CHAPTER XXIII.

 The Army Recruited from the Persians.—Hephaestion’s Memory Honoured.

When he returned to Babylon he found that Peucestas had arrived from Persis, bringing with him 20,000 Persians, as well as many Cossaeans and Tapurians, because these races were reported to be the most warlike of those bordering on Persis. Philoxenus also came to him, bringing an army from Caria; Menander, with another from Lydia, and Menidas with the cavalry¹ which had been put under his command.955 At the same time arrived embassies from Greece, the members of which, with crowns upon their own heads, approached Alexander and crowned him with golden crowns, as if forsooth they came to him as special envoys² deputed to pay him divine 415honours; and his end was not far off. Then he commended the Persians for their great zeal³ towards him, which was shown by their obedience⁴ to Peucestas in all things, and Peucestas himself for the prudence⁵ which he had displayed in ruling them. He distributed these foreign soldiers among the Macedonian ranks in the following way. Each company was led by a Macedonian decurion, and next to him was a Macedonian receiving double pay for distinguished⁶ valour; and then came one who received ten staters,956 who was so named from the pay he received, being less than that received by the man with double pay, but more than that of the men who were serving as soldiers without holding a position of honour. Next to these came twelve Persians, and last in the company another Macedonian, who also received the pay of ten staters; so that in each company there were twelve Persians and four Macedonians, three of whom received higher pay, and the fourth was in command of the company.957 The Macedonians were armed in their hereditary⁷ manner; but of the Persians some were archers⁸, while others had javelins⁹ furnished with straps¹⁰, by which they were held.958 At this time Alexander often reviewed his fleet, had many sham-fights with his triremes and quadriremes in the river, and contests both for rowers and pilots, the winners receiving crowns.

Now arrived the special envoys whom he had despatched to Ammon to inquire how it was lawful¹¹ for him to honour Hephaestion. They told him that Ammon said it was lawful to offer sacrifice to him as to a hero. Rejoicing at the response of the oracle¹², he paid respect to him as a hero from that time. He also despatched a letter to Cleomenes, who was a bad man and had committed many 416acts of injustice¹³ in Egypt.959 For my own part I do not blame him for his friendship to Hephaestion and for his recollection of him even when dead; but I do blame him for many other acts. For the letter commanded Cleomenes to prepare chapels¹⁴ for the hero Hephaestion in the Egyptian Alexandria, one in the city itself and another in the island of Pharos, where the tower is situated¹⁵.960 The chapels were to be exceedingly large and to be built at lavish¹⁶ expense. The letter also directed that Cleomenes should take care that Hephaestion’s name should be attached to them; and moreover that his name should be engraved¹⁷ on all the legal documents with which the merchants entered into bargains with each other.961 These things I cannot blame, except that he made so much ado about matters of trifling¹⁸ moment. But the following I must blame severely¹⁹: “If I find,” said the letter, “the temples and chapels of the hero Hephaestion in Egypt well completed, I will not only pardon you any crimes you may have committed in the past, but in the future you shall suffer no unpleasant treatment from me, however great may be the crimes you have committed.” I cannot commend this message sent from a great king to a man who was ruling a large country and many people, especially as the man was a wicked one.

1 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

2 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

3 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

4 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

5 prudence   

n.谨慎，精明，节俭

参考例句：

• A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
• The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。

6 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

7 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

8 archers   

n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The next evening old Mr. Sillerton Jackson came to dine with the Archers. 第二天晚上，西勒顿？杰克逊老先生来和阿切尔家人一起吃饭。 来自辞典例句
• Week of Archer: Double growth for Archers and Marksmen. 射手周：弓箭手与弩手（人类）产量加倍。 来自互联网

9 javelins   

n.标枪( javelin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The heavy infantry blocks moved forward, throwing javelins just before the clash. 在正面交火之前，庞大的兵团会整体向前移动并投掷标枪。 来自互联网
• Elite mercenaries, originally from Aragon, armed with javelins and light armour. 加泰罗尼亚标枪兵为精锐雇佣部队，最初来自阿拉贡，装备标枪和轻甲。 来自互联网

10 straps   

n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
• The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。

11 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

12 oracle   

n.神谕，神谕处，预言

参考例句：

• In times of difficulty,she pray for an oracle to guide her.在困难的时候，她祈祷神谕来指引她。
• It is a kind of oracle that often foretells things most important.它是一种内生性神谕，常常能预言最重要的事情。

13 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

14 chapels   

n.小教堂， （医院、监狱等的）附属礼拜堂( chapel的名词复数 )；（在小教堂和附属礼拜堂举行的）礼拜仪式

参考例句：

• Both castles had their own chapels too, which was incredible to see. 两个城堡都有自己的礼拜堂，非常华美。 来自互联网
• It has an ambulatory and seven chapels. 它有一条走廊和七个小教堂。 来自互联网

15 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

16 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

17 engraved   

v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中）

参考例句：

• The silver cup was engraved with his name. 银杯上刻有他的名字。
• It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back. 此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 trifling   

adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的

参考例句：

• They quarreled over a trifling matter.他们为这种微不足道的事情争吵。
• So far Europe has no doubt, gained a real conveniency,though surely a very trifling one.直到现在为止,欧洲无疑地已经获得了实在的便利，不过那确是一种微不足道的便利。

19 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。