[2,30] ἐνταῦθα ἐπῄνεσεν ὡς καλῶς αὐτὸν εἰπόντα ὁ Φίλιππος καὶ ἀξίως τοῦ ποιητοῦ. Οὐκοῦν, ἦ δ´ ὅς, καὶ τοῦτο, οὗπερ νῦν ἐμνήσθημεν, Ὅμηρος ἐπιδείκνυσιν. τὸν γοῦν Ἀχιλλέα πεποίηκεν ὑστερίζοντα ἐν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν {οὐκ ἔκλυτα} οὐδὲ ἐρωτικὰ μέλη ᾄδοντα· καίτοι φησί γε ἐρᾶν αὐτὸν τῆς Βρισηίδος· ἀλλὰ κιθάρᾳ μὲν χρῆσθαι, μὰ Δί´ οὐκ ὠνησάμενον οὐδὲ οἴκοθεν ἄγοντα παρὰ τοῦ πατρός, ἀλλὰ ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων ἐξελόμενον, ὅτε εἷλε τὰς Θήβας καὶ τὸν Ἠετίωνα ἀπέκτεινε τὸν τοῦ Ἕκτορος κηδεστήν. (31) τῇ ὅγε, φησί, θυμὸν ἔτερπεν· ἄειδε δ´ ἄρα κλέα ἀνδρῶν; ὡς οὐδέποτε ἐκλανθάνεσθαι δέον τῆς ἀρετῆς οὐδὲ τῶν εὐκλεῶν πράξεων, οὔτε πίνοντα οὔτε ᾄδοντα, τὸν γενναῖον ἄνδρα καὶ βασιλικὸν, ἀλλ´ ἀεὶ διατελεῖν ἢ πράττοντα αὐτὸν μέγα τι καὶ θαυμαστὸν ἢ μεμνημένον τῶν ὁμοίων. (32) ταῦτα δὲ ἔλεγε πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, ἐπιδεικνύμενος τὴν αὑτοῦ διάνοιαν. καὶ γὰρ δὴ ἐτύγχανε τὸν μὲν Ὅμηρον ἀγαπῶν, τὸν Ἀχιλλέα δὲ οὐ μόνον ἐθαύμαζεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐζηλοτύπει τῆς Ὁμήρου ποιήσεως, ὥσπερ οἱ καλοὶ {παῖδες} ζηλοτυποῦσι τοὺς καλοὺς ἐνίοτε, κρειττόνων ἐραστῶν τυγχάνοντας. {τὸν δὲ Ἀγαμέμνονα οὐκ ἐμακάριζεν· (33) ἤλπιζε γὰρ πολὺ πλειόνων ἄρξειν αὐτὸς ἢ ὁπόσων ἐκεῖνος.} τῶν δὲ ἄλλων ποιητῶν οὐ σφόδρα ἐφρόντιζε. Στησιχόρου δὲ καὶ Πινδάρου ἐπεμνήσθη, τοῦ μὲν ὅτι μιμητὴς Ὁμήρου γενέσθαι δοκεῖ καὶ τὴν ἅλωσιν οὐκ ἀναξίως ἐποίησε τῆς Τροίας, τοῦ δὲ Πινδάρου διά τε τὴν λαμπρότητα τῆς φύσεως καὶ ὅτι τὸν πρόγονον αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁμώνυμον ἐπῄνεσεν Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν φιλέλληνα ἐπικληθέντα ποιήσας εἰς αὐτόν, ὀλβίων ἐπώνυμε Δαρδανιδᾶν. διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ Θήβας ὕστερον πορθῶν μόνην κατέλιπε τὴν οἰκίαν τὴν ἐκείνου κελεύσας ἐπιγράψαι, Πινδάρου τοῦ μουσοποιοῦ τὴν στέγην μὴ κάετε. ἦπου πολλὴν ἠπίστατο χάριν τοῖς αὑτὸν ἐγκωμιάζουσι μὴ φαύλως, οὕτως ἄγαν φιλότιμος ὤν. (34) Τί δέ; εἶπεν ὁ Φίλιππος, ὦ παῖ, πάνυ γὰρ ἡδέως ἀκούω σου τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγοντος, οὐδὲ οἴκησιν ἀξιοῖς κατεσκευάσθαι τὸν βασιλέα πρὸς ἡδονὴν κεκοσμημένην χρυσῷ καὶ ἠλέκτρῳ καὶ ἐλέφαντι τοῖς πολυτίμοις; Οὐδαμῶς, εἶπεν, ὦ πάτερ, πολὺ δὲ μᾶλλον σκύλοις τε καὶ ὅπλοις πολεμίων ἀνδρῶν· καὶ τά γε ἱερὰ τοιούτοις κόσμοις ἱλάσκεσθαι καθάπερ ὁ Ἕκτωρ ἠξίου, προκαλούμενος τὸν ἄριστον τῶν Ἀχαιῶν· ὅτι κρατήσας τὸ μὲν σῶμα ἀποδώσει τοῖς συμμάχοις, τὰ δὲ ὅπλα, ἔφη, σκυλεύσω, καὶ κρεμόω ποτὶ νηὸν Ἀπόλλωνος ἑκάτοιο.

[2,30] At this Philip commended his son for having spoken worthily of the poet and well. "And indeed," Alexander continued, "Homer illustrates the very point we have just mentioned. He has represented Achilles, for instance, when he was loitering in the camp of the Achaeans, as singing no ribald or even amorous ditties—though he says, to be sure, that he was in love with Briseis ; nay, he speaks of him as playing the cithara, and not one that he had bought, I assure you, or brought from his father's house, but one that he had plucked from the spoils when he took Thebe and slew Eëtion, the father of Hector's wife. Homer's words are : 'To sooth his mood lie sang The deeds of heroes.' Which means that a noble and princely man should never forget valour and glorious deeds whether he be drinking or singing, but should without ceasing be engaged in some great and some admirable action himself, or else in recalling deeds of that kind." (32) In this fashion Alexander would talk with his father, thereby revealing his innermost thoughts. The fact is that while he loved Homer, for Achilles he felt not only admiration but even jealousy because of Homer's poesy, just as handsome boys are sometimes jealous of others who are handsome, because these have more powerful loyers. To the other poets he gave hardly a thought ; but he did mention Stesichorus and Pindar, the former because he was looked upon as an imitator of Homer and composed a "Capture of Troy," a creditable work, and Pindar because of the brilliancy of his genius and the fact that he had extolled the ancestor whose name he bore : Alexander, nicknamed the Philhellene, to whom the poet alluded in the verse "Namesake of the blest sons of Dardanus." This is the reason why, when later he sacked Thebes, he left only that poet's house standing, directing that this notice be posted upon it : "Set not on fire the roof of Pindar, maker of song." Undoubtedly he was most grateful to those who eulogized him worthily, when he was so particular as this in seeking renown. (34) " Well, then, my son," said Philip, " since I am glad indeed to hear you speak in this fashion, tell me, is it your opinion that the king should not even make himself a dwelling beautified with precious ornaments of gold and amber and ivory to suit his pleasure ? " By no means should he, father," he replied ; "such ornaments should consist rather of spoils and armour taken from the enemy. He should also embellish the temples with such ornaments and thus propitiate the gods. This was Hector's opinion when he challenged the best of the Achaeans, declaring that if victorious he would deliver the body to the allied host, `but the arms,' said he, `I shall strip off and hang them high Within the temple of the archer-god Apollo.'