I will not here enter into the detail as to how Pyrrhus fled from his country, how he returned, and what were his misfortunes. He availed himself with great adroitness, nay even with cunning, of the circumstances of the time to take vengeance on his arch-enemies, the house of Cassander, which from his infancy had wronged him in every possible way. He avenged his own house and Alexander of Macedonia not only as an instrument of heaven, but at the same time following the impulse of his own heart. Alexander[92] was seen by his contemporaries in all his hideousness, while posterity saw him in the light of an undeserved glory. This glory, however, belonged to him in so far as great things were accomplished by him. He found in his contemporaries a miserable race; his war against Persia was only a struggle against a rotten empire; and as he attacked it vigorously, great things, of course, were done and great things were destroyed. His greatest deed was the foundation of Alexandria, and yet, if we judge soberly, the hurried Hellenisation was only injurious to true Hellenism. The beautiful still continued to linger among the Greeks, and was uncorrupted; but when the Lydians, Carians, Syrians, and others, became Hellenised, when they appeared as Greeks and wrote Greek, the little of Hellenism, which still stood forth in broad outlines, perished. I may here mention another great historical instance, but I beg you will not misunderstand me: previous to the time of Constantine, Christianity had been spreading in consequence of the conviction of its truth; but the fact that he compelled whole provinces to profess it with their lips, without the belief having taken root in their hearts, was followed by evil consequences. All mighty changes in the world, which take place with extraordinary rapidity, are injurious. Such also was the influence of Alexander. Still, however, we must not be unjust, and we must understand how a spirited youth like Pyrrhus, with a deep poetical mind, idealised Alexander; he was an instrument of vengeance upon Cassander and his family, the detestable diadochi. Pyrrhus is one of the most splendid, noble, and amiable characters in all history. Often have I, when a young man, exclaimed in full enthusiasm with Hesiod: εἰ μετ’ ἐκείνοις ἐγενόμην! at such times one has the feeling, that one would be greater by coming in contact with such men. I have collected much about the history of Pyrrhus, and I know him thoroughly; I hope one day to represent him in his true light and in his indescribable splendour.[93] To be great as a general is certainly one of the highest distinctions in the world: he was not always quite just, but always noble and generous, far from petty egotism, and free from everything that degrades man; he had a full, large, and warm heart; he looked upon his country not as a domain, but loved his people with his whole soul. Dear as Roman history is to me, I must nevertheless assign a