Alexander the Great

by Jacob Abbott

Overview

Alexander the Great By Jacob Abbott ALEXANDER THE GREAT died when he was quite young. He was but thirty-two years of age when he ended his career, and as he was about twenty when he commenced it, it was only for a period of twelve years that he was actually engaged in performing the work of his life. Napoleon was nearly three times as long on the great field of human action. Despite the briefness of Alexander's career, he ran through, during that short period, a very brilliant series of exploits, which were so bold, so romantic, and which led him into such adventures in scenes of the greatest magnificence and splendor, that all the world looked on with astonishment then, and mankind have continued to read the story since, from age to age, with the greatest interest and attention. The secret of Alexander's success was his character. He possessed a certain combination of mental and personal attractions, which in every age gives to those who exhibit it a mysterious and almost unbounded ascendency over all within their influence. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781979089180
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	11/12/2017
Pages:	98
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

Jacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 - October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books. From 1825 to 1829 was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College; was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1829-1833; was pastor of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834-1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and in 1843-1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845-1848 of the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City. He was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He wrote 180 books and was a coauthor or editor of 31 more. He died in Farmington, Maine, where he had spent part of his time after 1839, and where his brother, Samuel Phillips Abbott, founded the Abbott School. His Rollo Books, such as Rollo at Work, Rollo at Play, Rollo in Europe, etc., are the best known of his writings, having as their chief characters a representative boy and his associates. In them Abbott did for one or two generations of young American readers a service not unlike that performed earlier, in England and America, by the authors of Evenings at Home, The History of Sandford and Merton, and The Parent's Assistant. To follow up his Rollo books, he wrote of Uncle George, using him to teach the young readers about ethics, geography, history, and science. He also wrote 22 volumes of biographical histories and a 10 volume set titled the Franconia Stories. HIs brothers, John Stevens Cabot Abbott and Gorham Dummer Abbott, were also authors. His sons, Benjamin Vaughan Abbott, Austin Abbott, both eminent lawyers, Lyman Abbott, and Edward Abbott, a clergyman, were also well-known authors. See his Young Christian, Memorial Edition, with a Sketch of the Author by Edward Abbott with a bibliography of his works. Other works of note: Lucy Books, Jonas Books, Harper's Story Books, Marco Paul, Gay Family, and Juno Books.

Read an Excerpt

Tine Chapter III. The Reaction f I1HE country which was formerly occupied - by Macedon and the other states of Greece is now Turkey in Europe. In the northern part of it is a vast chain of mountains called now the Balkan. In Alexander's day it was Mount Hse- mus. This chain forms a broad belt of lofty and uninhabitable land, and extends from the Black Sea to the Adriatic. A branch of this mountain range, called Rho- dope, extends southwardly from about the middle of its length, as may be seen by the map. Rhodope separated Macedonia from a large and powerful country, which was occupied by a somewhat rude but warlike race of men. This country was Thrace. Thrace was one great fertile basin or valley, sloping toward the centei in every direction, so that all the streams from the mountains, increased by the rams which feD over the whole surface of the ground, flowed to gether into one river, which meandered through the center of the valley, and flowed out at lasl into the JEgean Sea. The name of this rivei nOebnu. ViJJey of tfa Dumb was the Hobrus. All th'e may be seen distinct lv upon the iim.it The Balkan, or Mount Rasmus, as it was then called, formed the great northern frontier of Maoedon and Thrace. From the summits of the range, looking northward, the eye surveyed a vast extent of land, constituting one of th Host extensive and fertile valleys on the globe rbnce. Revolt among the northern oattoM It was the valley :f the Danube. It was inhabited, in those days, by rude tribes whun the Greeks and Romans always designated as bar- tartans. They were, at any rate, wild and warlike, and, as they had not the art of writing, they have left us no records of their institutions or theirhistory. We know nothing of them, or of the other half-civilized nations that oc...