Humanitext Reader

Plutarch · Life of Eumenes §2.1-2.5

Quarrels with Hephaestion and Reconciliation

Passage 2 of 19 · Greek

Summary

Describes Eumenes' conflicts with Alexander and Hephaestion (the dispute over quarters, the military contribution, and the tent fire) and how Eumenes cleverly escaped his danger after Hephaestion's death by catering to the king's grief.

§2.1οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ προσέκρουσε πολλάκις Ἀλεξάνδρῳ, καὶ παρεκινδύνευσε διʼ Ἡφαιστίωνα, πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ Εὐΐῳ τῷ αὐλητῇ τοῦ Ἡφαιστίωνος οἰκίαν κατανείμαντος ἣν οἱ παῖδες ἔτυχον τῷ Εὐμενεῖ προκατειληφότες, ἐλθὼν ὑπὸ ὀργῆς πρὸς τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον ὁ Εὐμενὴς ἐβόα μετὰ Μέντορος ὡς αὐλεῖν εἴη κράτιστον ἢ τραγῳδεῖν τὰ ὅπλα ῥίψαντας ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν, ὥστε Ἀλέξανδρον αὐτῷ συναγανακτεῖν καὶ λοιδορεῖσθαι τῷ Ἡφαιστίωνι.
Nevertheless, he also clashed often with Alexander, and ran great risks on account of Hephaestion. For first, when Hephaestion assigned a house which Eumenes' servants had happened to pre-occupy to Euvios the flute-player of Hephaestion, Eumenes came in anger to Alexander and cried out, along with Mentor, that it was best to throw their weapons out of their hands and play the flute or act in tragedy; with the result that Alexander shared his indignation and scolded Hephaestion.
§2.2ταχὺ μέντοι μεταπεσὼν αὖθις εἶχε τὸν Εὐμενῆ διʼ ὀργῆς, ὡς ὕβρει μᾶλλον πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἢ παρρησίᾳ πρὸς Ἡφαιστίωνα χρησάμενον.
Soon, however, changing his mind, he again held Eumenes in anger, thinking that he had behaved with insolence toward himself rather than with frankness toward Hephaestion.
ἔπειτα Νέαρχον ἐκπέμπων με?τὰ νεῶν ἐπὶ τὴν ἔξω θάλασσαν ᾔτει χρήματα τοὺς φίλους· οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἐν τῷ βασιλείῳ.
Next, when sending out Nearchus with a fleet to the outer sea, he asked his friends for money, for there was none in the treasury.
τοῦ δʼ Εὐμενοῦς αἰτηθέντος μὲν τριακόσια τάλαντα, δόντος δὲ ἑκατὸν μόνα, καὶ ταῦτα γχίσχρως καὶ μόλις αὐτῷ συνειλέχθαι διὰ τῶν ἐπιτρόπων φάσκοντος, οὐδὲν ἐγκαλέσας οὐδὲ δεξάμενος ἐκέλευσε τοὺς παῖδας κρύφα τῇ σκηνῇ τοῦ Εὐμενοῦς πῦρ ἐνεῖναι, βουλόμενος ἐκκομιζομένων τῶν χρημάτων λαβεῖν ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ ψευδόμενον.
When Eumenes was asked for three hundred talents, but gave only one hundred, and asserted that even this had been collected with difficulty and grudgingly through his agents, Alexander made no accusation and did not accept the money, but ordered his servants secretly to set fire to Eumenes' tent, wishing to catch him lying in the very act when his money was being carried out.
§2.3ἔφθη δὲ ἡ σκηνὴ καταφλεχθεῖσα, καὶ μετενόησε τῶν γραμμάτων διαφθαρέντων ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος, τὸ δὲ συγχυθὲν χρυσίον καὶ ἀργύριον ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς ἀνευρέθη πλεῖον ἣ χιλίων ταλάντων, ἔλαβε δὲ οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ καὶ γράψας τοῖς πανταχοῦ σατράπαις καὶ στρατηγοῖς ἀντίγραφα τῶν διεφθαρμένων ἀποστέλλειν πάντα παραλαμβάνειν ἐκέλευσε τὸν Εὐμενῆ.
But the tent was burned down too quickly, and Alexander regretted it because the documents were destroyed, though the gold and silver melted together by the fire was found to be more than a thousand talents. He took none of it, however, but wrote to the satraps and generals everywhere to send copies of the destroyed documents, and ordered Eumenes to collect them all.
§2.4πάλιν δὲ περὶ δωρεᾶς τινος εἰς διαφορὰν καταστὰς πρὸς τὸν Ἡφαιστίωνα, καὶ πολλὰ μὲν ἀκούσας κακῶς, πολλὰ δὲ εἰπών, τότε μὲν οὐκ ἔλαττον ἔσχε· μετʼ ὀλίγον δὲ τελευτήσαντος Ἡφαιστίωνος περιπαθῶν ὁ βασιλεύς καὶ πᾶσιν οὓς ἐδόκει ζῶντι μὲν ἐκείνῳ φθονεῖν ἐπιχαίρειν δὲ τεθνηκότι τραχέως ὁμιλῶν καὶ χαλεπὸς ὢν, μάλιστα τὸν Εὐμενῆ διʼ ὑποψίας εἶχε, καὶ προὔφερε πολλάκις τὰς διαφορὰς καὶ λοιδορίας ἐκείνας.
And when he again fell into a dispute with Hephaestion over a certain gift, and after hearing many hard words and speaking many, he did not come off worse at that time; but when Hephaestion died shortly afterward, the king, being deeply aggrieved and treating harshly and being severe with all those who seemed to have envied him while alive and to rejoice now that he was dead, held Eumenes especially in suspicion, and often brought up those past disputes and insults.
§2.5ὁ δὲ πανοῦργος ὢν καὶ πιθανός ἐπεχείρησεν οἷς ἀπώλλυτο σῴζειν ἑαυτόν, κατέφυγε γὰρ εἰς τὴν πρὸς Ἡφαιστίωνα φιλοτιμίαν Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ χάριν, ὑφηγούμενός τε τιμὰς αἳ μάλιστα κοσμεῖν ἔμελλον τὸν τεθνηκότα, καὶ χρήματα τελῶν εἰς τὴν τοῦ τάφου κατασκευὴν ἀφειδῶς καὶ προθύμως.
But since Eumenes was resourceful and persuasive, he attempted to save himself by the very things by which he was being ruined; for he took refuge in Alexander's zeal for Hephaestion's memory and affection for him, suggesting honors which were most likely to adorn the deceased, and contributing money for the construction of the tomb lavishly and eagerly.

Notes

  1. 2.1ὡς αὐλεῖν εἴη κράτιστον ἢ τραγῳδεῖν τὰ ὅπλα ῥίψαντας ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν — A clause in indirect discourse using the optative (εἴη) of secondary sequence triggered by the historical main verb (ἐβόα). The accusative plural participle ῥίψαντας agrees with the omitted accusative subject of the infinitives (αὐλεῖν, τραγῳδεῖν), referring generally to the soldiers or Eumenes and his companions themselves.
  2. 2.2ὡς ὕβρει μᾶλλον πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἢ παρρησίᾳ πρὸς Ἡφαιστίωνα χρησάμενον — The construction of ὡς with the participle (χρησάμενον) expresses the subjective reason or allegation of the main subject (Alexander). The participle agrees in gender, number, and case (masculine accusative singular) with τὸν Εὐμενῆ, the direct object of the preceding verb εἶχε.
  3. 2.2τοῦ δʼ Εὐμενοῦς αἰτηθέντος μὲν τριακόσια τάλαντα... φάσκοντος — A long genitive absolute construction with τοῦ δʼ Εὐμενοῦς as its logical subject. Multiple participles—passive αἰτηθέντος (having been asked), active δόντος (having given), and active φάσκοντος (asserting)—are coordinated in the genitive to describe the series of Eumenes' actions and claims.
  4. 2.3ἔφθη δὲ ἡ σκηνὴ καταφλεχθεῖσα — The construction of φθάνω with a supplementary participle (καταφλεχθεῖσα) expresses the idea of doing something beforehand or happening too quickly; here, it means the tent was burned down before anyone could salvage the belongings.
  5. 2.5ἐπεχείρησεν οἷς ἀπώλλυτο σῴζειν ἑαυτόν — The dative relative pronoun οἷς incorporates its antecedent, equivalent to ἐκεῖνα οἷς ("by those things which"). It acts as a dative of means/cause, indicating that Eumenes attempted to save himself by utilizing the very circumstances by which he was being ruined (imperfect ἀπώλλυτο).

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Life of Eumenes §2.1-2.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg041.humanitext-grc2:2.1-2.5

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