82 MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 



This man by hands dishonourable slain, 

 The faithless Persian king his victim made ; 

 Not as the hero falls on battle plain, 

 But under friendship's hollow mask betrayed. 



There were certain detractors who attempted to 

 give his virtuous friendship for Hermias the colouring 

 of a criminal attachment ; but their reports obtained 

 little credit at the time, and are now discarded as 

 notorious calumnies. Theocritus of Chios, a Greek 

 historian who wrote an account of Libya, carried 

 his obloquy so far, as to satirise both his moral 

 character, and his public testimonial to Hermias, in 

 a severe epigram, thus rendered : 



An empty shrine to Eubulus's slave 

 The amorous eunuch Aristotle gave, 

 Himself as empty ; who, from brute desire, 

 Forsook the school for pleasure's filthy mire. 



These scandalous imputations were answered by 

 Apellicon, a philosopher of Teios, who wrote several 

 books on purpose, wherein he elaborately confutes 

 those who dared, in this manner (as he expresses it) 

 " to blaspheme the name of so great a man." 



The moderate policy which Mentor, in his first 

 transactions at Atarna, found it necessary to assume, 

 enabled Aristotle to avoid the punishment which 

 naturally overtook the ambition of his friend. By a 

 timely flight he escaped to Mitylene, in the island of 

 Lesbos, in company with Pythias, the kinswoman 

 and adopted daughter of Hermias, whom that prince 



