Alexander

“ His hair was yellow-tawny, like a lion’s, his eyes were bright and glistening, piercing like blazing stars; grim and fierce was his look, one of his eyes black as a coal, the other yellow like gold; his voice was loud, even from his first cry, nor could any hear it without inward fear. Alexander was his name, and the wisest man of all the world, Aristotle, was his tutor, nor would he learn of other. ”

“ That night Alexander the king lay alone in his palace at Babylon, for he would have no man near him to watch by him or to guard him, and as he lay the cold poison weighed on his heart. Then his brain grew dizzy and faint, and the room seemed measurelessly great, and all men seemed far away. ”

“ Outside the temple the soldiers stood silent in their ranks awaiting the result. As the aged priest ceased reading and rolled up the parchment, Alexander drew closer to the magic knot and examined it, while the others fell back in a wide circle. Between the priests there passed a covert glance of understanding as though they said to each other, "Here is another who will fail, and more gifts will come!" The young king saw that no man could ever disentangle the convolutions of the fastening without tearing the bark. Avoiding even a pretence of attempting the impossible, he drew his sword. ”

“ When the King and his peers saw him they knew that he must be of the blood of the gods and not of mankind, and they knelt down on the ground before him, and saluted him with all reverence. Then he reached out his arms to them, and raised him on the bed, and answered them: “Hail, Alexander,” said he, “All hail, thou who wieldest the earth, thou and thy princes are welcome. Sir, thou shalt see with thy sight such marvels as never before man saw; and thou shalt hear of what shall come, things that no man hath heard but thee.” ”

“ And the god answered: “Yea, I knew thee ere a word of thy fame had spread over the earth.” Then he went on: “Wish ye to look upon the trees that bloom for ever, the trees of the sun and of the moon, that can speak and tell thee of what is to be?” And Alexander the king said, “Yes by my crown, this would I do more [164] than anything else in the world.” Then the god said, “Art thou clean of body and mind, thou and thy friends; for no man may enter the place where they are who is not pure of all stain?” and Alexander answered that they were. ”

“ To speak seriously, I can here discern nothing of Alexander, but his bare name; his Genius, his Humour, his Qualities, appear to me no where. I expect to find in an impetuous Hero such extraordinary motions, as should excite my passion; but I find a Prince of so little spirit, that he makes no manner of impression upon me. I imagin’d to find in Porus, a greatness of soul, which would be somewhat more surprizing to us; an Indian Hero should have a different character from one of ours. ”

“ With the fluty song beguiling him, he left the road and walked by the banks of the Broad Beck, until his bathing pool shone out among the birches. He saw himself mirrored dimly in the water, and the blurred image appeared to him as the true presentment of the thing he was, vague and incomplete, the rough shape his soul must perfect. The trees, in their drooping, veiled the fading light and curtained Alexander from the rest of the world, but he felt the Blue Hill behind him and fancied he could hear its breathing. ”

“ So they flew and soon Alexander was borne out of sight of men, high above the clouds, and he saw the earth below him like a basin, and the lands, and the way to the dwarfs, the men of Gog and Magog, and still they flew higher and the earth grew small like a mill-stone and the ocean and the rivers seemed like a writhing adder, and then the gods struck the griffins with fear, and they shut their eyes and stretched out their wings, and sunk lower and lower till they lay at the last on the ground in a green field in a strange land, and Alexander looked round and saw far on the towers of Jerusalem. ”

“ The soldiers saw with dismay the brilliant moon, for whose help in arranging their bivouac they had been so thankful, swallowed up, as it seemed, by an advancing darkness, and they drew the gloomiest omens from the sight. But Alexander was equal to the occasion. A disciple of Aristotle, the greatest natural philosopher of the ancient world, he knew the cause of the phenomenon, but as a practical man, whose business it was to understand the natures with which he had to deal, he knew also that a scientific explanation of that cause would be useless. ”

“ As the vessel glided down that branch of the Indus called the Ravii, every object, to the imagination of the Missionary, became consecrated to the memory of the enterprise of Alexander; and, while the same scenes, the same forms, habits, dress, and manners, met his view, as had two thousand years before struck the minds of the Macedonians with amazement, his historic knowledge enabled him to trace, with accuracy, and his reflecting mind, with interest, those particular spots, where Alexander fought, where Alexander conquered! ”

“ Alexander galloped up and found the unhappy king on the ground, speechless and dying, pierced with javelins by his own subjects, who would not let him fall alive into the enemy’s hands, and supported by a Macedonian soldier, who had given him drink, and heard his words of gratitude to Alexander for his kindness to his family, and his hopes that the conqueror would avenge his death, and become sovereign of the world. ”

“ And the men of that place answered him: “Truly, O king, this man was Anectanabus, once king of all this land; yet because he was bidden of the gods he left us, and the writing below tells us that he shall come again and free us from the Persians, and make us a great people. And some men say that it shall be a son of his that shall do these great things.” Then Alexander knew that this was that same Egyptian who had been his fosterer, and he said to the men of the place: “I knew the man, and for his sake I will make ye free from all men, rich and happy shall ye be.” ”

“ And as the rulers of Persia brought Alexander to the throne they showed him that it had seven steps—the first an amethyst, which showed the king should be of sober mind; the second an emerald, to show that a king should see clearly; the third a topaz, to remind him how things are not what they seem always; the fourth step a garnet, to remind him of fame and honour; the fifth an adamant, to show a king should be steadfast; the sixth of pure gold, to show a king should be chief; the seventh of earth, to remind the king that he must die. ”

“ God had appeared to him in a dream, and directed him what to do. "We are not to resist the conqueror," said he, "but to go forth to meet him and welcome him. We are to strew the city with flowers, and adorn it as for a festive celebration. The priests are to be dressed in their pontifical robes and go forth, and the inhabitants are to follow them in a civic procession. In this way we are to go out to meet Alexander as he advances—and all will be well." ”

“ Alexander, with his tongue well skilled in speaking fair and wisely, salutes the King. "King," he says, "unless the report is false that spreads abroad your fame, since God created the first man there was never born a God-fearing man of such puissance as yours. King, your widespread renown has drawn me to serve and honour you in your court, and if you will accept my service, I would fain remain here until I be dubbed a knight by your hand and by no one else. ”

“ The truth was, that Alexander, though he had the sagacity to see that he was placed in circumstances where prodigious moral effect in strengthening his position would be produced by an act of great severity, was swayed by so many generous impulses, which raised him above the ordinary excitements of irritation and revenge, that he had every desire to make the suffering as light, and to limit it by as narrow bounds, as the nature of the case would allow. ”

“ And Alexander, as his wont was, rode into the thick of the fight, and struck great blows here and there, and no man stood before him. Then the knight drew his sword and spurred on his horse, and struck the king such a blow that it cut through his helmet and down into his cheek, and then as the king wheeled round his horse the sword broke in the helmet. And when the knights around saw the blow they rushed on the disguised Persian, but Alexander stayed them from hurting him, and said:
“What, my knight, why hast thou wounded thy lord and thy helper?” ”

“ When the two friends entered the tent, the ladies were, from some cause, deceived, and mistook Hephæstion for Alexander, and addressed him, accordingly, with tokens of high respect and homage. One of their attendants immediately rectified the mistake, telling them that the other was Alexander. The ladies were at first overwhelmed with confusion, and attempted to apologize; but the king reassured them at once by the easy and good-natured manner with which he passed over the mistake, saying it was no mistake at all. "It is true," said he, "that I am Alexander, but then he is Alexander too." ”

“ Alexander hesitated for a moment, as if reflecting, and then replied:—
“Depart quietly to your homes. The Czar will do justice.”
With simple and touching faith the crowd accepted this assurance of the Imperial tribune.
“The Little Father will punish the murderers! Hourra! Hourra! Now let us go. He will not let his word fall to the ground.”
Alexander, believing that his own withdrawal would accelerate the departure of the crowd, turned and entered the council-chamber.
He seemed to have derived fresh courage from this brief interview with his people. ”

“ The rest reached the top, the barbarians not having the least idea that the attempt was being made. At dawn Alexander sent the herald again. ‘Alexander,’ he said, ‘has sent his soldiers with wings, and bids you surrender.’ They looked round, and the men were standing on the top. They did not so much as strike a single blow for themselves. It is true that others did this for the king. But this is the marvel of him. Not only does he achieve the impossible himself, but he makes others achieve it for him.
“We have fought and won a great battle, greater by far than Granīcus, or Issus, or Arbela. ”

“ Then Alexander came near, and swore by the gods that if he yielded not up the castle in an hour he would hang every man in it on its battlements, but if they yielded to his power he would save them alive. Then the lord came forth and sought speech of Alexander, and prayed him concerning the safety of Roxana, and the King laughed out and said: “Where should she be safer than with her mother and her grandam, who are with me in my camp?” ”

“ The feelings that animated the young leader were shared in greater or less degree by his followers. Even Hephæstion forgot to sulk because his place on the right of the king had been given to Artemisia. Thais sat on his left, and beyond her reclined the lazy bulk of Chares. Each man looked his neighbor frankly in the face, sure of his sympathy, and all felt toward Alexander an affection and generous admiration in which there was no selfish thought. ”

“ Let him then ask himself whether he is a fit person to censure and revile such a man as Alexander. I believe that there was in his time no nation of men, no city, nay, no single individual with whom Alexander's name had not become a familiar word. I therefore hold that such a man, who was like no ordinary mortal, was not born into the world without some special providence. ”

“ And Alexander said: “Now, in faith, if thou conquer but once again, thou shalt be crowned for the noblest wrestler in Greece.” Then came forth a mighty man, the tallest of the Macedonians, and the Theban knight deemed that he should indeed be beaten, but he thought on the words of the god, and the love of his city filled him, and they scarce grappled before he threw the giant on the ground, and a great shout went up from all men. ”

“ If the great and bold mind of Alexander can stoop to dissemble, we are never to expect that men will own the true motives of their conduct. Their reason is just what their passion pleases. All their plausible and framed pretences are resolvable into some selfish appetite, which, like their conceit, is generally unmeasurable. ”

“ So Alexander looked on them and he saw that they were afraid, and he spoke to them: “What now! my worthy warriors, my bold knights and barons, the best under heaven that ever king had, let it never be told against you that the proud boasting of a letter of Darius brought you to doubt yourselves, else were it shame indeed. Look you, now, every [67] day we ride through a village you may hear as loud a yelping from any cur at a cottage door, but loud as they bark they never bite. ”

“ And this hot constitution, it may be, rendered Alexander so addicted to drinking, and so choleric. His temperance, as to the pleasures of the body, was apparent in him in his very childhood, as he was with much difficulty incited to them, and always used them with great moderation; though in other things he was extremely eager and vehement, and in his love of glory, and the pursuit of it, he showed a solidity of high spirit and magnanimity far above his age. ”

“ He aspired to become in the world of intellect what Alexander was in the physical world, and, like that monarch, sighed to think that there were no more worlds to conquer,—no more victories to be gained. ”

“ Leave men to take the full reward of their fancied merit, and the world will be thought too little for almost every individual, as Alexander thought it for him. He had the fortune to ravage the world, and from thence believed he had a right to it. Omnia vult, qui omnia potest. Men thus let loose, do no more mischief than they can, nor less. The world is therefore a foot-ball; a great scene of contention, revolutions, and misery: It is full of Alexanders.
For the better illustration of this subject, I will here subjoin a dialogue between Alexander the Great and a Persian. ”