This Philippides was a friend of Lysimachus, who for his sake conferred many benefits on the Athenians. Lysimachus imagined that the sight of Philippides before any campaign or expedition was a certain omen of good luck; while Philippides was beloved by him on other grounds, because he gave no trouble and never veiled his thoughts in courtly periphrases. Once Lysimachus, meaning to be very civil to him said, "Philippides, which of my possessions shall I bestow upon you?" "Whichever you please," answered he, "except your secrets." I have mentioned these incidents in the life of Philippides, in order to mark the distinction between the comic poet and the mob-orator. XIII. The most extraordinary of all the honours conferred upon Demetrius was the proposal made by Demokleides of Sphettus to go and ask for an oracular response from him about the consecration of the shields at Delphi. I will write down the exact words of the law as it was proposed. "In a happy hour the people decree that one man shall be chosen from the citizens of Athens, who shall go to our saviour, and after he has done sacrifice unto him, shall ask Demetrius, our saviour, in what manner the people may, with greatest holiness and without delay, make consecration of their offerings; and whatever oracle it shall please him to give them, the people shall perform it." By this absurd flattery the intellect of Demetrius, at no time very powerful, was thrown completely off its balance. XIV. While he was living at Athens he married Eurydike, a descendant of the ancient hero Miltiades, who was the widow of Opheltas, King of Cyrene, and had returned to Athens after her husband's death. The Athenians were greatly delighted at this marriage, which they regarded as an honour to their city; though Demetrius made no sort of difficulty about marriage, and had many wives at the same time. The chief of his wives, and the one whom he most respected, was Phila, the daughter of Antipater, and the widow of Kraterus, who was the most popular with the Macedonians of all the successors of Alexander during his life, and the most lamented by them after his death. Demetrius when very young was forced by his father to marry this woman, who was too old to be a suitable match for him. It is said that when Demetrius expressed his unwillingness to marry her, his father whispered in his ear the line of Euripides: "To gain a fortune, marriage must be dared." substituting the word "marriage" for "bondage," which occurs in the original. However, the respect which Demetrius paid to her and to his other wives did not prevent his intriguing with various courtesans and mistresses, but he had a worse reputation in this respect than any other king of his age.