Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
But Seleucus, whose jealousy made him put an ill construction on
all he said, sent him answer, that he would permit him to stay
two months and no longer in Cataonia, provided he presently sent
him the principal of his friends as hostages for his departure
then; and, in the meantime, he fortified all the passages into
Syria. So that Demetrius, who saw himself thus, like a wild
beast, in the way to be encompassed on all sides in the toils,
was driven in desperation to his defense, overran the country,
and in several engagements in which Seleucus attacked him, had
the advantage of him. Particularly, when he was once assailed
by the scythed chariots, he successfully avoided the charge and
routed his assailants, and then, expelling the troops that were
in guard of the passes, made himself master of the roads leading
into Syria. And now, elated himself, and finding his soldiers
also animated by these successes, he was resolved to push at
all, and to have one deciding blow for the empire with Seleucus;
who, indeed, was in considerable anxiety and distress, being
averse to any assistance from Lysimachus, whom he both
mistrusted and feared, and shrinking from a battle with
Demetrius, whose desperation he knew, and whose fortune he had
so often seen suddenly pass from the lowest to the highest.
But Demetrius, in the meanwhile, was taken with a violent
sickness, from which he suffered extremely himself, and which
ruined all his prospects. His men deserted to the enemy, or
dispersed. At last, after forty days, he began to be so far
recovered as to be able to rally his remaining forces, and
marched as if he directly designed for Cilicia; but in the
night, raising his camp without sound of trumpet, he took a
countermarch, and, passing the mountain Amanus, he ravaged an
the lower country as far as Cyrrhestica.
Upon this, Seleucus advancing towards him and encamping at no
great distance, Demetrius set his troops in motion to surprise
him by night. And almost to the last moment Seleucus knew
nothing, and was lying asleep. Some deserter came with the
tidings just so soon that he had time to leap, in great
consternation, out of bed, and give the alarm to his men. And
as he was putting on his boots to mount his horse, he bade the
officers about him look well to it, for they had to meet a
furious and terrible wild beast. But Demetrius, by the noise he
heard in the camp, finding they had taken the alarm, drew off
his troops in haste. With the morning's return he found
Seleucus pressing hard upon him; so, sending one of his officers
against the other wing, he defeated those that were opposed to
himself. But Seleucus, lighting from his horse, pulling off his
helmet, and taking a target, advanced to the foremost ranks of
the mercenary soldiers, and, showing them who he was, bade them
come over and join him, telling them that it was for their sakes
only that he had so long forborne coming to extremities. And
thereupon, without a blow more, they saluted Seleucus as their
king, and passed over.
Demetrius, who felt that this was his last change of fortune,
and that he had no more vicissitudes to expect, fled to the
passes of Amanus, where, with a very few friends and followers,
he threw himself into a dense forest, and there waited for the
night, purposing, if possible, to make his escape towards
Caunus, where he hoped to find his shipping ready to transport
him. But upon inquiry, finding that they had not provisions
even for that one day, he began to think of some other project.
Whilst he was yet in doubt, his friend Sosigenes arrived, who
had four hundred pieces of gold about him, and, with this
relief, he again entertained hopes of being able to reach the
coast, and, as soon as it began to be dark, set forward towards
the passes. But, perceiving by the fires that the enemies had
occupied them, he gave up all thought of that road, and
retreated to his old station in the wood, but not with all his
men; for some had deserted, nor were those that remained as
willing as they had been. One of them, in fine, ventured to
speak out, and say that Demetrius had better give himself up to
Seleucus; which Demetrius overhearing, drew out his sword, and
would have passed it through his body, but that some of his
friends interposed and prevented the attempt, persuading him to
do as had been said. So at last he gave way, and sent to
Seleucus, to surrender himself at discretion.
Seleucus, when he was told of it, said it was not Demetrius's
good fortune that had found out this means for his safety, but
his own, which had added to his other honors the opportunity of
showing his clemency and generosity. And forthwith he gave
order to his domestic officers to prepare a royal pavilion, and
all things suitable to give him a splendid reception and
entertainment. There was in the attendance of Seleucus one
Apollonides, who formerly had been intimate with Demetrius. He
was, therefore, as the fittest person, dispatched from the king
to meet Demetrius, that he might feel himself more at his ease,
and might come with the confidence of being received as a friend
and relative. No sooner was this message known, but the
courtiers and officers, some few at first, and afterwards almost
the whole of them, thinking, Demetrius would presently become
of great power with the king, hurried off, vying who should be
foremost to pay him their respects. The effect of which was
that compassion was converted into jealousy, and ill-natured,
malicious people could the more easily insinuate to Seleucus
that he was giving way to an unwise humanity, the very first
sight of Demetrius having been the occasion of a dangerous
excitement in the army. So, whilst Apollonides, in great
delight, and after him many others, were relating to Demetrius
the kind expressions of Seleucus, and he, after so many troubles
and calamities, if indeed he had still any sense of his
surrender of himself being a disgrace, had now, in confidence on
the good hopes held out to him, entirely forgotten all such
thoughts, Pausanias, with a guard of a thousand horse and foot,
came and surrounded him; and, dispersing the rest that were with
him, carried him, not to the presence of Seleucus, but to the
Syrian Chersonese, where he was committed to the safe custody
of a strong guard. Sufficient attendance and liberal provision
were here allowed him, space for riding and walking, a park with
game for hunting, those of his friends and companions in exile
who wished it had permission to see him, and messages of
kindness, also, from time to time, were brought him from
Seleucus, bidding him fear nothing, and intimating, that, so
soon as Antiochus and Stratonice should arrive, he would receive
his liberty.
Demetrius, however, finding himself in this condition, sent
letters to those who were with his son, and to his captains and
friends at Athens and Corinth, that they should give no manner
of credit to any letters written to them in his name, though
they were sealed with his own signet, but that, looking upon him
as if he were already dead, they should maintain the cities and
whatever was left of his power, for Antigonus, as his successor.
Antigonus received the news of his father's captivity with great
sorrow; he put himself into mourning, and wrote letters to the
rest of the kings, and to Seleucus himself, making entreaties,
and offering not only to surrender whatever they had left, but
himself to be a hostage for his father. Many cities, also, and
princes joined in interceding for him; only Lysimachus sent and
offered a large sum of money to Seleucus to take away his life.
But he, who had always shown his aversion to Lysimachus before,
thought him only the greater barbarian and monster for it.
Nevertheless, he still protracted the time, reserving the favor,
as he professed, for the intercession of Antiochus and
Stratonice.
Demetrius, who had sustained the first stroke of his misfortune,
in time grew so familiar with it, that, by continuance, it
became easy. At first he persevered one way or other in taking
exercise, in hunting, so far as he had means, and in riding.
Little by little, however, after a while, he let himself grow
indolent and indisposed for them, and took to dice and drinking,
in which he passed most of his time, whether it were to escape
the thoughts of his present condition, with which he was haunted
when sober, and to drown reflection in drunkenness, or that he
acknowledged to himself that this was the real happy life he had
long desired and wished for, and had foolishly let himself be
seduced away from it by a senseless and vain ambition, which had
only brought trouble to himself and others; that highest good
which he had thought to obtain by arms and fleets and soldiers,
he had now discovered unexpectedly in idleness, leisure, and
repose. As, indeed, what other end or period is there of all
the wars and dangers which hapless princes run into, whose
misery and folly it is, not merely that they make luxury and
pleasure, instead of virtue and excellence, the object of their
lives, but that they do not so much as know where this luxury
and pleasure are to be found?
Having thus continued three years a prisoner in Chersonesus, for
want of exercise, and by indulging himself in eating and
drinking, he fell into a disease, of which he died at the age of
fifty-four. Seleucus was ill-spoken of, and was himself greatly
grieved, that he had yielded so far to his suspicions, and had
let himself be so much outdone by the barbarian Dromichaetes of
Thrace, who had shown so much humanity and such a kingly temper
in his treatment of his prisoner Lysimachus.
There was something dramatic and theatrical in the very funeral
ceremonies with which Demetrius was honored. For his son
Antigonus, understanding that his remains were coming over from
Syria, went with all his fleet to the islands to meet them.
They were there presented to him in a golden urn, which he
placed in his largest admiral galley. All the cities where they
touched in their passage sent chaplets to adorn the urn, and
deputed certain of their citizens to follow in mourning, to
assist at the funeral solemnity. When the fleet approached the
harbor of Corinth, the urn, covered with purple, and a royal
diadem upon it, was visible upon the poop, and a troop of young
men attended in arms to receive it at landing Xenophantus, the
most famous musician of the day, played on the flute his most
solemn measure, to which the rowers, as the ship came in, made
loud response, their oars, like the funeral beating of the
breast, keeping time with the cadences of the music. But
Antigonus, in tears and mourning attire, excited among the
spectators gathered on the shore the greatest sorrow and
compassion. After crowns and other honors had been offered at
Corinth, the remains were conveyed to Demetrias, a city to which
Demetrius had given his name, peopled from the inhabitants of
the small villages of Iolcus.
Demetrius left no other children by his wife Phila but Antigonus
and Stratonice, but he had two other sons, both of his own name,
one surnamed the Thin, by an Illyrian mother, and one who ruled
in Cyrene, by Ptolemais. He had also, by Deidamia, a son,
Alexander, who lived and died in Egypt; and there are some who
say that he had a son by Eurydice, named Corrhabus. His family
was continued in a succession of kings down to Perseus, the
last, from whom the Romans took Macedonia.
And now, the Macedonian drama being ended, let us prepare to see
the Roman.
ANTONY
The grandfather of Antony was the famous pleader, whom Marius
put to death for having taken part with Sylla. His father was
Antony, surnamed of Crete, not very famous or distinguished in