E G Y P T. 



373 



History. 



Ptolemy 

 VIII. 

 B. C. 117. 



the Roman ambassadors, Euergetes and the queen re- 

 gent were united in marriage, and the son of the late 

 k i n g v;;s to ascend the throne on his, uncle's demise. 

 Such an arrangement appeared to be wisely calculated 

 to preserve harmony and order ; but can it be believed, 

 that during the marriage festival, the new king stabbed 

 the infant prince in the arms of his mother. Ptolemy 

 was in.uispiciously denominated Euergetes, for he was 

 a monster of cruelty and vice, and afterwards received 

 the surname of Physcon, on account of his corpulence 

 and unseemly figure. 



From the horrible commencement of his reign, no- 

 thing was to be expected but cruelty and crimes. He 

 wantonly banished, or put to death, the principal inha- 

 bitants of the kingdom ; and the people at large were 

 exposed to insults and destruction. During these scenes 

 of unequalled cruelty, the men of science, who had been 

 cherished in the college of Alexandria, fled from the 

 kingdom; but they carried with them important disco- 

 veries, and much valuable knowledge into foreign coun- 

 tries and foreign climes. Having invited strangers to 

 settle in Egypt, and found that they also were impa- 

 tient of his tyranny, he let loose his mercenary troops 

 upon multitudes of people, who were assembled on pur- 

 pose for his revenge, and unfeelingly put them to death. 

 But being terrified at the popular rage, he left Egypt 

 and sailed to Cyprus. 



But previous to this, he had divorced his Queen Cleo- 

 patra, and forced her daughter to receive him in mar- 

 riage. But, how shall we obtain credit for the cruel, 

 nay mad conduct which he now pursued ! Finding 

 that his divorced queen had been raised to the throne 

 of Egypt, his fury exceeded all bounds ; he murdered 

 his son Memphites, whom she had born to him in mar- 

 riage, and sent the mangled carcass to afflict the feel- 

 ings of a mother, already too much agitated and torn. 

 Havii i well-appointed army, the kingdom of 



Egypt was soon subdued by his power, and Cleopatra 

 took refuse in Syria, with her (laughter and Demetrius 

 the king. Enraged at Demetrius for the protection 

 which he afforded Cleopatra, he raised up Zebina, a ci- 

 tizen of Alexandria, to be a competitor for the throne 



iTittrius ; and though this youth had no just pre- 



ns to the government, yet upon the ruin of Dc- 

 metrins, he obtained the Syrian empire. From thij 



forward we l>av no fuithrr knowledge of the 

 exile;! queen ; and after a reign of "2Q years, the defera- 

 ble Physcon finished his earthly career. During the 

 contest which he maintained with his brother, the Ro- 

 ;nan senate espoused his cause, though toward the close 

 of the competition, they saw reason to support the pre- 

 tensions of his brother i'hilometer. When he obtained 

 the throne of Egypt upon the death of this king, the 

 Romans could not fail to see and detest his character. 

 Their intercourse with Egypt was then but slight and 



.1, but, con$idfrin(r the value of the country, and 

 the disordered state of Ptolemy's government, they ap- 

 pear to have entertained some thoughts of rendering 

 Egypt a province of Rome. 



The kingdom of Egypt, which had been long feeble 

 and convulsed, was now more than ever in a pr< carious 

 and dangerous condition. Ptolemy Physcon had left 

 three sons, Appinn, I.athyrus, and Alexander; amongst 

 whom it was highly probable there would be competi- 

 tion and intriguing for the crown ; tor in Egypt the 

 rules of succession had not been well ascertained, and 

 in \arious instances, capriciou^ claims had been admit- 

 ted. Though Appion was illegitimate, he might have 

 aspired to the sovereign power; yet lit; appears to have 



been satisfied with the province of Cyrene, and retired ^Hiatoi^.^ 

 in peace to the seat of his government. Lathyrus, it V T" 1 "*' 

 is believed, ascended the throne of Egypt in the order of 

 succession ; but the Queen-mother Cleopatra, having 

 sufficient influence to maintain an ascendency in the 

 government, dismissed Lathyrus to the island of Cy- 

 prus, and raised Alexander his younger brother to be 

 her associate on the throne. But so agitated was the 

 state of Egypt, so arbitrary the conduct of Cleopatra, 

 and so varying the interests of these two princes La- 

 thyrus and Alexander, that they were alternately raised 

 to the throne, and dismissed, by their mother's influence, 

 to the more humble situation of governors of Cyprus. 



Alexander appears to have been the favourite of his 

 mother ; but the preference seems to have been given, 

 because he was more subservient to her will : for no 

 virtuous affection could have influence in the breast of 

 a woman so ambitious and base as Queen Cleopatra, 

 She and Lathyrus were not only at perpetual variance 

 about the affairs of Egypt ; but each of them took a 

 part in the interests of Syria., which were a subject of 

 contention between Antiochus of Cyzicum, and his bro- 

 ther Grypus. Each of them employed the influence 

 which their Syrian conquests afforded them, for the pur- 

 pose of overthrowing each other's power in Egypt. La- 

 thyrus at length prevailed ; but his success was more 

 owing to other causes than his own prudence or supe- 

 rior skill. 



The conduct of his mother was so shameful and void Great con 

 of principle, that his brother Alexander, notwithbtand- vuhions. 

 ing all his forbearance, was at length wearied with her 

 crimes, and retired in disgust. He was invited by the 

 queen to return to his duties in the state, for the nation 

 would not be satisfied with her government alone. When 

 he did return, she conspired against his life ; but the 

 conspiracy was detected, and she was herself cut off by 

 cruel and unjustifiable means. It could not be disgui- 

 sed that the mother was put to death at the instigation 

 of her son, and though her character was detestable, 

 and self-preservation might be pleaded in his favour, 

 yet to encompass the death of a parent was a crime 

 which could not be forgiven, even by the dissolute and 

 degraded Egyptians. Therefore Ptolemy Alexander 

 was con>pelled to fly from Egypt, and his brother La- 

 thy: as was recalled to the throne. Scarcely was he in- 

 vested with the powers of the kingdom, when the af- 

 fairs of Upper Egypt demanded his attention. You 

 must have observed, that for a series of years the king- 

 dom of the Ptolemies was almost dissolved by conten- 

 tions and misrule ; and we are not to be surprised, that 

 the remoter parts of the empire should wish to obtain 

 independence and quiet. It is unnatural to suppose 

 that Thebes could be contented with her forlorn condi- 

 tion. She had long been the mistress of Egypt ; her 

 glory had been at length tarnished, by the seat of go- 

 vernment being removed to Memphis, and now that it 

 was carried to a still greater distance in the lately 

 erected city of Alexandria. The whole strength of the 

 government being unnerved, it could scarcely be deem- 

 ed culpable that she should attempt to become again 

 the habitation of a court, and the head of an indepen- 

 dent kingdom It was natural for I -athyrus, too, to retain 

 his subjects uitliin the influence of his government, and 

 it was a legitimate enterprise to adopt measures for re- 

 ducing t'pper Egypt to its former allegiance. The i)i- 

 Mirirrnts were- resolute in their defection ; and Luthyru , 

 with culpable severity, reduced the ancient and venera- 

 ble city of Thebes to a heap of ruins, where the voice 

 af joy and of gladness was never more to be heard. Bui 



