THE FIRST BOOK 55 



* Plus erat, quod hie noUet accipere, quam quod ille 

 posset dare. There were more things which Diogenes 

 would have refused, than those were which Alexander 

 could have given or enjoyed.' 



13. Observe again that speech which was usual with 

 him, ' That he felt his mortality chiefly in two things, 

 sleep and lust ' ; and see if it were not a speech ex- 

 tracted out of the depth of natvu-al philosophy, and 

 liker to have comen out of the mouth of Aristotle or 

 Democritus, than from Alexander. 



14. See again that speech of humanity and poesy ; 

 when upon the bleeding of his wounds, he called unto 

 him one of his flatterers, that was wont to ascribe to 

 him divine honour, and said, ' Look, this is very blood ; 

 this is not such a liquor as Homer speaketh of, which 

 ran from Venus' hand, when it was pierced by Dio- 

 njedes.' 



15. See likewise his readiness in reprehension of 

 logic, in the speech he used to Cassander, upon a com- 

 plaint that was made against his father Antipater : 

 for when Alexander happed to say, ' Do you think 

 these men would have come from so far to complain, 

 except they had just cause of grief ? ' and Cassander 

 answered, ' Yea, that was the matter, because they 

 thought they should not be disproved ' ; said Alexander 

 laughing : ' See the subtilties of Aristotle, to take 

 a matter both ways, pro et contra, &c.' 



16. But note again how well he could use the same 

 art, which he reprehended, to serve his own humour : 

 when bearing a secret grudge to Callisthenes, because 

 he was against the new ceremony of his adoration, 

 feasting one night where the same Callisthenes was at 

 the table, it was moved by some after supper, for 

 entertainment sake, that Callisthenes, who was an 

 eloquent man, might speak of some theme or purpose 

 at his own choice ; which Callisthenes did ; choosing 

 the praise of the Macedonian nation for his discourse, 

 and performing the same with so good manner as the 

 hearers were much ravished : whereupon Alexander, 

 nothing pleased, said, ' It was easy to be eloquent upon 



