e spent his time, giving himself up
to every form of effeminacy and dissipation. In a word, he was no
longer the same man. The decision, the energy of character, the steady
pursuit of great ends by prudence, forethought, patient effort, and
self-denial, all disappeared; nothing now seemed to interest him but
banquets, carousals, parties of pleasure, and whole days and nights
spent in dissipation and vice.

This state of things was a great cause of mortification and chagrin to
the officers of his army. Many of them were older than himself, and
better able to resist these temptations to luxury, effeminacy, and
vice. They therefore remained firm in their original simplicity and
integrity, and after some respectful but ineffectual remonstrances,
they stood aloof, alienated from their commander in heart, and
condemning very strongly, among themselves, his wickedness and folly.

On the other hand, many of the _younger_ officers followed Alexander's
example, and became as vain, as irregular, and as fond of vicious
indulgence as he. But then, though they joined him in his pleasures,
there was no strong bond of union between him and them. The tie which
binds mere companions in pleasure together is always very slight and
frail. Thus Alexander gradually lost the confidence and affection of
his old friends, and gained no new ones. His officers either
disapproved his conduct, and were distant and cold, or else joined him
in his dissipation and vice, without feeling any real respect for his
character, or being bound to him by any principle of fidelity.

Parmenio and his son Philotas were, respectively, striking examples of
these two kinds of character. Parmenio was an old general, now
considerably advanced in life. He had served, as has already been
stated, under Philip, Alexander's father, and had acquired great
experience and great fame before Alexander succeeded to the throne.
During the whole of Alexander's career Parmenio had been his principal
lieutenant general, and he had always placed his greatest reliance
upon him in all trying emergencies. He was cool, calm, intrepid,
sagacious. He held Alexander back from many rash enterprises, and was
the efficient means of his accomplishing most of his plans. It is the
custom among all nations to give kings the glory of all that is
effected by their generals and officers; and the writers of those days
would, of course, in narrating the exploits of the Macedonian army,
exaggerate the