ip's disposal, all
were, of course, very anxious to secure his favor. A short time
before, they were contending against him; but now, since he had
established his ascendency, they all eagerly joined in the work of
magnifying it and making it illustrious.

Nor could Philip justly complain of the hollowness and falseness of
these professions of friendship. The compliments and favors which he
offered to them were equally hollow and heartless. He wished to secure
_their_ favor as a means of aiding him up the steep path to fame and
power which he was attempting to climb. They wished for his, in order
that he might, as he ascended himself, help them up with him. There
was, however, the greatest appearance of cordial and devoted
friendship. Some cities sent him presents of golden crowns,
beautifully wrought, and of high cost. Others dispatched embassies,
expressing their good wishes for him, and their confidence in the
success of his plans. Athens, the city which was the great seat of
literature and science in Greece sent a _poem_, in which the history
of the expedition into Persia was given by anticipation. In this poem
Philip was, of course, triumphantly successful in his enterprise. He
conducted his armies in safety through the most dangerous passes and
defiles; he fought glorious battles, gained magnificent victories, and
possessed himself of all the treasures of Asiatic wealth and power. It
ought to be stated, however, in justice to the poet, that, in
narrating these imaginary exploits, he had sufficient delicacy to
represent Philip and the Persian monarch by fictitious names.

The wedding was at length celebrated, in one of the cities of Macedon,
with great pomp and splendor. There were games, and shows, and
military and civic spectacles of all kinds to amuse the thousands of
spectators that assembled to witness them. In one of these spectacles
they had a procession of statues of the gods. There were twelve of
these statues, sculptured with great art, and they were borne along on
elevated pedestals, with censers, and incense, and various ceremonies
of homage, while vast multitudes of spectators lined the way. There
was a thirteenth statue, more magnificent than the other twelve,
which represented Philip himself in the character of a god.

This was not, however, so impious as it would at first view seem, for
the gods whom the ancients worshiped were, in fact, only deifications
of old heroes and kings who had lived in e