Page:Plutarch's Lives (Clough, v.5, 1865).djvu/385

 ARATUS. 377 him from the king, he took them, but gave them all to his fellow-citizens, who wanted money, amongst other purposes, for the redemption of those who had been taken prisoners. But the exiles being by no means to be satisfied, disturbing continually those that were in possession of their estates, Sicyon was in great danger of Mling into perfect desolation ; so that, having no hope left but in the kindness of Ptolemy, he resolved to sail to him, and to beg so much money of him as might reconcile all parties. So he set sail from Mothone beyond Malea, designing to make the direct passage. But the pilot not being able to keep the vessel up against a strong wind and high waves that came in from the open sea, he was driven from his course, and with much ado got to shore in Andros,* an enemy's land, possessed by Antigonus, who had a gai'rison there. To avoid which he immediately landed, and, leaving the ship, went up into the country a good way from the sea, having along with him only one friend, called Timanthes ; and throwing themselves into some ground thickly cov- ered with wood, they had but an ill night's rest of it. Not long after, the commander of the troops came, and, enquiring for Aratus, was deceived by his servants, who had been instructed to say that he had fled at once over into the island of Euboea. However, he declared the ship, the property on board of her, and the servants, to be lawful prize, and detained them accordingly. As for Aratus, after some few days, in his extremity by good fortune a Roman ship happened to put in just at the manuscripts, which cannot be right. Aratus would hardly be thought to Andria, or the territory of Andros, have gone from Hydrea to Euboea, is one conjecture, and Hydrea is which is near enough to Andros to another. Both islands are far out make the supposition in this ease of the course from Mothone to nut unnatural.
 * Adria is the reading of the Egypt, Andi-os the furthest, but