And so it proved; for he encountered many perils in the battles which he fought, and received very severe wounds; but the greatest losses which his army suffered were caused by lack of necessary provisions and severity of weather. Still, he was eager to overcome fortune by boldness and force by valour, and thought nothing invincible for the courageous, and nothing secure for the cowardly.
It is said that when he was besieging the citadel of Sisimithres, which
was steep and inaccessible, so that his soldiers were disheartened, he
asked Oxyartes what sort of a man Sisimithres himself was in point of
spirit. And when Oxyartes replied that he was most cowardly of men,
Thy words mean,
said Alexander, that we can take the
citadel, since he who commands it is a weak thing.
And indeed he did take the citadel by frightening Sisimithres. Again,
after attacking another citadel equally precipitous, he was urging on
the younger Macedonians, and addressing one who bore the name of
Alexander, said: It behooves thee, at least, to be a brave man, even
for thy name’s sake.
And when the young man, fighting
gloriously, fell, the king was pained beyond measure.
And at another time, when his Macedonians hesitated to advance upon the
citadel called Nysa because there was a deep river in front of it,
Alexander, halting on the bank, cried: Most miserable man that I am,
why, pray, have I not learned to swim?
and at once, carrying his
shield, he would have tried to cross. And when, after he had put a stop
to the fighting, ambassadors came from the beleaguered cities to beg for
terms, they were amazed, to begin with, to see him in full armour and
without an attendant; and besides, when a cushion was brought him for
his use, he ordered the eldest of the ambassadors, Acuphis by name, to
take it for his seat.
Acuphis, accordingly, astonished at his magnanimity and courtesy, asked
what he wished them to do in order to be his friends. Thy
countrymen,
said Alexander, must make thee their ruler, and
send me a hundred of their best men.
At this Acuphis laughed,
and said: Nay, O King, I shall rule better if I send to thee the
worst men rather than the best.
Taxiles, we are told, had a realm in India as large as Egypt, with good
pasturage, too, and in the highest degree productive of beautiful
fruits. He was also a wise man in his way, and after he had greeted
Alexander, said: Why must we war and fight with one another,
Alexander, if thou art not come to rob us of water or of necessary
sustenance, the only things for which men of sense are obliged to
fight obstinately?
As for other wealth and possessions, so-called, if I am thy superior
therein, I am ready to confer favours; but if thine inferior, I will
not object to thanking you for favours conferred.
At this
Alexander was delighted, and clasping the king’s hand, said: Canst
thou think, pray, that after such words of kindness our interview is
to end without a battle? Nay, thou shalt not get the better of me;
for I will contend against thee and fight to the last with my
favours, that thou mayest not surpass me in generosity.
So, after receiving many gifts and giving many more, at last he lavished upon him a thousand talents in coined money. This conduct greatly vexed Alexander’s friends, but it made many of the Barbarians look upon him more kindly. The best fighters among the Indians, however, were mercenaries, and they used to go about to the different cities and defend them sturdily, and wrought much harm to Alexander’s cause. Therefore, after he had made a truce with them in a certain city and allowed them to depart, he fell upon them as they marched and slew them all.
And this act adheres like a stain to his military career; in all other instances he waged war according to usage and like a king. The philosophers, too, no less than the mercenaries, gave him trouble, by abusing those of the native princes who attached themselves to his cause, and by inciting the free peoples to revolt. He therefore took many of these also and hanged them.