unto them their lives and liberty under condition of laying down their arms; and hereupon he gave them his faith. Being master of these companies, he might well have a good opinion of his own power; all power being then valued by strength in followers, when as none could vaunt himself as free lord of any territory. He had thirteen thousand foot and eight thousand eight hundred horse, besides these new companions, whom needless fear without great loss had caused to leave the field: but in true estimation all the greatness whereof Python might think himself assured was (and soon appeared to be) inherent in Perdiccas. For by his command were ten thousand foot and eight thousand horse of those which followed Python levied, the rulers of the provinces carefully obeying the letters of Perdiccas, by which they were enjoined to give assistance to that business and by virtue of the precept given unto them by Perdiccas did the Macedonians cut in pieces all those poor men who had yielded themselves, leaving Python as naked as he came forth to return unto his great master.

Now was Perdiccas mighty above the mighty, and had fair leisure to pursue his hopes of marriage with Cleopatra, and thereby to make himself lord of all; but this must be secretly carried, for fear of opposition. How it succeeded will appear when the Lamian war taketh ending.

WE left Antipater hardly besieged, wanting means to free himself, without succours from his friends in Asia. Those helps not appearing so soon as he expected, he came to parley with Leosthenes, and would have yielded unto any terms of reason, wherewith men possessed with hope of victory do seldom limit their desires. Leosthenes willed him, without further circumstance, to submit himself to discretion. This was too much for him that had once commanded over them, who now required of him such a dishonourable composition. Wherefore, knowing that the extremities, from which as yet he was far enough, could

bring no worse with it, Antipater prepared for the defence, and the other for winning the town, which felt great want of victuals. In this lingering war, the Ætolians (whether weary of sitting still at a siege, or having business which they pretended at home) took their leave, and returned into their own country. Their departure left the trenches so thinly manned, that Antipater found means to sally out upon his enemies to their great loss, for many were slain, and Leosthenes himself among them, ere he could be repulsed into the town. Yet hereby the Macedonians were nothing relieved, their victuals wasted, and they were not strong enough to deal with the Greeks in open fight. Craterus was long in coming. Lysimachus, who was nearest at hand in Thrace, had work too much of his own, leading no more than four thousand foot and two thousand horse against Seuthas their king, who brought into the field above four times that number; and though Lysimachus, not without loss, had gotten one victory, yet the enemy abounding in multitude felt not the blow so much as might abate his courage. Therefore Leonatus was earnestly solicited by Antipater's friends to make all haste to the rescue. He had the government of Phrygia the Less, and was able to raise an army of more than twenty thousand foot and two thousand five hundred horse; whether levied out of his province, or appointed unto him out of the main army, it is uncertain. Certain it is, that he was more willing to take in hand the journey into Greece, than Antipater was to have him For Cleopatra had written unto him, desiring his presence at Pella, the chief city of Macedon, and very kindly offering herself to be his wife; which letters he kept not so close as had been requisite, and therefore brought himself into great suspicion, that soon ended with his life. Antiphilus, chosen general by the Athenians in place of Leosthenes, hearing of his approach, forsook the siege of Lamia, and took the ready way to these great conquerors of Asia, with purpose to give them an evil welcome home, before Antipater and they should join in one. He had (notwithstanding the departure of the Ætolians) the advan

come.

tage of Leonatus in horse by the odds of two thousand Thessalians; in other things he was equal to him, in cause he thought himself superior; in the fortune of that day he proved so, for he won a great victory, (chiefly by virtue of the Thessalians,) which appeared the greater by the end of Leonatus himself; who, fighting valiantly, was driven into a marish piece of ground, where he found his death, which desperately he had sought among the Indians; but it waited for him at home, not far from the place of his nativity. He was the first of Alexander's captains which died in battle, but all, or most of the rest, shall follow him the same way. After this day the Athenians did never any thing suitable to their ancient glory. The vanquished Macedonians were too weak to renew the fight, and too proud to fly. They betook themselves to high grounds, unfit for service on horseback, and so abode in sight of the enemy that day; the day following, Antipater with his men came into their camp, and took the charge of all. The Athenians perceiving their strength to be at the greatest, and fearing lest that of the enemy should increase, did earnestly seek to determine the matter quickly by another battle. But still Antipater kept himself on ground of advantage, which gave more than reasonable confidence to the Greeks, many of whom departed to their homes, accounting the enemy to be vanquished. This recklessness (incorrigible in an army of voluntaries) was very inexcusable, seeing that the victories by land were much defaced by losses at sea, where the Athenians, labouring to have made themselves once again masters, were put to the worst.

But now the fatal captivity of Greece came on, of which she never could be delivered unto this day. Craterus, with a strong army, having made great marches from Cilicia, passed over into Europe, and coming into Thessaly joined himself with Antipater. The forces of Leonatus, Antipater, and Craterus being joined in one, contained forty thousand weightily armed, three thousand light armed men, and five thousand horse; of which numbers the Greeks wanted a thousand and five hundred in horse, in foot eighteen thou

sand. Carefully therefore did Antiphilus labour to avoid the necessity of a battle, until such time as the towns confederate should return unto the camp those bands which had straggled from it. But those companies were so slow in coming, and Antipater so urgent upon the Greeks, that compelled they were to put the matter in hazard without further attendance. Like enough it is, that with a little more help they had carried away the victory; for the Thessalians had the upper hand, and held it, until such time as they perceived their battles (overlaid with multitude) retire unto the higher grounds, which caused them also to fall back. So the Macedonians became lords of the field, having little else to boast of, considering that with the loss of a hundred and thirty men, they had purchased only the death of some five hundred enemies. Yet hereof was great use made. For the Greeks, as not subject unto the full command of one general, and being every one desirous to preserve his own estate and city, concluded to make a treaty of peace with Antipater; who being a subtle artificer, and well understanding their aptness to division, refused to hearken to any general composition, but willed every city to deal apart for itself. The intent of his device was so apparent that it was rejected, the Greeks choosing rather to abide the coming of their assistants, whose unreasonable carelessness betrayed the cause. Antipater and Craterus besieging and winning some towns in Thessaly, which the army of the confederates wanted means and courage to relieve, wearied that nation from attending any longer upon other men's unlikely hopes, with their own assured and present calamity.

SECT. VI.

Of the peace granted to Athens by Antipater. Of Demosthenes

death.

THE Thessalians falling off, all the rest soon followed severally, and sued for peace; the gentle conditions given to the most forward inviting such as were slack. Only the Athenians and Etolians held out. Little favour could they hope for, having been authors of this tumult, and their fear

was not great; the seat of the war being far from them. But the celerity of Antipater confounded all their imaginations; who sat still at Athens, devising upon courses of prosecuting the war to come, which came to their doors before their consultation could find issue. He was ready to enter upon their frontiers; they had no ability to resist, and were as heartless as friendless. All that remained was to send ambassadors desiring peace upon some good terms; necessity enforcing them to have accepted even the very worst. Phocion, with Demades the orator, and Xenocrates the philosopher, were chief of this embassage; Phocion as the most honourable, Demades as a strong persuader, (both of them well respected by Antipater,) and Xenocrates as one admired for wisdom, gravity of manners, and virtue; but all these ornaments consisting in speculation, and therefore of less regard, when their admiration was to cost much in real effects.

Antipater calling to mind the pride of Leosthenes, required of the Athenians that they should wholly submit themselves to his pleasure, which being (perforce) granted, he commanded them to defray the charges of the war past, to pay a fine, and entertain a garrison. Further, he abrogated the popular estate, committing the government of the city to those of most wealth, depriving of the right of suffrage all such as wanted a convenient proportion of riches.

About nine thousand they were, all men of good substance, to whom the administration of the commonwealth was given, a number great enough to retain the name and form of a democraty. But the rascal multitude of beggarly persons, accustomed to get their livings out of the common troubles, being now debarred from bearing offices and giving their voices, cried out that this was a mere oligarchy, the violent usurpation of a few encroaching upon the public right. These turbulent fellows (of whom king Philip had been wont to say, that war to them was peace, and peace war) Antipater planted in Thrace, and gave them lands to manure, leaving as few of them as he could to molest the quiet of Athens.