Delphi Complete Works of Quintus Curtius Rufus

by Quintus Curtius Rufus

  [10] Then Nearchus said that no one could deny that only the blood and stock of Alexander was suited to [11] royal majesty, but that to wait for a king who was not yet born, and to pass over one who was already living, suited neither the desires of the Macedonians nor their exigencies; that the king had a son by Barsinê; he ought to be presented with the crown.

  [12] His speech was approved by no one; and so, clashing their shields with their spears after their custom, they persisted in uproar. And already, as Nearchus maintained his opinion too persistently, they had almost reached the point of mutiny, when Ptolemy [13] said: “Truly a most worthy stock to rule the race of the Macedonians is the son of Roxanê or Barsinê, whose very name Europe will be ashamed to hear, since it is that of one who is in greater part a captive.

  [14] Is that why we have conquered the Persians, that we may serve their stock, a thing which those legitimate kings, Darius and Xerxes, sought in vain with armies of so many thousands and such great fleets?

  [15] My advice is this, that the throne of Alexander be set up in the royal quarters, and that those who were summoned to his counsels should come together whenever there shall be need of general consultation, and that what the majority of them shall decide shall stand approved, and that the generals and commanders of troops shall obey those men.

  [16] Some agreed with Ptolemy, fewer with Perdiccas. Then Aristonus began to speak, saying that Alexander, when he was asked to whom he left his kingdom, wished the best man to be chosen; moreover, he had himself judged that Perdiccas, to whom he [17] had handed his ring, was the best man. For he was not the only one who sat by Alexander when he was dying, but, the king, looking about, had chosen him from his throng of friends to give it to. Therefore it was Alexander’s wish that the supreme power [18] should be bestowed upon Perdiccas. And there was no doubt that Aristonus’ opinion was the truth. Therefore all bade Perdiccas to come forward and take up the king’s ring. He wavered between inclination and shame, and believed that the more modestly he sought what he coveted the more persistently they [19] would press it upon him. So, after delaying and being for a long time uncertain what to do, he finally retired to the back part of the assembly, and stood behind those who were nearest to the throne.

  [20] But Meleager, one of the generals, taking the courage which the hesitation of Perdiccas had aroused, said: “May the gods themselves not permit that the fortune of Alexander and the burden of so great a kingdom should fall upon such shoulders, certainly men will not allow it. I say nothing of those of nobler birth than this fellow, but only of brave men, who need to endure nothing against their [21] will. And truly it makes no difference whether you have for king the son of Roxanê, whenever he shall be born, or Perdiccas, since that fellow will usurp the royal power under the guise of regency.

  That is why no king pleases him except one who is not yet born, and amid the great haste of all, which is not only reasonable but even necessary, he alone waits for the completion of months, and already divines that a male child has been conceived. And could you doubt that he is even ready to suborn one?

  [22] If, by the God of Faith! Alexander had left this man to be king in his place, that would be the only one of his commands that I should think ought not [23] to be obeyed. Why then do you not run to plunder the treasures? for surely the people alone are the [24] heirs to these riches of the king.” Having said this, he burst through the midst of the armed men, and those who had made way for him when he left followed him to the booty which had been proclaimed.

  VII. And already there was a large body of armed men around Meleager, and the assembly was on its way to sedition and discord, when a man unknown to most of the Macedonians, one of the lowest of the common people, said: “What need is there of arms and civil war, when you have the king whom you [2] seek? Arrhidaeus, son of Philip, brother of Alexander, who was shortly before king, recently his associate in sacrifices and ceremonies, and now his sole heir, is passed over by you. Why has he deserved this? Or what has he done to be cheated even of the common law of nations? If you seek a king like Alexander, you will never find one; if one next in blood, Arrhidaeus is the only choice.”

  [3] After hearing these words the assembly at first kept silence, as if ordered to do so, then they shouted with one voice that Arrhidaeus ought to be summoned, and that those who had held an assembly without him deserved death.

  [4] Then Pithon, bathed in tears, began to say that now Alexander was more than ever to be pitied, since he had been defrauded of the use and company of such good citizens and soldiers. For having an eye only to the name and the memory of their king, they were [5] blind to all else. Then in plain language he heaped abuse upon the one to whom the throne was being awarded, but his insulting words brought more hatred upon himself than contempt upon Arrhidaeus. For in pitying him the assembly began to favour him.

  [6] Therefore with persistent acclamation they declared that they would tolerate no other king than one who had been born to such a hope, and they ordered [7] Arrhidaeus to be called. Him Meleager, being hostile to Perdiccas, whom he hated, promptly brought into the royal quarters, and the soldiers hailed him as king under the name of Philippus.

  [8] But this was the voice of the common people, the opinion of the chief men was different. Of these Pithon began to follow the plan of Perdiccas, and named Perdiccas and Leonnatus, both born of royal stock, as guardians of the son to be born of Roxane.

  [9] He added that Craterus and Antipater should have direction of affairs in Europe. Then an oath was exacted of each man that they would submit to a [10] king begotten of Alexander. Meleager — naturally terrified for fear of punishment, he had withdrawn with his partisans — again burst into the royal quarters dragging Philippus with him and crying that his vigorous youth favoured the hope which they had just conceived for the new king; let them only try the offspring of Philip, son and brother to two kings; let them trust their own judgement rather than that of others.

  [11] No deep sea, no vast and storm-swept ocean rouses such great billows as the emotions of a multitude, especially if it is exulting in a liberty which is new [12] and destined to be short-lived. A few were for giving the power to Perdiccas, who had recently been chosen, more to Philippus, whom they had scorned. But they could not favour nor oppose anything for long, and now repented of their resolution, and now of the very fact of having repented. At last, however, their [13] favour inclined to the royal stock. Arrhidaeus had left the assembly greatly alarmed by the authority of the leading men, and as he went out the favour of the soldiers was rather silenced than diminished; hence, on being recalled he put on the robe of his brother, the very one which had been placed upon [14] the throne. And Meleager, having put on his cuirass, armed himself as an attendant upon the new king. The phalanx followed his example, clashing their spears against their shields as a sign that they would sate themselves with the blood of those who [15] aspired to a rule to which they had no claim. They rejoiced that the strength of the empire would remain in the same house and family; that the inheritance of empire would defend the royal stock; they were accustomed to honour and venerate the name itself, and no one assumed it unless born to rule. —

  [16] Therefore Perdiccas in terror ordered the room in which the body of Alexander was lying to be bolted; he had with him 600 men of tried valour, Ptolemy [17] also had joined him and the royal band of pages. But the barriers were easily broken through by so many thousands of soldiers. And the king also had rushed in, surrounded by a throng of attendants, of whom [18] Meleager took the lead; accordingly, Perdiccas called aside those who wished to protect the body of Alexander. But those who had broken in were throwing javelins at him at long range. And after many had been wounded, at last the older men, taking off their helmets in order to be more easily recognized, began to entreat those who favoured Perdiccas to cease from war and yield to the king and to superior [19] numbers. Perdiccas was the first to lay down his arms, and the rest followed his example. Then, when Meleager tried to persuade them no
t to leave the body of Alexander, they, thinking that he was looking for an opportunity for treachery, through another door of the palace took flight in the direction of the [20] Euphrates. The cavalry, which was composed of the noblest of the youth, in great numbers followed Perdiccas and Leonnatus, and advised leaving the [21] city and encamping in the plains. But Perdiccas did not give up hope that even the infantry would follow him; and therefore, for fear that by leading away the horsemen he might seem to have separated from the rest of the army, he remained in the city.

  VIII. But Meleager did not cease to warn the king that his right to rule ought to be confirmed by the death of Perdiccas; that if his ambitious spirit were not checked, he would start a revolution. That he remembered what he had deserved of the king, and besides no one was wholly loyal to one whom he [2] feared. The king rather listened to than accepted this advice; accordingly Meleager took his silence as a command and sent men in the name of the king to summon Perdiccas. They were directed to kill [3] him if he hesitated to come. Perdiccas, when the arrival of the messengers was known, attended only by sixteen youths of the royal cohort, took his place on the threshold of his house, and after upbraiding the messengers and repeatedly calling them slaves of Meleager, he so terrified them by the firmness of his courage and his expression, that they fled almost [4] beside themselves. Perdiccas ordered the youths to mount their horses and came with a few of his friends to Leonnatus, intending now to ward off violence with a stronger force, if anyone should offer it.

  [6] On the following day it seemed to the Macedonians shameful that Perdiccas had been exposed to danger of death, and they decided to go and punish by arms [6] the rash act of Meleager. But he, having foreseen a revolt, when he had come to the king began to ask him whether he himself had ordered Perdiccas to be seized. The king replied that he had ordered it at the instigation of Meleager, but that they ought not to make a disturbance; for Perdiccas was alive.

  [7] Therefore when the assembly had been dismissed, Meleager, terrified especially by the desertion of the cavalry and not knowing what to do — for he had fallen into the very danger which he had shortly before devised for his enemy — spent nearly three [8] days in considering uncertain plans. And in fact the former appearance of the royal quarters continued; for envoys of the nations came to the king, and the leaders of the forces were present with him, and armed men and attendants had filled the vestibule.

  [9] But the great seriousness which involuntarily showed itself was a sign of extreme desperation, and suspecting one another, they did not dare to approach nor to talk with anyone, but turned over secret thoughts each in their own minds, and from comparison with the new king longing was aroused for the one whom they had lost.

  [10] They inquired where he was whose rule and auspices they had followed; they had been deserted amid hostile and unsubdued nations, who would seek to inflict punishment for their many disasters, when-

  [11] ever an opportunity was offered. They were eating their hearts out by such thoughts as these, when it was announced that the cavalry who were under Perdiccas, having taken possession of the plains around Babylon, had held back the grain which was [12] being transported into the city. In consequence, there began to be at first scarcity and then famine, and those who were within the city maintained that they ought to come to terms with Perdiccas or fight [13] with him. By chance it had so happened that those who had been in the fields, fearing a devastation of the farmhouses and villages, were fleeing to the city, and that the townspeople, as provisions were failing them, were going out of the city, since to both classes the abode of the others seemed safer than their own.

  [14] The Macedonians, fearing some disturbance from these, went in a body to the royal quarters and expressed their opinions. But it seemed best for envoys to be sent to the cavalry to discuss ending [15] the discord and laying down arms. Therefore the king sent Pasias the Thessalian and Damyllus of Megalopolis and Perilaus. When these had delivered the king’s message, they received the reply that the horsemen would not lay down their arms unless the king should surrender the ringleaders of the discord.

  [16] When this reply was announced, the soldiers of their own accord armed themselves. Philip, called from the royal quarters by their tumult, said: “There is no necessity for an outbreak; for those who rest quiet will seize the prizes of those who engage in [17] mutual strife. At the same time remember that you are dealing with citizens, and that hastily to snatch from them the hope of grace is the part of [18] those eager for civil war. Let us try by a second deputation whether they can be reconciled. And I believe that, since the body of Alexander is not yet buried, all will unite to pay this pious duty which [19] we owe him. So far as I am concerned, I prefer to return this authority of mine rather than to exercise it at the expense of the blood of fellow-citizens; and if there is no other hope of harmony, I beg and entreat you, choose a better man.”

  [20] Then with tears in his eyes he took the diadem from his head, and extended his right hand, in which he was holding it, so that if anyone claimed to be [21] more worthy he might take it. This very moderate speech aroused great hope of his character, which before that day had been obscured by his brother’s fame. Accordingly, all began to urge him to consent [22] to carry out what he had planned. Again he sent the same envoys, to ask that they should receive Meleager as a third leader. This was granted without difficulty; for Perdiccas wished to separate Meleager from the king, and thought that alone he [23] would be no match for the other two. Therefore when Meleager came out to meet him with the phalanx, Perdiccas received him at the head of the squadrons of cavalry. Both armies exchanged salutations and united for ever, as they thought, in firm concord and peace.

  IX. But already by the Fates civil wars were being forced upon the Macedonian nation; for royal power desires no associate and was being sought by many.

  [2] First therefore they brought their forces into collision, then separated them; and when they had weighted the body with more than it could carry, the limbs also began to give out, and an empire that might have endured under one man fell in ruins while it was [3] being upheld by many. Therefore the Roman people rightly and deservedly asserts that it owes its safety to its prince, who in the night which was almost our [4] last shone forth like a new star. The rising of this star, by Heaven! rather than that of the sun, restored light to the world in darkness, since lacking their head the limbs were thrown into disorder.

  [6] How many firebrands did it extinguish! How many swords did it sheath! How great a tempest did it dispel with sudden prosperity! Therefore our empire [6] not only lives afresh but even flourishes. Provided only that the divine jealousy be absent, the posterity of that same house will continue the good times of this our age, it is to be hoped forever, at any rate for very many years.

  [7] But to return to the series of events from which the contemplation of the public happiness had diverted me, Perdiccas rested the sole hope of his safety on the death of Meleager; he thought that a man who was vain, faithless and quick to revolt, and his own bitterest enemy, must be attacked first.

  [8] But he hid his design with deep dissimulation, in order to crush him when he was off his guard.

  Therefore he secretly suborned certain men from the troops which he commanded, who were to make open complaint, as if he himself knew nothing of it, that Meleager had been placed on an equality with [9] Perdiccas. When their talk was reported to Meleager, furious with anger at Perdiccas, he told him what he had learned. He, as if terrified by something of which he knew nothing, began to give utterance to surprise and complaint, and to show a pretence of displeasure; finally, he agreed that the authors of such seditious [10] talk ought to be arrested. Meleager embraced and thanked Perdiccas, and strongly commended his [11] loyalty and goodwill towards him. Then after consulting together they formed a plan for chastising the guilty parties.

  It was decided to purify the army after the native fashion, and the past discord seemed to furnish a [12] reasonable cause for this. The king
s of the Macedonians had been accustomed to purify the soldiers in the following manner; having disembowelled as dog in the farthest part of the plain into which they were going to lead the army, they throw the flesh on both sides; within that space all the soldiers stand under arms, on one side the cavalry, on the other [13] the phalanx. Accordingly on that day which they had appointed for this sacred ceremony the king with the horsemen and the elephants stood facing the [14] infantry which Meleager commanded. Already the cavalry force was advancing, and the infantry, not wholly recovered from the sudden fear caused by the recent discord and expecting something, hesitated for a time whether to withdraw their forces into the city — for the plain was advantageous for the horse-

  [15] men — ; but fearing to condemn the good faith of their fellow-soldiers without sufficient reason, they halted, their minds prepared for fighting if anyone should offer violence.