After reflecting a little on the life of Alexander, who, amid the intoxications of pleasure and conquest, built more towns than all the other conquerors of Asia destroyed — after calling to mind that, young as he was, he turned the commerce of the world into a new channel, it appears very strange that Boileau should have spoken of him as a robber and a madman. Alexander, having been elected at Corinth captain-general of Greece, and commissioned as such to avenge5 the invasions of the Persians, did no more than his duty in destroying their empire; and, having always united the greatest magnanimity with the greatest courage — having respected the wife and daughters of Darius when in his power, he did not in any way deserve either to be confined as a madman or hanged as a robber.
Rollin asserts that Alexander took the famous city of Tyre only to oblige the Jews, who hated the Tyrians; it is, however, quite as likely that Alexander had other reasons; for a naval6 commander would not leave Tyre mistress of the sea, when he was going to attack Egypt. Alexander’s friendship and respect for Jerusalem were undoubtedly7 great; but it should hardly be said that the Jews set a rare example of fidelity8 — an example worthy9 of the only people who, at that time, had the knowledge of the true God, in refusing to furnish Alexander with provisions because they had sworn fidelity to Darius. It is well known that the Jews took every opportunity of revolting against their sovereigns; for a Jew was not to serve a profane10 king. If they imprudently refused contributions to the conqueror3, it was not with a view to prove themselves the faithful slaves of Darius, since their law expressly ordered them to hold all idolatrous nations in abhorrence11; their books are full of execrations pronounced against them, and of reiterated12 attempts to throw off their yoke13. If, therefore, they at first refused the contributions, it was because their rivals, the Samaritans, had paid them without hesitation14, and they believed that Darius, though vanquished15, was still powerful enough to support Jerusalem against Samaria.
It is wholly false that the Jews were then the only people who had the knowledge of the true God, as Rollin tells us. The Samaritans worshipped the same God, though in another temple; they had the same Pentateuch as the Jews, and they had it in Tyrian characters, which the Jews had lost. The schism16 between Samaria and Jerusalem was, on a small scale, what the schism between the Greek and Latin churches is on a large one. The hatred17 was equal on both sides, having the same foundation — religion.
Alexander, having possessed18 himself of Tyre by means of that famous causeway which is still the admiration19 of all generals, went to punish Jerusalem, which lay not far out of his way. The Jews, headed by their high priest, came and humbled20 themselves before him, offering him money — for angry conquerors are not to be appeased21 without money. Alexander was appeased, and they remained subject to Alexander and to his successors. Such is the true, as well as the only probable, history of the affair.
Rollin repeats a story told about four hundred years after Alexander’s expedition, by that romancing, exaggerating historian, Flavius Josephus, who may be pardoned for having taken every opportunity of setting off his wretched country to the best advantage. Rollin repeats, after Josephus, that Jaddus, the high-priest, having prostrated24 himself before Alexander, the prince, seeing the name of Jehovah engraved25 on a plate of gold attached to Jaddus’ cap, and understanding Hebrew perfectly26, fell prostrate23 in his turn, and paid homage27 to Jaddus. This excess of civility having astonished Parmenio, Alexander told him that he had known Jaddus a long time; that he had appeared to him, in the same habit and the same cap, ten years before, when he was meditating28 the conquest of Asia (a conquest which he had not then even thought of); that this same Jaddus had exhorted29 him to cross the Hellespont, assuring him that God would march at the head of the Greeks, and that the God of the Jews would give him the victory over the Persians. This old woman’s tale makes but a sorry figure in the history of such a man as Alexander.
An ancient history well digested was an undertaking30 calculated to be of great service to youth; it is to be wished that it had not been in some degree marred31 by the adoption32 of some absurdities33. The story of Jaddus would be entitled to our respect — it would be beyond the reach of animadversion — were even any shadow of it to be found in the sacred writings; but as they do not make the slightest mention of it, we are quite at liberty to see that it is ridiculous.
There can be no doubt that Alexander subdued34 that part of India which lies on this side the Ganges and was tributary35 to the Persians. Mr. Holwell, who lived for thirty years among the Brahmins of Benares and the neighboring countries, and who learned not only their modern language but also their ancient sacred tongue, assures us that their annals attest36 the invasion by Alexander, whom they call Mahadukoit Kounha — great robber, great murderer. These peaceful people could not call him otherwise; indeed, it is hardly to be supposed that they gave any other name to the kings of Persia. The same annals say that Alexander entered by the province now called Candahar, and it is probable that there were always some fortresses37 on that frontier.
Alexander afterwards descended38 the river Zombodipo, which the Greeks called Sind. In the history of Alexander there is not a single Indian name to be found. The Greeks never called an Asiatic town or province by their own name. They dealt in the same manner with the Egyptians. They would have thought it a dishonor to the Greek tongue had they introduced into it a pronunciation which they thought barbarous; if, for instance, they had not called the city of Moph Memphis.
Mr. Holwell says that the Indians never knew either Porus or Taxiles; indeed these are not Indian words. Nevertheless, if we may believe our missionaries39, there are still some Indian lords who pretend to have descended from Porus. Perhaps the missionaries have flattered them with this origin until they have adopted it. There is, at least, no country in Europe in which servility has not invented and vanity received genealogies40 yet more chimerical41.
If Flavius Josephus has related a ridiculous fable2 about Alexander and a Jewish pontiff, Plutarch, who wrote long after Josephus, in his turn seems not to have been sparing in fables concerning this hero. He has even outdone Quintus Curtius. Both assert that Alexander, when marching towards India, wished to have himself adored, not only by the Persians but also by the Greeks. The question is, what did Alexander, the Persians, the Greeks, Quintus Curtius, and Plutarch understand by adoring? We must never lose sight of the great rule — Define your terms.
If by adoring he meant invoking42 a man as a divinity — offering to him incense43 and sacrifices — raising to him altars and temples, it is clear that Alexander required nothing of all this. If, being the conqueror and master of the Persians, he chose that they should salute44 him after the Persian manner, prostrating45 themselves on certain occasions, treating him, in short, like what he was, a sovereign of Persia, there is nothing in this but what is very reasonable and very common. The members of the French parliament, in their beds of justice, address the king kneeling; the third estate addresses the states-general kneeling, a cup of wine is presented kneeling, to the king of England; several European sovereigns are served kneeling at their consecration46. The great mogul, the emperor of China, and the emperor of Japan are always addressed kneeling. The Chinese colaos of an inferior order bend the knee before the colaos of a superior order. We adore the pope, and kiss the toe of his right foot. None of these ceremonies have ever been regarded as adoration47 in the strict sense of the word, or as a worship like that due to the Divinity.
Thus, all that has been said of the pretended adoration exacted by Alexander is founded on ambiguity48.
Octavius, surnamed Augustus, really caused himself to be adored in the strictest sense of the word. Temples and altars were raised to him. There were priests of Augustus. Horace positively49 tells him:
“Jurandisque tuum par22 nomen ponimus aras.”
Here was truly a sacrilegious adoration; yet we are not told that it excited discontent.
The contradictions in the character of Alexander would be more difficult to reconcile did we not know that men, especially men called heroes, are often very inconsistent with themselves, and that the life or death of the best citizens, or the fate of a province, has more than once depended on the good or bad digestion50 of a well or ill advised sovereign.
But how are we to reconcile improbable facts related in a contradictory51 manner? Some say that Callisthenes was crucified by order of Alexander for not having acknowledged him to be the son of Jupiter. But the cross was not a mode of execution among the Greeks. Others say that he died long afterwards, of too great corpulency. Athen?us assures us that he was carried, like a bird, in an iron cage until he was devoured52 by vermin. Among all these different stories distinguish the true one if you can. Some adventures are supposed by Quintus Curtius to have happened in one town, and by Plutarch in another, the two places being five hundred leagues apart. Alexander, armed and alone, leaped from the top of a wall into a town he was besieging53; according to Plutarch near the mouth of the Indus. When he arrived on the Malabar coast, or near the Ganges — no matter which, it is only nine hundred miles from the one to the other — he gave orders to seize ten of the Indian philosophers, called by the Greeks gymnosophists, who went about as naked as apes; to those he proposed ridiculous questions, promising54 them very seriously that he who gave the worst answers should be hanged the first, and the rest in due order. This reminds us of Nebuchadonosor, who would absolutely put his magi to death if they did not divine one of his dreams which he had forgotten; and of the Caliph of the “Thousand and One Nights,” who was to strangle his wife as soon as she had finished her story. But it is Plutarch who relates this nonsense; therefore it must be respected, for he was a Greek.
This latter story is entitled to the same credit as that of the poisoning of Alexander by Aristotle; for Plutarch tells us that somebody had heard one Agnotemis say, that he had heard Antigonus say, that Aristotle sent a bottle of water from Nonacris, a town in Arcadia, which water was so extremely cold that they who drank it instantly died; that Antipater sent this water in a horn; that it arrived at Babylon quite fresh; that Alexander drank of it; and that, at the end of six days, he died of a continued fever.
Plutarch has, it is true, some doubts respecting this anecdote55. All that we can be quite certain of is that Alexander, at the age of twenty-four, had conquered Persia by three battles; that his genius was as great as his valor56; that he changed the face of Asia, Greece, and Egypt, and gave a new direction to the commerce of the world; and that Boileau should have been more sparing of his ridicule57, since it is not very likely that Boileau would have done more in as short a time.
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fables
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| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
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fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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abhorrence
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| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
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reiterated
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| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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schism
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| n.分派，派系，分裂 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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humbled
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| adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低 | |
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appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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prostrated
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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engraved
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| 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） | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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exhorted
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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absurdities
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| n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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attest
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| vt.证明，证实；表明 | |
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fortresses
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| 堡垒，要塞( fortress的名词复数 ) | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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genealogies
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| n.系谱，家系，宗谱( genealogy的名词复数 ) | |
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chimerical
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| adj.荒诞不经的，梦幻的 | |
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42
invoking
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| v.援引( invoke的现在分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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43
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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44
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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45
prostrating
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的现在分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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46
consecration
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| n.供献，奉献，献祭仪式 | |
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47
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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48
ambiguity
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| n.模棱两可；意义不明确 | |
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49
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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50
digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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51
contradictory
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| adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立 | |
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52
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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53
besieging
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 ) | |
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54
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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56
valor
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| n.勇气，英勇 | |
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ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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