Criticism Of Theopompus
I do not know any one who deserves more blame in
note
this particular than Theopompus. In the beginning of his history of Philip he said that what
chiefly induced him to undertake it was the fact
that Europe had never produced such a man as
Philip son of Amyntas; and then immediately afterwards, both
in his preface and in the whole course of his history, he
represents this king as so madly addicted to women, that he
did all that in him lay to ruin his own family by this inordinate
passion; as having behaved with the grossest unfairness and
perfidy to his friends and allies; as having enslaved and
treacherously seized a vast number of towns by force or fraud;
and as having been besides so violently addicted to strong
drink, that he was often seen by his friends drunk in open day.
-- 536 --
But if any one will take the trouble to read the opening
passage of his forty-ninth book, he would be indeed astonished
at this writer's extravagance. Besides his other strange statements he has ventured to write as follows—for I here subjoin
his actual words:—"If there was any one in all Greece, or among
the Barbarians, whose character was lascivious and shameless, he
was invariably attracted to Philip's court in Macedonia and got
the title of 'the king's companion.' For it was Philip's constant
habit to reject those who lived respectably and were careful of
their property; but to honour and promote those who were
extravagant, and passed their lives in drinking and dicing. His
influence accordingly tended not only to confirm them in these
vices, but to make them proficients in every kind of rascality
and lewdness. What vice or infamy did they not possess?
What was there virtuous or of good report that they did not
lack? Some of them, men as they were, were ever clean
shaven and smooth-skinned; and even bearded men did not
shrink from mutual defilement. They took about with them
two or three slaves of their lust, while submitting to the same
shameful service themselves. The men whom they called
companions deserved a grosser name, and the title of soldier
was but a cover to mercenary vice; for, though bloodthirsty
by nature, they were lascivious by habit. In a word, to make
a long story short, especially as I have such a mass of matter
to deal with, I believe that the so-called 'friends' and
'companions' of Philip were more bestial in nature and
character than the Centaurs who lived on Pelion, or the
Laestrygones who inhabited the Leontine plain, or in fact any
other monsters whatever." note
