Eum. 2.1Alexandrō Babylōne mortuō, cum regna singulīs familiāribus dispertīrentur et summa trādita esset tuenda eīdem, cui Alexander moriēns ānulum suum dederat, Perdiccae (ex quō omnēs coniēcerant eum regnum eī commīsisse, quoad līberī eius in suam tūtēlam pervēnissent: aberat enim Crateros et Antipater, quī antecēdere hunc vidēbantur;When Alexander had died at Babylon, and kingdoms were being divided among his several friends, and the supreme power had been handed over for safekeeping to the same man to whom Alexander, when dying, had given his ring, Perdiccas (from which everyone had inferred that he had entrusted the kingdom to him until his children came of age: for Craterus and Antipater, who seemed to rank ahead of him, were away; Eum. 2.2mortuus erat Hēphaestiō, quem ūnum Alexander, quod facile intellegī posset, plūrimī fēcerat), hōc tempore data est Eumenī Cappadocia sīve potius dicta: nam tum in hostium erat potestāte.Hephaestion was dead, whom alone Alexander, as could easily be understood, had valued most highly), at this time Cappadocia was given to Eumenes, or rather named as his: for at that time it was in the enemy's power. Eum. 2.3Hunc sibi Perdiccās adiūnxerat magnō studiō, quod in homine fidem et industriam magnam vidēbat, nōn dubitāns, sī eum pellexisset, magnō ūsuī fore sibi in eīs rēbus quās apparābat.Perdiccas had attached him to himself with great eagerness, because he saw great loyalty and industry in the man, not doubting that, if he had won him over, he would be of great use to him in the plans he was preparing.
Eum. 2.3Cōgitābat enim, quod ferē omnēs in magnīs imperiīs concupīscunt, omnium partēs corripere atque complectī.For he was planning, as almost everyone covets in great empires, to seize and embrace the shares of all. Eum. 2.4Neque vērō hoc ille sōlus fēcit, sed cēterī quoque omnēs, quī Alexandrī fuerant amīcī.Nor indeed did he alone do this, but so did all the others who had been Alexander's friends. Eum. 2.4Prīmus Leonnatus Macedoniam praeoccupāre dēstināvit.Leonnatus was the first to resolve to seize Macedonia in advance. Eum. 2.4Is multīs magnīsque pollicitātiōnibus persuādēre Eumenī studuit, ut Perdiccam dēsereret ac sēcum faceret societātem.He tried with many great promises to persuade Eumenes to desert Perdiccas and form an alliance with himself. Eum. 2.5Cum perdūcere eum nōn posset, interficere cōnātus est et fēcisset, nisi ille clam noctū ex praesidiīs eius effūgisset.When he could not bring him round, he attempted to kill him, and would have done so had Eumenes not escaped secretly by night from his guards.