Alexander : a history of the origin and growth of the art of war from ...

EQUIPMENT OF MACEDON. 187icy ; but they always kept themselves from doing her anywrong beyond what their policy called for. They felt asGreeks, and they had no temptation to destroy what theyclaimed as their mother-country. They had clearly no wishto swallow up Greece in Macedonia, but rather to make Macedonia,as a Greek state, the ruling power of Greece. Suchwas undoubtedly the aim of Pliilip, and it was that of Alexandertoo, till, from the throne of the Great King, he mayhave learned to look on both Greece and Macedonia as littlemore than corners of his empire, nurseries of his most valiantsoldiers.Matters being thus smoothed over, Alexander could foreseethe possibility of carrying out his Persian project.Parmeniohad so far not accomplished much in Asia Minor ; but hispresence and position there had forestalled any invasion ofMacedonia by the Persians, and might be said to cover Alexander'sflank in any campaign he should be compelled tomake against the Thracians. This was at least a negativegain. There remained but to be secure of lasting quiet athome.Macedon was well equipped.The peojile, as we have said,enjoyed equal rights, and were to a man liable to militaryservice when called on. The soldier was citizen ; the citizen,soldier ; the soldier a regular. There was no conflicting interest.If a king was no general, his Macedonians couldexercise suitable control over him. If the king was a Philipor an Alexander, the respect and admiration of his citizensoldiersgave him a power all the more worth having. Andthe courage and discipline ofsuch a body, combining the virtuesof both the volunteer and regular, was on a plane muchhigher than that of the soldier of the rest of Greece ; immeasurablyhigher than that of the soldier of Persia.