Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-04-25

perceived that he had done the vile Of
fee Of an executloner. in Furnishing. by
an horrid murder, the utterer Of some
indiscreet words, which ought to be
Imputed to the fumes Of wine. Upon
this, he threw himself on his friends
body, forced out the javeline, and would
have dispa tched himself with 1t, had he
not been prevented by his guards. He
passed that night and the next day IN
tears. stretched on the ground and
venting only groans and deep sighs.-
@. Curt. in Alex. Just lib. xii. C. 6, Z.
Publius Syrius compares anger
when united with power. to thunder;
and, indeed, what havoc, does 1t then
make! but how dreadful must it be
when Joined with drunkenness! we see
this In Alexander. How unhappy was
, that prince, not to have endeavoured to
subdue those two vices in his youth
and to have been confirmed In them
from the example Of one Of his tutors!
for II is asserted, that both were the
consequences Of his education. But
what can be meaner, and more unwor-
thy king, than drinking to excess!
What can be more fatal or bloody than
the transports Of anger! g
During Aiexander's stay In Persepo-
| lis, he entertained his friends at BAN
quet, at which the guests drank, as
usual to excess. Among the women who
were admitted to II masked, was That's,
the courtezan, a native Of Attica, and
at that time mistress to Ptolemy, who
afterwards was king Of Egypt. About
the end Of the feast. during which she
had studiously endeavoured to please
the king, In the most ertful and deli
cate manner she said, with gay tone
Of voice, THAT 1t would be matter Of
inexpressib!e Joy to her. were she per-
mitted, Cnasked as she was, and In or
der to end the entertainment nobly), to
burn the magnificent palace Of Xerxes,
who had burned Athens; and to set II
on fire with her own hand, in order
that It might be said In all parts Of the
world, that the woman who followed
Alexander in his expedition to Asia,
had taken much better vengeance on
the Persians, for the many calamities
they had brought on the Grecians, than
all the generals who had fought for
them, both by sea and land" All the
guests applauded the discourse; when
Immediately the king rose from the
table, (his head being crowned with
fiowers), and taking torch In his hand
he moved forward to execute this
mighty exploit. The whole company
followed him, breaking out into loud
ordinations, and afterwards singing
and dancing, they surrounded the pal
ace. All the rest of the Macedonians,
at this noise, ran in crowds with light
ed tapers, and set fire to every part OF
1t. However, Alexander was sorry, not
long after, for what he had done, and
thereupon gave orders for extinguish-
ing the flames; but 1t was too late.
Alexander, having invited several Of
his friends and general officers to sup
per, proposed a crown as a reward for
him who should drink the most. He
who conquered en- this occasion was
Promachus, who swallowed fourteen
measures Of wine, that Is, eighteen or
twenty pints. After receiving the prize.
which was crown worth q talent, !. e.
his victory but three days. or the rest
of the guests, forty died Of their in
temperate drinking.
When this same prince was at Baby
lon, after having spent q whole night
in carousing, second was proposed to
him. He went accordingly, and there
were twenty guests at table. He drank
to the health of every person In com-
pany, and then pledged them severally.
After this, calling for Hercules's cup,
which held an incredible quantity, 1t
was filled, when he poured 1t all down,
drinking to q Macedonian Of the COM
pany, Proteas by name; and afterwards
pledged him again in the same furious
and extravagant bumper. He had no
sooner swallowed It, than he fell upon
the floor. Here, then, (cries Seneca,
describing the fatal effects Of dfunken-
tolls Of prodigious marches, exposed to
the. dangers Of sieges and combats, to
the most violent extremes Of heat end
cold, here he lies, subdued by his In
temperance, and struck to the earth by
the fatal cup Of Hercules" In this coii-
dition he was seized with q fever.
which, in q few days terminated in
death. He was thirty-two years and
eight months old, Of which he had
Ereigned twelve. No one, says Plutarch
and ARIA, suspected then that Alexan-
der had been poisoned; the true poison
which brought him to his end was wine
which has killed many thousands be-
sides Alexander 1t was says Seneca
(Epist. 83.) Intenperantia bibendi: ct
lille Herculaneus &C fatalis Scyphus
condidit.
Anachonis, the philosopher, being
asked by what means a man might
best guard against the vice Of drunk
enness, made answer, by bearing con-
stantly in his view the loathsome, inde-
cent behaviour Of such as are intoxi-
Gated in this manner. Upon this prin-
ciple, I suppose, was founded the GUS
tom of the Lacedaemonians of expos
ing their drunken sla es to their chill
dren, who, by that means, conceived
an early aversion to vice which
makes men appear so monstrous and
irrational.
Dionysius, the younger, king Of Syr-
acuse was 80 addicted to this enervat-
ing habit, that he would sometimes be
drunk for week or ten days together.
BY this means he ruined his constitu-
ton, impaired his faculties, and be-
came so cruel, ridiculous, and contemp-
tible, that, for their own preservation
and happiness his subjects were oblig-
ed to dethrone him.