Artaxerxes, King of Persia, O Caesar Trajan, greatest of princes,
esteemed it no less royal and bountiful kindly and cheerfully to accept
small, than to make great presents; and when he was in a progress,
and a common country laborer, having nothing else, took up water with
both his hands out of the river and presented it to him, he smiled
and received it pleasantly, measuring the kindness not by the value
of the gift, but by the affection of the giver. And Lycurgus ordained
in Sparta very cheap sacrifices, that they might always worship the
Gods readily and easily with such things as were at hand. Upon the
same account, when I bring a mean and slender present of the common
first-fruits of philosophy, accept also (I beseech you) with my good
affection these short memorials, if they may contribute any thing to
the knowledge of the manners and dispositions of great men, which
are more apparent in their words than in their actions. My former
treatise contains the lives of the most eminent princes, lawgivers,
and generals, both Romans and Grecians; but most of their actions
admit a mixture of fortune, whereas such speeches and answers as
happened amidst their employments, passions, and events afford us (as
in a looking-glass) a clear discovery of each particular temper and
disposition. Accordingly Siramnes the Persian, to such as wondered
that he usually spoke like a wise man and yet was unsuccessful in his
designs, replied: I myself am master of my words, but the king and
fortune have power over my actions. In the former treatise speeches
and actions are mingled together, and require a reader that is at
leisure; but in this the speeches, being as it were the seeds and the
illustrations of those lives, are placed by themselves, and will not
(I think) be tedious to you, since they will give you in a few words a
review of many memorable persons.
CYRUS. The Persians affect such as are hawk-nosed and think them most
beautiful, because Cyrus, the most beloved of their kings, had a
nose of that shape. Cyrus said that those that would not do good for
themselves ought to be compelled to do good for others; and that nobody
ought to govern, unless he was better than those he governed. When the
Persians were desirous to exchange their hills and rocks for a plain
and soft country, he would not suffer them, saying that both the seeds
of plants and the lives of men resemble the soil they inhabit.
DARIUS. Darius the father of Xerxes used to praise himself, saying
that he became even wiser in battles and dangers. When he laid a tax
upon his subjects, he summoned his lieutenants, and asked them whether
the tax was burthensome or not? When they told him it was moderate,
he commanded them to pay half as much as was at first demanded. As he
was opening a pomegranate, one asked him what it was of which he would
wish for a number equal to the seeds thereof. He said, Of men like
Zopyrus,—who was a loyal person and his friend. This Zopyrus, after
he had maimed himself by cutting off his nose and ears, beguiled the
Babylonians; and being trusted by them, he betrayed the city to Darius,
who often said that he would not have had Zopyrus maimed to gain a
hundred Babylons.
SEMIRAMIS. Semiramis built a monument for herself, with this
inscription: Whatever king wants treasure, if he open this tomb, he
may be satisfied. Darius therefore opening it found no treasure, but
another inscription of this import: If thou wert not a wicked person
and of insatiable covetousness, thou wouldst not disturb the mansions
of the dead.
XERXES. Arimenes came out of Bactria as a rival for the kingdom with
his brother Xerxes, the son of Darius. Xerxes sent presents to him,
commanding those that brought them to say: With these your brother
Xerxes now honors you; and if he chance to be proclaimed king, you
shall be the next person to himself in the kingdom. When Xerxes was
declared king, Arimenes immediately did him homage and placed the crown
upon his head; and Xerxes gave him the next place to himself. Being
offended with the Babylonians, who rebelled, and having overcome them,
he forbade them weapons, but commanded they should practise singing and
playing on the flute, keep brothel-houses and taverns, and wear loose
coats. He refused to eat Attic figs that were brought to be sold, until
he had conquered the country that produced them. When he caught some
Grecian scouts in his camp, he did them no harm, but having allowed
them to view his army as much as they pleased, he let them go.
ARTAXERXES. Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, surnamed Longimanus (or
_Long-hand_) because he had one hand longer than the other, said, it
was more princely to add than to take away. He first gave leave to
those that hunted with him, if they would and saw occasion, to throw
their darts before him. He also first ordained that punishment for
his nobles who had offended, that they should be stripped and their
garments scourged instead of their bodies; and whereas their hair
should have been plucked out, that the same should be done to their
turbans. When Satibarzanes, his chamberlain, petitioned him in an
unjust matter, and he understood he did it to gain thirty thousand
pieces of money, he ordered his treasurer to bring the said sum, and
gave them to him, saying: O Satibarzanes! take it; for when I have
given you this, I shall not be poorer, but I had been more unjust if I
had granted your petition.
CYRUS THE YOUNGER. Cyrus the Younger, when he was exhorting the
Lacedaemonians to side with him in the war, said that he had a stronger
heart than his brother, and could drink more wine unmixed than he, and
bear it better; that his brother, when he hunted, could scarce sit
his horse, or when ill news arrived, his throne. He exhorted them to
send him men, promising he would give horses to footmen, chariots to
horsemen, villages to those that had farms, and those that possessed
villages he would make lords of cities; and that he would give them
gold and silver, not by tale but by weight.
ARTAXERXES MNEMON. Artaxerxes, the brother of Cyrus the Younger, called
Mnemon, did not only give very free and patient access to any that
would speak with him, but commanded the queen his wife to draw the
curtains of her chariot, that petitioners might have the same access
to her also. When a poor man presented him with a very fair and great
apple, By the Sun, said he, ’tis my opinion, if this person were
entrusted with a small city, he would make it great. In his flight,
when his carriages were plundered, and he was forced to eat dry figs
and barley-bread, Of how great pleasure, said he, have I hitherto lived
ignorant!
PARYSATIS. Parysatis, the mother of Cyrus and Artaxerxes, advised him
that would discourse freely with the king, to use words of fine linen.
ORONTES. Orontes, the son-in-law of King Artaxerxes, falling into
disgrace and being condemned, said: As arithmeticians count sometimes
myriads on their fingers, sometimes units only; in like manner the
favorites of kings sometimes can do every thing with them, sometimes
little or nothing.
MEMNON. Memnon, one of King Darius’s generals against Alexander, when a
mercenary soldier excessively and impudently reviled Alexander, struck
him with his spear, adding, I pay you to fight against Alexander, not
to reproach him.
EGYPTIAN KINGS. The Egyptian kings, according unto their law, used to
swear their judges that they should not obey the king when he commanded
them to give an unjust sentence.
POLTYS. Poltys king of Thrace, in the Trojan war, being solicited both
by the Trojan and Grecian ambassadors, advised Alexander to restore
Helen, promising to give him two beautiful women for her.
TERES. Teres, the father of Sitalces, said, when he was out of the army
and had nothing to do, he thought there was no difference between him
and his grooms.
COTYS. Cotys, when one gave him a leopard, gave him a lion for it. He
was naturally prone to anger, and severely punished the miscarriages
of his servants. When a stranger brought him some earthen vessels,
thin and brittle, but delicately shaped and admirably adorned with
sculptures, he requited the stranger for them, and then brake them
all in pieces, Lest (said he) my passion should provoke me to punish
excessively those that brake them.
IDATHYRSUS. Idathyrsus, King of Scythia, when Darius invaded him,
solicited the Ionian tyrants that they would assert their liberty by
breaking down the bridge that was made over the Danube: which they
refusing to do because they had sworn fealty to Darius, he called them
good, honest, lazy slaves.
ATEAS. Ateas wrote to Philip: You reign over the Macedonians, men
that have learned fighting; and I over the Scythians, which can fight
with hunger and thirst. As he was rubbing his horse, turning to the
ambassadors of Philip, he asked whether Philip did so or not. He took
prisoner Ismenias, an excellent piper, and commanded him to play; and
when others admired him, he swore it was more pleasant to hear a horse
neigh.
SCILURUS. Scilurus on his death-bed, being about to leave fourscore
sons surviving, offered a bundle of darts to each of them, and bade
them break them. When all refused, drawing out one by one, he easily
broke them; thus teaching them that, if they held together, they would
continue strong, but if they fell out and were divided, they would
become weak.
GELO. Gelo the tyrant, after he had overcome the Carthaginians at
Himera, made peace with them, and among other articles compelled
them to subscribe this,—that they should no more sacrifice their
children to Saturn. He often marched the Syracusans out to plant their
fields, as if it had been to war, that the country might be improved
by husbandry, and they might not be corrupted by idleness. When he
demanded a sum of money of the citizens, and thereupon a tumult was
raised, he told them he would but borrow it; and after the war was
ended, he restored it to them again. At a feast, when a harp was
offered, and others one after another tuned it and played upon it, he
sent for his horse, and with an easy agility leaped upon him.
HIERO. Hiero, who succeeded Gelo in the tyranny, said he was not
disturbed by any that freely spoke against him. He judged that those
that revealed a secret did an injury to those to whom they revealed it;
for we hate not only those who tell, but them also that hear what we
would not have disclosed. One upbraided him with his stinking breath,
and he blamed his wife that never told him of it; but she said, I
thought all men smelt so. To Xenophanes the Colophonian, who said he
had much ado to maintain two servants, he replied: But Homer, whom you
disparage, maintains above ten thousand, although he is dead. He fined
Epicharmus the comedian, for speaking unseemly when his wife was by.
DIONYSIUS. Dionysius the Elder, when the public orators cast lots to
know in what order they should speak, drew as his lot the letter M. And
when one said to him, Μωρολογεῖς, You will make a foolish speech, O
Dionysius, You are mistaken, said he, Μοναρχήσω, I shall be a monarch.
And as soon as his speech was ended, the Syracusans chose him general.
In the beginning of his tyranny, the citizens rebelled and besieged
him; and his friends advised him to resign the government, rather
than to be taken and slain by them. But he, seeing a cook butcher an
ox and the ox immediately fall down dead, said to his friends: Is
it not a hateful thing, that for fear of so short a death we should
resign so great a government? When his son, whom he intended to make
his successor in the government, had been detected in debauching a
freeman’s wife, he asked him in anger, When did you ever know me guilty
of such a crime? But you, sir, replied the son, had not a tyrant for
your father. Nor will you, said he, have a tyrant for your son, unless
you mend your manners. And another time, going into his son’s house and
seeing there abundance of silver and gold plate, he cried out: Thou art
not capable of being a tyrant, who hast made never a friend with all
the plate I have given thee. When he exacted money of the Syracusans,
and they lamenting and beseeching him pretended they had none, he still
exacted more, twice or thrice renewing his demands, until he heard them
laugh and jeer at him as they went to and fro in the market-place,
and then he gave over. Now, said he, since they contemn me, it is a
sign they have nothing left. When his mother, being ancient, requested
him to find a husband for her, I can, said he, overpower the laws of
the city, but I cannot force the laws of Nature. Although he punished
other malefactors severely, he favored such as stole clothes, that
the Syracusans might forbear feasting and drunken clubs. A certain
person told him privately, he could show him a way how he might know
beforehand such as conspired against him. Let us know, said he, going
aside. Give me, said the person, a talent, that everybody may believe
that I have taught you the signs and tokens of plotters; and he gave it
him, pretending he had learned them, much admiring the subtilty of the
man. Being asked whether he was at leisure, he replied: God forbid that
it should ever befall me. Hearing that two young men very much reviled
him and his tyranny in their cups, he invited both of them to supper;
and perceiving that one of them prattled freely and foolishly, but the
other drank warily and sparing, he dismissed the first as a drunken
fellow whose treason lay no deeper than his wine, and put the other
to death as a disaffected and resolved traitor. Some blaming him for
rewarding and preferring a wicked man, and one hated by the citizens;
I would have, said he, somebody hated more than myself. When he gave
presents to the ambassadors of Corinth, and they refused them because
their law forbade them to receive gifts from a prince to whom they
were sent in embassy, he said they did very ill to destroy the only
advantage of tyranny, and to declare that it was dangerous to receive
a kindness from a tyrant. Hearing that a citizen had buried a quantity
of gold in his house, he sent for it; and when the party removed to
another city, and bought a farm with part of his treasure which he had
concealed, Dionysius sent for him and bade him take back the rest,
since he had now begun to use his money, and was no longer making a
useful thing useless.
DIONYSIUS THE YOUNGER said that he maintained many Sophists; not that
he admired them, but that he might be admired for their sake. When
Polyxenus the logician told him he had baffled him; Yes, said he,
in words, but I have caught you in deeds; for you, leaving your own
fortune, attend me and mine. When he was deposed from his government,
and one asked him what he got by Plato and philosophy, he answered,
That I may bear so great a change of fortune patiently. Being asked how
it came to pass that his father, a private and poor man, obtained the
government of Syracuse, and he already possessed of it, and the son of
a tyrant, lost it,—My father, said he, entered upon affairs when the
democracy was hated, but I, when tyranny was become odious. To another
that asked him the same question, he replied: My father bequeathed to
me his government, but not his fortune.
AGATHOCLES was the son of a potter. When he became lord and was
proclaimed king of Sicily, he was wont to place earthen and golden
vessels together, and show them to young men, telling them, Those I
made first, but now I make these by my valor and industry. As he was
besieging a city, some from the walls reviling him, saying, Do you
hear, potter, where will you have money to pay your soldiers?—he
gently answered, I’ll tell you, if I take this city. And having taken
it by storm, he sold the prisoners, telling them, If you reproach me
again, I will complain to your masters. Some inhabitants of Ithaca
complained of his mariners, that making a descent on the island they
had taken away some cattle; But your king, said he, came to Sicily, and
did not only take away sheep, but put out the shepherd’s eyes, and went
his way.
DION. Dion, that deposed Dionysius from the tyranny, when he heard
Callippus, whom of all his friends and attendants he trusted most,
conspired against him, refused to question him for it, saying: It is
better for him to die than to live, who must be weary not only of his
enemies, but of his friends too.
ARCHELAUS. Archelaus, when one of his companions (and none of the
best) begged a golden cup of him, bade the boy give it Euripides; and
when the man wondered at him, You, said he, are worthy to ask, but
he is worthy to receive it without asking. A prating barber asked him
how he would be trimmed. He answered, In silence. When Euripides at a
banquet embraced fair Agatho and kissed him, although he was no longer
beardless, he said, turning to his friends: Do not wonder at it, for
the beauty of such as are handsome lasts after autumn.
Timotheus the harper, receiving of him a reward less than his
expectation, twitted him for it not obscurely; and once singing the
short verse of the chorus, You commend earth-born silver, directed it
to him. And Archelaus answered him again singing, But you beg it. When
one sprinkled water upon him, and his friends would have had him punish
the man, You are mistaken, said he, he did not sprinkle me, but some
other person whom he took me to be.
PHILIP. Theophrastus tells us that Philip, the father of Alexander,
was not only greater in his port and success, but also freer from
luxury than other kings of his time. He said the Athenians were happy,
if they could find every year ten fit to be chosen generals, since in
many years he could find but one fit to be a general, and that was
Parmenio. When he had news brought him of divers and eminent successes
in one day, O Fortune, said he, for all these so great kindnesses do me
some small mischief. After he had conquered Greece, some advised him
to place garrisons in the cities. No, said he, I had rather be called
merciful a great while, than lord a little while. His friends advised
him to banish a railer his court. I will not do it, said he, lest he
should go about and rail in many places. Smicythus accused Nicanor for
one that commonly spoke evil of King Philip; and his friends advised
him to send for him and punish him. Truly, said he, Nicanor is not the
worst of the Macedonians; we ought therefore to consider whether we
have given him any cause or not. When he understood therefore that
Nicanor, being slighted by the king, was much afflicted with poverty,
he ordered a boon should be given him. And when Smicythus reported
that Nicanor was continually abounding in the king’s praises, You see
then, said he, that whether we will be well or ill spoken of is in
our own power. He said he was beholden to the Athenian orators, who
by reproaching him made him better both in speech and behavior; for
I will endeavor, said he, both by my words and actions to prove them
liars. Such Athenians as he took prisoners in the fight at Chaeronea he
dismissed without ransom. When they also demanded their garments and
quilts, and on that account accused the Macedonians, Philip laughed and
said, Do ye not think these Athenians imagine we beat them at cockal?
In a fight he broke his collar-bone, and the surgeon that had him in
cure requested him daily for his reward. Take what you will, said he,
for you have the key.[109] There were two brothers called Both and
Either; perceiving Either was a good understanding busy fellow and
Both a silly fellow and good for little, he said: Either is Both, and
Both is Neither. To some that advised him to deal severely with the
Athenians he said: You talk absurdly, who would persuade a man that
suffers all things for the sake of glory, to overthrow the theatre of
glory. Being arbitrator betwixt two wicked persons, he commanded one to
fly out of Macedonia and the other to pursue him. Being about to pitch
his camp in a likely place, and hearing there was no hay to be had for
the cattle, What a life, said he, is ours, since we must live according
to the convenience of asses! Designing to take a strong fort, which
the scouts told him was exceeding difficult and impregnable, he asked
whether it was so difficult that an ass could not come at it laden with
gold. Lasthenes the Olynthian and his friends being aggrieved, and
complaining that some of Philip’s retinue called them traitors, These
Macedonians, said he, are a rude and clownish people, that call a spade
a spade. He exhorted his son to behave himself courteously toward the
Macedonians, and to acquire influence with the people, while he could
be affable and gracious during the reign of another. He advised him
also to make friends of men of interest in the cities, both good and
bad, that afterwards he might make use of these, and suppress those.
To Philo the Theban, who had been his host and given him entertainment
while he remained an hostage at Thebes, and afterwards refused to
accept any present from him, he said: Do not take from me the title of
invincible, by making me inferior to you in kindness and bounty. Having
taken many prisoners, he was selling them, sitting in an unseemly
posture, with his tunic tucked up; when one of the captives to be sold
cried out, Spare me, Philip, for our fathers were friends. When Philip
asked him, Prithee, how or from whence? Let me come nearer, said he,
and I’ll tell you. When he was come up to him, he said: Let down your
cloak a little lower, for you sit indecently. Whereupon said Philip:
Let him go, in truth he wisheth me well and is my friend, though I
did not know him. Being invited to supper, he carried many he took up
by the way along with him; and perceiving his host troubled (for his
provision was not sufficient), he sent to each of his friends, and
bade them reserve a place for the cake. They, believing and expecting
it, ate little, and so the supper was enough for all. It appeared he
grieved much at the death of Hipparchus the Euboean. For when somebody
said it was time for him to die,—For himself, said he, but he died
too soon for me, preventing me by his death from returning him the
kindness his friendship deserved. Hearing that Alexander blamed him
for having children by several women, Therefore, saith he to him,
since you have many rivals with you for the kingdom, be just and
honorable, that you may not receive the kingdom as my gift, but by
your own merit. He charged him to be observant of Aristotle, and study
philosophy, That you may not, said he, do many things which I now
repent of doing. He made one of Antipater’s recommendation a judge;
and perceiving afterwards that his hair and beard were colored, he
removed him, saying, I could not think one that was faithless in his
hair could be trusty in his deeds. As he sate judge in the cause of one
Machaetas, he fell asleep, and for want of minding his arguments, gave
judgment against him. And when being enraged he cried out, I appeal;
To whom, said he, wilt thou appeal? To you yourself, O king, said he,
when you are awake to hear me with attention. Then Philip rousing and
coming to himself, and perceiving Machaetas was injured, although he
did not reverse the sentence, he paid the fine himself. When Harpalus,
in behalf of Crates his kinsman and intimate friend, who was charged
with disgraceful crimes, begged that Crates might pay the fine and so
cause the action to be withdrawn and avoid public disgrace;—It is
better, said he, that he should be reproached upon his own account,
than we for him. His friends being enraged because the Peloponnesians,
to whom he had shown favor, hissed at him in the Olympic games, What
then, said he, would they do if we should abuse them? Awaking after
he had overslept himself in the army; I slept, said he, securely, for
Antipater watched. Another time, being asleep in the day-time, while
the Grecians fretting with impatience thronged at the gates; Do not
wonder, said Parmenio to them, if Philip be now asleep, for while you
slept he was awake. When he corrected a musician at a banquet, and
discoursed with him concerning notes and instruments, the musician
replied: Far be that dishonor from your majesty, that you should
understand these things better than I do. While he was at variance with
his wife Olympia and his son, Demaratus the Corinthian came to him, and
Philip asked him how the Grecians held together. Demaratus replied:
You had need to enquire how the Grecians agree, who agree so well
with your nearest relations. Whereupon he let fall his anger, and was
reconciled to them. A poor old woman petitioned and dunned him often
to hear her cause; and he answered, I am not at leisure; the old woman
bawled out, Do not reign then. He admired the speech, and immediately
heard her and others.
ALEXANDER. While Alexander was a boy, Philip had great success in
his affairs, at which he did not rejoice, but told the children that
were brought up with him, My father will leave me nothing to do. The
children answered, Your father gets all this for you. But what good,
saith he, will it do me, if I possess much and do nothing? Being
nimble and light-footed, his father encouraged him to run in the
Olympic race; Yes, said he, if there were any kings there to run with
me. A wench being brought to lie with him late in the evening, he
asked why she tarried so long. She answered, I staid until my husband
was abed; and he sharply reproved his pages, because through their
carelessness he had almost committed adultery. As he was sacrificing
to the Gods liberally, and often offered frankincense, Leonidas his
tutor standing by said, O son, thus generously will you sacrifice, when
you have conquered the country that bears frankincense. And when he
had conquered it, he sent him this letter: I have sent you an hundred
talents of frankincense and cassia, that hereafter you may not be
niggardly towards the Gods, when you understand I have conquered the
country in which perfumes grow. The night before he fought at the river
Granicus, he exhorted the Macedonians to sup plentifully and to bring
out all they had, as they were to sup the next day at the charge of
their enemies. Perillus, one of his friends, begged of him portions for
his daughters; and he ordered him to receive fifty talents. And when he
said, Ten were enough, Alexander replied: Enough for you to receive,
but not for me to give. He commanded his steward to give Anaxarchus
the philosopher as much as he should ask for. He asketh, said the
steward, for an hundred talents. He doth well, said he, knowing he
hath a friend that both can and will bestow so much on him. Seeing at
Miletus many statues of wrestlers that had overcome in the Olympic and
Pythian games, And where, said he, were these lusty fellows when the
barbarians assaulted your city? When Ada queen of Caria was ambitious
often to send him sauces and sweetmeats delicately prepared by the best
cooks and artists, he said, I have better confectioners of my own,
viz., my night-travelling for my breakfast, and my spare breakfast for
my dinner. All things being prepared for a fight, his captains asked
him whether he had any thing else to command them. Nothing, said he,
but that the Macedonians should shave their beards. Parmenio wondering
at it, Do you not know, said he, there is no better hold in a fight
than the beard? When Darius offered him ten thousand talents, and to
divide Asia equally with him; I would accept it, said Parmenio, were I
Alexander. And so truly would I, said Alexander, if I were Parmenio.
But he answered Darius, that the earth could not bear two suns, nor
Asia two kings. When he was going to fight for the world at Arbela,
against ten hundred thousand enemies set in array against him, some of
his friends came to him, and told him the discourse of the soldiers
in their tents, who had agreed that nothing of the spoils should be
brought into the treasury, but they would have all themselves. You tell
me good news, said he, for I hear the discourse of men that intend to
fight, and not to run away. Several of his soldiers came to him and
said: O King! be of good courage, and fear not the multitude of your
enemies, for they will not be able to endure the very stink of our
sweat. The army being marshalled, he saw a soldier fitting his thong
to his javelin, and dismissed him as a useless fellow, for fitting his
weapons when he should use them. As he was reading a letter from his
mother, containing secrets and accusations of Antipater, Hephaestion
also (as he was wont) read it along with him. Alexander did not hinder
him; but when the letter was read, he took his ring off his finger, and
laid the seal of it upon Hephaestion’s mouth. Being saluted as the son
of Jupiter in the temple of Ammon by the chief priest; It is no wonder,
said he, for Jupiter is by nature the father of all, and calls the best
men his sons. When he was wounded with an arrow in the ankle, and many
ran to him that were wont to call him a God, he said smiling: That is
blood, as you see, and not, as Homer saith,—