130

TRANSFER OF THE

CHAP. III.

the accumulations of the state and of indivi-dual citizens at a correspondent degree of mag-nitude.

Though Alexander might have carried withhim to Europe a large portion of the preciousmetals seized in Persia , yet much of it wouldremain in that country after its conquest. Therewards given to his soldiers, and the paymentsto his allies, the funeral of Hephaestion , the gra-tuities to Harpalus and others of his satraps,would dissipate a third of his spoil; the expenseof maintaining his court and his army till hisreturn would absorb a large portion of the re-mainder ; and. hence we can see no difficulty inreconciling the accounts of the vast mass of trea-sure collected in Persia , with the comparativesmall amount of that wealth which Alexanderleft behind him at his death. As the treasuredistributed among his followers would, accord-ing to the practice of soldiers in all ages, be ex-pended where it was received, and would remainin that country, there seems no difficulty—increditing the account in Arrian of the treasureextracted by Ptolemy Euergetes from the pro-vinces left to the successors of Alexander about240 years after Christ,—in believing in the truthof the terms which the Romans extorted fromthe same people,—or in yielding faith to the re-ports of the treasure which Paulus iEmilius ex-