Budge_Ethiopic_Alexander

32 THE HISTORY OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
"sweet odour which springeth from a tree that
"blossometh; know thou this." Now when Alexan-
der heard these words from him he became furi-
Aiexander ously angry and he lifted himself up against him,
neb us.
'"^''' and threw him down from the mountain/ and his
body was broken to pieces, and his soul went to
the bottommost hell.^
And when Alexander found himself with his
father, Philip enquired of him diligently concern-
ing the priest of idols; and Alexander said unto him,^
"I have killed him, O my father," and Philip said,
"What had he done?" Then Alexander answered
and said unto him, "Ask me not concerning him,
"for what he did was a marvellous thing; but be-
"hold he is dead and hath gone to perdition."''
When Philip heard these words from his son he
Alexander scut to Arlstotle, the philosopher, and brought him
Aristotle, ^and delivered unto him his son that he might teach
him the learning of the Greeks. And the boy
grew up, and waxed strong, and became a man, and
was of good judgment.
^ In the Greek Alexander is made to push Nectanebus
down the mountain more in mischief than anger, because while
examining carefully the heavens Nectanebus forgot a pit which
yawned at his side, and it is only after he is mortally woun-
ded that he declares his relationship to him.
^ Clearly the remark of the Christian translator.
3 Literally, "and his son said to him".
1 In the Greek (Muller, p. 15, Meusel, p. 716) Alexander
discusses the matter with his mother, and having brought'
home the body of Nectanebus, like a new Aeneas bringing
back his Anchises, it is properly buried.