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12Thereupon he detected and chastised some, while others he punished on mere suspicion, before they could accomplish anything; he no longer trusted anybody, but even put to death some of his remaining children who incurred his suspicion. Seeing this, one of his sons, Pharnaces, impelled at once by fear of the king and the expectation of receiving the kingdom from the Romans, as he had now reached manhood, plotted against him. 2He was detected, for many both openly and secretly were concerning themselves with all that he was doing; and if the bodyguard had had even the slightest good-will toward their aged sovereign, the son would have been punished immediately. But as it was, Mithridates, who had proved himself most wise in all matters pertaining to his royal office, did not recognize the fact that neither arms nor a multitude of subjects is of any real strength to any one without their friendship; on the contrary, the more subjects a ruler has, the greater burden they are to him, unless he holds them faithful. 3At any rate, Pharnaces, followed both by the men he had made ready and by those whom his father had sent to arrest him,—for he won these over very easily,—hastened directly against his father himself. The old king was in Panticapaeum when he learned this, and sent ahead some soldiers against his son intimating that he himself would soon follow them. 4These also Pharnaces quickly diverted from their purpose, inasmuch as they too did not love Mithridates, and after receiving the voluntary submission of the city, he put to death his father, who had fled for refuge into the palace.
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