On hearing this he took the helmet into his hands, but when he looked
around and saw the horsemen about him all stretching out their heads and
gazing at the water, he handed it back without drinking any, but with
praises for the men who had brought it; For,
said he, if I
should drink of it alone, these horsemen of mine will be out of
heart.
But when they beheld his self-control and loftiness of spirit, they shouted out to him to lead them forward boldly, and began to goad their horses on, declaring that they would not regard themselves as weary, or thirsty, or as mortals at all, so long as they had such a king.
So, then, all were alike ready and willing; but only sixty, they say, were with Alexander when he burst into the camp of the enemy. There, indeed, they rode over much gold and silver that was thrown away, passed by many waggons full of women and children which were coursing hither and thither without their drivers, and pursued those who were foremost in flight, thinking that Dareius was among them. But at last they found him lying in a waggon, his body all full of javelins, at the point of death.
Nevertheless, he asked for something to drink, and when he had drunk some
cold water which Polystratus gave him, he said to him: My man, this
is the extremity of all my ill-fortune, that I receive good at thy
hands and am not able to return it; but Alexander will requite thee
for thy good offices, and the gods will reward Alexander for his
kindness to my mother, wife, and children; to him, through thee, I
give this right hand.
With these words he took the hand of
Polystratus and then expired.