he act of Olympias in inducing AEacides to come to Macedonia, to
embark in her quarrel against Cassander there. Of course, since there
were two lines of princes, both claiming the throne, no sovereign of
either line could hold any thing more than a divided empire over the
hearts of his subjects; and consequently, when AEacides left the
kingdom to fight the battles of Olympias in Macedon, it was
comparatively easy for the party opposed to him to effect a revolution
and raise their own prince to the throne.

The prince whom Olympias had originally made king of Epirus, to the
exclusion of the claimant belonging to the other branch of the family,
was her own brother. His name was Alexander. He was the son of
Neoptolemus. The rival branch of the family were the children of
Arymbas, the brother of Neoptolemus. This Alexander flourished at the
same time as Alexander the Great, and in his character very much
resembled his distinguished namesake. He commenced a career of
conquest in Italy at the same time that his nephew embarked in his in
Asia, and commenced it, too, under very similar circumstances. One
went to the East, and another to the West, each determined to make
himself master of the world. The Alexander of Macedon succeeded. The
Alexander of Epirus failed. The one acquired, consequently, universal
and perpetual renown, while the memory of the other has been almost
entirely neglected and forgotten.

One reason, unquestionably, for the difference in these results was
the difference in the character of the enemies respectively against
whom the two adventurers had to contend. Alexander of Epirus went
westward into Italy, where he had to encounter the soldiery of the
Romans--a soldiery of the most rugged, determined, and indomitable
character. Alexander of Macedon, on the other hand, went to the East,
where he found only Asiatic races to contend with, whose troops,
though countless in numbers and magnificently appointed in respect to
all the purposes of parade and display, were yet enervated with
luxury, and wholly unable to stand against any energetic and
determined foe. In fact, Alexander of Epirus used to say that the
reason why his nephew, Alexander of Macedon, had succeeded, while he
himself had failed, was because he himself had invaded countries
peopled by _men_, while the Macedonian, in his Asiatic campaign, had
encountered only women.

However this may be, the campaign of Alexander of Epirus in Italy had
a very