When the ambassadors of Antiochus were recounting to those of Achaea,
the various multitudes composing their royal master's forces, and ran
over a long catalogue of hard names, "I supped once," said Titus, "with
a friend, and could not forbear expostulating with him at the number
of dishes he had provided, and said I wondered where he had furnished
himself with such a variety; 'Sir,' replied he, 'to confess the truth,
it is all hog's flesh differently cooked.' And so, men of Achaea, when
you are told of Antiochus' lancers, and pikemen, and foot-guards, I
advise you not to be surprised; since in fact they are all Syrians
differently armed."
The Chalcidians, who owed their lives to Titus, dedicated to him all the
best and most magnificent of their sacred buildings, inscriptions upon
which, like the following, may be seen to this day: THE PEOPLE DEDICATE
THIS GYMNASIUM TO TITUS AND TO HERCULES; so again: THE PEOPLE
CONSECRATE THE DELPHINIUM TO TITUS AND TO HERCULES; and what is yet more
remarkable, even in our time, a priest of Titus was formally elected
and declared; and after sacrifice and libation, they sang a set song, of
which these are the closing verses:--
The Roman Faith, whose aid of yore,
Our vows were offered to implore,
We worship now and evermore.
To Rome, to Titus, and to Jove,
O maidens, in the dances move.
Dances and Io-Paeans too
Unto the Roman Faith are due
O Savior Titus, and to you.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
It must be borne in mind that my design has been not to write histories,
but lives. And the most glorious exploits do not always furnish us with
the clearest discoveries of virtue or vice in men; sometimes a matter
of less moment, an expression or a jest, informs us better of their
characters and inclinations, than the most famous sieges, the
greatest armaments, or the bloodiest battles whatsoever. Therefore as
portrait-painters are more exact in the lines and features of the face,
in which the character is seen, than in the other parts of the body, so
I must be allowed to give my more particular attention to the marks and
indications of the souls of men, in my portrayal of their lives.
It is agreed on by all hands, that on the father's side, Alexander
descended from Hercules by Caranus, and from Aeacus by Neoptolemus on
the mother's side. His father Philip, being in Samothrace, when he was
quite young, fell in love there with Olympias, in company with whom he
was initiated in the religious ceremonies of the country, and her father
and mother being both dead, soon after, with the consent of her brother
Arymbas, he married her.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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