Life and Exploits of Alexander the Great

396 Pages·1854·34.7 MB·English

by  Quintus Curtius Rufus

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Sacra.
QUIHTUS CUBTIUS KUFUS:
LIFE
EXPLOITS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
EDITED AND ILLUSTRATED WITH
ENGLISH NOTES,
BY
WM. HENRY CROSBY,
FOEMERLY PEOFESSOE OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE AND LITEEATUEE IN EUTGEES COL-
LEGE, NEW BEUNSWICK, N.J.
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PREFACE.
It is an undoubted, though unaccountable, fact, that
Quintus Curtius' History of the Exploits of Alexander
the Great is a work almost unheard ofin the Academies
and Colleges of the United States, while in England,
and more especially on the Continent, it holds a high
place in the estimation of classical instructors. The
interesting character of its subject, the elegance of its
style, and the pureness of its moral sentiments, ought
surely to place it on an elevation as high, if not higher,
than the Commentaries of Caesar, or the Histories of
Sallust, In conjunction with Arrian, who wrote in
Greek, Curtius is the main source whence are derived
all those interesting anecdotes of the great Macedonian
—
conqueror, which excited our imagination perhaps
—
stimulated our ambition in the days of youth. His
—
youthful courage in taming Bucephalus his ready
boldness in severing the Gordian knot with his good
—
sword his fortitude in draining to the dregs the cup
received from the hands of a physician, against whose
—
treachery he had been warned his acts of romantic
"
IV PREFACE.
— —
daring his magnanimity to his captives his self-denial
—
in scenes of temptation, all these, together with his
oft-quoted sayings, render this History one of the most
entertaining as well as instructive of the Classics.
As to the style of Curtius, nothing can be more
pleasing. Heinsius, indeed, with somewhat ofa disre-
gard ofgender, speaks ofhim as " VenusHistoricorum"
Bartholomew.Merula applies to his narratives the phrase
" degantissime conscriptas" and Decembrius calls him
a writer "mirce dulcedinis" Of the absorbing interest
of his narrative, and the attractive character of his
style, the following anecdote is preserved : Alphonso
VII., King of Spain, being afflicted with serious illness,
and having tried in vain the numerous prescriptions of
his physicians, attempted to solace his hours of pain
by perusing Curtius' History of Alexander and such,
;
it is related, was the happy effect of his new remedy,
that he was soon restored to health. When convales-
cent, he was heard to exclaim, " Valeant Avicenna,
Hippocrates, medici cceteri ; vivat Curtius, sospitator
mens !
As to the era when Curtius flourished, learned men
are completely at fault and, accordingly, vary greatly
;
in their conjectures on the subject. Some make him
—
contemporaneous with Cicero, others bring him down
to the time of Theodosius the Great, while between
these extremes we find the reigns ofAugustus, Tiberius,
Claudius, Vespasian, Trajan, and Constantine, each
PREFACE. V
having its advocates as the time when he flourished.
It is hardly necessary to add that his personal history is
involved in similar obscurity.
But a worse calamity than mere ignorance of the
time of our author's "birth, and of the particulars of his
life, meets the reader on the very threshold. Time,
ever edax rerum, has devoured the whole of the first
two books, and made sad inroads into one r>r two of the
others. These defects have, in a measure, been sup-
plied by learned men, particularly by John Freinsheim,
whose excellent supplements have called forth the re-
mark of a distinguished biographical writer, that "he
has been so successful that we almost cease to lament
the loss ofthe original." As the supplements of Frein-
sheim are very long, the Editor has, in most instances,
inserted those of Chris. Cellarius, which, though brief,
will supply to the curious student a sufficient outline
of the early years of Alexander, and also fill up the
lacunce that occur in the course of the narrative.
One word as to the, text of the present edition.
It has been printed from an Editio Lugdunensis of
1810, with such emendations as a collation of other
editions, and the suggestions and conjectures of critics
seemed to render advisable. In one or two instances
only has the Editor ventured to introduce a reading of
his own, and these are mentioned and defended in the
notes.
In conclusion, the Editorwould remark that he puts
VI PREFACE.
forth this edition of Quintus Curtius with ail confidence,
that, if a writer so interesting in his subject, and so
captivating in his style, shall once gain a foothold in
our American course of classical study, his own merits
will suffice to retain him there.
Poughkeepsie, August, 1854.
:
CHRISTOPHORI CELLARII
SUPPLEMENTS
CUETIUM,
IN Q
.
DE EEBUS GESTIS
ALEXANDM MAGNI,
LIBER PRIMUS.
ARGUMENT.
Introdtictioii. Pedigree ofAlexander. The portents at hisbirth. Hiseducation.
Hisearlymilitarytraining. Philip'soverthrowof Grecian liberty. Coldnessbetween
Alexanderandhisfather. Philip'spreparationsforinvadingPersia. Hisassassination.
ThevengeancetakenbyOlympiasandAlexander. AlexandermadeGeneralissimoby
the Greeks. Eisings of the barbarians suppressed. Eevolt of the Greeks crushed.
TheAtheniansagainongoodtermswithAlexander.
[Illorum, qui Alexandrares gestas scripsere, fide dignissinius Ptole-
mseusLagividetur, quodipserebus interfuerat, nee ulla, sisecus serip-
sisset, suspiciolucri apparebat: proximusAristobulus, quoslongointer-
valloDiodorusSiculus,nonminusgravis auctor,secutus est. Alexander
Philippo, Amyntse filio, et Olympiade Epirensi natus, utroque parente
nobilissimusfuit. Paterenim ad Herculem, mater ad Achillem, genus
referebat. Sic clarus aliis Alexander, sibi obscurus videbatur, nisi,
abdicatomortalipatre, ab Jove genitus crederetur. Addita insolentiie
fabula, draconemincubili matrisvisum, quern Jupiter induerit Phil-
ippus per quietem vidit obsignatam Olympiadis alvum annulo, cujus
sculptura leonem praeferret, quodvatesAristander de fcetu generoso et
leonina magnitudine animi interpretatus est. Quanocte autem natus
Alexanderest,eademtemplumEphesioeDiana3celeberrimumdeflagravit
quodmajorisruinaeprassagiumhabuerunt,quiexfortunsecasu defuturis
judicabant, ortam alicubi facem esse, qua Asiseregnum conflagraturum
2 CHRIS. CELLARII
sit. QuantaPhilippiineducandofiliosolertiafuerit,Epistoladocamento
est, qua sibi gratulatus fuit, quod iis temporibus filio auctus sit, quae
Aristotelem dare praeceptorem possint, qui patriae urbisinstaurationem
prsemium laboris abrege tulit. Assidui antern nutritores etpaedagogi
fuerunt, Leonidas, Lysimachus Arcanan, et ejusdem gentis Philippus,
rectorvaletudinis. Eloquentiae magistro usus estAnaximene Lampsa-
ceno, cujus cailiditati postmodum eversionem patriae donavit, Homeri
earminatanti fecit,utnunquamIliademnon comitemhaberet. Praesa-
gium militaris magnitudinisinBucephalo puerAlexander dedit, quern
mirifice,umbraeratione habita,itarexit domuitque,utpater,omineinde
capto, exclaniarit, aliudfilio regnum qucerendum esse, quoniam Macedo-
nianoncaperet. Decinium annumet septimum agebat, cumpaterBy-
zantium oppugnans ipsi administrationem regni commisisset. Rebel-
lavitturnThraciae quaedamcivitas, quam adolescens, collectis, qui domi
relicti erant, militibus,improvisa celeritate oppressit,eturbemconvenis
habitandam dedit, qui earn Alexandriam appellavere. Sed cum male
procederet Byzantina obsidio, (Atheniensium classe obsessis suppetias
ferente,) Philippus filio usus ad subigenda Chersonesi oppida. Idem
cum ex GeticobelloreduxperTriballositerfaceret,etGraecimercenarii
militespraedaesocietatempostularent,altercationeinpugnamerumpente,
ipte rex, equo interfecto, vulneratur, quern clypeoAlexander jacentem
texit, irruentium alios occidit,aliosarmislongiusindepropulsavit. Jam
tantus evaseratAlexander, ut sine rectore aut custode exercitui posse
praeficivideretur, quam de se opinioneminIllyriosmissusvictoriis con-
firmavit. Philippus artibus consecutus est, ut Graecia servitutis jugum
acciperet. Ultro enim quietos lacessere, inter concordantes odia in-
struere,dissidentium rixas alere,itaalterutrampartemjuvare,ututram-
que opprimeret, solennisilli consuetudofuit. Pauci expertes ejus domi
nationis erant, quos Demosthenis eloquentia in libertate sustentabat.
Sed et horum tandem ad Chaeroneamvictor, facile obtinuit Philippus,
utimperatorGraeciae adversusPersascrearetur. Bellicisrebusplerum-
queAlexander, etiam ad Chaeroneam praelio, intererat, in quo penes
ipsum victoria stetisse dicitur. In cornu enim, cui praeerat, initium
vincendi factum, sacraThebanorum cohorte, quaeexlectissimis consta-
bat, fortiterprofligata. Caeterum apatre aliquando aberat, causaema-
trisinserviens,cuiPhilippus Cleopatramsuperinduxerat,incujusnuptiis
parum abfuit, quinAlexander, novae prolisvoto, quod Attalus fecerat,
reclamans, apatre interficeretur. Philippus, dux belli a Graecis factus,
bellum Persicum molitus est, praemissoAttalo et Parmenione cum co-
piarumparte, ut GraecasinAsia civitates liberarent. Ipse oraculo lae-
tus,seupotius deceptus,jamcepisse sibi orientemvidebatur. Olympias
Cleopatrae posthabita fratrem Alexandrum, Epiri regem, in bellum