s ensued, in which Pyrrhus was victorious. The
army of Pantauchus was totally routed, and five thousand men were
taken prisoners.
The Macedonian troops whom Pyrrhus thus defeated, instead of being
maddened with resentment and anger against their conqueror, as it
might have been expected they would be, were struck with a sentiment
of admiration for him. They applauded his noble appearance and bearing
on the field, and the feats of courage and strength which he
performed. There was a certain stern and lofty simplicity in his air
and demeanor which reminded them, as they said, of Alexander the
Great, whom many of the old soldiers remembered. They compared Pyrrhus
in these respects with Demetrius, their own sovereign, greatly to the
disadvantage of the latter; and so strong was the feeling which was
thus excited in Pyrrhus's favor, that it was thought at the time that,
if Pyrrhus had advanced toward the capital with a view to the conquest
of the country, the whole army would have gone over at once to his
side, and that he might have made himself king of Macedon without any
further difficulty or trouble. He did not do this, however, but
withdrew again to Epirus when Demetrius came back into Macedonia. The
Macedonians were by no means pleased to see Demetrius return.
In fact, Demetrius was beginning to be generally hated by all his
subjects, being regarded by them all as a conceited and cruel tyrant.
He was not only unscrupulously ambitious in respect to the dominions
of his neighbors, but he was unjust and overbearing in his treatment
of his own friends. Pyrrhus, on the other hand, was kind and courteous
to his army, both to the officers and soldiers. He lived in habits of
great simplicity, and shared the hardships as well as the toils of
those who were under his command. He gave them, too, their share of
the glory which he acquired, by attributing his success to their
courage and fidelity. At one time, after some brilliant campaign in
Macedon, some persons in his army compared his progress to the flight
of an eagle. "If I am an eagle," said he in reply, "I owe it to you,
for you are the wings by means of which I have risen so high."
Demetrius, on the other hand, treated the officers and men under his
command with a species of haughtiness and disdain. He seemed to regard
them as very far beneath him, and to take pleasure in making them feel
his vast superiority. He was vain and foppish in his dress, expended
great sums
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