any among them experienced in battles and campaigns, Philip is jealous
of such men and drives them away, he says, wishing to keep the glory of
all actions to himself; his jealousy (among other failings) being
excessive. Or if any man be generally good and virtuous, unable to bear
Philip's daily intemperances, drunkenness, and indecencies, [Footnote:
The original signifies a certain lascivious dance, which formed a part
of riotous festivities. We gather from history that the orator's
description here is not wholly untrue, though exaggerated. Thirlwall
thus writes of Philip: "There seem to have been two features in his
character which, in another station, or under different circumstances,
might have gone near to lower him to an ordinary person, but which were
so controlled by his fortune as to contribute not a little to his
success. He appears to have been by his temperament prone to almost
every kind of sensual pleasure; but as his life was too busy to allow
him often to indulge his bias, his occasional excesses wore the air of
an amiable condescension. So his natural humor would perhaps have led
him too often to forget his dignity in his intercourse with his
inferiors; but to Philip, the great king, the conqueror, the restless
politician, these intervals of relaxation occurred so rarely, that they
might strengthen his influence with the vulgar, and could never expose
him to contempt." It has been observed, that Philips partiality for
drinking and dancing, his drollery, and a dash of scurrility in his
character, endeared him especially to the Thessalians. See Jacobs' note
on this passage.] he is pushed aside and accounted as nobody. The rest
about him are brigands and parasites, and men of that character, who
will get drunk and perform dances which I scruple to name before you. My
information is undoubtedly true; for persons whom all scouted here as
worse rascals than mountebanks, Callias the town-slave and the like of
him, antic-jesters, [Footnote: [Greek: _Mimous geloion_], players
of drolls, mimes, or farces. Our ancient word _droll_ signifies,