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[608]
Now the king, being desirous to get this plotter against him into
his hands, and being also afraid lest he should some way come to the knowledge
how his affairs stood, and be upon his guard, he dissembled his anger in
his epistle to him, as in other points he wrote kindly to him, and desired
him to make haste, because if he came quickly, he would then lay aside
the complaints he had against his mother; for Antipater was not ignorant
that his mother had been expelled out of the palace. However, he had before
received a letter, which contained an account of the death of Pheroras,
at Tarentum, 1
and made great lamentations at it; for which some commended him, as being
for his own uncle; though probably this confusion arose on account of his
having thereby failed in his plot [on his father's life]; and his tears
were more for the loss of him that was to have been subservient therein,
than for [an uncle] Pheroras: moreover, a sort of fear came upon him as
to his designs, lest the poison should have been discovered. However, when
he was in Cilicia, he received the forementioned epistle from his father,
and made great haste accordingly. But when he had sailed to Celenderis,
a suspicion came into his mind relating to his mother's misfortunes; as
if his soul foreboded some mischief to itself. Those therefore of his friends
which were the most considerate advised him not rashly to go to his father,
till he had learned what were the occasions why his mother had been ejected,
because they were afraid that he might be involved in the calumnies that
had been cast upon his mother: but those that were less considerate, and
had more regard to their own desires of seeing their native country, than
to Antipater's safety, persuaded him to make haste home, and not, by delaying
his journey, afford his father ground for an ill suspicion, and give a
handle to those that raised stories against him; for that in case any thing
had been moved to his disadvantage, it was owing to his absence, which
durst not have been done had he been present. And they said it was absurd
to deprive himself of certain happiness, for the sake of an uncertain suspicion,
and not rather to return to his father, and take the royal authority upon
him, which was in a state of fluctuation on his account only. Antipater
complied with this last advice, for Providence hurried him on [to his destruction].
So he passed over the sea, and landed at Sebastus, the haven of Cesarea.
1 This Tarentum has coins still extant, as Reland informs us here in his note.
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