 
 Arrian, to meet Alexander, and he afTured him, that he was a 
 neighbour of Colchis and the Amazons, which is an abfurd mif- 
 take, and originated like that of Q. Curtius, already noticed. Th© 
 Chorafmians refided on the banks of the Oxus, to the Eaft of the 
 Cafpian fea, a pofition, which Ptolemy hath accurately marked, " 
 who is far from multiplying this nation, as hath been unjuftly ob- 
 je6led to him/ The name of Kharefm or Khoarefm, which hath 
 been preferved with its ancient pofition by the Orientals, ^ fuffi- 
 
 X X ciently 
 
 ^ Marcian of Heraclea, ^Geograph. Minor. Tom. i.— 74.) the Baron de S(. Croix remarks, 
 only reckons three hundred and fifty ftadia between Sinope and Amifus, and he fuppofes an er- 
 ror in the numerical letters. Inftead of the "t v" he reads "a ►," which will then agree with 
 the calculation of the author of the Periplus Euxinus. " Awo Se Sikwwiij cis Ka^a^xv zuimmtrx-^ 
 liucrov (ftt^oj.) t»5t»Se tit Zasyaj^a «XXoi at/ ■n£»T))xo«T« Kj ÉxaTo»' £»$£»Je us to» 'AXu» ■ctotjs- 
 
 J40V, T^iaKoaiot giro Ss AAy®- ■sjoTa^a ts NamfasS^xov, ^xtioi eimMvrx o^etS; us Ka- 
 
 »«W£(o» aXAi» A/fAHiy, aX/oi «v ■aiiTmtmx ; Awo St Kwvwwtia us Ei/idi»))» énxro* ty eiKoai' tvStrSe cic Aftc- 
 <r«» InaToy j^ £|i)xo»T«." Arrian. Pcripl. Pont. Euxin. 127, 138, 8"° Amft, 1683. 
 
 ' Ptolem. Lib. 6. C. 12. 
 
 * Hift. de I'Acad. des Infcriptions. Tom, 25.-52, 
 
 « Abulfeda, Geograph. Min. Tom, 3.--20.— Eldrifi, Ceog. Mtn. 138,
 
 338 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 ciently demonftrates the fituation of this Scythian people, a tribe 
 of the Saques or rather Saces, who were an Abian colony. 
 
 Alexander's hiflorians have been accufed of tranfporting the 
 Abians of Europe into Aha, *■ but carrying our inquiries far back, 
 they may pofhbly be juftified. The Scythians have in faft occu- 
 pied almoft all the Northern regions of the ancient Continent, or 
 with a greater accuracy of exprelhon, the uniformity of manners 
 and modes of life, fo vifible in the different tribes of people, who 
 inhabited that extenfive traÊl of country, gave the Greeks fome 
 reafons to comprife them under the general name of Scythi- 
 ans. Their proper name, we are told by Herodotus, was that of 
 the Scolotes, derived from one of their kings : ' they were con- 
 fidered only as one people, and in this fenfe is Thucydides alfo to 
 be underflood, when fpeaking of their force and power. " Supe- 
 rior in numbers to any other nation in Europe or in Afia, when 
 united they were irrefiftible, and in reality they both peopled 
 many countries, and fpread themfelves almofl over the face of the 
 whole earth. 
 
 The geographers diftinguifhed the Scythians by the European and 
 Afiatic Scythians, but the term is too vague and comprehenfi ve. They 
 
 may 
 
 * Hift. de I'Acad. des InTcriptions. Tom. 26.— 50. 
 
 • " Iti/iTTao-i St iivai nm/xx ImKcTm, m Ba<Ti>.iui ztiuni^-itr»' SxuSaj îi 'EXXntis »ro/*acrav." Hero- 
 dot. Lib. 4.-282, 283. 
 
 *■ "Tatirv h a'Siitarx £|i<7«(rSa( >!p(_' on ra n-ry, Effwir», aXX'eS'tv Tr, A<Tm tS»©- tv crjoj U rp» '", r, 
 îv»«To» rxiS«/j o^oyy»'(AO>BB-( was-f» «*T(jtj>«(." Thucydides. Hift. Lib. S.--163.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 339 
 
 may be more properly clafTed in the two feparate divilions of tlu 
 Nomades or wandering Scythians, and the Scythians \\-ho liad 
 fixed dwelling-places, and cultivated the country on which they 
 fettled. Ephorus has adopted the divifion. ' In the origin indeed 
 of fociety, it is perhaps the only one of any fervice in afcertain- 
 ing the different nations of the world. Both the progrcfs of civi- 
 lization, which always flrikes at the root of morality, and the 
 foundation of towns and cities, that conftantly increafe at the 
 expence of the furrounding countries, whofe inhabitants they re- 
 gularly fwallow up, whilft at the fame time they introduce a lux- 
 ury, that foon renders contemptuous the fober duties of rural life, 
 have always put an end to thefe two claffes, which for the happinefs 
 
 of every people, were originally their fole diftinftions. With 
 
 the ancient Perfians there was indeed no other,"' and they ftill fubfift 
 amongfl the Tartars, who are the defcendants of the Scythians, The 
 powerful tribe of the Ufbeck Tartars is divided into the Oulagets, 
 who rove from place to place, and are fliepherds by profelTion, and 
 the Bukhars or Saertes, who live in villages, and have fixed habi- 
 tations." The fhepherds or wandering Scythians were the mofl 
 numerous, and included the Abians, a name which was given to 
 any wandering nation, and which related to their form of life, 
 
 Xx 2 that 
 
 ' Strabo. Lib. 7.-463, 464. 
 
 " Herodotus, Lib. 1.— 62, 63. 
 
 " Strahlenberg's Defcription of the North and EaRcrii part of Europe and Aha.
 
 340 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 that Horace has defcribed, ° and in which, detached from thofe 
 poflTeffions that fometimes have an influence on the probity of the 
 heart, they acquired a charatler of integrity, which even Honier 
 celebrates. '' 
 
 Ariflarchus pretends that the name of Abians was confined to a 
 particular nation, ^ and this opinion in fome meafure may agree 
 with that which hath been adopted, and is authorized by the con- 
 current teftimony of a crowd of writers, geographers, hiftorians, 
 and grammarians. ' This appellation, after having been applied in 
 general to all the wandering nations, was afterwards reftrained to 
 thofe particular people, whofe manners and way of life correfpond 
 moft with the idea reprefented by the term of Abians. A paflage 
 of Scymnus of Chios, feems to fet the fubjeft in a clear light. 
 
 The 
 
 o "Quorum plauftra vagas rite irahunt Domus." 
 
 Horat. Carm. Lib. 3.— 24.— 10. 
 Silius Italicus hath condenfed the hiftory of their life into the narrow compafsof two lines. 
 •'Nulla domus; plaullrij habitant : migrare per arva, 
 Mos, atque errantes circumveftare Penates." 
 
 P " rXaxToÇaywv, ACiuvre, ^ixjxioTXTun at^^uvat," Horn. Iliad. 13. V. 6. 
 
 1 Apoll. Lexic. Tom. 1—13. And the ingenious conjeflure of Monlieur de Villoifon on the 
 name of this people. 14. 
 
 ' "TasatiT'ns >yT>ss a/xafoixsi." Strabo. Lib. 7.-455. — Euftathius. ad V. 6. Homer. Ili- 
 ad. 13. — Nicol. Damafc. de Mor. Gent, ad Calcem. Repul. Lac. Crag. 548. Ov^iaioi, Amxi- 
 trarss. — Hefych. in Voc. Af/w». — Apoll. Lexic. 13, 14.— Etymol. Mag. Ed. Sylb. 232, 233. 
 — ^Steph, Byzant. 6, 7.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 34 1 
 
 The geographical poet, after having mentioned the Scythians who 
 had fixed dweUing-places, and cukivated the country that they 
 occupied, following Ephorus his guide, adds, " many other peo- 
 ple, who have no particular names, are {hepherds, and from their 
 religious principles treat their flocks with tendernefs. They drmk 
 mares' milk like the Scythians, and have only one common pro- 
 perty. Anacharfis is faid to have been born amongft thefe people, 
 celebrated for their moral character, and many of thefe Scythians 
 are fuppofed to have paffed into Afia, and there formed fettle- 
 ments, where they took the name of Saces." ' The fame paffage 
 is likewife extrafted from the fourth book of Ephorus, in the frag- 
 ment of the Periplus of the Pontus Euxinus, publiflied by Vofhus. ' 
 Strabo after having cited it from Ephorus, joins to it the verfes of 
 the poet Chaerilus, in which he fays, that " the Saces were fliep- 
 
 herds 
 
 fis mtv t/A.'^v^ut x^iKorraii ■sror'ay, 
 O/xopof* S'ij afïixE >y o-jts^e»*, 
 
 rx}^»xri, rxis ^kv^ixxis re I'lrwo/AO^^ja/s 
 Ziuo-J Se tu» ts xt>)3-/» a>xSi^eiy(orss 
 K.oimy airavTuv rm te ôXïj» ac/a»* 
 Kai rot 3-opo» A)ixy(xq(rn ex rm No(**S;xwv 
 4»)o-i 7E»E(tS«i rm a^o^ç tiiat&sfxrui. 
 
 . >^ xxToixriirxi rivxs 
 
 Eis Atrial' tXOotras, us dn Kj Xaxas 
 
 Scymni Chii Fragm. 111-1 23. Geog.Vet. Script, Grxc. Min.Tom. 2.-49-50, 
 ' Added to Scylax. 138. Ed, Gronovii. 4"' L. B, 1700.
 
 342 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 herds of Scythian origin, celebrated for their integrity, who inha- 
 bited Afia, a fertile country," * and he confirms the opinion of 
 Ephorus. 
 
 We learn from Herodotus " and Pliny, " that the Perfians includ- 
 ed all the Scythians under the Saces, becaufe this people agree- 
 able to the ideas of the Roman Naturalift, was the neareft to their 
 empire. But perhaps they might have other reafons, and the term 
 had probably a different origin. 
 
 A knowledge of the old Runic tongue, the Sclavonian dialefts, 
 and of the language of Thibet or Tangut, as well as of the Per- 
 fian and Turkiflî idioms, would afford us undoubtedly great affif- 
 tance in the explication of many Scythian names, but the fureft 
 and moft ufeful would be the Mungal, which was fo widely fpread 
 
 in 
 
 ^ " MvXotoiMi TE Yttxxi, yinx SxuSai siunz^ itxio» 
 Affioa zjvçotp^^av' yOfjLXOuv yz /xev yierav aTtoixot 
 
 Strabo. Lib. 7. --464. 
 
 » " 'O/ yaf Iltfo-a/ ■EjavTatj T«r SxuSar x«Xe«o-( 2«xixf." Herod. Lib. 7.— 54O, 
 
 y "Ultra funt Scycharum populi Perfi, illos Sacas in univerfum appellavere a proximâ gente, 
 antiqui Aramseos." (Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. C. 17. Tom. 1.--678.) The Greeks, the Ba- 
 ron de St. Croix remarks from Ariftophanes, applied the term of "Saces" to thofe, who had no 
 fixed place of refidence, and were not Citizens of any town, 
 *'Hn«f yaf, w'vSfK, it xjafùms n Xoyu, 
 Noo«y mtruii.iv ttiv Eyavrxxv laxn' 
 O /*Ev yaf «mx «r©-, fioÇix^irtu." 
 
 Arjftoph. Aves. 30 33.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 343 
 
 ill Afia. ^ The word Saki imports in it " I maflacre," and it is 
 very probable, that the Scythians in their bloody engagements 
 with the Perfians, cried out, when their enemies gave way, Sakib, 
 Sakib, " kill or mafifacre, and that the nation, whofe language was 
 not underftood, took its name from the imprefllon, which fear had 
 profoundly graven on the heart, and the term, which it ufed itfelf 
 in its combats. From Sakib or Saki the derivation of the Saces is 
 naturally eafy, " who were alfo called Amourgians, ' according to 
 Herodotus, from one of their kings, of whom Ctefias'' fpeaks, 
 and not from Margus a river of Margia, as Monlieur Freret * con- 
 je6lures. The Saces in reality never inhabited this country, and 
 differed but little from the Afpaciafquians or rather Afpaciacians, 
 as will be hereafter mentioned : but it may be firft neceffary to 
 fix the pofition of the Abians. — Strabo fpeaks of the Saces as the 
 moft Eaftern tribe of the Scythians beyond the Cafpian fea, and he 
 places them, like Marcian of Heraclea, on the fame line with 
 the Sogdians, near a ford of the laxartes, which facilitated their 
 
 communication 
 
 ^ Strahlenberg. Defcription of the North and Eaftern part of Europe and Afia. 
 
 » Sakib in the Imperative, fee the Mungal grammar in Thevenot. 
 
 •" Steph. Byzant. 580. Reland, according 10 the Baron de St. Croix, hath traced the etymolo- 
 gy of the word up to the Arabians. (DifTert. de Vet. Ling. Perfarum in voce Saci.) The Ger- 
 man extraâion however of Wachter, in his Gloflary, (1336) "Saka, nocere, vulnerare, dam- 
 num inferre," the Baron de St. Croix apprehends to be more legitimate. 
 
 ' "TuTvs^c iovras Ixv^ns Anv^yius, 2axixi txaXicy. " Herod. Lib. 7.— 54O. 
 
 * Phot. Bibl. 108. 
 
 ' Obfervatiov fur la Cyropedie. Hift. de I'Acad, des Infcriptions, Tom. 7.-436.
 
 344 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 communication with the Maflagetes. ^ Agathemerus afTures us, 
 that on coming from the Weft we find Sogdia and afterwards the 
 Saces. ^ Ptolemy enters into more fatisfaftory details, and informs 
 his readers that the Saces had to the Weft, Sogdiana, and Scythia 
 to the North, which was extended in a parallel line to the place 
 where the laxartes changed its courfe, ^ and after having run from 
 Eaft to Weft, turned towards the North-Weft. The country of 
 the Saces, who were fupported by their flocks, and never inhabit- 
 ed any towns, according to Ammianus Marcellinus, joined Sog- 
 dia, ' and a diftrift immediately contiguous to this province on the 
 Eaft, preferves even at this day the name of Sakita, "^ which feems 
 to have a near affinity with the ancient name of the Saces, and to 
 point out the identity of the true pofition of thefe people. 
 
 Diodorus Siculus pretends, that all Scythia beyond the Edmodus 
 or Emodus to the North of India, was occupied by the Saces ; ' but 
 we may eaftly difcover that he was deceived, by the extent of terri- 
 tory, which the Perfians allowed to this nation. Eratofthenes is 
 
 not 
 
 f "Tar Se cTfoo-ïwsî T8T4)» jxoXXo» Maa-ffasyerar, y^ txxMS onfjixC/iiTi." Strabo. Lib. it.— 778. 
 
 * "EiT« ZoySja»*, oT« ïaxia." Agathemerus. Lib. 2. C. 6. 4'° L. B. J7OO. 
 
 * Ptolem. Lib. 6. C. 13. 
 
 * " His contigui funt Sacar, natio fera, fqualentia incolens loca folo pecori fruâuofa, ideo nee 
 eivitatibus culta." Amm. Marcell. Lib. 23. C. 6.— 411. 4'° L. B. 1693. 
 
 ^ Géographe Ancienne de Monfieur d'Anville. Tom. 2.-319. 
 
 ' "T>)»d£ zs^oi Tas A^KTes to H/xwSo» of©. S/ajya rns 2xu9/ar, it x«TO««« rtn SkbSw» 01 «rjo^ayo- 
 {!uo^£»oi raxai." Diod. Sicul. Lib. 2. Tom. i.-'i48.
 
 of ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 3i5 
 
 not lefs reprehenfible, who feparates the Scythians and the Sogdi- 
 ans by the laxartes, "^ and we may judge of the accuracy of this 
 geographer, refpefting the North of Afia, from the pofition, which 
 he gives to the Aracofians and Maffagetes, on the banks of the 
 Oxus near Ba6lria. Eratofthenes feems to confider thefe two na- 
 tions as adjoining ones, whilft one was to the North of the lax- 
 artes, and the other to the Weft of the Paropamifus, and confe- 
 quently about three thoufand Olympic ftadia from the Oxus. 
 
 As the Saces were a colony of Abians to the Eafl of Sogdia, 
 the hiftorians of Alexander have incurred no juft caufe of cenfure 
 from their tranfportation of this wandering tribe out of Europe 
 into Afia, where fome of them aftually fettled. Yet Arrian is not 
 entirely unexceptionable, when he mentions towns belonging to 
 thefe hordes, " who had no fixed and determinate place of refidence, 
 pafting a vagrant life with their cars and waggons, and flopping 
 only where they found a fufficiency of pafturage for their flocks 
 and cattle. The foundation indeed of towns cannot be reconci. 
 led with the Scythian mode of life in general, and more particu» 
 larly clafties with that of the Abian Saces. The ferles of events, 
 which Arrian hath defcribed, appear to indicate that the Scythi- 
 ans, who defended the paflage of the laxartes were Abians," 
 though we have more reafon to believe that he meant the Mafla- 
 
 Y Y getes, 
 
 • *'AietgyM^ Taxas fay, 19 2oy5(«»tff «v IaJ«f r»i»." Strabo. Libi ii,"ji2, 
 
 * Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 4. C. i.»258. 
 
 ' ■ ■ Lib, 4. C. 4.-264— —267,
 
 34^ CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 getes, whofe fituation, to the North of the river, made it more 
 immediately neceflary for them to oppofe the progrefs of the Ma- 
 cedonian Monarch. They attended Spitamenes in his expedition 
 againfl Baflria, '' after his irruption into Sogdia, in which he 
 had been reduced to the necefiTity of raifmg the fiege of Mar- 
 canda, and of retreating to take refuge amongft the wandering 
 Scythians. Pharnuces, who purfued him, imprudently got into the 
 midft of thefe people before he was aware of them, ' and this cir- 
 cumftance evidently proves, that they were the tribes of Abian 
 Scythians. A body of troops might enter their country without 
 having the difficulty of paffing any river, and the Maffagetes had 
 the laxartes for a barrier. Pharnuces had been led on to a diftance 
 by the facility of his march, and when he was attacked by the 
 Abian Saces, who had affifted Spitamenes, he was obliged to fly 
 with all his cavalry. ' Arrian therefore ought not to have diftin- 
 guifhed the Saces from the Afiatic Saces, ' and his opinion has 
 been improperly adopted by many other writers. Ptolemy was 
 undoubtedly led aftray by their authority, who reckons the Abi- 
 ans the moft Northern of the tribes of Scythians beyond mount 
 
 Imaus. * 
 
 The 
 
 » "2w(Ta/*t»if rt >y am avru rut ToySiatm rms ipvyoîiur, « rut Tmi^m rut Macra-aytruf xa^ti/jiau* 
 Tu» x"?" i''h'>'tÇtvyomSf fyyayayovres ron Matra-aycruf iirmas JlaxociBf, K^ixnro 'Bjts ri f(afiot rut 
 xaT» Ti)v BaxTfiam»." Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 4. C, jô.—agg. 
 
 « Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 4. C. 5.-268, 26g, 
 
 » ■ — — Lib, 4. C. 5. --269. 
 
 • ' . ■■ Lib, 4. C. 1.-357, 858. 
 
 ' Ptolem, Lib. 6. C. 15.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 347 
 
 The Oxus feparated Baftria from Sogdia, but Polybius tells us, 
 that this river having rifen in Caucafus, by which the Paropamifus 
 is to be underftood, rolls through Batlria, where it is augmented 
 by numerous flreams, that difcharge themfelves into it. " It is cer- 
 tain however, that the Oxus received almofl as many rivers, which 
 opened into it from Sogdia as from Baftria. The exprelTions of 
 this able hiftorian, might induce us to fuppofe that he placed the 
 Oxus in the centre of Baftria, fmce it is in Baftria, that he fup- 
 pofed it to be principally fwoln by the various rivers that run into 
 it. Dionyfius the geographer hath Rated a fuppofition nearly as 
 erroneous, and makes the Oxus to crofs Sogdia, " whilfl it ferves 
 from its fource to feparate the two provinces of Baftria and Sog- 
 dia. '' Polybius farther informs us, that the Afpafiacian Scythi- 
 ans, refiding between the Tanais, which throws itfelf into the Palus 
 Maeotis, and the Oxus, whofe dream lofes itfelf in the Cafpian 
 fea, crofled the latter river to make incurfions into Hyrcania. ^ 
 But the Greek hiftorian muft have been deceived by the improper 
 name given to the laxartes, and has in confequence fallen into the 
 
 Y Y 2 fame 
 
 H! avru v^otruv, Çe^srai^tx •sstSixS®' ^u^xs, cjoAA» i^ ^o^ÉfwfEt'(xaT<," Polybius. Lib, lO. C. 48. 
 Tom. 3.--303, 304. 8^0 Lips. 1790. 
 
 " "Toif S'fjr; îTfoj Bof£»iv Xoçatr/x/oj* ôis cni yaix 
 'Ssy^iai, is ii» /*e<7itov i^KTo-ETai ic^©^ C1^®j 
 'OfE ^OTll)» 'Hf*«So» of©-, f*£Ta K«iTWi5fls /3aXX«." 
 
 Dionys. Perieg. 746 748. 
 
 V '" 'Of of iÇ« Tw T£ TWï BajcTfiw», j^ Ti)» T4IV SoySiwv." Strabo. Lib. 11.-786. 
 
 ' " Hej «iBftEK» TO» 0|o», «J T»» 'Tfxawaii Ef;^o»Ta/." Polyb. Lib. 10. C. 48.--303.
 
 348 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 fame errors with the hiftorians of Alexander's life and aftions. 
 The remainder of his narrative proves decifively, that this Scy- 
 thian nation, which he meant by the Afpaliacians were the Saces : 
 the term Afpafiacians might be an additional appellation to fome 
 particular tribe of them. " The Afpafiacian Scythians, we are told, 
 had the Oxus only to pafs in their irruptions into Hyrcania, and if 
 their country was fituated between the Oxus and the real Tanais, it 
 muft have included an immenfe traft of country, and a multitude of 
 rivers muft have oppofed their numerous barriers to them, inftead 
 of which Polybius only takes notice of the Oxus. This river rolled 
 over rocks, and formed according to fome authors a kind of na- 
 tural bridge of a ftadium in length, over which the Scythians 
 pafTed without difficulty ; '' but others fuppofed, that they took ad- 
 vantage of the place, where the Oxus difappears and runs under 
 ground for fome diftance. The firft of thefe opinions may not 
 have been totally fiditious, as the Dgeihon or Amu, the Oxus of 
 the Ancients, feparates into many branches in the cantons of Balk 
 and Termed, and afterwards colleÊling again its divided ftreams, 
 paffes between two mountains, by a narrow chafm called Dehani- 
 
 Chir 
 
 * Ptolemy, in the Baron de St. Croix's opinion, hath diftinguiflied, without any authority, the 
 AfpaCans or Afpafiacians from the Saces, and given the Afpafians a pofition too far North. 
 
 *> " Aia ÙI THTH T8 TOWB (pXtTI TUS AlT'TtatTIOMX! ZJXf «fT'/lV TD» ■EIETfav two T>JV xaTa^Of «V TS CTOTa/XB Wf- 
 
 ÇVH» utra ruv itttimv fti rrm 'Tfxa»(i)v' 'o S'irtf©. Aoy©- iVidxErc^Kv s^n m ijçoa-^ci tuv amoÇacit' ra 
 yaf vvonetij.cva' roitu jAeyaXus ip^ptr®^ ■cxXara(iw»aj, (ts lis xMTapfarla, rtsres (faii m fiia. ra fwixar®' 
 ixxo/Ajt(vo»Ta >y ^laffiiywira xara faS®-, Itto yriv Çt^co-^ai toitov a ■sjoAiv, C(T'ayaÇia;»£0-3ai ijaAi»* rus 
 li Bajfaf 8Î Sia mv f/x.wftf la» Kara Tov ^laXuvoyru towo» CTsitcrSaij T>jv SioSo» fni Tut Ivnur Hs rm 'ïfxa- 
 v»i," Polyb. Lib, Jo. C, 48. Tom, 3.--304.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 34g 
 
 Chir or the Lion's mouth/ with fcarcely an opening of fifty 
 yards, which may be eafily fuppofed to have been the natural 
 bridge of the Oxus. — Polybius feems to have adopted the fécond 
 idea, and it appears more probable. The Dgeihon beyond Deha- 
 ni-Chir runs into a plain of fand of two leagues in length, where 
 it lofes itfelf. This plain might formerly have been very paffable, 
 but at prefent it is too hazardous to be attempted : at the end of 
 it the Dgeihon again appears, and refumes its courfe towards Kha- 
 refm. The circumftance of rivers burj'ing tKemfelves, in this part 
 of the world, within the bofom of the earth is not extraordinary, 
 and Strabo is not jullified in difputing the relation of Ariftobulus,'* 
 who affures us, that the Polymetus, the Sogd of the Orientals, 
 after having watered the valley of Marcanda loft itfelf in the fand, 
 without difcharging itfelf into the Cafpian fea, as Ptolemy ' hath 
 related, which was phyfically impoflible. The courfe of the 
 Polymetus would in that cafe have been intercepted by the Oxus, 
 which ftretched from the South to the North- Weft. — The paflage 
 of the Afpafiacians near Termed, according to the real pofition 
 of thefe places, proves that the Scythians made their incuriioni 
 
 into 
 
 ' Voyage d'Otter. Tom. 1.-235. The Turkifh g^eographer, according to «he Baron dc St. 
 Croix, enters into fome interefting details relative to the courfe of the Oxus. 882, 883, 884 and 
 885. And Eldrifi, in a Maronite interpretation, defcribes the pafs in the following manner. 
 •• Ubi abfcondit fe fub magno quodam monte, fuper quern tranfeundi eft quafi pontem.** 
 
 Ceog, Nub. Clio. 3. P. S.-ijS, 
 
 * Strabo. Lib. 11. 
 
 • Ptolem. Lib, 6. C. 14.
 
 350 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 into that part of Hyrcania, between the Ochus and the Oxus. 
 Monfieur d' Anville reckons the Ochus to be the Northern Umit of 
 this province, and this able geographer, it is to be fuppofed, had 
 good reafons for abandoning the fentiments of Strabo ' as well as 
 Ptolemy, ^ who throw back the frontiers of Hyrcania beyond the 
 Ochus. This river, which anfwers to the modern Thus, that 
 runs near Nefa, which took its name from Naefia a province of the 
 ancient Hyrcania, "^ continues its courfe, like the Thus, into 
 the Cafpian fea. — Strabo relates the opinion of the writers, who 
 imagined the Ochus and Oxus to form a junftion, ' and Q. Cur- 
 tius hath been led into an error by it; Alexander, according to 
 this hiftorian, pafTed both thefe rivers to arrive at the city of Mar- 
 ginia, " where he pitched upon fituations for fix other towns. If 
 the Macedonian Monarch, in his route from Baftria to Marginia, 
 had met with the Ochus, it muft have opened into the Oxus, or 
 its courfe muft have been lengthened from Eaft to Weft, which 
 fuppofitions are equally falfe. The river to which Q. Curtius hath 
 given the name of Ochus was the Margus, which runs in a paral- 
 lel line with the Arius, and is ftill called by the Perfians, Marg- 
 
 Ab. 
 
 * "A(«/{«r«iît)9 0»T«ft9UÂ'Tf!M»/>jT*i «Ox«»$ Tw 0|4i." Strabo. Lib. ii.-- 776. 
 « Piokm. Lib. 6. C. 9. 
 
 * Strabo. Lib. 11, —776. 
 
 * ■' Lib. il. --776. 
 
 * " Superatis deinde amnibus Ocho « Oxo, ad urbcm Marginiam pervenit," Q. CurtiuSi Libt 
 J, C. 10, Tom. 8,-556»
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 351 
 
 Ab. ' Pliny " informs us, that Antiochus the Con of Seleucus re- 
 built on the banks of the Margus one of the towns, which Alex- 
 ander founded, and which had been deftroyed by the Barbarians, 
 but this king of Syria called it Antiochia, which proves the mif- 
 take of Q. Curtius. It may be perhaps conje6lured, that Q. 
 Curtius meant another river, which had alfo the name of Ochus, 
 and agreeable to Ptolemy united itfelf to the Dargomanis, " and 
 then joined the Oxus, but the Greek geographer is here lefs exa6l 
 than even the Latin hiftorian, 
 
 BefTus received fome fuccours from the Dahes, who refided, 
 according to Arrian," beyond the Tanais or laxartes, but he 
 places them much too far Northward. The Xanthians, Piffurians, 
 Aparnians or Parnians, lerved to diftinguilh three tribes of this nati- 
 on,'' and the Aparnians were fettled next Hyrcania and the borders of 
 the Cafpianfea. The Xanthians and PifTurians extended themfelve» 
 along the fhore and fides of the fea, in the Latitude of the ancient 
 Aria. It is evident that Strabo, with whom Ptolemy ^ agrees, is accu- 
 rate 
 
 • Geog. Ancienne par Monfieur d'Anville. Tom. c.—sgj. 
 
 ■^ "Alexander Alexandrlam condiderat. Qua diruc» a Barbaris, Antiochus Seleuci filius, eo* 
 dem loco reftituit Syrians. Nam interfluente Margo, qui corrivatur in Zotale, is maluerat illam 
 Antiochiam appellari." Plin. Nat. Hift. Lib. 6. C. 16. Tom» 1.-674, 675. 
 
 n Ptolem. Lib. 6» C. it. 
 
 o " Axxs ras est rxSc TO T«y»5©< î»T<«f*« emvn»t," Arrian, Espcd, Alex. Lib, 3, C. s8»- 
 —249. 
 
 » Strabo. Lib. ii.--77g. 
 
 « Ptolem. Lib. 6»
 
 352 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 fate in his pofition of thefe people on this fide of the Oxus, and 
 tlmt Arrian hath incorre6lIy tranfported them to the banks of the 
 laxartes. Monfieur d' Anville hath placed them to the South of 
 the Ochus, which feems to have been their true refidence, pointed 
 out by Strabo. This Greek geographer relates, that Arfaces 
 governed the Dahes, called Parnians, ' who had not abfolutely any 
 fixed fettlement, but occafionally varied their refidence, without 
 quitting the environs of the Ochus. Thefe Scythians are believed 
 to have been a colony of the Dahes, that once occupied a tra6l of 
 country above the Palus Macotis, ' and took the names of Aparni- 
 ans, Xanthians, and Piffurians, in confequence of a migration like 
 that of the Abians, who tranfplanting themfelves into Afia were 
 called the Saces, Amurgians and Afpafiacians. Herodotus confiders 
 the Mardes as a Perfian people, ' and he claffes alfo another nation 
 . of the Mardes in the nineteenth Satrapy, with the Moffynœcians and 
 Tibarenes.", It is probable, that the name of Mard was given as a 
 general term to the inhabitants of the mountains, who owed their li- 
 berty to the inacceflible ramparts of their country, Mard fignifying 
 in the Perfian tongue a brave man, and Marad in the Hebrew, a 
 revolt. The Mardes, according to Herodotus, were a wandering 
 
 people, 
 
 Strabo. Lib. ii.— 783. 
 
 » "iec7ihriis'na^viis£iaoisiurKvaT»settcuixrutvm§TosMxiuTil©'A»ut," Strabo, Lib, 11. 
 -784, 
 
 ' Herodot. Lib. i.~63. 
 
 * ■ Lib, 3.-246.
 
 OF ALEXANDER T PI E GREAT. 353 
 
 people, and principally fhepherds, " an employment and mode ol' 
 life in fome meafure conne6led with their fituation, which mult have 
 been the Uxian mountains. We learn in faft from O. Curtius, that 
 this nation was near the Uxians, '' and Mard might perhaps havebeen 
 the name, which the Perfians gave to a part of the inhabitants of 
 the Uxian mountains, who had never been fubdued : thofe who cul- 
 tivated the plains, and were fubjeft to the Perfian Satrap, were not 
 diftinguifhed by this particular appellation, and were limply called 
 
 Uxians. ^ Q. Curtius ^ and many other writers have doubled 
 
 the Mardes, and have introduced two different wars of Alexan- 
 der with thefe people. Arrian adopts thefe opinions in his narra- 
 tive concerning India, " though he only takes notice of a fingle 
 nation of this name, ' in his hiflory of the Macedonian Monarch, 
 and relates an expedition againfl them after the death of Darius, 
 in which Diodorus Siculus ■* and Jullin " agree with him. 
 
 Z z The 
 
 " " 'Oi ^e aXXai mij-xhs, Aasoi." Herodot. Lib. 1.-63. 
 
 y "Quinte Curce nous dit efFeélivement que cette nation etoit voifine des Uxiens." In the 
 paffage referred to by the Baron de St. Croix, the Mardes are only mentioned in the following man- 
 ner. "Ventum eft in Mardorum gentem bellicofiffimam, et multum a ceteris PerCs cultu vitje ab- 
 horrentem." Q. Curt. Lib. 5. C. 6. Tom. 1.--353, 354- 
 
 ^ Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 3. C. 17.— 219. 
 
 » Q. Curtius., Lib. 5. C. 6. Tom. 1.-353, 354. The paffage juft cited, "Mardorum erat 
 gens confinis Hyrcania, cultu vitse afpera, et latrociniis adfueta." Q. Curt, Lib. 6.' C. 5. 
 Tom. 1.— 417. 
 
 ai," Arrian. Hift. Ind. C. 40.-630. 
 
 « Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib, 3. C. 24,-238, 23g. 
 ^ Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2,-219. 
 ' Juftin. Lib. 12. C, 3.-308.
 
 354 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 The Mardes, ftriftly fpeaking, were a Scythian people, who re- 
 fided in the mountains of Deilam, to the South of the Cafpian fea, 
 and they were more properly called the great Mardes or Amardi- 
 ans from the Amardus, which watered their country. Thefe Mardes 
 or Amardians, were doubtlefs the people that Phraates, the firft king 
 of the Parthians, obliged to inhabit the city of Rages, which from 
 that time became one of the greateft cities of Media/ Pli- 
 ny ought not therefore to have diflinguifhed the Amardians 
 from the Mardes, " a rough and unconquered nation." ^ But 
 the Latin Naturalift may have been deceived by the name of 
 Mard, which the Perfians gave in general to the inhabitants of 
 mountains, and particularly to the inhabitants of thofe between 
 Sufia and Perfia. He feems alfo to have multiplied them, and 
 reckons five nations of them: one near Colchis," of which He- 
 rodotus ' alfo fpeaks ; a fécond between Armenia and Media, " 
 which appears to be the Gordians or Corduans ; a third in Sufia, ' 
 which is the Uxians in queftion, and the fourth is the Mardes,"" 
 which Pliny diftinguifhes very improperly from the Amardians or 
 
 great Mardes, which he makes the fifth, " 
 
 The 
 
 ' lûdori Characeni. Mans. Parth. 6. Geograph. Vet. Script. Min. Grace. Tom. 2. 
 B "Gens Mardorum, feraj fui juris." Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. C. i6. Tom. 1.— 675. 
 •■ Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. C. 5. Tom. 1.--658. 
 ' Herodot. Lib. 1.--63. 
 
 *■ Pliny's expreffion is "Circa Mardes et Armenios," Hift. Nat. Lib. 31. C. 7. Tom. 4.-- 
 805. 
 
 » Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. C. 27.-718. 
 
 "> Lib. 6. C. 16.-675. 
 
 » Lib. 6. C. 19.-678.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 355 
 
 X The hiftorians of Alexander feized with a kind of tran fport on the 
 refemblance between the Agriafpians or Ariafpians, according to Pto- 
 lemy, ° and the Arimafpians, a people of European Scythia, cele- 
 brated both from the fables, that Arifteas of Proconnefus *■ circula- 
 ted of them, and alfo from the fuccours given by them to the 
 Argonauts, on which they had the name of Evergetes. '' Thefe 
 writers termed the Agriafpians, who inhabited the South of the 
 Aria Palus, or the modern lake Zera, Arimafpians; and weakly 
 imagined they had rendered the fame fervices to Cyrus,' that 
 the Arimafpians afforded the Argonauts, though the Perfian Mo- 
 narch was perhaps never in their country. Diodorus Siculus, 
 equally miftaken from the fimilitude of thefe fervices and the 
 names of the two nations, does not likewife fcruple to apply to 
 the Ariafpians the term of Arimafpians. ' 
 
 Zz 2 The 
 
 o Ptolem. Lib. 6. C. ig. 
 
 P Herodot. Lib, 4.-286, 287, 288. 
 
 t Steph, Byzant, 
 
 ' "A^jXKTai Ej Tar OTaiXa(/w.£v Ayf;aoiraf xa^S/*E^as■, vfs^ot^e'EvBg'/trxs sTtyjinao-^etra!, ot( Kfja Tw 
 Kay.Çva-a ^v)im£>MGo»ro rm es Ixv^as t>.a!rius," Arrian. Exped, Alex. Lib. 3. C. 27. --246. 
 
 = "Diodorus Siculus hath pretended to ftate the precife relief, which they afforded Cyrus in 
 his diftrefs. "Aïe^euIe (het» ms 'SmaiJ.eus tir; ras a^oTi^ov ij.it Af/ftao-Traj, iivi ^'Evi^yirx: oyo/Aafo/xE- 
 tas, S/a ToitravTxs riyas airias, Kuf ©- ô tdv Mri^uv ccfx^' fj-nixTni^xs as n^^axs, ev rmi rf «Taa zn^Atifi- 
 Sss E» i^/AU X,u^x Kf tssujyi iTTlxvei rm avxyx-xiuv, »iXSe ^e» ew; ras ca'y(jxriss y.itmtus, J/as rw itSeixt rris 
 TfoÇïiî awyxa^o/Atvw» run ^qxriurm xXX-nKus o-a^noÇxyH». Tu» ît A^jfMnTVuii rfiiriA-j^ixs â/AX^ixt aira 
 yifUidXS Tsa^XMi/.iaxtrMV, aoi^eis zsx^xao^us xriXetxis re >y xTJ^ois oo^exis iriiM/je to eJ»©', --i, mi -ETfa- 
 -Bx^yiiaxt ■aeoariyogixv aCsf^ofj.!»®^) ij^oa^yopv(ref Evi^yeras," Lib. 17. Tom, 3."222.
 
 ^^6 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 The Etymander waflied the country of the Ariafpians, ' and 
 opened into the Aria Palus, Monfieur d'Anville fufpeéls Ptole- 
 my of concluding this river defcended into the Southern ocean:' 
 the Greek geographer however takes no notice of the river Ety- 
 mander, and mentions only a people of this name. '^ 
 
 After having taken a view of the courfe of the rivers, and the 
 Situation of the different tribes of Scythians, comprifed in the 
 Northern part of Aha that Alexander's army overfpread, it may 
 be neceffary- to attend to the provinces, of which Afia was itfelf 
 compofed. 
 
 Though Sogdia makes a confiderable figure in the hiflory of 
 Alexander's expeditions, Q. Curtius fpeaks of its inhabitants as 
 hardly known, ^ and places them according to his own erroneous 
 ideas near the real Tanais and Caucafus. Stephanus Byzantinus 
 appears to place Sogdia, in the lituation that Baftria fhould have 
 occupied, near Paropamifus, ^ yet the error may pofTibly be owing 
 to the copyift. — Golius' hath made a fimilarexcufe for Ptolemy, 
 
 where 
 
 ' Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 4. C. 6.-273, 
 " Geograph, Anc, Tom, 2,-289. 
 " Ptolem. Lib, 6. C. 17, 
 
 V "Sogdianoset Arachofios, nomine tantum notes." Q. Curt. Lib. 4. C, 5. Tom. i.--igj. 
 ^ Steph. Byzant. SoySja»)), 
 
 ' Golius, Not. in Alfer. 171.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 357 
 
 where he tranfports Marcanda the capital of Sogdia into Baftria, 
 but as this city is ftill falfely placed as to its Latitude, " we cannot fo 
 readily acquiefce in the idea of any miftake in the text of the Greek 
 geographer, and fuppofe the tranfcriber to have been alone refpon- 
 fible for it. Monfieur d'Anville ' hath acutely remarked, that 
 this inaccuracy arofe from a falfe reckoning in the itinerary mea- 
 fures, and " by the allowance of too much fpace to them, it ine- 
 vitably followed, that Ptolemy gave in general a greater extent 
 to the country than it really occupied, and Sogdia in particular 
 was pufhed much too far." 
 
 Baflria, if we are to believe Q. Curtius, formed a third part of 
 Afia. '^ The Latin hiftorian muft have confounded Ba6lria in the 
 time of Alexander, with the kingdom of Baftria formed after- 
 wards by his fucceflbrs, 255 years before Chrifl. Menander, one 
 of the moft illuftrious of thefe princes, crofled the Hypanis and re- 
 duced many nations under his dominion, which the Macedonian Mo- 
 narch had not conquered. Demetrius, the fon of Euthedemus, alfo 
 poffeffed himfelf not only of Patalene, but of many of the provinces 
 on the coaft of India," and of the territories of Sigertes. Q. Curtius 
 
 therefore 
 
 '•' Ptolem, Lib, 6. C. 11. Lib. 8. Tab, 7. 
 
 •^ "Auxquelles attribuant trop d'entendue, il devoit s'enfuivre que (Ptolemee) donna en gene- 
 ral plusd'efpace au pays qu'il n'en occupe, et que la Sogdianeen particulier fût pouffeè beaucoup 
 trop loin." Eclairciffement. Geograph. fur la Carte de l'Inde. 23, 
 
 ■i "Tertiam partem Afiae tenet." Q. Curt. Lib, 5. C. 10. Tom. 1.— 367. 
 
 ' " A'>i{*')Tf /©- ô EuSi/Su^B w©" m Ba/CTfiwv (Saî-iXsair, a /Aotcni Se T-/jv ïlaraXrinti xaTfo-^ov, aXAa ^ 
 
 X^^>" Strabo, Lib. 11,-786.
 
 358 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 therefore alludes to the boundaries of Baftria extended by its 
 kings, who had united to it Aria, and part of India. 
 
 Perhaps however, the Latin hiftorian may be in fome meafure 
 excufed, by fuppofing with Monfieur Freret ^ that the Perfian word 
 Bakter, from which in all probability Baftriana was derived, 
 equally applied to all the country to the Eaft of Perfia, The 
 learned academician is fupported by Herbelot in the following 
 terms. "From this word comes die name of the province, 
 which we call Khorafan, and to which the Ancients gave 
 the name of Baftriana from its being iituated to the Eaft of Per- 
 iia." ^ Khorafan implies alfo like Bakter the Eaft, or literally the 
 place where the fun rifes, agreeable to Abulfeda " and the Turkifli 
 geographer, who is much indebted to the Arabian prince for in- 
 formation. Thefe writers allow a great fpace to the Khorafan, 
 which comprehends not only the ancient Batlriana, but alfo Sog- 
 diana, Margiana, Parthiaand Aria. ' In the fummary defcription, 
 
 that 
 
 f Obfervations fur la Cyroped. Hill, de I'Acad. des Infcriptions, Tom. 4.-607. 
 
 s "De ce mot vient le nom de la province que les Anciens ont appellee Baiîlriane a caufe 
 qu'elle eft fuueè a l'Orient de la Perfe, nous l'appelions aujourdhui le Khoraflan." Bib. Ori- 
 ent. 164. 
 
 ■> "Porro Khoraflam folis locus interpretatur, nam Kor folem, et Afaro locum dénotât." A- 
 bulfeda. ex Vers. cit. Geograph. Turc. 670. 
 
 ' "Khoraflam plurimas plagas compleélitur. Aflerunt Caldœi KhorafTam protenfam efle a Rai 
 ufque ad ortum folis. Alii autem exiftimant earn a monte Halwam ad locum nomine ortum folis 
 
 patere. Limites vero ejus hi funt, nempe ad Occidentem Khoraflam deferto, quod earn 
 
 interetmediametGirgianinterjeaumeft, ad Auftrum pariter deferto, quod earn a Perfide et Ku- 
 
 mas
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 359 
 
 that Alfragan flcetched of the different climates of the world, 
 this aftronomer includes in the Khorafan even Balk and Samar- 
 cand, which agree in fituation with Baftria and Marcanda, the 
 ancient capitals of Baftriana and Sogdiana in the province 
 of Khorafan." Yet the city of Balk muft not be confounded 
 with the country of that name, which is a (ingle and feparate 
 canton, governed by a particular Khan of its own, who hath al- 
 ways preferved his independence, even in the midfl of powerful 
 neighbours, and hath chofen the city of Balk for his refidence. ' 
 
 The Oriental geographers fupply us with ufeful explanations of 
 fome parts of ancient geography, and are principally of fervice 
 refpecling the real fituation of places, and their modern as well as 
 ancient names. Yet the teftimony of the more ancient writers as 
 to the limits of the different countries, can only be weakened by the 
 contrary evidence of fome cotemporary author. Admitting even 
 that the Oriental writers have not properly diflinguiflied the can- 
 ton of Balk from the refl: of the Khorafan,' even the whole of this 
 extenfive province might not be able to give us the true limits of 
 the ancient Baclriana, which, according to Ptolemy, "' on the Wefl 
 
 had 
 
 mas fejungit, ad Orientem autem Segeftam et India, ad feptentrionem denique terminatur plagis 
 Mawarannahr, feu qua; funt ultra flumen Oxum, et aliquâ etiam parte Turchiftam-Klioraffam. 
 Itaque continct multas provincias, quarum una quje integram regionem adéquat." Abulfeda. ex 
 Verfione cit. 
 
 ■' Alferg. Elem. Aftron. C. 9. Clim. 4, 5. Golii Not, 166. ' 
 
 ' Voyage d'Otter. Tom. 1,-240. 
 
 •" Ptolem, Lib, 6. C. lO, Lib. 6. C. u.
 
 360 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 had Margiana ; and fhould ha^'e included the Oxus, and Sogdiana 
 on the North ; a part of it as well as the Saces on the Weft ; and 
 the Paropamifus and a part of Afia to the South. We learn from 
 O. Curtius " that the Tanais, which was the laxartes, feparates the 
 Baftrians from the Scythians, and by this means he confounds 
 Ba6lriana with Sogdiana. Even the defcriptions of the manners 
 and modes of life of the inhabitants, which Alexander's hiftorians 
 have left us, prove thefe people to have been very different. 
 
 Baftra, called fometimes Zariafpe, is placed by Q. Curtius under 
 the mountains of Paropamifus,' though it was in fa6l at fome 
 diftance from them. The refemblance of the ancient fituation of 
 this town with the aftual pofition of Balk, Balch, or Balck agree- 
 able to fome manufcripts, demonftrates almoft to a certainty this 
 error of the Latin hiftorian. According to Achmet ^ in his twen- 
 ty-fecond climate, cited by Abulfeda, Balk is fituated in the mid- 
 dle of the Khorafan, and if any credit is due to Ibn-Haukal, it is 
 built upon a flat furface in a plain, about four leagues from a 
 
 mountain. 
 
 " "Baftrianos Tanais ab Scythis, quos Europios vocant dividit." Q. Curt. Lib. -j, C. 7. 
 Tom. 2.--531. 
 
 " "Ipfa BacSra, regionis ejus caput, fita funt fub monte ParopamiiTo," Q. Curtius. Lib. 7. 
 C. 4. Tom. 2.— 510. 
 
 P "Ex Acmeto fapiente Balk in medio Khoraflam fitam efle traditur Ex Ibn- 
 
 Haukal Balk ea in folo £equabile fita eft, itaque a monte illi proximo quatuor paras diffi- 
 
 ta." (Abulfeda ex Verfione cit. Geograph. Turc. 698.) This city is fuppofed to be eight 
 leagues, the Baron de St. Croix obferves, from the Dgeihoun or Oxus, according to Sherefeddin. 
 Hift. de Timur. Lib. 1. C. 2«
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 36 1 
 
 mountain, which may have occafioned the miftake of Q. Curtius, 
 and might be taken for a part of the Paropamifus. The fituation 
 of Balk on the river Dahas, which bathes its walls, afcertains the 
 identity of this city with the Zariafpe or Batlra of the Ancients, 
 and the learned Golius "^ produces many other corroborating proofs 
 of it, in his obfervations upon Alfragan. 
 
 When the Macedonian army returned out of India by Gedrofia, 
 Alexander direfted Craterus to conduft a body of troops into the 
 interior part of Ariana, ' and to reduce it. But is this country un- 
 derftood to be the fame with the Aria to the South of Hyrcania and 
 Margiana, and to the North of the Dranges and a part of Media ? 
 Strabo clears away the difficulty, and diffipates the obfcurity, 
 which has been fpread over this fubjeft in Alexander's marcheSir 
 Whilft this judicious geographer allows only to Aria itfelf a length 
 of two thoufand ftadia, and reckons its breadth at three hundred, ' 
 he extends the limits of Ariana, from the frontiers of Baftriana 
 and Sogdiana, as far as Media and Perfia, and he includes in them 
 Arachofia, Carmania, and the whole country to the Indus. ' Di- 
 onyfius the geographer hath allotted to Ariana an extent almoft 
 as confiderable, and he comprifes all the people near Paropamifus, 
 
 3 A as 
 
 <i Golius. Notes on Alfragan. 175, 176, 177. 
 ' Strabo, Lib. 15.-1055. 
 
 ' "Mw©- Jt Tt)f Af(»iJ ôo-o» S;a-;^i^(0( s-aS(o/j w^aT©* 5e Tf/axoffioi TBWEjib," Strabo, Lib, .lit-- 
 785- 
 
 5 Strabo, Lib. 2,»i3i.
 
 362 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 as well as the Arbians, Orites, and the inhabitants on the fhores of 
 the Erythrean fea, under the general name of Arianians," a 
 term which was at firft ufed to diftinguifh them from the Arians, 
 with whom they were afterwards confounded. 
 
 It feems probable that the term Aria was derived from the Cal- 
 muck or Mungal word Are, which fignifies a man, and ftill fubfifts 
 in Herah, Herat and Heri, the Aria of the Ancients ; " or it may 
 be deduced from Eri or ^re, which has the fame fignification with 
 the Tartars. The Arians were diftinguifhed for their knowledge 
 and their police, as may be inferred from Strabo, ^ who compares 
 them with the Indians, the Romans and the Carthaginians, and 
 would willingly withdraw them from the difgraceful denomination 
 of Barbarians. The Arians, had their name from Are or ^re, 
 
 " men," 
 
 " " H Toi //Ev SuvovT®- I'Tti xXiff/y *I eX/0/9, 
 
 tlgiras t', A^i&as rs, Aiw^^a/vas r'AjajjaiTayj 
 ZaTfaiSots 3', ô<7(T«f TE iJin^x -alvyj Ua^lTatmio 
 
 Dionys, Perieg. V. 1095 1098. 
 
 Mofes of Chorene, according to the Baron de St. Croix, hath confounded the limits 
 of Ariana, with thofe of the ancient kingdom of Baflriana, and fuppofeiî Aria to com- 
 prehend the whole country between the Cafpian fea and the Indies, including twenty- 
 fix provinces, amongft which were Hyrcania, Parthia, Baftria, &c. &c. "Aria five Chafli- 
 Chorafania Mcdise ac Perfiae finilima eft, atque ad Indiam pertinet, Hyrcanumque mare attingit. 
 Hse autem provincix niimerantur, Comfia, Hyrcania, &c, &c. &c." Mos. Chor. Geograph. 
 ad Calcem. Hift. Armen. 365. Ed. Whifton. 
 
 " Herbelot. Biblioth. Orient, 448. 
 
 y "Ka< Tw» BafCafw» a^-cms, xaSawtf IvSbî ^ Aff(«»W tri 5t PuiMUVS >^ Kec^xi^otius, âru^llV' 
 f*«f«ï «oXiTitiofAsvw." Strabo. Lib, j,--ii6.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 363 
 
 " men," to mark their decided fuperiority over the neighbouring 
 nations, like the people of Paropamifus and the Mardes, ' whofe 
 rude and favage life was but little removed from that of the com- 
 mon tribe of animals. 
 
 The ancient Medes had the name of Arians, according to Hero- 
 dotus, " but it feems that they were not the Arians, of whom the 
 Greek hiftorian fpeaks in his divifion of the Satrapies. '' The lat- 
 ter nation, which had a great affinity in language and manners with 
 the Affyrians, was formerly very powerful. Moft probably all 
 the countries that formed their empire, were known under the 
 general termof Ariana," perhaps alfo Aria, and many other coun- 
 tries being conquered by the Perfians, might be united in the fame 
 Satrapy under the name of Ariana, and from this circumftance 
 Hellanicus may have fuppofed it to have been a province of Per- 
 fia. ■* Stephanus Byzantinus, after having related the paffage of 
 this ancient hiftorian, appears to be defirous of diftinguifliing 
 Aria from Ariana, which was only an extenfion of it, andofmak- 
 
 3 A 2 ing 
 
 » "Specusinmontibusfodiunt, in quos feque ac conjuges et liberos condunt : pecorum, aut fe- 
 rarum came vefcuntur. Ne feminis quidem pro naturae habitu moUiora ingénia funt," Q. Curt» 
 Lib. 5. C. 6. Tom. i.--354> 
 
 » "ExxXtomh zrccXxi o^oi wxvrui A^ioi," Herodot. Lib. 7."539» 
 
 '' "A£wi," Herodotus. Lib. 3.-245, 
 
 ' SeeCellarii Geograph. Antiq. Tom. 2.-515, 516. — Geograph. Ancienne de Monfieur d'An- 
 ville. Tom, 2.-285. &c. &c. — ^Voffius ad P. Melam, Lib. 1. C, 2. 
 
 ^ Apud Steph. Byzant. A^ia,
 
 364 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFÏ 
 
 ing thefe countries inhabited by different people. Copying Apol- 
 lodorus, he ftyles " Ariana a nation bordernig on the Cadufeans," " 
 and Pomponius Mela adopts this erroneous fuppofition. ' Pli- 
 ny ^ is equally incorreft in placing Aria to the Weft of Parthia, 
 and the Arianians and Carmania to the South. Julius Solinus '' 
 hath united the Arians and Arianians, and places them to the Eaft 
 of the Parthians, which may ferve to correct the text of Pliny, * 
 whofe errors have been to all appearance increafed by the igno- 
 rance of his tranfcribers. 
 
 Of the PAROPAMISUS. 
 
 Confidering the Paropamifus as one part of the great chain of 
 mountains, which, rifmg on the fides of Lycia, Pamphylia, and 
 
 Cilicia, 
 
 « "Af/awa, tS»©- WfoiT-EXEî «;î KaW/o/s" Afl-oXXoJwf©- StiTEfiJ." Steph. Byzant. A^itxtix. 
 
 f "Ufque ad Cafpium finus poflTident. Indis proxima eft Ariane deinde Aria." P. Melam. 
 Lib. 1. C. 2.— 19, 20. 
 
 e " Habet ab ortu Ariosj a meridie Carmaniam et Arianos." Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. C 
 25, Tom. 1.— 709. 
 
 '' "Ab ortu Arios Arianofque, Carmaniam a medio die." Julius Solinus, C. 59. 
 
 ' By which, the Baron de St, Croix would read "Habet ab ortu Arios et Arianos, a meridie 
 Carmaniam,"
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 365 
 
 Cilicia, '' flretch acrofs Afia from Weft to Eaft, and after receiving 
 the different names of Taurus, Paropamifus, Imaus and Edmodus, 
 terminate at the fea that wafhes China, we may difcover a near 
 refemblance with the Caucafus of Scythia, which is itfelf only a 
 part of another chain of mountains, running from the PontusEux- 
 inus to the fea of Tartary, Thefe two great trafts of mountainous 
 country are connefted by intermediate chains, in a direftion from 
 South to North, and are in fa£l only links of thofe, which conne6l 
 the North and South of Afia. 
 
 Diodorus Siculus ' diftinguiflies exaftly thefe two chains of 
 mountains, but like the other ancient authors, he has not turned 
 his thoughts towards the communication that unites them, and is 
 to appearance the frame that fupports all Afia. Arrian '" and Q. 
 Curtius " have fimply advanced, that the Caucafus and Taurus made 
 a part of the ridge of mountains, which crofs that immenfe Conti- 
 nent. The term of Taurus is derived from a Chaldœan word, 
 
 fignifying 
 
 '^ Arrian. Exped. Alex, Lib, 5. C. 5.— 349- 
 
 ' "Airo rrmm re x.xrx Ki\ix.ix> Txv^a o-vvejjej of©' S( oXw T))f Aatxs SiniKH, f-^Xl' Tn KatijMwa ic T« 
 
 crfof avasToXaj wxsava* t«to Se ■axvro^x'rrois avari^^ao'' ?-opw» SraAij^/^Evo», lOix! xx-j'exxToii t^(H ■sTfoouyo- 
 ^(X!' ranv^s rot T^aiiov eisSvo iji.£^ri^ixi^>ilj.£iins Tris Airixs, to fAS» Ufoj T«f AfxTSf auTw vsvEfxr, ra^iirfcis 
 Tij» (x£c7»!^/2f/av"" Diod, Sicul, Lib. 18. Tom, 2. --260. 
 
 ■° Arrian. Exped. Alex, Lib, 5, C. 5.-349, 
 
 ° "Caucafum montera, cujus dorfum Afiam perpetuo jugo dividit. 'Taurus fecun- 
 
 das magnitudinis mons committitur Caucafo. &c," Q. Curt, Lib. 7. C, 3. Tom. 2,-500, 
 501.
 
 366 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 fignifying a mountain, ° and Eratofthenes as well as Arrian have 
 applied it alfo to the fécond chain of mountains, ■■ though they 
 
 regularly change their appellation in the different countries. 
 
 Caucafus is an alteration of Groucafum, v.hich in the ancient Scy- 
 thian language expreffed a place covered with fnow, "^ and the 
 Barbarians called the mountains to the North of India, Imaus, 
 which has the fame import. ' — The name of Muftag or mountain 
 of ice, by which the Tartars ' diftinguifhed the Paropamifus, fur- 
 niflies a fignification nearly fimilar. The Perfians indeed ftill call 
 a part of the fame mountains Koh-Kafer, ' " impious" " treache- 
 rous mountain," more literally Koh-Kaf, '• frothy mountain," in 
 allufion to the fnow, which generally covers it ; or according to 
 Bayer, Khoo-Kafer, "thelofs of men," from its rigorous climate; 
 but it is fometimes only called Kaf, which is employed by the 
 Arabs to defcribe many mountains, but in particular thofe of Pa- 
 ropamifus. 
 
 •5 Hiftoire du Commerce et de la Navigation des Anciens. 207. Which contains much valuable 
 information. 
 
 P Arrian. Hift. Ind. C. 3.--552« 
 
 1 " Et Caucafum montem, Groucafum, hoc eft nive candidum." Plin. Hifl. Nat. Lib, 6. 
 C. 17. Tom. 1.--678. 
 
 ' '"Terme qui Pline rend par celui de nivofum." I have varied the expreflion, for Pliny has 
 not applied the epithet "nivofum" to the Imaus, though he frequently mentions thefe mountains. 
 
 = And alfo Imuflahr, for Mus or Maus lignifies with them Ice, to which they prefix, in the 
 pronunciation, the vowel I, but Tag denotes mountains : thus the whole word fignifies Icy or 
 Snowy Mountains, whence the corrupt word Imaus takes its origin. Strahlenberg's Geograpb. 
 Defcript. of the North and EafternPart of Europe and Afia, 416. 
 
 « Bayer de Regn, Bafl. 8.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 3^7 
 
 ropamifus. " — It may be reafonably fuppofed, that the companions 
 of Alexander's arms were flruck witli the analogy of founds, and 
 catching with pleafure at the refemblance of the etymology of the 
 name, which diftinguiflied the real Caucafus and that of the Paro- 
 pamifus, made no fcruple of calling both thefe mountains equally 
 Caucafus. Their own vanity and the flattery of their Sovereign 
 
 might alfo have fome influence with them, in the application. • 
 
 Some fuch jipology might have excufed the Macedonians, if they 
 had fatisfied themfelves with only the adoption of the name, but 
 they have confounded thefe two mountains, and have attributed to 
 one, the chara6lerifl;ic circumftance, which alone ought to have 
 diftinguiflied the other. Like another Philoftetes, they have ima- 
 gined they difcovered in the Paropamifus the cave in which Pro- 
 metheus was faftened, and from which he was at laft delivered by 
 Hercules. Arrian, with his ufual good fenfe, ftates thefe reveries 
 as fabulous, " though Diodorus Siculus adopts them with credulous 
 limplicity, and relates that in the middle of Caucafus, called Pa- 
 ropamifus by fome, the natives ftill fhew a rock of ten fladia in 
 circumference and of four in height, where the eagle's neft and 
 
 the 
 
 * Herbelot. Biblioth. Orient. "Thus likewife the denomination of Caucafus, called by others 
 Caf, Caph or Caco ; Caho and Cobo Cgnifies, in the Perfian, no more than mountains in general." 
 Strahlcnberg's Geographical Defcription of the North and Eaftern Part of Europe and Afia. 416. 
 See alfo Reland. Dilfert. 8. De Vet. Ling. Pers. 155. 
 
 * "Kai yaf >y tnnXaioii \cya t^ovras ct ÏÏKga.iixit.iax'ia.is rus MansSotas, ^ T/va /xiSo» £W/;^a'f'Oï «xs- 
 ffaiiras, -n j^ xvrsi fi/vSjvT«r, (pyijAKrai on rtsro a^x m m Hfo^E^EWf to atrgot, Ux sStSfTO* >^ o «et©' on 
 ixao-E E(poiT«, iaiia-onii®' run irir>Myx/<^> tb nfo^Aijaswr." Arrian. Exped. Alex, Lib. 5. C. 3.-- 
 343. 344.
 
 3^8 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 the marks of the fetters of the daring adventurer were yet an objedt 
 of curiofity. '' Thefe fables, which can only refer to the real Cauca- 
 fus, have been copied by Q. Curtius, ^ who draws from them very 
 flrange confequences. The Latin hiftorian after having fpoken of 
 the fatigues, that the Macedonian Monarch's army experienced in 
 its païïage acrofs the Paropamifus, which, according to his ideas, 
 was to the Weft joining Baftria, with the Indian ocean to the South, " 
 adds, that after the Prince's troops had recovered their march, ^ 
 " he moved towards mount Caucafus, which with its long ridge of 
 hills ftretches itfelf through Afia, having on one fide of it the Ci- 
 lician fea, and on the other the Cafpian fea, the river Araxes, and 
 deferts of Scythia. Mount Taurus, which holds the fécond rank 
 for bignefs, joins to mount Caucafus: it takes its rife from Cappa- 
 docia, and running acrofs Cilicia joins itfelf to the mountains of 
 Armenia, fo that all thefe mountains being united, form one con- 
 tinued 
 
 «■©», £ï 19 «5 TO nfj^'/jSEary oTTïjXasiov tSsjcKiS' ûiro Twv £7j^i>f I4IÏ, -^ 1) TB (Ay3oAoy>i5eirT©- atra xojtx, }y r» 
 riii>h<riA.uy a-nij-eix." Diod. Sicul. Lib, 17. Tom. 2,— 224. 
 
 ' Q. Curt. Lib. 7. C. 3.-493 5°^- 
 
 » "BaQrianis ad Occidentem conjunfti funt: Meridiana regio ad mare Indicum vergiu" Q. 
 Curt. Lib. 7. C. 3. Tom. 2.-493, 494- 
 
 •> "Inde agmen proceffit ad Caucafum montem, cujus dorfum Adam perpétue jugit dividit: 
 hinc Cmul mare, quod Ciliciam fubif, illinc Cafpium fretum, et amnem Araxem, aliaque regio- 
 nis ScythicC deferta fpeûat. Taurus fecundîe magnitudinis mens committitur Caucafo, a Cappa- 
 dociâ fe adtoUens Ciliciam praeterit, Armenisquemontibusjungitur. Sic inter fe tot juga velut 
 ferie cohirentia perpetuum habent dorfum, ex quo Afiœ omnia fere flumina, alia in rubrum, alia 
 in Cafpium mare, alia in Hyrcanum et Ponticum decidunt. XVII, dierum fpatio Caucafum fu- 
 peraviteseaitus." Q. Curt. Lib. 7. C. 3. Tom. 2.-500, 501,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 369 
 
 tinned ridge, out of whicli alnioil; all the rivers of Afia flow, fome 
 emptying themfelves into the Red fea, others difcharging thenî- 
 felves into the Cafpian fea, while others again fall into the Hyr- 
 canian and Pontick fea. The arm)- pafTed over mount Caucafus 
 in feventeen days."' It would be difficult to find either an ancient 
 or modern hiftorian, who has to anfwer for fo many errors in fuch 
 
 a fhort compafs. Q. Curtius undoubtedly intended to fpeak of 
 
 the real Caucafus, fmce he joins it to the Taurus, and places the 
 Cafpian fea on the left : this however is the Jeaft of his miftakes. 
 After a defcription of Alexander's march in the country of Paro- 
 pamifus, he fuppofes this Prince to reach Caucafus, which mufl in 
 confequence be fituated between Paropamifus and the Indian oce- 
 an. But is this fituation to be reconciled with the account, which 
 he gives afterwards of this mountain ? The Caucafus, he tells us, 
 hath on one fide the Cafpian fea, the Araxes and Scythia, and on 
 the other, the fea which bathes the coaft of Cilicia, placed under 
 the fame parallel with the Cafpian fea, and by thefe means the 
 whole of Aha Minor with the Pontus Euxinus is thrown too far 
 Northward. Q. Curtius hath given alfo a Latitude too far South- 
 ward to the Cafpian fea, and brings it within feven degrees of the 
 Equator. If we admit the ideas, which the Ancients entertained of 
 the Longitude of the Cafpian fea, to have been jufl and accurate, 
 it then becomes parallel to that of Cilicia and Afia Minor. — Thefe 
 influences are fairly deducible from the text of Q. Curtius, who is 
 accuftomed very frequently to contradi6l himfelf, and may even 
 
 3 B be 
 
 ' Digby's Q. Curtius. Book. 7. Chap, 3. Vol. 2.-18.
 
 370 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 be believed to have imagined the Caucafus to run from North to 
 South. — Arachofia, hkewife, is placed to the Weft of Caucafus, 
 and near the Pontus Euxinus, and confequently we muft not be 
 furprifed to meet with its inhabitants near the Euxine fea. *' — To 
 complete the confufion and obfcurity, the Latin hiftorian appears 
 to diftinguifli the Hyrcanian fea from the Cafpiain fea. 
 
 p. Curtius mentions the climate of Paropamifus in the following 
 terms. ' " The fnows are here fo deep, and fo congealed with the 
 fro ft, that no footfteps or traces of beaft or bird appear in all the 
 country. The light is fo obfcure, that it may be compared to the 
 dimnefs of the night, fo that thofe things that are neareft at hand 
 are hardly difcernable." ^ — This is moft certainly an overcharged 
 defcription, which may be confidered as a commentary on Diodo- 
 rus Siculus, who tells us, when he fpeaks of this country, that it 
 was fituated under the Pole. ^ Q. Curtius therefore tranfports into 
 
 it 
 
 ^ "Arachofios, quorum regio ad Ponticum mare pertiaet." Q. Curt. Lib. 7. C. 3. Tom. 
 
 * " Adeo altae nives premunt lerram, gelu et perpetuo pene rigore conftridse, ut ne avium qui- 
 (lem, ferïve ullius veftigium exftet. Obfcura cceli verius umbra, quam lux, nofti fimilis premit 
 terram: vix ut quje prope funt confpici poffint." Q. Curt. Lib. 7. C. 3. Tom. 2,-498. 
 
 * Digby's Q. Curtius, Book 7. Chap, 3. Vol. 2.-17. 
 
 s ' H d£ TaTwir j^wf a xarai ;/,£» tw' avrxs rxs Af xTBf, ;^(OKifoA«ri»i Se CTctg-g, 1 . i.ma.ca V ii 
 
 ■cnjV't/fttwv K^v^aWor liairt^, nr' o^vta CTfoo-xjtSiÇo»T©-, un â»fiB SjoÎekovt©-, a^itx >y ixmnQara, •nam» 
 Ta ^îj,, TV x"S«î ^wi)fx"«" (Diod. Sicul. Lib. 7. Tom, 2, --223.] Churchill's Mufe, in an 
 
 irrirated
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 371 
 
 it the inhabitants of Paropamifus, or rather appears to be wholly 
 ignorant, that tlie nearer we approach to the Equator, the nearer 
 we find day and night to be equal to each other. But it is an ex- 
 cefs of abfurdity to imagine that a country, only ten degrees from 
 the Tropic of Cancer, fliould in the winter be plunged into one 
 continued night. 
 
 )Qklon{ieur Bonami takes notice of the expreflions of Diodorus 
 Siculus, and Q. Curtius, and then obferves, " that notwithftanding 
 this frightful country is fituated towards the thirty-fifth degree of 
 Northern Latitude, in a climate where the heat is more fenfible 
 than cold, they have not only tranfported thither mount Caucafus 
 and the Tanais, but elfo frofls and ice.'"' To this objeftion, 
 
 3 B 2 however 
 
 irritateeJ moment, feems to have painted, in fimilar and exaggerated colours, a part of Great 
 Britain, which, from Party principles, had been the invidious objeit of his; refentraent, 
 
 "Far as the eye could reach, no tree was feen. 
 
 Earth, clad in ruffet, fcorn'd the lively green. 
 
 The plague of locufts they fecure defy, 
 
 For in three hours a grafshopper muft die. 
 
 No living thing, whate'er its food, feafts there, 
 , But the Chamelion, vv-ho can feaft on air, 
 
 No birds, except as Birds of Paflage, flew, 
 
 No bee was known to hum, no dove to coo. 
 
 No ftreams as amber fmooth, as amber clear 
 
 M^ere feen to glide, or heard to warble here." 
 
 Prophecy of Famine. Churchill's Poems. Vol. t..«aO. 8" 1766, 
 
 '' "Cependant ce pays fi affreux eft fîtueé vers le 35 degré de Latitude feptentrionale, c'ell 
 à dire, dans un climat où la chaleur fe fait plus fentirque le froid. ■■en y tranfportant 
 
 le mont Caucafe et le Tanais, ils y ont tranfporté les glaces et les frimats," Hift. de l' Académie 
 clés Infcriptions. Tom, 25,--22,
 
 372 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 however, it may be anfwered tliat the hoar of a winter's frofl is 
 foraetimes to be met with upon mountains in the Southern regions, 
 the Pike of Teneriffe, which is feven degrees South of Paropami- 
 fus being covered with fnow, and inaccelTible even in the months of 
 July and Auguft. ' The intenfe cold, arifing from continual falls of 
 fnow, is likewife fo very fevere on the Cordilleras and Andes, in the 
 Audience of Quito, near the Equator, that thefe mountains are 
 not only uninhabitable, but neither plants nor animals are to be 
 found upon them. " The climate of Paropamifus produces alfo 
 examples of the common phasnomenon arifing from the rarefac- 
 tion of the air. Father Defideri, who traverfed in 1715 the moun- 
 tains of Cachemir, which are a part of the ancient Paropamifus, 
 and lie nearly in the fame Latitude with the route of Alexander's 
 army, exprefles himfelf as follows, " The fummit of the higheft 
 mountains is always covered with fnow and ice. — I fay nothing of 
 
 the extreme cold, which I had to fuffer. Thefe mountains are a 
 
 true image of defolation, horror and even death.'" Bernier's de- 
 
 fcription, 
 
 ' Hilloire general de Voyages. Tom. 6.-189 220. Ed. 12. The Baron de St. Croix was 
 
 perfectly correil in his expreflion, for the difficulties were fuppofed to include an impoffibility of 
 fucceeding in the attempt. Lieutenant Rye, with wonderful perfeverance, and not without fome 
 danger, hath fince fcaled this tremendous mountain in the month of April. See his Account of the 
 Pike of Teneriffe. 4'° 1793. 
 
 ^ Voyage de l'Amérique par D. G. Juan et D. Ulloa. Tom. 1.--351. 
 
 ' "Le fommet des plus hautes montagnes eft toujours couvert de neige et de glace. Je ne 
 
 parle point du froid extrême qui j'ai eu à fouffrir 1— Ces montagnes font une vraie image de 
 
 la triftrefle, de l'horreur, de la mort même." (Lettres Edifiantes et Curieufes. Rec. 15.--185 — 
 — 193.) Much curious information may be extrafted from this voluminous coUedion, but fome 
 attention will be requifite to feparate the drofs, and the "Efprit du corps" cannot be too much 
 "uarded againft.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, 373 
 
 fcription, '" who had pafTed through the fame country fifty years 
 before, is fubllantially the fame, and this celebrated traveller adds, 
 that on the mountain of Pir-Penjal, the changes in the atmofphere 
 were very violent and fudden, and that in lefs than an hour there 
 was a tranfition from fummer to winter. 
 
 Without wafting any time on the etymologies of the name of thefe 
 mountains, which feem to confirm the relation of Alexander's hiftori- 
 ans, fome of the circumftances of Tamerlane's maixh towards mount 
 Ketuer, beween Badafchan and Cachemir, may be entered into with 
 propriety. " Notwithftanding the feafon (the fun was then in Gemini) 
 there was fuch a quantity of fnow upon this mountain, that moft of 
 thehorfes, that attempted to afcend, could notkeep theirfeetand fell. 
 Some, however, after the froft in the night, which was fevere, made 
 fome little progrefs, and when the fun arofe, they were flopped, and 
 covered with clothes, as it became impolfible to proceed from the 
 glaffy ice. With great difficulty and great fatigue, the funimit of the 
 mountain was at laft gained, and the place reached where the Si- 
 apoufch refided." " The country inhabited by this band of rob- 
 bers 
 
 ■^ Voyages de Bernier. Tom. 2. 270. "Nous entrâmes dans les montagnes, pour voir un 
 grand lac ou il a de la glace, dont les vents font et défont des monceaux comme une petite mer 
 glaciale." Voyage de Kachcm.Tom. 2.-302. 
 
 " "Maigre lafaifon, (lefoleil etoit alors dans leç Gemaux) on trouva fur cette montague une fi 
 grande quantité de neige, que les pieds de la plupart des chevaux qu' on voulut y faire monter, 
 tombèrent; quelque-uns cependant, à la faveur de la gelec, qui etoit très fort pendant la nuit, ne 
 laiflferent pas d' avancer, et lorfque le foleil paioiflbit, on s' arretoit et on couvroit de feutre les che- 
 vaux, parccque il etoit impoflible de marcher, tout étant remple de verglas, On parvint ainfi, a- 
 
 pres
 
 374 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 bers was little more than three degrees to the North of Cachemir, 
 and its mountains formed part of the chain, which flretched acrofs 
 the centre of Afia. From this body of evidence we may conclude, 
 that the hiflorians of Alexander's aftions have not impofed upon 
 us, when they fpoke of the cold, which the Prince's troops fuffei"- 
 ed in the Paropamifus, though thefe mountains are in fuch a 
 Southerly part of the world. Strabo, ° who was not prejudiced 
 in favour of tliefe hiflorians, exprefsly mentions the rigorous feve* 
 rity of the climate, and Q. Curtius is only reprehenfible, when he 
 ftates the length of the nights in this country, where the fhorteft 
 day in the whole year conhfts of ten hours and a half. 
 
 The mountains, which cover the North of India have many paf- 
 fages, and tliat of Candahar is one, which is mofl travelled, efpeci- 
 ally by the caravans of Agra and Ifpahan. The Macedonian ar- 
 my took the direft route from Baftra to Paropamifus, and 
 there cannot be a doubt that Alexander entered India by' this paf- 
 fage. Strabo is the writer of antiquity, that hath beft illuftrate'd 
 the diftreffrng march of the Macedonian army over thefe moun- 
 tains. It was the fécond time that Alexander had conduced his 
 troops into the country : the firfl was when he purfued the affaffins 
 of Darius. — " He came," fays the judicious geographer, " by Aria- 
 
 na 
 
 près beaucoup de fatigues, jufqu' au fommet de la -montagne, où etoient les Siapoufch," Hift. des 
 Huns, par Monfieur de Guignes, Tom. 5. --42,) Sherefeddin hath given, the Baron de St. Croix 
 remarks, a fimilar detail of this march, Hift. de Timur, Voc. Lib. 6. C. 3, 
 
 • Strabo. Lib. 15»
 
 OF ALEXANDER T H^ GREAT. 375 
 
 na into the borders of India, and leaving it on the right, and Pa- 
 ropamifus to the North, he pafTed into Baélriana. Having redu- 
 ced under his fubjeftion all the territories under the Perfian domini- 
 on, and many other countries, he direfted his march towards India, 
 of which many things had been faid, though without any certainty 
 In his return he took the fhortefl route over the fame mountains» 
 leaving India to the left. He then came back again and pafTed its 
 Weftern borders, croffmg the rivers Cophes and Choafpes." '' 
 
 Of INDIA. 
 
 The immenfe regions of India have been divided by the ancient 
 geographers into Occidental India, which they call Send, and Ori- 
 ental India, termed Hend, '^ inhabited by a people, whofe religion, 
 manners and police, give them the flrongeft pretenfions to antiquity. 
 This rich and fertile country bears the name of Sindou ' and of 
 
 Zomboudipo 
 
 » " 'Hxe («» 8v T))f IvS/x)if 'ûsXnaiot Si'Ajiatvaiv* apets S'avrtiv ev Se^**, uttipël To» na!fow«ft;<ro» oî tx 
 Uf oiraf XT/a ^£f u, >y T^tBxxr^iavm' xarasffEiJ/a/AEv©' Ss T«j^a TOavTa aira ■/ffimoïli^aais, s^ »t/ ii^hv, 
 TOT* y^n iù Tfis lyûocîjî u^iy^fi^ T^syovruv ^sy tss^i ocuttis ■ûtoAAwv, a O'xÇus os* AvEr^svJ/a «' «Vj vv£§^<xs rx 
 tivrx ofj, xaT* aXAaj ôSsf E7riT0(x,wT£f as, ev a^i^i^x i^m mi Ivoixiiv, «T* tTTEff evJ/e» iv%\is iiiavmi^ ^ tos 
 ignsms twig'ii! ectirv!) >y to» Ku<pv» zjora/Mi >^ to» Xoeunrriv" Strabo, Lib, i5,--i02ii 
 
 « Abulf. Climat. Al-Hend-Al-Send, Rec, de Voyages par Thevenot, Tom, J, 
 
 * Bagavadam, Lib. 4.-9».
 
 I 
 
 ^'j6 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Zomboudipo' iii their early records, which are written in the 
 Sanfcreet language, but it mud be acknowledged that it was little 
 known by the reft of the univerfe before the days of Alexander. 
 The relations of Ctefias and the crude and imperfeft notions of 
 Herodotus can afford only a fmall portion of fatisfaftion to any 
 rational mind, and little confidence can be repofed on any infor- 
 mation that may be gathered from them. The latter hiftorian af- 
 fures us, that Darius the fon of Hyftafpes penetrated the fartheft 
 into the Eaft of all the Perlian kings, but he cannot avoid acknow- 
 ledging, that the Indians at a diftance and to the South were ne- 
 ver fubjeft to the Perlian power. ' Strabo pretends, that Cyrus in 
 his expedition againft the Maffagetes ought to be confidered as the 
 only one that approached this country, from which the Perfians 
 were fatisfied with drawing fome auxiliaries, in general furniflried 
 by the Hydrachians. We learn alfo from the Greek geographer, 
 that even the Perfians had not any knowledge of India, which had 
 been enveloped in the darkeft obfcurity till Alexander's conquefts. " 
 Megafthenes, who was well verfed in Indian antiquities, from his 
 long refidence with Porus and Sandracotta, is of opinion, * that 
 
 no 
 
 ' Ezour-vedam. Lib. i. C. 3. 
 
 JwwBo-av." (Herod. Lib. 3.-248.) The Baron de St Croix fuppofes Herodotus to have been 
 only acquainted with the Indians near Baflria, and the people of Carmania and Gedrofia, with a 
 few other nations. 
 
 ^ "AXElavJf©' yaf ô /axXit» rur' mcouiXv^xs." Strabo. Lib. 15,->1021« 
 
 ■* ' ' Zvtix'so(pixinTai St Z3us >y Mtyao-Stwif ru) ^oyw totu, xiMvu» aui^en reus «f ^«(«(î mgi IïSw» (r»f '-
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 377 
 
 no foreign army, thofe of Bacchus and Hercules excepted, had ever 
 reached this country before this period, and the Indians confirm- 
 ed by their own evidence, according to Maximus Tyrius, " the Greek 
 traveller's relation. — Alexander removed the veil, with which this 
 part of the world had been till his time covered : Seleucus, one of 
 his fucceffors, pudaed ftill farther his difcoveries and arrived at the 
 Ganges. " It was referved for later ages to acquire more extended 
 notions of this part of the globe, but they are itill more limited and 
 imperfeft than they might be wifhed to be. Our moft authentic 
 accounts are thofe, which relate to the countries, that have 
 been ravaged by fire and fword, and deluged from avarice with 
 feas of blood. Yet the religion of the mild and inoffenfive na- 
 tives condemns to exceffive tortures in another world the favage 
 mortal that hath audacioufly attempted the life of any of his bre- 
 thren, ' and it hath been their misfortune to inhabit a coun- 
 
 3 C try. 
 
 ail' «TE y»f cr«f ' IvSwv sfw j-aXijw/ ■odte c^xtixh, vt' eWfXSa» eIwSev j^ x^xryirrxi, ■crA>!» Ttjv (/.i^' 'H^xx- 
 ?i£Bf, >^ Aiovva-u, j^ Ty>! nv fjisrx MaxiooiUf." (Strabo. Lib, 15.--1OO7.) "'Out©' w» ô M£ya!o-Se»« 
 ?.£7«, BTj I»Sbj EmrfaTEUira/ «Ja/AOKT/» «v%4)W0(O'ii'5 «TE hSo/o-;» aXXsf a>5jw7rBf." Arrian. Hfft, Ind. 
 
 c. 5-558. 
 
 1' " AX£|a»5f ©/ Se Exay©-, Uc^irxi! l\uv, iÇi BxSvXut®^ yviv, a^xrot sirxv tsu! ^(xrix ^siiyi, îish^oit\t' 
 "yoi», TjXn» yE Ai<i»u(7B >^ AX£|a»Sf B." (Max. Tyrius. DilTert, 38.-399. 8"° Cantab, 1703.) The 
 Baron de St. Croix refers his readers, for this paflage, to the t8''' DilTertation and 85'" Page of 
 this Edition. 
 
 » Plin. Hift, Nat. Lib. 6. C. 17. Tom. 1.-684. 
 
 * "Ceux qui les armes à la main auront tuè un autre homme, feront eux-mêmes broyés dans 1' 
 enfer (le Patalene c' eft à dire 1' Abyme) et on les fera paflcr par des trous auffi petits que celui 
 d' une aiguille." (Ezour-Vedam. Lib. 3. C. 3.) "Ceux, qui font mal aux hommes et qui tu- 
 ent les betes, feront jetés dans un lieu particulier, pour y fouffrir des torments horribles." Baga- 
 vadam. Lib. 6,--io6.
 
 378 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 try, in which nature hath been prodigal of her choicefl gifts, 
 only to expofe it without ceafing as a prey to other nations ! 
 
 Strabo, though he acknowledges the advantages that the fcience 
 of geography has derived from the Macedonian conquefts, very 
 juflly cenfures the multitude of abfurd ftories in which the mar- 
 vellous had ufurped the place of truth. " India," fays he, " is at a 
 very remote diftance, and few of us have feen it. They who have 
 vilited it, have feen only a fmall part of it, and have defcribed it 
 principally from what they heard. The little they perfonally learnt 
 was picked up in the hurry of their military expeditions, and yet 
 they have publilhed thefe accounts with the fame confidence, as if 
 they had examined the moft authentic memorials with attention." "" 
 The Greek geographer accufes alfo thefe writers with contradifting 
 each other, ' with exaggerating, and relating notorious falfities, ■* 
 and he allows only Patroclus and Eratofthenes to have compiled 
 their works from documents, whofe fidelity was not to be fufpeft- 
 ed. A voluminous mafs of fables might eafily be collefted from 
 Oneficritus, Clitarchus, Megafl;henes and Daimachus, and the 
 two latter authors, in Strabo's opinion, deferve no fort of cre- 
 dit. 
 
 •" "Kai yaf amurarui tçi' >^ a ijoXXoi Tmii*.iTc^ut )ixTu'itTcvi7oa avrti», 01 St j^ (Sovrty, /jli^ t/x*«- 
 Sov* Ta St zs>^eiu Xtyaai» i| axms' >y à «oov Se, iv xiaioàu rfar/oT/x)) >^ Sf o/aw xaTf/xaSov* Siomg sSt t« 
 avTxzjegi ruy avrm i^ayfi}\a7i' ty TavTx avyfgce^xyrts, us at W£PfoiiTiff-(*iwj «liTatr/At*»," Strabo. 
 Lib. 15.— 1006. 
 
 ' " A?iX' Ixar®' txar« TavavTja ^ty« TJO^^ax^^." Strabo. Lib. 15.--1006. 
 
 * "'Oivt^i Tnih^iKvy^x-i'XifTi!) us nti n vsohv ■^tv^o>\oyoi ytyoixvi," Strabo, Lib, 2,"l2i.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 379 
 
 dit. ' "They have even told of men with immenfe ears, ' without 
 mouths and nofes, with only one eye, long diftorted thighs, and the 
 fingers and toes in a reverfed pofition. They have renewed Homer's 
 fable of the pigmies three feet high, and their wars with the cranes, 
 and accounts are alfo given of ants that dig up gold, fatyrs with 
 unnatural heads, ^ and ferpents which fwallow both deer and oxen 
 with their horns.'"' The judicious geographer obferves, that he 
 
 3 C 2 had 
 
 ' " Aixpc^otrus S'aw;r«v «Ç;ov Aw/ax^u te >^ MtyaaSsva* ùrôi yaj utiv ai res stunnaiTX! ly «rofttff, 
 !^ it^^itxs irofsvTct, /xowÇ^aX/^Bf TE, xj iji.xxqo<7M\Hs , i^ owi<r3oSaxri/^B£' snKxmuxv St (^ T)i» 'O^Efixn/ 
 Tiiv Tlvyjj.!iiui yc^xm/Ax^ixy, T^KTWi^xfiASs awovTEf * 'Ot/Toi 5s i^ res ^^vtru^v^es yiAi^fimyas, j^ Tlxixs o^- 
 loxt^xXas, o^Hs ri k^ Ces >y eXxpes <rvt xt^xcri xxrxiimtris." (Strabo. Lib. 2.— I2l.) The Baroii 
 de St. Croix obferves that Caufabon durrt: not change the "Diinxwa-at" into " xyxicxmirxv," though 
 he wiflied to make the alteration, but that Monfieur dc Brequigny meant to have rellored the read- 
 ing, on the authority of a manufcript in the French king's library. There is not perhaps any 
 Greek author, that hath flood in greater need of emendation than Strabo. A new edition of this 
 Greek geographer has been long in the Clarendon Prefs, from the hands of a gentleman, (the late 
 Thomas Falconer Efq. of Chefter) who was, in every refpeft, fully qualified for the learned and 
 laborious office. His extenfive reading and erudition were only equalled by the virtues of the 
 heart, and without any compliment whatever to his memory, his death was one of thofe misfor- 
 tunes, of which it may literally be faid "Fuit hoc luctuofum fuis, acerbum PatriSj grave bonis 
 omnibus." Cicero de Orat. Lib. 3. Seft. 2. Tom. 1.--281. 4'» 1740. 
 
 * "Tes nuroxoirxs, fleeping in their ears." 
 
 s "ZÇwxEipaXaf, with heads like wedges." I am defirous of propofing to fome future editor 
 of Strabo a trifling alteration in the Text, and of fubftituting " KmoxiipxXes'" in the place of "Ifm- 
 ^oxEÇla^8î." In many of the old manufcripts, the firft letters of words were frequently omitted 
 for the purpofe of being afterwards blazoned and illuminated, and a number of errors crept into the 
 text by thefe means, from the ignorance of tranfcribers. The miftake of the ">)»" for "w,'* 
 efpecially when abbreviated, might eafily be made, and the " Ha» KuvoxEfaX©'" will not be a very 
 inaccurate defcription of the dog-headed baboon) which was a native of that part of the world, 
 
 i" Dr. Shaw, in treating of the great Boa, "Boa conftridor," (Linnii Syft. Nat. 373.) makes 
 the following obfervations. "Qui vafta et mirabilia naturae opera nunquam "Avronrxi" contem- 
 
 plati
 
 3S0 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 had frequent occafion to animadvert on thefe tales and fables, in 
 the hiftory of the life of Alexander, but the Prince's hiftorians, hav- 
 ing drawn their information from thefe fources, could not help tranf- 
 mitting to us fome of their abfurdities, Diodorus Siculus men- 
 tions ferpents of twenty-four feet ' in length, and trees of one hun- 
 dred 
 
 platifunt, ii fane quicquid varie Je illis fcripferint peregrinatores, caute et dubitanter recipere fo- 
 lent ; immo fa;pé utpote fabulofum omnino rejiciunt. Inter hic naturEE magnalia jure numerandi 
 funt ferpentes illi ingentes, qui in nonnuUis India:, Africa:, et America: regionibus inveniuntur; 
 quique in tantam magnitudinem adolefcunt ut quadrupedia etiam majora ingurgitare poffint ; et lon- 
 citudine adeo funt enormi, ut faepe pedes viginti, viginti-quinque vel etiam triginta fuperent. Ho" 
 rum temporis progretTu multo rarior eft confpeftus, illofque probabile eft reglones olim fane défer- 
 las, et nunc excultas, populofque fréquentes reliquilTe, et in tefqua deferta et remota exulaiTe. 
 Spedantur tamen aliquando hortos et loca habitaculis fuis propiora perreptantes." (Natur. Vi- 
 var. Fafcic. fecund.) It is poffible therefore ferpents of this extraordinary magnitude might have 
 then exifted, and that thefe Grecian writers, mixing a little truth with much falfehood, 
 may be fuppofed in the words of Strabo, "Asya» S' av nix, i^ iji9«va!, x^ lAyrijAYis a^ix, as re j^ 
 aitirutrx (Ml 'osc^ c\^eii avTx." (Lib. 15.— 1023.) A more ridiculous account of the ants may be 
 found in the latter part of Strabo, (Lib. 15.— 1032.) where Megafthenes reports that they were 
 *'0>)f(wv aXwTTsxwv SX. c\oirltss," not lefs than foxes, 
 
 ' "Eij^s» j5 j^a'fa îsoXAbî !^ CTaftiXXay/xsvss TO(f fAEyESfuiv oifaf, otras Ixicsii^cKa'Trn^ns'" (Diod. Si- 
 cul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.— 230.) Diodorus Siculus moft probably borrowed the idea from Clitar- 
 chus, for we learn from ^lian, "KAaTaf;^©- t« rn z!c^i rm IvS;x>!» Çvia-i yittir^ai opjuwyw» «xaiJs- 
 xa." (iElian. De Nat. Animal. Lib. 17. C. 1. Tom. 2.-918. 4'° 1744.) but Valerius Max- 
 imus hath given us an inftance of a ferpent of ftill more extraordinary dimenflons. "Qu^ quia 
 ufitatara rationem excedentia attigimus, ferpentis quoque a T. Livio curiofe pariter, ac facunde 
 relata fiat mentio. Is enim ait in Africa apud Bagradam flumen, tanta; magnitudinis anguem fu- 
 iflfe, at Attilii Reguli exercitumufu amnisprohiberet: multifque militibus ingenti ore correptis 
 compluribus caudae voluminibus elifis, cum telorum jaOu perforari nequiret, ad ultimum balifta- 
 rum tormentis undique petitam, filicum crebris et ponderofis verberibus procubuilTe, omnibufque 
 et cohortibus ct legionibus ipfâ Carthagine vifam terribiliorem. Atque etiam cruore fuo gurgiti- 
 bus imbutis, corporifque jacentis peftifero afflatu vicinâ regione pollutâ, Romana inde fummo- 
 viffecaftra. Dicit etiam belus corium CXX pedum, in urbem miffum." (Lib. 1. C. 8.-117. 
 4'» L. B. 1726.) The Epitome of the eighteenth Book of Livy, which contained his account 
 
 of
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 38 1 
 
 died and five feet in licight, whofe fliade extended to the diftance 
 of no lefs than three plethra. '' Arrian with a lefs portion of cre- 
 duHty, when he has occafion to take notice of them, refutes their 
 extravagance, and demonftrates their abfurdity.' 
 
 The manners and cuftoms of the Indians are not defcrlbed with 
 greater fidelity or truth. Q, Curtius affures us, that thefe people 
 
 made 
 
 of this ferpent, is only extant, but L. Florus, (Lib. 2. C. &,—2^2, 8"" L. B. 1744') Seneca, 
 (Epift. 82.--338. 8™ Amft. 1672.) and Aulus GcUius (Lib. 6. C. 3.--351. 4'° L. B. 1706.) 
 have taken notice of it, and Orofius hath left the (lory at full length. (Hill:. Lib. 4. C. 8.— 236, 
 4'" L. B. 1767.) Pliny mentions this piece of hiftory, and adds "Pellis ejus maxillîcqueufque 
 ad bellum Numantinum duravere Romœ in teniplo. Faciunt his fidem in Italia appellata: Boae: 
 in tantam amplitudinem exeuntes, ut Divo Claudio principe, occifœ in Vaticano folidus in alvo 
 fpeflatus fit infans." Hilt. Nat. Lib. 8. C. 14. Tom. 2.— 153. 
 
 "AevJ^wh yx^ Hyi ytn ^ixM^arlovrx, t^ to jazv i^®' i^oiirx TJny(u» £/3Jo;AWOvTa, ro Se craj^S^fto- 
 yis liro Tzrlx^m ay^^an zj!^i\xij:.Çxmyi.ftx^ Tfiaiv Se ■arAs^jaiv <rx.iai ztoiana," (Died. Sicul. Lib. 17. 
 Tom. 2.— 230.) This is undoubtedly a fabulous narrative, but a part of it may have been found- 
 ed on fubftantial faiSs. Mr. Marfden gives the following defcription of the Banyan tree, termed 
 by the Portuguefe, Arbor de Raiis, and by the Malays, lawee lawee. " It pofleflTcs the uncom- 
 mon property of dropping roots or fibres from certain parts of its boughs, which when they touch 
 the earth, become new ftems, and go on increafing to fuch an extent, that fome have meafured in 
 circumference of the branches, upwards of a thoufand feet, and have been faid to fhelter a troop 
 of Horfe." In a note he adds, "The dimenfions of a remarkable Banyan or Burr tree near Man- 
 jee, twenty miles Weft of Patna in Bengal. Diameter 363 to 375 feet. Circumference of flia- 
 dowatnoon, 1116 feet; circumference of the ftems, in number fifty or fixty, 921 feet." (Marf- 
 den's Hiftory of Sumatra. 131.) This fpecies of tree appears to be exaftly defcribed by the "Ti^n 
 xaTax«/A7noft£»8f i^ovruv tus x^asSsf, jç^ zn^t tu lAtyi^us' w<rS' v(p' hi StirSfw /lAEmj/ACf^f*» cntia^o/Asvas îw- 
 mxt wevT>ixo»Ta" of Ariftobulus. Strabo. Lib. 15.— 1O17. 
 
 "Ey« BTE Ô1S Ticrt lo^Mi! îiacj^fwvra/ e» T-r^i t>j Çi/yyf«(p)j «veyfa\}/«, «Tt Çwa f/ 5») T/vas UTOltx n y(U- 
 
 ç% avTois CKCitga. bSe tvs fiff^iixar, tbj tov xçu<to]i aipicriv i^yxl^ofj^ctas, hSe ôra aXA« 
 
 tp rioon ftaW.0» Ti zjtTToiriTxi, ti cs xi^-nytiatv Tuv ovtm, us rxyi kxt' I»Saf ôaa a» «TOTras -^cvffatTai, oix 
 t|e^£y3>!«-o(^tii(» TTfoî 8S«f*«»," Arrian, Exped. Alex, Lib, 5. C. 4.-346, 347.
 
 382 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 made great ufe of wine in their entertainments, and that their kings 
 in a date of intoxication were carried by their concubines to their 
 beds. " But from a conviAion that fuch excefles were equally 
 prejudical to the phyfical conftitution of the inhabitants, and fatal 
 to the repofe of fociety, which often fuffered on thefe inflamma- 
 tions of the fanguinary paffions, the legiflators of the Southern re- 
 gions of the world had wifely prohibited the ufe of alJ intoxicating 
 liquors, " and their laws and ordinances were rigoroufly obferved 
 by all the Indian nations. Strabo relates, that if even any of their 
 kings was put to death in a debauch by his queen, as a recom- 
 pence for the meritorious deed flie had the right of marrying his 
 fucceffor. ° The Brahmins abflained from wine, and the Hylobian 
 philofophers, "■ the firft and moft illuftrious order of the Samaneans 
 were equally abflemious. Itwas noteven permittedto flop where wine 
 was difpofed of, and a breach of the prohibition was attended with 
 difgrace. "^ We learn from Megaflhenes,that the Indians never drank 
 
 any 
 
 •» "Feminac epulas parant, ab iifdem vinum miniftratur, cujus omnibus Indis largus eft ufui. 
 Regem mero fomnoque fopitum in cubiculum pellices referunt, patrio carmine nodium invocantes 
 Deos." Q. Curt. Lib. 8. C. 9. Tom. 2.-632, 633. 
 
 ■ "At reges, et gentes Indice pcrmittunt fornicationem, poculum autem inebrians interdicunt : 
 prsEter regem Camar, qui tam fornicationem quam vinum interdicit." Geog. Nul. 32, 33. 
 
 » ''Mi^voirx^i icrntacax yinvffxcriXta, yt^xs i^h avvuvai ro ttcmot ^la^i^ajmu." Strabo. Lib. 15* 
 -1036. 
 
 p "rxoSixs a(p^tih(Tiut x^S"} ^ '""*•" Strabo. Lib. 15.— 1040. See alfo Clemerrt. Alex. 
 
 Stromat. Lib, 3.--451. 
 
 n "Cela etoit même honteux a un homme du peuple." The Baron de St. Croix cites in fup- 
 portof the fentencc the "EwoyaSir»» runirpu" of Porphyrius, (De Abftin. Lib. 4.-364. Ed. 
 
 de
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 383 
 
 any wine except in religious duties, ' and the Manicheans, who 
 had adopted many Indian cufloms, confidered it, according to St. 
 Ephraim, ' " as the gall of the prince of darknefs." ' Yet it mufl 
 be allowed, Atheneus tells us, that Alexander propofed at the 
 death of Calanus prizes for thofe, who drank the moft, in compli- 
 ment to the Indian paffion for wine. " This writer extrafted the 
 anecdote out of the work of Chares, from whom it defcended 
 llkewife to ^lian, '' but ^lian hath added that this fpecies of 
 contention was an Indian cultom. Neither the authority however 
 of Q. Curtius, nor that of Chares, can weaken or fet afide the 
 evidence, that has been produced, which is confirmed by the re- 
 lations of modern travellers. The immutability of the Eaftern laws 
 and ufages, which are exaftly what thofe of their parents were 
 before them, is well known ; and neither the lapfe of ages, the 
 commerce with neighbouring nations, nor the invafion of foreign 
 
 armies 
 
 deRhoer. 4" 1767.) The expreflion may poffibly bear this conftruftion, but the "ingenuis ho- 
 minibus" of de Rhoer, is in decided oppoiition to it. 
 
 ' " Omt Tt yx^ y 'aitetf, aX\' n^vdiais (/.om," Strabo, Lib. I5.--IO35. 
 
 • "Error Indicus Manetem tenait." S, Ephr. ex Vers, Afleman, Bibl. Orient. Tom, 1.— 
 
 112. 
 
 « "Vinumputarefelprîncipumtenebrarum." St. Auguft. de Morib, Manich, Lib. 2. C. 44. 
 *" "A/«ti)v Ç(^iwiii«»Tw» I»Jw»." Athena:us. Lib. 10.--437. 
 
 * *'Xa!f(Ç)/*Eï©. Se rots \iSms, Kg n iirip(ugioii aurut ayutifffMi HS riimt m KxKxta mynxn^i^nvvt 7tis 
 «Sxo» rois v^eifnijitms' Ommfficu ym aymtav w^it^imt" i£lian. Var. Hill. Lib. 2, C. 41. 
 Xonji 1,-172. 4»» 1731.
 
 384 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 armies have had any influence on them. They are at this day 
 what they were in the moll difl;ant periods. Their averfion to all 
 inebriating liquors ftill continues, and the miferable and flighted 
 Caft of the Parins *■ is the only one, that has been addi6led to them. 
 Without recurring to the teftimony of numerous writers, the re- 
 fpeftable authority of the Ezour-Vedam will be fufficient to appeal 
 to. We read in this ancient commentary on the Vedam, that 
 Bramah and Vichnou followed by a long train of Brahmins, 
 went to vifit Chib, (the Lingam) on the mountain of Keil- 
 laflan. They found him in the midfl: of his revels, and in the 
 indecent gratification of his fenfual partions. The Brahmins on 
 this difgraceful fpeftacle loaded him with curfes, and Chib on a 
 recovery from his debauchery died of defpair. ^ This fable, though 
 refuted by Chumantou in the following chapter, proves notwith- 
 fl;anding the horror, which the Indians had of fuch excefles, as well 
 as their fentiments refpecling the manners of Bollodekan or thofe 
 of the Baudifls, which the Eaflern philofopher, who is a fpeaker 
 in the Ezour-Vedam, hath given us. Their king acknowledges 
 no Deity whatever. " His manners correfpond with his religious 
 fyflem, and are barbarous to a degree of horror. A human flcull 
 ferves him for a cup, and one of his great pleafures is to be carried 
 
 on 
 
 y Lettres. Edifiantes. Tom. 1 5.-282. The Baron de St. Croix admits however that a com- 
 merce with the Europeans appears to have corrupted the other Cafts, and Mr. Hodges was a witnefs 
 to a fcene of native debauchery, where the European vices had not then been propagated. Sec 
 Travels in India. 93. 4" 1793. 
 
 * Ezour-Vedam. Lib. 6. C. 4.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 385 
 
 on a bed which has ferved for the dying. ' Chumantou adds as 
 the laft trait of infamy, " that his common drink is an intoxicating 
 liquor." " 
 
 In the defcription of the luxury of the Oriental courts, and their 
 refpeftful manner of treating the Indian monarchs, Q. Curtius 
 hath been ftridly accurate, but in the divifion of their time he is 
 not equally correft. " Their months ' contained but fifteen days, 
 notwithftanding which, their years are complete. They compute 
 their time by the courfe of the moon, but not as mod people do, 
 when that planet fills its orb ; but when it begins to hollow itfelf 
 into horns. This is the caufe that they, who reckon after this man- 
 ner, have them much fhorter than other people." '' — The Indians 
 have certainly for more than feventeen hundred years, and fmce 
 the time of Salivaganam, employed the Solar year, ° and it is very 
 
 3 D probable 
 
 ^ "Ces ufages repondent affcz bien a fon fyftem de religion, et ont quelque chofe de barbare» 
 qui fait horreur. Le crane d'un homme lui fert de coupe, il met fon plaifir a fc faire porter fur 
 un lit, qui a fervi à un mourant." Ezour-Vedam, Lib. 6. C. 4. 
 
 '' "Sa boilTon ordinaire eft une liqueur enivrante." Ezour-Vedam, Lib. 7. C. 2. See alfo 
 Lib. 2. C. 2. 
 
 «^ "Menfes in quinos denos defcripferunt dies. Ann! pleni fpatia fervant. Lunas curfu notant 
 tempora, non ut plerique, quum orbem fidus imple\^it, fed quum fe curvare cœpitin cornuâ. Et 
 idcirco breviores habent menfes, qui fpatium eorum ad hune lunx modum dirigunt," Q. Curt. 
 Lib. 8, C. g. Tom. 2.-633, 634. 
 
 * Digby's Q. Curtius. Vol. 2.--g6. 
 
 » Ezour-Vedam. Lib. 2. C. 3. — Bayer. Regn. Baft, 164— -199. — Leon, Euler, de Indorum 
 anno folari aftronoiuico ad cakem, Hift. Regn, Bad. 201. — &c, &c.
 
 386 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 probable the fyfleni was in ufe in the days of Alexander. This 
 people divide and fubdivide their time almofl to infinity. From 
 Poromanou' to Ananden there is the immenfe and aftonilhing 
 period of one hundred and forty millions of years ! ^ Twelve 
 months compofe the Indian year, and each of thefe twelve months 
 is again divided by the new and full moon. ^ Q. Curtius may 
 poITibly have been led into his error by this divifion, which at the 
 fame time proves the antiquity of this mode of calculation. 
 
 Arrian hath preferved in his fragment of Indian hiflory fome 
 valuable relics of geography, and indeed there are few of the mo- 
 derns, whofe notions refpefting the interior part of India are fo cor- 
 reft. " This little work," fays Monfieur d'Anville, " affords us more 
 information refpefting the courfe of the rivers of this country than 
 many modern notions." ' This able geographer does the hiftorian 
 alfo juftice, on the fubjeèl of his detail of Alexander's marches in 
 India, and he frankly avows that he is the author " entitled to the 
 greateft credit." "^ Throwing a glance over the fourth chapter of 
 his Indian hiftory, we may perceive at once Arrian's accuracy and 
 
 precifion 
 
 f Bagavadam. Lib. 3. --44. — Ezour-Vedam. Lib, 3. C. 4. 
 
 8 Extr. du Diragala-SakkarumdansrHift. du Chriftian. des Indes. Tom. 2.-287-. 
 
 •" Ezour-Vedam. Lib. 2. C. 4. 
 
 ' "Cefopufcule nous apprend bien des circonflances plus propres, que les notions aiSuelles à 
 inftruire de ce que deviennent les rivieres de cette region entre elles, " Geograph. Ancien. Tom. 
 2.-340. 
 
 * "Le plus accrédité qui foit à confulter à ce fujet." Geograph. Ancien, Tom» 2.-334.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 387 
 
 precifion relating to the Ganges, the rivers that open into it, and 
 the neighbouring nations. It is with concern, we mufl obferve, 
 that the fame accuracy and precifion are unfortunately wanting, 
 when he mentions the Indus and the rivers which empty their wa- 
 ters into it. 
 
 Strabo, diftinguiflied alike for his critical abilities and geogra- 
 phical knowledge, hath left us a defcription of India, that is well 
 adapted to explain the country through which Alexander paffed 
 with his army. With great judgment he hath adopted the opini- 
 ons that appeared to be moft probable, he conne6ts a concife ac- 
 count of the expedition of the Macedonian troops with his geo- 
 graphical information, and including an abridged hiftory of the 
 manners, the culloms and philofophy of the Indians, he hath 
 moulded the whole into a form, from which his readers may re- 
 ceive both entertainment and improvement. On a comparifon of 
 Ptolemy with this able writer, with Pliny whofe brevity fometimes 
 renders him obfcure, and whofe geographical terms are fometimes 
 faulty, and in fliort with the hiftorians of the life of Alexander, it 
 is impoffible to reconcile him with thefe different authors, or to 
 draw any juft idea of the courfe of the rivers of India, or the ac- 
 tual fituation of places. The Bydafpes or Hydafpes, according 
 to Ptolemy, receives fucceflively two rivers, the Sandabilis and 
 Adrius or Rhuadis, and afterwards empties itfelf into the Zadra- 
 dus, which after an union on the right with the Bibafis, (without 
 doubt the Hyphafes or Hyphafis) after a fhort palfage open? into 
 
 3 D 2 the
 
 388 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 the Indus.' Monfieur d'Anville judicioufly obferveSj "that it is 
 not the diverfity of fome names with which we are diflalisfied in 
 this defcription, but the erroneous manner in which thefe rivers 
 are faid to flow." '" Alexander's marches, as related by Strabo and 
 Arrian, furnifli us with more certain information, and their de- 
 fcriptions are not inapplicable to the real lituation of the country. 
 
 <;^The Conqueror of Afia began his march at Alexandria, the 
 modern Candahar, palled the Cophena and the Choes and after- 
 wards the Indus, the prefent Sinde, " and reduced Taxila. After 
 his conquefl, he quitted Taxila and entered into the country now 
 called Pen-jab, which in the Perfian tongue fignifies five rivers, 
 and crofled the Hydafpes. The banks of this river were celebra- 
 ted for the defeat of Porus, and the Conqueror then advanced to 
 the Acefmes, and afterwards to the Hydroates or Heraotes, and 
 at laft to the Hyphafis, as it is termed by Arrian, or the Hy- 
 pafis of Pliny and Q. Curtius, and Hypanis of Strabo and Dio- 
 dorus Siculus. It would be at prefent difficult to afcertain thefe 
 
 rivers, 
 
 1 Ptolem. Lib. 7. C. 1.— 170. 
 
 ■" "Ce n' eft pas tant la diverfite de quelques noms qui deplait dans cette expoCtion, que le dé- 
 faut dans la maniera de faire courir ces rivieres les unes par rapport aux autres." Eclairciflêment 
 fur la Carte de l' Inde. 36. 
 
 " "Indus incolis Sindus appellatur, (Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. C. 20. Tom. 1.— 688.) which 
 is not widely different, the Baron de St. Croix obfcrves, from the Send of the Oriental geogra- 
 phers, and the Chindou of the Ezour-Vedam.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 389 
 
 rivers, " but it is probable that by the Hydafpes we are to under- 
 ftand the Shantrow, by the Acefines the Ravei or the river that pafTes 
 by Labour, by the Hydraotes the Biah, and by the Hyphafes the 
 Caul. '' In the country of the Choes the difficuky increafes. Mon- 
 fieur d'Anville's opinion, on the whole feems the only one admif- 
 fible. *' We fee" fays he, " that the Choes being undoubtedly the 
 river Cow, the Cophus, which we previoufly met with, mud be 
 the river (Mehram-Hir) which has its fource near Candahar. "* 
 
 The Choes is called by Strabo the Choafpes, ' but it appears to 
 be an error, and the Choes, which is the name given to this river 
 by Arrian, ' and confirmed with a flight alteration by the Coa of 
 Ptolemy, ' carries the appearance of authenticity. The name of 
 the Choafpes indeed might occafion the miflake, and alfo the confu- 
 
 fion 
 
 • "Ces fleuves ont reçu tant de noms particuliers des modernes qui en ont parlé, qu'on a pre. 
 fentment de la peine à les difcerner les uns des autres, et même la plupart de ces noms font con- 
 fondus." Thevenot. Tom. 5.--180. 
 
 P The Baron de St. Croix here adopts the opinion of Monfieur d' Anville. Major Rennel fup- 
 pofes the Hydafpes to be the Behut or Chelum, the Acefines the lenaub or Chunaub, the Hydro- 
 ates the Rauvee, and the Hyphafls the Settlege or Suttuluz. The reafons for his opinion may be 
 feen in his valuable Memoir of a Map of Hindoftan. 
 
 s "On voit que Choes étant indubitablement la riviere nommée Cow, le Cophos qui fe rccon- 
 tre auparavant doit être la riviere (Mehram-Hir) qui fort des environs de Candahar." Geo? 
 graph. Ancienne. Tom. 2.— 340. 
 
 ' Strabo, Lib. 15.—1021. 
 
 %"nixfai To»X(»i»x«x«/*svoy«oT«fio»." ArriaHi Expcd. AIck, Lib» 4. C, 23,-316. 
 ' Ptolem, Lib, 7, C. 1.--169.
 
 390 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 fion of the Choes with the Choafpes of Sufia. Dionyfius the geo- 
 grapher has fallen into the error, when he tells us, that the Cho- 
 afpes rolling along its Indian waters wafhes the environs of Sufa. " 
 Euftathius, his commentator, in his explanation of this geogra- 
 pher has added to the error, and pretends that by the Indian waters 
 Dionyfius intended to intimate, that the Choafpes, which flowed 
 near Sufa, -was a branch of the Indus. " It might rather have been 
 imagined that the poet, taking Ariftotle for his guide, who fpeaks 
 only of the Sufian Choafpes, though he fuppofes it to rife in the 
 Paropamifus,'' prolongs the courfe of this river from the extremities 
 of India as far as Sufia, and only intended by the expreffion of its 
 Indian waters, to point out its fource in India. This mode of 
 treating of the lituation of different rivers and countries was not 
 indeed without example amongft the Greeks, who have overturn- 
 ed the geography of the univerfe. Strabo relates that Diotimus, 
 one of the chiefs of an Athenian deputation, had paffed up the 
 Cydnus from Cilicia to the Choafpes, which conduced him to Su- 
 fa. ^ It has been the fate of this river to be the fubje6l of many 
 
 fuch 
 
 -Xoatrw/s 
 
 Dionys. Perieg. V. 1O74, 1O75. 
 
 " " Xooimis IvîoK fAEV ISu^, IXxwy, as ex. Ts IvSa erp^jyi^fv®' •norai/m, 'ax^a^^sm St k, rx Zacrx,'', 
 Euftath. Comm. ad Dionys. Perieg. V, 1075. --132. 4'° 1577. 
 
 y "Meteor. Lib. 1. C. 13. Ariftot. Opera. Tom. 1.— 768. 
 
 nixs ail Tov Xoao'Tri» woT«(Aoy, as ■aa^x Tx Zv7x get, -^ afiiua^xi TtavxgxnofXioi us Zsax," Strabo, 
 Lib. i,"8i.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 39I 
 
 fuch errors, and Monfieur de I'lfle is not warranted in his idea of 
 the Choes falling into the Indus and running in a direction, which 
 cannot poffibly agree with the aftual pofition of places. The pre- 
 tended Choafpes, as Strabo affures us, difcharges itfelf into the 
 Cophena, ' and the march of the Macedonian army, as defcribed 
 by Arrian, fully authenticates the opinion. 
 
 At the conflux of the Choes and Cophena we find, according to 
 Monfieur d' Anvil le, the fabulous city of Nyfa, which he fancies to 
 be the Nagara of Ptolemy, and the Nagar of the Turkifh geogra- 
 pher, who places this city, from the thirty-two degrees and a half of 
 Latitude which he affigns to it, Eaft of Candahar, and five days 
 journey from Kabal. " Monfieur d' Anville appears to have 
 fixed the pofition of Nyfa, from the mountain Merou, which he 
 imagines to be near it, in the thirty-third degree of Latitude. The 
 hiflorians of Alexander's life and actions have fpoken of the prox- 
 imity of the mountain Merou, ' but inftead of authorizing their evi- 
 dence, it proves their ignorance and errors. The mountain Meru 
 or Merou, which is pretended to have been the Meros of the 
 Greeks, is highly celebrated amongfl the Indians. The Bagava- 
 dam, one of their eighteen Pouranams or Canonical books, menti- 
 ons 
 
 * "Ka« TO» Xoauiw, is eis nni KuÇntv ifi-ÇaTO^ -stoTaiMv." Strabo, Lib. 15.— I02l« 
 
 * EclaircilTement de la Carte de l'Inde. 21, 22. 
 
 * "Kai TO Of©- TO «7fOf T» woX«, ÔTB t» TTici» xma^Hwn uxi^ai v Nfoffa, M>)f©< x^wftTaj." (Arri- 
 an. Hift. Ind. C. 1.— 550.) Siiu eft fub radicibus mentis, quem Merou incolx a[ç$llaat." 
 Q. Curt, Lib. 8. C. 10. Tom, 8.-636, 637.
 
 392 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 «ns it in the following terms. "In the middle of the world there 
 is a great ifland called Iamb am or lambon, of one hundred thou- 
 fand YofTmeys both in length and breadth. A Yoffiney is a dif- 
 tance of four hours' travelling. In the midft of this ifland is the 
 mountain Merou, which is a hundred thoufand Yoffineys in height, 
 ten thoufand deep, and thirty-two thoufand wide. To the North 
 of this mountain there are two other mountains, one called Nilavar- 
 iiam, and the other Velleyvarnam, which form a chain from Eaft 
 •to Weft as far as the fait ocean. '' The details into which the au- 
 thor 
 
 ' "II y a ail milieu da monde la grande ifle, nommée lambam ou Tambon, qui a de longueur 
 tent mille Vôffineis et autant de largueur. Un Yôffinei eft une marche de quatre heures en che- 
 min. Au milieu de cette ifle eft la montagne Merou, haute de cent mille Yôffineis, profonde de 
 dix mille et large de trente-deux mille. Au nord de cette montagne, il y a deux autres montag. 
 res : 1' une nommée Nilavarnam, et l' autre Velleyvarnam, qui font une chaine de 1' eft à l'Oueft 
 jufqu' a la mer falée." (Bagavadam. Livr. 5.-93. A manufcript in the library of Monfieur de Bertin.) 
 The Baron de St. Croix hath introdiiced in a note the following curious defcription of the moun- 
 tain Merou and its environs, from the Bagavadam, which was originally written in the Sanfcreet 
 language, and reduced into French by Maridas Pouli, the principal interpreter at Pondicherry, 
 ■who dedicated it to Monfieur de Bertin the French Minifter and Secretary of State. "A l* eft d« 
 Merou, il exifte une autre montagne nommée Mandaram ; au Sud celle nommée Souvarifvam, 
 à r Oueft une autre nommée Coumoudam; et au Nord celle de Sroungam. Ces quatre montag- 
 nes font din« une pofition fi exaéle, qu' à les voir il paroîtroit qu' on y avoit plkcé de grande» 
 «olonnes pour y conftruire une voûte. Leurs elevations font à dix milles yôffineis. Il y a quatre 
 arbres aux fommets de ces quatre montagnes, lefquels fe nomment Soûdam, Cadapam, Alam et 
 Naval, qui portent des fruits et des fleurs dans tous les temps, dont les rameaux paroilTent avoir 
 mille yôffineys d' étendue. 
 
 Dans le Merou, il y a quatre étangs, étendus cîiacun à cent yôffineys en quarré ; un rempli de 
 lait, l'autre de beurre, le troifieme de taïr (lait caillé) et le dernier de fuc de canne. 
 
 Les quatre montagnes ont chacune un jardin de délices ; ces jardins font nommés Nandain, 
 Saytradam, Raypraffidam et Sarvalôca-paiitram. Celui qui mange le fruit de Soûdam (mangue) 
 de la montagne de Mandoram, acquiert l' immortalité. Le jus de ces fruits courani comme un 
 
 luiflèau,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 393 
 
 thor of this work enters refpefting the mountain Merou, are un- 
 doubtedly full of fables and puerile tales, and there is no poflTibi- 
 lity of afcertaining from fuch trafh its real pofition. The Indian 
 writer adds, " the great mountain Merou is lighted by the fun dur- 
 ing fix whole months : in the fix others there is continual night." " 
 Soon after we are told, that " one part of the chariot of the fun 
 refis on the mountain Merou, and the reft of it is fufpended by the 
 
 air."' 
 
 3 E The 
 
 ruiffeau, forme un fleuve et eft nommé Roflodoram (courant de jus). Le jus des fruits de Naval, 
 qui eft fur la montagne Souvarifvam, produifant de même un ruiffeau nommé Jambou, a donné 
 fon nom à l' île Jambou qu' il arrofe. 
 
 Les deux autres arbres produifent de même deux autres rivieres, qui arrofent le pays d' Uav- 
 roudam. 
 
 A r Eft, et à r Oueft de même de Merou, il y a deux montagnes nommées Gedâ-Coûdam et 
 Pariatram, qui forment une chaîne en longueur de 18, 000 yôffineys, du Nord au Sud, Les 
 Dieux fréquentent ces montagnes où ils prennent leurs divertilTemens. 
 
 Au fommet de Merou, il y a une grande Ville de dix mille yôffineys en quarré. Cette Ville fe 
 nommé Brahmapatnam et eft tou^e éclatante d' or. A 1' entour de cette Ville, il y a huit autres 
 Villes gouvernées par les Dieux des huit points Cardinaux de 1' Univers. Un ruiffeau nommé 
 Brahmânda-Cadam, fortant du haut du Merou, arrofe la Ville de Brahma, fort par les quatre por- 
 tes de cette Ville, et forme quatre fleuves nommés Sadalam, Sadaffou, Patram, et Alagucy, Un 
 de ces fleuves s' élevant en 1' air, lave les pieds de Vifnou. L' autre, qui fort du côté du Sud, ar- 
 rofe le pays de Nichetam, Yemacoudam, YmofTalam, et fe jette enfuite dans le pays de Baradam. 
 C eft ce fleuve que Sivan prit fur fa tête, et delà il a été nommé Ganga-Taren ou Siven, (celui 
 qui porte fur fa tête Ganga.") Bagavadam. Livr. 5. 
 
 " " La grande montagne Merou eft éclairée par le foleil pendant Cx mois entiers : une nuit con- 
 tinuelle règne les fix autres." Bagavadam. Livr, 5.— 100. 
 
 * "Le chariot du foleil eft appuyé d' un bout contre le mont Merou, et le refte eft foutenu par 
 l'air." (Bagavadam. Livr. 5.— 102.) Sonnerai adds "Il n'a qu'une roue; fept chevaux verds 
 le trainent ; le Dien Avounin eft le conducteur. Les vagaguilliers au nombre de foixante mille fui- 
 vent le foleil dans fes douzes loges, en l' adorant et pfalmodiant diiFerens airs à fa louange." Voy- 
 ages aux Indes Orientales et à la Chine." Torn, i,..i22. A Work of authenticity and va- 
 lue.
 
 394 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 The Ezour-Vedam, an ancient commentary of the Vedam, 
 written in the Sanfcreet language and tranflated by a Brahmin of 
 Benares, fixes the fituation of the mountain Merou, at the fource 
 of the Ganges, which rifes in this mountain. The defcription of 
 it in this Indian book, which fuppofes it to be in the centre of the 
 world and of an immenfe height, ^ agrees however even ftill lefs 
 with the pofition which a modern geographer hath allotted to it. 
 Bayer obferves, that in the Indian geography entitled Puwana-Sac- 
 caram, the mountain Merou is defcribed in a very fabulous man- 
 ner, *■ and perhaps its exiftence has no other foundation than Indian 
 imagination. In a work of Fo or Foe, an ancient Indian legiflator, 
 which has been tranflated into the Chinefe language, the extafies 
 of a Samanian philofopher are compared to the immobility of the 
 
 mountain 
 
 e "Au milieu de la terre, eft la plus grande de toutes les montagnes, qui s' appelle Merou. 
 C elt-là qu'eft fitué le pays appelé Zomboudipo, qui eft le pays de 1' Inde: au Midi et au Cou- 
 chant de la montagne de Merou, font fitués difFerens pays. En voici les no ms, Zombou, Pelo- 
 kio; Koucho, Chako, Krohonro, Pourkoro, Chalmouli, Tous ces pays, ou toutes ces îles, 
 font également habites. Il y a plufieurs fleuves fur la terre. Les principaux font Brommora, Bo- 
 dra, Gangaou le Gange: ces trois fleuves prennent leur fource dans le mont Merou, et vont fe dé- 
 charger dans la mer. Le premier coule au Nord et le Gange au Midi. Il traverfe à fon embou- 
 chure et inonde quantité de bois. J' ai dit que le Zomboudipo ou l' Inde etoit fitué au Midi de la 
 montagne. &c. &c." (Zend-Avefta. Livr. i. C. 3.) " Au milieu de la terre eft une montag- 
 ne d' une hauteur prodigieufe à qui on a donné le nom de Merou. Aux quatre côtés de celle-ci 
 s' élèvent quatre autres montagnes ; favoir, les montagnes Ketouman, Mallioban, Mandaro, Chu- 
 parchodo. Il y a pareillement fur ces quatre montagnes quatre arbres d' une grandeur prodigieu- 
 fe; favoir, les arbres Ambro, Kodanbo, Zombou, Niogrodo, Au pied de la montagne Mandaro 
 coule un fleuve qui, recevant dans fes eaux les fleuves qui tombent de 1' ambre Zombcu, en con- 
 trafle l' odeur. Tout le pays qu' arrofe ce fleuve eft appelé Zomboudipo ; voilà d' où il a tiré fon 
 nom." Zead-Avefta. Livr. 1. C. 6. 
 
 » "Fabuloûffime defcribiiur," Hift, Regn, Baft, 4,.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 395 
 
 mountain Siami, which is the Merou or Smerou ' under contem- 
 plation. 
 
 To give fome credit to the travels of Bacchus, the Greeks fup- 
 pofed that all the monuments, which they met with, were fo many 
 veftiges of the progrefs of this Deity. Stephanus Byzantinus 
 reckons no lefs than ten cities of the name of Nyfa, fome in 
 Lybia, fome in ^îlgypt, others in Greece, Thrace and mount 
 Caucafus, and the fourth in the lift is that in India. '' Hefychius, 
 on the contrary, pretends that Nyfa was a general term applied to 
 many mountains in different parts of the world, ' and he mentions 
 no lefs than fifteen under this denomination. Ariftodemus, in his 
 firft book of Theban infcriptions, fpeaking of the expedition of 
 Bacchus into India, takes notice only of the mountain of Nyfa, 
 
 3E 2 and 
 
 ' Hiftoire des Huns, par Monfieur de Guignes. Tom. 1. P. 2.-233. 
 
 k " Etienne de Byfance compte jufqu' a dix villes de Nyfa^ — la feptiemeeft celle 
 
 de l'Inde." This is a grofs typographical error, and I have redified it. "TiTa^ni tv h^oi:," 
 (Stephan. Byzant. 594. Fol. L. B. 1 694. ) The fen tence however includes another of greater magni- 
 tude, and the Baron de St. Croix hath confounded in a very extraordinary manner the cities, which 
 bore the name of "Noww," with thofe termed "Nfa-aa" or "Nyo-jf," whofe etymology and 
 derivation were very different. The latter might have a fabulous relation to Dionyfius or Bac- 
 chus : the former were founded probably on the fite of fome local viftories, and Arrian tells us 
 the Nicia in India, which Stephanus Byzantinus mentions, was built in memory of the defeat of 
 Porus. "Kai T»i»(*tv, Nfxa/avj rwtfiKyis rtisuxr^ U^ut cirutunoti utojAXin," Arrian. Exped. Alex. 
 Lib. 5. C. 19.-379. 
 
 ' "Nva-fl! !^ Nwn)jo»Of©' 8x«S'liia; Towo»* tf; yaj Afa?iaf, A/S/ow/utf, A<yt/wr«, BxSvXm®^, Efi/ï- 
 ç«j, 0ET?«^«(î, Ki^ix«(f] I»S(xi)S, Aififlif, Aii^ins, MaxeSoKaf, NaÇ» «teji to rialyaio», roir®' Iv^ias." 
 
 Hefychius, Tom. 2,-694. Ed. Albcrii. 1764.
 
 39^ CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 and Clitarchus confines himfelf to it in the hiflory of Alexander. " 
 Pliny fpeaks of the mountain of Nyfa" and of a city with the 
 name, ° and it appears by a paflage of Ariftotle, '' that the Greek 
 writers amufed themfelves with fketching out defcriptions of this 
 mountain. Without any attempt at a decilion whether Nyfa was 
 a city or a mountain, its exiftence in India is as problematical as 
 even the expedition of Bacchus, of which the Ancients imagined 
 it to be a proof. ■* Arbitrary etymologies can fcarcely be allowed 
 to be fufficient to demonftrate the identity of any of the modern 
 cities with the ancient Nyfa, and even from the number which 
 have equal pretenfions to the honour, it would certainly be mul- 
 tiplied in fuch a manner as to difcredit their general claim to the 
 
 antiquity. 
 
 "■ " Ka( KAfiTaf ^^l©- Ev Tad iJEf 1 A>,$|aySf 8 I'rof '«'J' Wjoa/s-ogon/ Ôt( )^ Nira of ©^ tj-ij sv Iv5/x))." Scho- 
 lia, ad Apoll. Rhod. V. 907. Lib. 2. 
 
 " "In IndisEvero Nyfa monte." Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 8. C. 39. Tom. 2,"20i. 
 
 " "Nee non et Nyfam urbem plerique Indix adfcribuntj monteraque Merum, Libero patri fii- 
 crum." Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. C. 21. Tom. 1.-691. 
 
 !• De Mundo. C. 1. Ariftot. Opera, Tom. 1.— 846. 
 
 1 "Efi Se T;f 3>)))t©- ivpfetrm tsx^x Tay/nt 
 Xwj©* rifuri^i: TE xj 11^®^, Ô» v!OT£ Baxj^©* 
 
 Dionys. Perieg. 1153 1155. 
 
 "To» Se X'^'fo» ôï h A;o»i;<r<©, Sffwtivw» i-mxrntrt, Shhto» ^ Tiy.r,i-,rx x«^f(, j^ i'ejo»' Xsywn In I To/ar®, 
 TO»®. VivatTMX JS©- lYX-n^-n. ins ^ip to» rayyn» .?/», amo r^s Affaf/xJir Ntio-oTjj >a.n^si<jx, ap' w >^ 
 «t/T®-S A/o»uo-©^xX^3.)»a,Sox«« ^^(txIc, xxrx roy ytuy^xipoy, ztoXis iih^ix, Knafj-x ù^ioman, yÇ, of®^ 
 «uTo^- MEf®." Euftath. ad Dionys. Perieg. 4to Stephan. i577._See alfo Apollodorus. Lib. 
 3. C. 5.— Philoftrat. Vit, ApoUod. Tyan. Lib. 2. C, g.-Q. Curt. Lib. 8. C. lo.-Arrian. 
 Exped. Alex, )Lib. 5. C. 2.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 397 
 
 antiquity. Abulfeda mentions many cities termed Nyfapaur in 
 Perfia, Baftriana and the Khorafan, and two with the name of Na- 
 fa, ' which differs httle from Nyfa, one in Perfia and the other in 
 the Kerman. Far from connefting the etymology of Nyfiipour 
 with Dionyfius or Bacchus, fome learned men have underllood the 
 word to be derived from the name of fome of the Eaflern princes, as 
 in the inflance of Sapor, a king of Perfia. ' It feems, in fliort, 
 that we have no more reafon to mark the precife fituation of Nyfa 
 or the mountain Meros in our modern maps, than that of the ce- 
 lebrated ifland of Panchaia of Euemerus. We may be however 
 fatisfied that the fables, which have been interwoven in the defcrip- 
 tion of mount Meros, originated from the fuperfl-itious vene- 
 ration, that many people and particularly the Eaflern nations, 
 entertained for fome celebrated mountains. Porra in the kingdom 
 of Arrakan, and Pecha in China, the Isje in Japan, Olaimi in the 
 country of the Apalachites, and a multitude of others acquired a 
 great reputation, and from thence followed the fpecies of religi- 
 ous veneration with which they were afterwards regarded. The 
 exiHienceof thefe mountains, admitting even the accounts, that 
 have been circulated concerning them, to have been in general 
 fabulous, is neverthelefs certain, though we may not be able, to 
 afcertain their true pofition and that of the mountain Merou in 
 
 particular. 
 
 Alexander 
 
 ' "Nafa quoque eft urbs in Perfide, et altera ejufdem nominis in Karman." Abulfeda, Vers. 
 cit. 
 
 * Golius in AfFer. 188. — Schultens, Ind, Geegraph. ad Calcem Vitï. Salad, Boliadini Ny- 
 fabour.
 
 398 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Alexander after the conqueft of the whole country on this fide 
 of the Indus, paffed that river, and arrived at Taxila, and then 
 marched in a direft line to the Hydafpes. The htuation of Tax- 
 ila ought therefore to be South of the aftual junftion of the Tche- 
 nau with the Indus. On the fuppofition of its being fituated on 
 the conflux of thefe two rivers, the Macedonian army in their 
 march to attack Porus muft have previoufly paffed the Tchenau, 
 which by no means agrees with the itinerary of Alexander. This 
 Prince having received, as we learn from Arrian a reinforcement 
 of five thoufand Indians under the command of Taxilus, direfted 
 his march towards the Hydafpes and encamped upon its banks. ' 
 Strabo informs us that Taxila, a powerful city and governed by 
 excellent laws, was between the Indus and the Ganges, " but he 
 certainly would not have expreffed himfelf in this manner, if it 
 had been fituated at the conflux of the Tchenau and the Indus. 
 Thefe obfervations appear to juftify the hiftorians of Alexander's 
 life and aftions, though Monfieur d' Anville accufes them with 
 having mifl;aken the Tchenau for the Indus, and from this error 
 with having multiplied the latter river. " From the courfe of 
 Alexander's expedition," fays the learned geographer, "we may 
 fuppofe the Tchenau to be the river, that he paffed under the name 
 of the Indus, for inftead of four rivers, we meet with five un- 
 doubtedly 
 
 ' Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 5. C. 8.-357, 
 
 " " Mtra^u St T8 I»Sbj >yra''£l<xavia, Ta^ifM t^i 'ao^is iJLcyahnt^tvfOfAurecn." Strabo, Lib, 15, 
 —1022,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 39^ 
 
 doubtedly in the courfe of his expedition." " On the contrary- 
 there are only four. Alexander marches from Taxila, reaches 
 the Hydafpes, which he pafFes, and he afterwards croffes the Ace- 
 fines, Hydraotes and Hyphafis. ^ The Macedonian monarch, a- 
 greeable to Strabo, having learnt that the rivers of India formed 
 junftions with each other, dire6led his march below thefe jun£lions, 
 to avoid the inconveniency of crofhng the rivers fo very frequently, 
 and the embarraffment from his want of boats, " When he paffed 
 therefore the Hydafpes, he mufl have left the Tchenau to the 
 
 left. It might be difficult at prefent to determine what was the 
 
 Tchenau, ' as the Ancients have not left us any very clear notions 
 of it, though it feems likely to be the Tutape or Toutape, that 
 Arrian fpeaks of as a confiderable river, which can only agree with 
 the Tchenau, though he fuppofes it to empty itfelf into the Ace- 
 fines, '' whofe courfe is extended, againft all probability, to the 
 South of Taxila. Arrian places alfo Peucela at a little diftance 
 
 from 
 
 " "La fuite de 1' expedition d' Alexandre veut que le Tflienau foit la riviere qu' il traverfa fous 
 le nom d' Indus ; car au lieu de quatre fleuves à reconnoitre dans la fuite de cette expedition 
 somme on verra ci-apres, il y en auroit indubitablement cinque." EclaircilTement fur la Carte 
 de r Inde. 34. 
 
 T Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 6. C. 14.--437. 
 
 * Strabo. Lib. 15.--1021. 
 
 » The Tchenau is one of the moft rapid rivers of Penjab, SeeThevenot. Tom. 5.-174) 175. 
 •«-Voyage de Bernier, Tom. 2.-258, 25g. 
 
 * '•K«i T«(T«ff©« Se f*E7aj ■W0T»(*©'iJ Toy A)(«r<»i» txJiSo/," Arrian, Hift. Ind, C, 4'""55^'
 
 '400 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 from the Indus, " a pofition, which cannot be reconciled even by 
 Monfieur d'Anville ^ to the Tchenau : Peucela is really fituated on 
 the Indus, which we meet with immediately after the Cophina. = 
 Q. Curtius neither poflefles the accuracy nor precifion, that diftin- 
 guifli Arrian's geographical details, and whilft he is obfcure when 
 he fpeaks of the different people of India and its rivers that throw 
 themfelves into the Indus, he is apt to contradift the hiftorical part 
 of his work. 'Ij'his Latin hiftorian affures us without referve, 
 that the Acefines augments the waters of the Ganges, which 
 receives it near its embouchure. " The ^ Acefmes fwells it : the 
 Ganges intercepts this river a little before it difcharges itfelf into 
 the fea; at their firll meeting they dafh furioufly againft each 
 other, for the Ganges is very rough where it receives it, and the 
 Acefmes is too violent to give way to the other's refilling ftreams." ' 
 We are foon afterwards informed that the Acefmes becomes con- 
 founded 
 
 * " Kai atXXi «ro^ff ^£u«^a, en (jnyoAii >^ aurvi, 8 ^«xja» Ta I»Jb." Arrian. Hift, Ind, C. i, 
 -550. 
 
 * EclaircifTement fur la Carte de la l' Inde. 33, 34. 
 
 * " Met* /AE» B» TO» Kaipw Ô lyS©' f a." Strabo, Lib. 15.— 1022. 
 
 f "Acefines eum auget. Ganges decurfurum in mare intercipit : niagnoque motu amnis uterque 
 conliditur: quippe Ganges afperum os influenti objicit; nee repercuffe aquae cedunt." (Q. Curt. 
 Lib. 8. C. g. Tom. 2.-623.) We learn from Arrian that the Acefines difcharges itfelf into the 
 Indus. " 'O St Ax£(r;»>iî « MaXXod Ju/^faUa Tw I> W (Hift. Ind. C. 4.-556,) And Pliny adds 
 
 his authority to Arrian. "Indus undeviginti recipit amnes. Sedclariffimos, Hydafpem 
 
 — . Cantabram Acefinem et Hyphafin." Hift. Nat. Lib. 6. C. 20. Tom. 1.-688. 
 
 s Digby's Q. Curtius. Vol. 2.-92, 93,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 4O1 
 
 founded with the Hydafpes '' when they join, and the Macedonian 
 fleet fufFered exceedingly where thefe two rivers met, ' but he is 
 again miftaken, for theAcefines, called erroneoufly the Tanais" 
 by fome authors, lofes itfelf in the Indus. ' Juftin is guilty of an 
 error equally extravagant, when he fuppofes Alexander to defcend 
 by the Acehnes to the Ocean, "" The anonymous author of Ra- 
 venner " hath copied this error, though Juftin indeed feems to 
 retraftitin the following chapter, where he mentions the arrival of 
 the Macedonian Conqueror at the Ocean, and adds that he hap- 
 pily reached the mouths of the Indus. ° 
 
 3 F Monfieur 
 
 h "Hydafpes amnisAcefinicommittitur." (Q. Curt. Lib. 9. C. 4. Tom. 2.— 691.) "Ace- 
 £ni Hydafpi confunditur." Q. Curt. Lib. 9. C. 4. Tom. 2.-694. 
 
 ' " Iterque meant navigia, in tenuem alveum cogitur. Itaque quum crebri fludus fe invehe- 
 rent, et navium hinc proras, hinc latera pulfarent ; fubducere nautx ca;perunt, Sed minifteria 
 eorura hinc metu, hinc praerapida celeritate fluminum occupantur. In oculis duo majora omnium 
 navigia fubmerfa funt ; leviora quum et ipfa nequirent regi, in ripam tamen innoxia expulfa 
 funi." Q. Curt. Lib. 9. C. 4. Tom, 2.-694, 695. 
 
 • See Steph. Byzant. 
 
 • Arrian is particularly circumftantial. " A^^a 5 'xlxir'stis ^ms to» AKainv h/.^x\\h' t^/JaAs.'» 
 Sr, TO -aav lluç, Ansa-ins raafEf p^trai xac\ujji.sm\i' Av^is Se ô Azeo-iidis «t©- ^v^QixKKh ru 'X^^xurv, >^ 
 'dx^xKaSm T8T0», £T( Axzo-ins tf. K«i to» 'T^xm szsi raru ô AKctTim trxgx^xSuv, ru aura lii ovojAxri 
 »î TO» I»Jo» t/Affa^Xs* |v/*?a^«» ^£, ^vyx^u^ei h ru h^M." Exped. Alex. Lih. 6. C. 14. --437. 
 
 "> " Alexander ad Acefinem amnem pergit: per hunc in Oceanujn devehitur." Juftin. Lib. 
 12. C. 9."327. 
 
 => Lib. 2. C. 3. 
 
 • "Secundo œftu oftio fluminis Indi invehitur." Juftin. Lib. la. C- I0,"33i.
 
 402 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 Monfieur d' Ifle, inftead of condufting the Hyphafis, which is 
 the moft Eaftern river of Penjab, into the Acefines, fuppofes it to 
 flow into the Indus, and extends its courfe as far as Patalene, but 
 he has not explained his reafons for deviating fo widely from all 
 the hiftorians who have defcribed this river. '" Notwithftanding 
 the obligations we are under to Monfieur d' Ifle for his labours, 
 which have been fo very ufeful to a knowledge of the globe, his map 
 of Alexander's empire is undoubtedly imperfeft, and the conquefls 
 of that monarch are very inaccurately ftated. Arrian, the ableft 
 and befl informed guide that could have been confulted on the 
 fubjeft, appears to have been entirely neglefted. Monfieur d' An- 
 ville hath kept him conftantly in view, and hath profited from the 
 luminous manner in which the Greek hiftorian hath treated of this 
 part of the world, which was ravaged by the Conqueror of the 
 Eaft. After having reduced the elevation of Latitude, given to 
 Cachemir by the Oriental calculations,'' and having by thefe 
 means allowed a greater extent to the marches of the Ma- 
 cedonian army, Monfieur d'Anville imagines he is able to affert, 
 that Alexander reached Cachemir, though he allows, " that in the 
 details of Alexander's marches, we fee nothing that diftin- 
 guifhes the aélual fituation of this country." \ But it feems an 
 
 indifpenfable 
 
 P Eclairciflement fur la Carte de l' Inde. 
 
 1 Eclairciflement fur la Carte de l' Inde, 27, 28. 
 
 ' "Quoique dans le detail des marches de ce Prince, on ne voit rien qui refl!emble à ce qui 
 diftingue ce pays par fa fituation," Géographe Ancienne, 338, EclairciiTement fur la Carte de 
 l'Inde. 34.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 403 
 
 indifpenfable rule, in a comparifon of ancient and modern opini- 
 ons on fuch fubjefts, and an endeavour to conciliate them, that 
 Tome regard fhould invariably be had to the inferences, which may- 
 be naturally drawn from the fituations of the places in difpute. 
 Cachemir fupplies us with decifive ones. — Shut up by the flupen- 
 dous mountains, which feparate India from Thibet and Great Tar- 
 tary, it is impoffible to penetrate into it on any fide, except by a 
 painful and laborious afcent in the face of immenfe rocks. ' Abul- 
 feda relates, that Oguzkhan was flopped a whole year at the en- 
 trance of thefe mountains, ' which admitted only three paflages, at- 
 tended with fuch almofl infurmountable obflruftions, '' that they had 
 guaranteed the country againft the incurfions of many conquerors. * 
 If Alexander had penetrated into it, is it to be fuppofed that his 
 hiflorians would have been filent on his fuccefs, and taken no no- 
 tice of fuch an important conquefti' — Monfieur d'Anville ac- 
 knowledges there is not any thing in Alexanders itinerary, 
 
 3 F 2 from 
 
 ' Notes on Abulgazi. 52. 
 
 « Hid. Gen. des Tatars par Abulgazi-Khan. 53. 
 
 w Sherefeddin. Hift. de Timur-bec. Livr. 4. C. 31. "II n'y a que trois paflages Ires elro- 
 its pour pouvoir paffer dans ce pays ; on appelle ces paflages Derbend, Celui de Khoraffan eft très 
 difficile et étroit, les bètes chargées n'y peuvent pas paffer; on eft obligé de faire tranfporler les 
 marchandifes fur le dos des hommes qu' on loue pour cet effet; ce qu' ils font avec beaucoup de 
 peine : le paflage des Indes eft de même qui celui du Khoraflan. Celui de Thibet eft à la vérité 
 un peu moins difficile que les autres ; mais comme à la diftance de quelque journées ce terrein n' 
 eft couverte que d' Herbes venimeufes, cela eft caufe que la cavalarie ni les Caravannes ne peuvent 
 pas y pafTer ; c' eft pourquoi ce paffage n' eft guère praticable." Geograph, Turc, 404, 405. 
 
 * Geograph, Turc. 404.
 
 404 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 from which we even may fuppofe it, but " he is unwilling to believe, 
 that a knowledge of this country, fo celebrated in India for its 
 beauties was concealed from the Ancients."^ The fame reafons 
 would induce us to believe that China was alfo known to them. 
 " Any fimilitude in the name," adds Monfieur d'Anville, *' is an 
 argument for the probability." ^ But do we find any ftriking re- 
 femblance to juftify the obfervation between the Cafpira of the 
 Ancients and Cachemir, or rather the Kafchmir of the Orientals, 
 ftill called in fome places, Kichimir? Though the firft fyllable 
 indeed has fome refemblance in found, no certainty arifes from it that 
 the two words were intended to exprefs the fame, and the proof, 
 which the learned geographer draws from the pofition of Cafpira, 
 the capital of the country with its name, which Ptolemy places in 
 the centre of India, ' is equally fallacious. 
 
 The Macedonians, on their arrival at the mouths of the Indus, 
 firft became acquainted with the tides, and looked on the flux and 
 reflux of the Ocean with wonder and aftonifliment. " A modern 
 
 writer. 
 
 y " Que la connoiffance de cette contrée, fi célèbre dans l' Inde par fes agréments, ait été ca- 
 chée à r antiquité." Geograph. Ancienne. Tom. 2,--338. 
 
 * " Un grand rapport de denomination eft un moyen de convenance." Geograph. Ancienne. 
 Tom. 2.-338. 
 
 * Ptolem. Lib. 7. C. 1.--171, 
 
 * " EvTavS* ôf^io-anTw/, tu waS»!;*» ewcyiVMTaf Tw fttyaXtij SaXacoijî ^ a^irwT/î* wft tw ?)!f « «wt- 
 
 I
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 405 
 
 writer, diftinguiflied both for his ingenuity and paradoxes, hath 
 criticifed this relation of Alexander's hiftorians, and remarks that 
 the Macedonian troops could not have been furprifed at the phae- 
 nomenon, as they had already been fpeftators of it in their paf- 
 fage on the coaft of yËgypt, But the Macedonian troops did not 
 then fee the Red fea, and could only have learnt from information, 
 v\^hat they afterwards witnefTed on a view of the Ocean in the 
 greatell magnificence, as the highefl; known tides are thofe of the 
 gulph of Sinde at the mouths of the Indus, where the fea retires 
 with uncommon rapidity, and leaves a great traft of fand uncover- 
 ed and dry. " This effeft therefore of the flux and reflux of the 
 Ocean naturally aftoniflied the Macedonians, and hath been pro- 
 perly obferved by their hifliorians. It was not then fo very trifling 
 as Le Clerc hath imagined ■* in his criticifm on Q. Curtius. But 
 the Latin hift;orian is often cenfured by him, frequently without 
 tafl:e and with injufl;ice, and conflantly with keennefs and feverity. 
 
 Alexander began his march from the mouths of the Indus, to 
 return to Babylon through the country to the Weft; of this river. 
 Plutarch informs us, that after having pafled through the country 
 of the Orites and Gedrofia, the Conqueror of the Eafl; employed 
 
 feven 
 
 cr^(xfav OT«ft(7j^£. 'snXv Se S» irt /xbÇo»», a-no te ln\%(rr,i ns ù^as «TfO(n)«.T£ to vSug, j^ Ta axaÇ»! ^e- 
 TWf-ÇovTo." (Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 6. C. 19.--445. 446.) Q. Curlius hath launched as 
 ufual into a luxuriant defcription. Lib. 9. C. 9. Tom. 2.'-730 736. 
 
 * Varenius. Geograph. C. 14. Propos. 14. 
 
 ■^ "Hue etiam accedit, quod seftus in mari Indico exiguus fit, nec tantos tumultus creare poITu.'» 
 
 Judicium de Curtio, 453.
 
 406 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 leven days in crolling Carmania, and then arrived at the capital ol 
 Gedrofia. This mufl: be an error of the tranfcriberj and we fhould 
 read Carmania with Dacier, which is a more natural corre6lion 
 than one fuggefted by Mofes of Chorene/ and agrees with the 
 accounts of the other hiftorians, and Arrian^ and Strabo* in par- 
 ticular. The text of Plutarch will then only prefent the extraor- 
 dinary tranfpofition of Gedrofia to the Weft of Carmania. 
 
 Of the navigation of NEARCHUS. 
 
 The expedition of Nearchus forms a period of fome confidera- 
 tion in the hiftory of the navigation of the Ancients, and has a 
 
 claim to particular inveftigation. Nearchus was the fon of 
 
 AdrotimuSj a native of Crete, ^ and one of the ableft of the Ma- 
 cedonian officers. Before Alexander's accefTion to the throne, 
 Nearchus and the young Prince had been intimately conne6led, 
 and Philip had even ordered Nearchus into exile for his attach- 
 ment 
 
 • "Ex TtisFtSfoiT/aj." Not. in Plutarch. 
 
 ' "Adrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. 6. C. £2."452, 
 
 e Strabo. Lib. 15.— 1051— —1053. 
 
 I» Arrian. Hift. Ind. C. 18.-587.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 407 
 
 ment to his Son, at which he took offence. Alexander confided 
 to him the command of his fleet, which was to pafs from the 
 mouths of the Indus to the Euphrates, and the choice which he 
 made, was highly plealing to all who were to have a fliare in 
 the expedition. ' Amongft the adventurers there were Phcenicians, 
 Cypriots, people from the Hellefpont, and lonians, and they faw 
 with fatisfaftion Nearchus at the head of the enterprife, of which he 
 hath given a circumflantial relation in his journal : Arrian hath 
 preferved it. Pliny after mentioning that the journal of Nearchus 
 and Oneficritus neither fupplied him with the names nor diftances of 
 places, " attempts to give us an abridged itinerary, with the names 
 of places and their diftances reduced into Roman miles, but it 
 hath not any refemblance with that which Arrian defcribes. The 
 difference is too remarkable to fuppofe it to be owing to the igno- 
 rance of tranfcribers. 
 
 From what Pliny hath told us, it evidently appears that he had 
 not read either the journal of Nearchus or that of Oneficritus, 
 and in all likelihood he had fimply confulted the produ6lion of 
 Juba, which was only a compilation from Oneficritus. A com- 
 parifon of it with the journals of Nearchus will at once prove the 
 
 difference 
 
 ■ Arrian. Hid. Ind. C. 20.—591. 
 
 •' "Indicare convenit, qujc prodit Oneficritus, clalTe Alexandri circumveflus in Mediterranea 
 Perlidis ex India, narrata proxime a Juba : dein earn navigationem, qua: ex his annis comperta 
 fervatur hodie. Oneficriti ot Nearchi navigatio nee nomina habet manfionum, nee fpatia," Plin, 
 Hift, Nat, Lib. 6. C. 23. Tom. 1.-700.
 
 408 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 difference of the two works. Organa is the fingle word, which 
 hath not fufFered alteration, and been varied by Oneficritus or Ju- 
 ba: the foundation of a city, whofe name is not known and that of 
 Xilonopohs, of which Oneficritus fpeaks, are fuppreffed by Ne- 
 archus, 
 
 PHny confounds the fituation of many countries : the Orites are 
 placed before the Arbians, ' and immediately after Carmania, 
 But the Arbians were in fa6l fituated to the Weft of the Indus, 
 and had the Orites on their borders, who had Gedrofia to the 
 Weft, bounded by the vaft deferts of Carmania. Oneficritus, 
 from a jealoufy of Nearchus, endeavoured to appropriate to 
 himfelf the difcoveries of this Admiral, and made a point of 
 contradiding him. To this fource may be traced the variance 
 in his relations, which have been inconfiderately adopted both by 
 Juba and by Pliny. 
 
 Strabo, according to Monfieur Huet, " treats the works of 
 Nearchus and Oneficritus as fi6lions, though he admits, that 
 fome truth is blended with their fables." "" Undoubtedly the Greek 
 geographer clafles Nearchus with thofe writers, that have circu- 
 lated falfities refpefting India, but he was not the principal obje6l 
 of the obfervation, and the cenfure was more particularly appli- 
 cable 
 
 ' "Oritasablndis Arbisfluviusdifterminat." Plin. Hift. Nat, Lib, 7, C, 2, Tom, 2.-14. 
 
 " "Strabon traite ces ouvrages de fiélion; quoique il ne nie point qu'ils foient mêles de quel- 
 que vérité." Hift. du Commerce et de la Navigation des Anciens. 349,
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 40g 
 
 cable to Megaflhenes and Dalmachus. " When he fpeaks more 
 circumflantially of the journal of Nearchus, it is without any 
 refleftion on the authenticity of the work, and fome exaggerations 
 of the fa6ls and hyperbolical expreffions were principally criti- 
 cifed. Thefe are the common foibles of travellers in general, who 
 fometimes fuffer feverely in their expeditions, and are often ac- 
 cuftomed to magnify objefts, from their fears and apprehenfions, 
 beyond the juft proportion of the real dangers, which they were 
 expofed to. ° The learned Huet in another part, of his work, 
 does however juftice to Nearchus and his journal, when he aflures 
 us the memoirs of his expedition were both " ufeful in commerce 
 and in war. ■■ 
 
 Dodwell, in his differtation on the journal of Nearchus by 
 Arrian, obferves that Pliny might have borrowed what he relates, 
 refpefting the navigation of Nearchus and Oneficritus, from thofe 
 authors as well as from Juba's extra6l out of the work of Oneficri- 
 
 3 G tus, 
 
 n " A(*(p£f o»Twî S'awrav *|'ii» A»i/(A«;^w re -^ 'Mtyx^^cvet." (Strabo. Lib. 2.--121.) Yet he 
 had before exprefTed more than doubts of the writers in general on India, and Nearchus comes in 
 for a fliare of the cenfure. " Avxms /aîv roiyvt 01 WEfi tvis Iv^ixris y^x^xtTS!, is etri n uoXu vJ-suaoAo- 
 701 ysïotaiTi, xxy vTicgGoT^w St Arufn.xx®'' '''* ^' SfTtf « XiyH Miyxff^sni!, Onrix^ir®' re ty Nsafp^®/, 
 ;^ aWioi ToiSToi ■sraganJ'^ZAiÇjiiTtî >!Îii." Strabo. Lib. 2."i2t, 
 
 " " Ou la crainte plutôt que le peril groffit les objeds, et qui par cette raifon doivent felon 
 Strabon mériter notre indulgence." 1 find no traces of the indulgence, which Strabo is fiippofeJ 
 to befpeak for thefe writers. " Eik®^ (jliv e» 'a^os vTrc^SaM* »jSo^EO'j^x£va< zjoXXx rm 'aXzvaxiTis' à- 
 (J.US S' 8» «fDuao-/ oafaSiiXBVTK â/AX >y to wajara» «urois iraS©', ^lori tJ^oç-^oyjx (jLxhXon v x/xJio©- viitf- 
 y^t rais aXt^tiTi," Strabo. Lib. 15.-1055. 
 
 p "Utiles pour la guerre et le commerce." Hift. du Comm, et de la.Navig. des Anciens, 53.
 
 410 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 tus, '' but his criticifm on the authority of the journal of Nearchus 
 preferved by Arrian appears to be bold as well as exceptionable. 
 It may be proper to examine the evidence that he produces and 
 to comment on it. 
 
 I. Neither the city of Arbis, the rivers Nabrus, Hytanis, nor 
 in (hort the port of Argenus or Argenis, mentioned by Onefi- 
 critus, are to be found in Arrian, who hath added the diftances 
 that he fpecifies, from the extra6l of Pliny. 
 
 If however, Oneficritus, or rather Juba hath corrupted the 
 names of places and hath even interwoven fome fufpicious çir- 
 cumflances, the journal of Nearchus is not impeachable on ac- 
 count of their imperfections or miftakes. The truth amidft contra- 
 diftory affertions is eafily difcoverable on the examination of 
 Other evidence, and all the works of the cotemporary authors 
 having perifhed, the prefent fituation of places and the affinity 
 between their ancient and modern names are what mull be refort- 
 ed to. Monfieur d' Anville hath inconteftably proved the refult 
 is in favour of Nearchus. If the diftances in Arrian do not 
 
 correfpond 
 
 * " Dodwel obferve judicieufement que Pline n' a tiré tout ce qu' il rapporte de la navigation 
 de Nearque et d'^neficrite que de l'extrait que Juba avoit fait de 1' ouvrage de ce dernier." 
 Dodwell appears to think very differently. " Erant enim fane, prstereaea quae retuleratex Nearcho 
 et Oneficrito Juba, et alls quoque feparatœ utriufque auftoris editiones, etiam state Plinii. Hoc 
 inde coUigo, quod in auftorum catalogis, e quibus libros operis fui fingulos coUegit Plinius, oc- 
 currit, praeter Jubam, feorfim mentio tam Nearchi quam etiam Oneficriti. Quod fane non fuif- 
 fetnecelTe, fi, quœ de utroque habet Plinius, ea omnia ex folo haufiffet Juba." De Arrian. Neai- 
 clio apud Geograph. Vet. Sciipt, Grxc, Min, Vol, i,— J32, 8'° O:*on, 1698.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 411 
 
 correfpond with thofe in Pliny, they certainly were not taken 
 from the Roman Naturalift. 
 
 II. It is univerfally allowed that Nearchus and Oneficritus 
 marked their tra6l by the number of days, which were afterwards 
 reduced into ftadia: Juba again reduced them into miles in con- 
 formity to the Roman meafure. — They gave the relation this 
 femblance of exaftnefs to impofe upon the world. Dodwell 
 flrengthens the opinion by the authority of Marcian of Heraclea. 
 " Many authors have written in hafte with the intention of im- 
 pofing on their readers, and affefted to relate the names of 
 places in nations that are totally unknown, and to afcertain their 
 diftance from each other in ftadia, but Antiphanes of Bergœa hath 
 furpafTed them all in impofture. Thofe, on the contrary, who 
 acquired a real knowledge of places and the dimenfions of the 
 different feas with the ports and cities and their refpeftive diftances 
 have compofed particular defcriptive journals, and appear to 
 
 have compiled them with fidelity." ' Nearchus is not 
 
 mentioned in this paffage of Marcian, but the concluding fen- 
 tence may be properly applied to him, and he may be truly claff- 
 ed with the geographers, whofe accuracy is taken notice of. 
 
 3 G 2 III. 
 
 cvyoqias ^ ço^iui a^i^fun S«|(ovTEr, k^ rixvrx iiriy^u^iu* d t^vuii (3«{f ajw», w» bSs ras vgomyoçia: aira» 
 JuvaiTO a» ris, avroti fAOi ^OKHai rot Btfyasiov Ayrijixyn tcviKWzuxi ra-^ii^fi' ôaoi ixct yaf ixe^ixx: ntxi 
 ivon^ars «tj/wXw» InynffHs' m Kj rot x'^fia <r«p*'S Eyjywo-xo», >y rriv xian^T^iTit TW ^x\xr%s ax Yf»-
 
 412 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 III. The journal of Nearchus was unknown to Agatharcides 
 and Eratofthenes, who had the immenfe library of Alexandria 
 before their eyes. This work ought therefore to be confidered as 
 
 fi6litious. ' ^If even this negative argument hath any force, 
 
 it remains to be aflced from whence this information is derived. 
 Are we peremptorily to decide at once from the fhort extraft of 
 Agatharcides on the Erythrean fea, which Photius hath left us, 
 and what remains of his Afiatic hiftory ' preferved by Athenaeus, 
 or from a few mutilated fragments of Eratofthenes^that thefe authors 
 had never heard of the Periplus of Nearchus ? 
 
 IV. In the ages immediately after Alexander, the Indus was be- 
 lieved to join the Nile; " if therefore the journal of Nearchus had 
 then exifted, this error could not have been adopted. " ^Un- 
 der the fame mode of reafoning, it may be infilled, that the works 
 of Herodotus, Ariflotle and Diodorus Siculus are fuppofitions, 
 a£ we learn from them, that the Cafpian fea has no communication 
 with the neighbouring feas, which though erroneous was an 
 
 opinion, 
 
 «», ^ ■EToXf/f K, X(/,t£y«r, K, rx lixT^il[*!iirx TSTwy xarajAjâoiTcs' «To< Soxaa-/» fi vixurxvacriv crXwr* fiirx 
 rw evJêx°/*"i^ a,>.yi^etas lyytyfxfttai," Marciani Heracleotae Periplus. 63. Apud Geograph. Vet. 
 Script. Minor. Tom. 1. 
 
 ' Dodwell de Arriani Nearcho. Geograph. Vet. Script. Min, Tom, 1. Diflert. 6. Sedl. 7. 
 
 ' Photii Biblioth. 1322. See alfo 546, 547. 
 
 ** The Baron de St. Croix remarks that Arrian borrowed what he fays of the Nile, in the fixth 
 chapter of his Indian Hiftory, from Megafthenes, and that the journal of Nearchus only commen- 
 ces at the twenty-firft chapter, and from this circumftance the argument cannot poffibly apply. 
 
 » Dodwell de Arriani Nearcho. Geograph, Vet, Script, Min, Tom, 1, DilTert. 8.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 413 
 
 opinion, adopted in later times. — Truth creeps (lowly forward into 
 approbation and efteem, whilfl even errors fupported by an- 
 cient prejudices and fometimes by vanity, preferve their influence 
 for years. 
 
 V. The Periplus of Nearchus was probably fabricated under 
 the reigns of the laft Ptolemies, as Antiphanes of Bergaeum, 
 Antonius Diogenes, and Euemerus of MeflTma, publiflied about 
 this period many fabulous relations. ^ 
 
 Such an argument has little ftrength, and it may be difficult 
 to point out any relation whatever between the Periplus of 
 Nearchus and the facred hiftory of Euemerus. 
 
 From a want of evidence, Arrian is overwhelmed with inju- 
 rious epithets, and the Jefuit Harduin hath treated him with 
 as little civility. ''' Yet their joint efforts cannot depreciate 
 the authenticity and merit of a work, which carries internally 
 the powerful impreflion of fidelity, and proves in every circum- 
 flance the accuracy of its author. There is a minute exadnefs, 
 which is a fort of decifive depofition in favour of authentic jour- 
 nals, that is not to be found in the romantic and fiftitious tales 
 of imaginary adventures. The Periplus of Nearchus may be 
 
 tried 
 
 T Dodwell de Arriani Nearcho. Geograph. Vet. Script. Grasc. Min. DifTert. 6,-139, 140. 
 » "Hominismirare in mendaciis confingendis audaciam." Not. in Plin, Hifl. Nat. Tom. i.
 
 414 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 tried by this criterion, and the whole of it, from the departure 
 of the Macedonian fleet when it quitted the ifland of Sangada 
 to its arrival at the mouth of the river Arabis or Arabius, is fo very 
 circumftantial as to leave its authenticity unqueftionable. 
 
 " When the wind was abated, they again put to fea, and having 
 failed about fixty fladia further, came to a Tandy coafl;, before 
 which was a certain defolate ifland named Domas; which, by its 
 fituation, formed a haven, but as the water upon the coail was all 
 brackifli, they travelled about twenty fi:adia up a level country, 
 where they found water fweet and pleafant; and failing all the 
 next day, in the evening they came to a country called Saranga, 
 about three hundred fladia from their former ftation, where they 
 went on fliore, and found good water, about eight fladia from 
 their landing-place. Thence, they renewed their voyage and ar- 
 rived at Sacala, a country wholly uninhabited; whence, they 
 pafled between two rocks, fo near each other, that the blades of 
 their oars touched them on both fldes at once. When they had 
 failed three hundred fladia, they came to Morontobara, where is a 
 large, fpacious, fafe and commodious haven ; but the entrance in- 
 to it is narrow and rocky : this the natives called the Women's Ha- 
 ven, from a certain woman, who firft reigned in that place. Hav- 
 ing pafled the rocks with fome difficulty, they came into the open 
 fea again, and continuing their voyage left a certain ifland on 
 their left hand, which is fo near joining to the mainland, that the 
 channel, which feparates them, feems to have been cut through. 
 
 That
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 415 
 
 That day they failed about feventy fladia. The fhore, all along 
 the Continent, was full of thick woods, and the ifland oppofite 
 thereto, was alfo woody. About break of day they departed 
 thence, and pafifed through the above-mentioned channel, by the 
 help of the Tide, and after a courfe of one hundred and twenty 
 ftadia, arrived at the mouth of the river Arabius, where they found 
 a large and fafe harbour, but no frefli water, becaufe the Tide 
 flows a great way up the river, and makes it brackifh ; wherefore, 
 pafling about forty ftadia up the river, they came to a lake, the 
 water of which being fweet, they took what they wanted, and re- 
 turned. The ifland, oppofite to this haven, is high land, and 
 uncultivated, but round it are vafl: quantities of oyfters, and all 
 kinds of nfli, which makes it to be frequented by fiftiermen. Thus 
 far the countiy of the Arabii extends itfelf, being the lafl part of 
 India, that way, for the Oritas inhabit the other fide of the river." * 
 
 Nearchus defcribes with the fame minutenefs his navigation 
 from the mouths of the Indus to that of the Euphrates where 
 his voyage ended. If he did not enter into the fame details ref- 
 pefting the coafl of Sufia, the modern Khofiftan, it arofe from 
 the diiiicuity of approaching the land with fafety on account of the 
 fhoals and 'hallows. ' Pietro della Valle tells us that he failed at fbme 
 diftance from this track, and found a fhoal with four fathom wa- 
 ter,. 
 
 » Rooke's Arrian. Vol. 2. C. 22. —245, 
 
 Tm xwf I» TE yj;^ Tttxyu^cx Tt wai rm ctoXXw, xJ çyiX'Wi» tw /*Ey« is tov ctovtov tcri^utra)/ >y rav 
 Ti|» o^aAtfUv tyxa^of/Ai^co-^ai weAayiOKTiy, i» af ktj T»i» x<¥a(S>)v to woAw yiKO-'J«/." Arrian. Hill. In- 
 die. C. 41.-631.
 
 4l6 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 ter, which flretched to a confiderable extent: the Perfians term 
 this part of the Perlian gulph Meidan, and the land is fo low that 
 it is not vifible but at a very little diftance. ' On the plan of Mon- 
 fieur d' Anville, and with the advantage of his refearches, a great 
 refemblance is perceptible between the ancient defcription of the 
 different places mentioned in the journal of Nearchus, -and their 
 prefent appearances. This able geographer hath proved to de- 
 monftration the accuracy of Nearchus from a comparifon of all 
 the Oriental and European memoirs that treat of the feveral pla-» 
 ces, which the Macedonian fleet touched at, when they ranged a- 
 long the coalls of Carmania, Perfia, and Sufia. Monfieur d' An- 
 ville's memoirs on the Perfian gulph will not admit of being ana- 
 lyfed: and his opinion of the journal of Nearchus fliall be only ci- 
 ted. " Circumflances, which apply to the precife fituation of pla- 
 ces, and the refemblance of ancient names with thofe, that flill 
 fubfift, and are not to be elfewhere met with, do not admit of a 
 fufpicion of fraud or fiftion, and there are few ancient geographical 
 memoirs, which will fo well ftand the tell of a comparifon with 
 even the real knowledge of them." '' 
 
 Yet it would be in vain to diffemble that Nearchus hath inter- 
 mingled fome fables in his journal. Amidll their number, the fto- 
 
 ries 
 
 " Mémoire de Monfieur d' Anville. Acad, des Infcriptions. Tom. 30.--168. 
 
 * " L' application des circonftances qu' il renferme au local aftuel, le rapport que des denomi- 
 nations de lieux qui ne fe rencontrent point ailleurs, ont avec celles qui fubfiftent, ne fouffrent 
 aucun foupçon de fuppoCtion ; et il y a peu d' autres mémoires géographiques de l'antiquité, 
 
 qui
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 417 
 
 ries of men, who cut up fifh and wood with their nails ; ' who built 
 and covered their houfes with the larger bones of whales, and 
 employed the lefs in the formation of their domeflic utenfils, ' 
 and alfo that of the ifland of Nofala, inhabited by one of the 
 Nereids, ^ are to the lafl degree exceptionable, Thefe fables, 
 however, ought not to afFeft the work itfelf, and fhould be con- 
 fidered rather as poetical and imaginary epifodes, correfponding 
 with the Grecian tafte, which was always more partial to the 
 charms of fidlitious fcenery, than the chafter compofitions of 
 rigid truth. 
 
 The Macedonian fleet failed, according to Arrian, on the twenti- 
 eth day of the month Boedromion, in the eleventh year of Alex- 
 ander's reign, when Cephifodorus was Archon at Athens, '' whole 
 magiftracy is notwithftanding fixed by Diodorus Siculus, Dionyfi- 
 us of HalicarnafFus, and by mod of the chronologifts in the year 
 after Alexander's death. It feems then a miftake, and Arrian 
 ought to have related this voyage under the Archonlhip of Anti- 
 
 3 H cles, 
 
 qui foutiennent mieux la comparifon avec une connoiffance pofitive du local." Recherches 
 Geograph, fur le Golfe Perfique. Acad, des Infcript. Tom. 30.">33. 
 
 Çi7^*i. >^ Ta» |uA«» ôo-sc f*«Ju»K«T£fa." Arrian. Hift. Ind. C. 24.--60O. 
 
 ' "Xçyiir^ai li roiair ntd^uvoivit ts ra otxia' «i«( w» T« /*iv «» Tn<ri i3\ivgn(Ti> avrut oriot, SoxBf toc 
 mi oiKvi/avHi ivx ii.tya^' ti» Ss f*ixgoTEfa, çfumfxs." Arrian. Hill. Ind. C. 30,— 612. 
 
 e " L' habitation des Nereides." ** Omvrcii rm mmf Tecunt i*iȴ rm H^ni^ui," Arrian, Hift. 
 Ind. C. 31.-613. 
 
 *> Arrian. Hift. Ind, C, 2i.--59z.
 
 I 
 
 418 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 cles, the fourth year of the one hundred and thirteenth Olympiad, 
 and tliree hundred and twenty-five years before Chrift, which will 
 be the eleventh year of Alexander's reign. Corfini hath given a 
 very fatisfaftory folution of tliis difficulty, and fuppofes Cephi- 
 fodorus to have fucceeded Anticles, who might have died, or 
 been difplaced during his year of office, ' and the neceffity of this 
 corre6lion is evident from the manufcripts in the late French King's 
 library, which concur in the expreffion of Cephifodorus. — It is 
 alfo an eftabliffied fa61, that Nearchus finiffied his naval expedition 
 before the death of Alexander. 
 
 Pliny informs us that Nearchus was employed feven months 
 in his expedition, and was three months at fea. "^ Many reafons 
 may be conceived to have occafioned the length of time taken up in 
 this voyage. The conftruftion of the veflels of the Ancients, 
 which were in general fmall, and of much lefs dimenfions than 
 thofe of our days, rendered them incapable of weathering any 
 heavy feas or violent gales, and as they had fewer fails, they con- 
 fequently made lefs way. ' They rarely alfo ventured out of the 
 fight of land, but coafted regularly, and this mode of navigation 
 
 mull 
 
 • Corfini. Fall. Attic. Differt. g. Tom, 2.-30, 31. Tom. 4.-52. 
 
 ^ " Alexandrum inveneruntfeplirao menfe, poftquam digreflus ab iis fuerat Patulis, tertio naviga- 
 tionis. Sic Alexandri claffis navigavit." Piin. Hift. Nat. Lib, 6. C. 23. Tom. 1.— 703. 
 
 ' We learn from Marcianus of Heraclea it was a received opinion, that a veflel might run fe- 
 ven hundred and fometimes even nine hundred ftadia in a day, with a favourable wind, though 
 others did not exceed five hundred, " iliMXoyriiMwy y»§ tbS' ôt* iitTeiMciiis bjioSj o/*o(7a navs î« (ju- 
 
 as
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 419 
 
 muft: have been very tedious. The Macedonian fleet, it muft 
 be recollefted likewife, had to pafs through unknown feas, and 
 without proper pilots they could not venture to purfue their track 
 in the night and in the dark. Thefe were great impediments, 
 and the progrefs of the voyage was retarded by the contrary winds, 
 ■which they had to encounter in their paflage. 
 
 Montefquieu fuppofes that the Macedonian fleet had to ftrug- 
 gle with the Monfoons, and that it failed in July, ■" a feafon when 
 no European veffel in our days would quit a port in India on a 
 return to Europe. This great writer appears, however, to be 
 millaken. Nearchus only failed in September, which anfwers to 
 the Boedromion of the Attic year, and agreeable to Pliny's cal- 
 culation, he completed his voyage early in the month Munychion, 
 which is our April. During this time it is certain that the ftorms, 
 which attend the Monfoon are not felt on this fide cape Commo- 
 
 3 H 2 rin, 
 
 as ocvvH Tns i//,e^acs, Ivçoi ris at j^ maxoirias S;a*çj:/*«<7a!» yau» iK rns run naraoTttuao'avT©. rtynts to ti»- 
 V©. TOfoo-XalSBaav, >t^ 'sTc^xti fj^iXis zjttTaxtxTivs daxtu<7atr<t», Six rm tvatria» rris riyrr,s ainxt," Mars. 
 Heracl. Peripl. apud Geog. Veter. Script. Graec. Min. Tom. i.— 67.) The Baron de St. Croix 
 taking the ftadium at one hundred Toifes reckons a veffel of the Ancients might with a fa- 
 vourable wind have made a palTage from twenty-three marine leagues and a fraftion to thirty in a 
 day, and with a contrary wind, computes it at Cxteen. 
 
 "■ "La flotte d' Alexandre mit feptmois pour aller de Fatale a Suze. Elle partit dans le mois de 
 Juillet, c' ert à dire, dans un temps ou aujourdhui aucun navire n' ofe fe mettre en mer pour reve- 
 nir des Indes. Entre l'une et 1' autre mouçon, il y a un intervalle de temps pendant lequel le» 
 vents varient; et où un vent de hord, fe mêlant avec les vents ordinaires, caufe, furtoiit auprès 
 de côtes, d' horribles tempêtes. Ce la dure les mois de Juin et Juillet, et d'Août. La flotte d' 
 Alexandre, partant de Fatale au mois de Juillet, effuya bien des tempêtes, et le voyage fut long, 
 parcequ' elle navigeadans un mouçon CûDtraire." Montefquieu, del'Efpvit des Loix. Lib. 21, 
 C. 9. Tom. 1.-490, 491.
 
 420 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 rin, and are confined to the months of May, June, July, and 
 Auguft. 
 
 The evidence of Arrian is very peremptory on the departure of 
 the fleet. " As foon therefore as the Etefian or anniverfary winds 
 ceafed, (which on thefe coafts blow from the fea towards the land 
 the whole fummer, and thereby render navigation impraticable 
 during that time) they begun their voyage on the twentieth day 
 of the month Boedromion, the eleventh year of Alexander's reign 
 according to the Macedonian and Afiatic computation, when Ce- 
 phifodorus was Archon of Athens." " 
 
 But perhaps it may be objected, that if the Monfoon was not 
 contrary, no other winds could have in fuch a manner retarded 
 their courfe. On the coafts, however, of Guzarat and in general 
 on all thofe of India upon this fide the mountains of Gate, the 
 winds blow almoft conftantly out of a Southerly quarter from Sep- 
 tember to March, and from the coafts of Africa towards India, they 
 regularly decline towards the Weft in proportion as Alia is ap- 
 proached. • The winds were therefore very foul for the Mace- 
 donian fleet, whofe courfe lay from Eaft to Weft, and it is a 
 known principle that the velocity of the air, is increafed like a 
 current of water, when its channel is narrowed. Nearchus, from 
 
 this 
 
 » Rooke's Arrian, Vol. a.--243. " n* ^« t* ErDo-zat iJvtD/xaTa tx«(/A»)9ij {« Si» ra 9ff e®- my ij»)» 
 ■Biaaaii xaTf jj« ix t» tJtXayt®' atnrnotrx ttri rw y>)», i^ raurn airofo» to» ■oXb» woiio»t«) tots Si» wfftij». 
 TO, iw< af;^o»r©< aS))»w« Kij^iodSoj », eixstSi ru ÇoriSgofuu»®' /x»!»©-, xatSori A^ijyaioi ayu<Tn' us îi Moe- 
 minis rt >^ Atriatoi ttyot, to tvSjxaTo» 0ao-/A£uo»T©- AXi|«»Sjs." Arrian, Hift. Ind. C. 21.— 592. 
 
 • Varen. Geog. C. Zt. Propos. 3. See alfo Dr. Halley, £ffay. Philofoph. Tranfaft. 1735.
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 421 
 
 this lafl: circumftance, on his arrival at the mouth of the Perfian 
 gulph, muft have found great difficulty, and been much diflreffed 
 in doubling cape Bendis, now known under the name of Jalk. 
 His track muft have then been between the North and Weft, '' 
 and the Eaft and South-Eaft winds muft have carried him at a 
 great rate towards the land. Oneficritus here wiftied to terminate 
 the voyage, but the courage and good condufl of Nearchus fur- 
 mounted every difficulty and danger. Having repaired his fleet 
 on the banks of the river Anamis, ' at fome diftance on this fide 
 the Ifland Ogyris now Ormus, he continued his courfe, notwith- 
 ftanding the contrary and unfavourable winds to which he was 
 expofed, and put into the river Sitaco, ' the modern Sita-Rhegian, 
 where he employed twenty-one days in caulking and refitting 
 his fquadron. 
 
 When the winds fhift in thefe feas from North to South and 
 the collateral points, there are many days, and fometimes months 
 of continual calm and tempefts, and it was from thefe caufes that 
 Nearchus was detained. This officer having mentioned in his 
 journal fome ftorm or other, Arrian moft probably confounded 
 this accidental gale from the South with the contrary Monfoon 
 or Etefian winds. The currents produced by the Weft and 
 South- Weft winds, which fet direftly againft the Macedonian 
 
 fleet, 
 
 » " EvStvîf §£ àaùturus mttn btj of lîAiB Sw^tva twAto»* oMm to fxcra^u W/®" « n>^a K/ ns «furs é. 
 Til f*aXAo»Tjâi OTçwjai «wTo/o-jntwapjo»," Arrian. Hilt. Ind, C. 32."6i4. 
 
 <> Arrian. Hift. Ind. C. 33.— 616. 
 
 ' I I C. 38.-627.
 
 422 CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE LIFE 
 
 fleet, were not therefore the leafl of the impediments that Near- 
 chus had to combat. 
 
 The Jefuit Petau ' dates the navigation of Nearchus in the 
 magiftracy of Chrêmes, three hundred and twenty-feven years 
 before Chrift, and in the year when Porus was defeated. But the 
 authority of Diodorus Siculus, which the learned chronologift 
 followed too implicitly, hath led him into fome miftakes. The 
 Greek hiftorian compreffes into the Archonfliip of Chrêmes ' a 
 croud of events, which could not poflibly have happened in fuch 
 a fliort fpace of time, and he alfo mentions two other Archons, 
 Anticles, and Soficles, before the year of Alexander's death. 
 Corfini " judicioufly obferves that the name of Soficles fliould be 
 effaced, or confidered as the name of an Archon fubftituted in the 
 fame year for Anticles, and the conjefture feems in fome meafure 
 authorized by the text itfelf as well as Diodorus Siculus, who brings the 
 magiftracy of Anticles and alfo that of Soficles under the Conful- 
 fhip of Lucius Cornelius and Quintus Popilius. — " Diodorus Si- 
 culus does not mention any remarkable event during the magis- 
 tracy of thefe two Archons, and feems to have referred them all to 
 that of Chrêmes, in which he fixes the defeat of Porus, that was 
 previous to this Archon, and ought to be dated in the magiftracy 
 of Hegemon, whofe name in all probability might have been 
 
 found 
 
 ' Doftrin. Temp. Livr. 13.— 597, 598. 
 
 ' Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2. --229 246. 
 
 * Corfini. Faft. Attic. Differt. 9. Tom. 2.-31 33. Tom. 4.-49. 
 
 ■■ Diod. Sicul. Lib. 17. Tom. 2.-248.— Corfini. FaA. Attic. Tom. 2. Differt. 22, 23.'
 
 OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 423 
 
 found in the part of the feventeenth book of this hiftorian which is 
 wanting. — The feries of later events, and the formal evidence of 
 Arrian leave little doubt of this period. 
 
 Hegemon undoubtedly preceded Chrêmes in the Attic annals 
 and the navigation of Nearchus ought then to be reckoned in the 
 lafl year of Alexander's reign, under the Archonfhip of Anticles 
 or rather Cephifodorus his fubftitute, and this Archonfhip in- 
 cluded both the events marked by Diodorus Siculus in the magif- 
 tracy of Soficles, and a part of thofe in that of Chrêmes. It ap- 
 pears alfo that the Greek hiftorian enumerated under Soficles fome 
 events, fuch as the defeat of the CofTaeans, ' and the entry of Alex- 
 ander ^ into Babylon, which could only have happened in the 
 firfl: eleven months of the year in which Alexander died, when 
 Hegefias was Archoa. Diodorus Siculus hath in this manner 
 overturned the entire chronology of the lafl; years of this Prince's 
 reign, and defcending to objefts of inferior magnitude, his mif- 
 take ., as to the time of the navigation of Nearchus, hath been occa- 
 fioned by his erroneous arrangement of the events which pre- 
 ceded it. 
 
 T Diod. Sicul. Lib, 17. Tom. 2.-248. — Uflerii Annal. 206, 207. 
 » _^— — Lib. 17, Tom. 2.-248. 
 
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