They talked for a long time, and Eumenes astonished all the
assembly by his courage and spirit; for he did not ask for his life,
and for peace, as they expected, but demanded to be reinstated in his
government, and to have all the grants which he had received from
Perdikkas restored to him. The Macedonians meanwhile flocked round
him, eager to see what sort of man this Eumenes was, of whom they had
heard so much; for since the death of Kraterus no one had been talked
of so much as Eumenes in the Macedonian camp. Antigonus began to fear
for his safety; he ordered them to keep at a distance, and at last
throwing his arms round the waist of Eumenes conducted him back
through a passage formed by his guards to the foot of the fortress.
XI. After this Antigonus invested the place with a double wall of
circumvallation, left a force sufficient to guard it, and marched
away. Eumenes was now closely besieged. There was plenty of water,
corn, and salt in the fortress, but nothing else to eat or to drink.
Yet he managed to render life cheerful, inviting all the garrison in
turn to his own table, and entertaining his guests with agreeable and
lively conversation. He himself was no sturdy warrior, worn with toil
and hardships, but a figure of the most delicate symmetry, seemingly
in all the freshness of youth, with a gentle and engaging aspect. He
was no orator, but yet was fascinating in conversation, as we may
partly learn from his letters.
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