crime, that no quality, how beautiful foever, no military exploit, though of the moft confpicuous kind, can ever efface its infamy. It is faid in favour of Alexander, that he killed an infinite number of Perfians; that he de throned and flew the most powerful king of the earth; conquered innumerable provinces and nations; penetrated as far as the ocean, and extended the bounds of his empire from the moft remote part of Thrace to the extremities of the eaft: in anfwer to each of these parti culars, Yes, fays Seneca, but he murdered Callifthenes; a crime of fo heinous a nature, that it entirely obliterates the glory of all his other actions.

SECT. XV. Alexander fets out for India. A digreffion with regard to that country. He befieges and takes Several cities which appeared impregnable, and is often in danger of his life. He croffes the river Indus, afterwards the Hydafpes, and gains a fignal victory over Porus, whom he reftores to his throne.

ALEXANDER, to ftop the murmurs and difcon

tents which arose among his foldiers, fet out for India. He himself wanted action and motion, for he always, when unemployed, loft part of the glory he had acquired in war. An excefs of vanity and folly prompted him to undertake this expedition; a project quité ufeless in itself, and attended with very dangerous confequences. He had read in the ancient fables of Greece, that Bacchus and Hercules, both fons of Jupiter, as himself was, had marched fo far. He was determined not to be fur paffed by them: and there were not wanting flatterers, who applauded this wild, chimerical defign.

Thefe are the things that conftitute the glory and merit of fuch pretended heroes; and it is this which many people, dazzled with a falfe splendour, ftill admire

a Q. Curt. 1. viii. c. 9.

in

quem tunc magnum regnum erat; opponetur, & Callifthenem. Quotiens dictum erit, omnia oceano tenus vicit, ipfum quoque tentavit novis claffibus, & imperium ex angulo Thraciæ ufque ad orientis terminos protulit; dicetur, fed. Gallifthenem occidit. Omnia licet antiqua ducum regumque exempla tran ferit, ex his quæ fecit, nihil tam magnum erit, quàm Ïcelus Callifthenes. SENEC. Nat. quæst. 1. vi. c. 23.

in Alexander: a ridiculous defire of rambling up and down the world; of disturbing the tranquillity of nations, who were not bound to him by any obligations; of treating all thofe as enemies, who fhould refufe to acknowledge him for their fovereign; of ranfacking and extirpating fuch as fhould prefume to defend their liberties, their poffeffions, and their lives, against an unjust invader, who came from the extremity of the earth to attack them, without the leaft fhadow of reafon. Add to this glaring injuftice, the rash and stupid project he had formed, of subduing, with infinite labour, and the utmost hazard, many more nations than it was poffible for him to keep in subjection; and the fad neceffity to which he was reduced, of being perpetually obliged to conquer them a-new, and punish them for their rebellion. This is a sketch of what the conqueft of India will exhibit to us, after I fhall have given fome little account of the fituation and manners of that country, and fome of its rarities.

Ptolemy divides India into two parts; India on this, and India on the other fide of the Ganges. Alexander did not go beyond the former, nor even fo far as the Ganges. This first part is fituated between two great rivers, Indus, whence this country receives its name, and the Ganges. Ptolemy fays, the limits of it are, to the weft, Paropamifus, Arachofia, and Gedrofia, which either form a part, or are upon the confines of the kingdom of Perfia: to the north, mount Imaus, which is part of Great Tartary: to the eaft, the Ganges: to the fouth, the Ocean or Indian fea.

b All the Indians are free, and, like the Lacedæmonians, have no slaves among them. The only difference is, the latter make ufe of foreign flaves, whereas there are none in India. They do not erect any monuments in honour of the dead, but are of opinion, that the reputation of illuftrious men is their maufoleum.

They may be divided into feven claffes. The first and most honourable, though the fmalleft, is that of

Arrian. de India. p. 324–328.

the

the Brachmans, who are, as it were, the guardians of religion. I fhall have occasion to mention them in the fequel.

The fecond and greatest is that of the hufbandmen. Thefe are had in great veneration. Their only employment is to plough the fields, and they are never taken from this employment to carry arms and ferve in the field in war time: It is an inviolable law, never to moleft them or their lands.

The third is that of herdfmen and fhepherds, who keep herds and flocks, and never come into cities. They rove up and down the mountains, and often exercife themselves in hunting.

The fourth is of traders and artificers, among whom pilots and feamen are included. Thefe three laft orders pay a tribute to the king, and none are exempt from it but thofe that make arms, who, inftead of paying any thing, receive a ftipend from the public.

The fifth is of foldiers, whofe only employment is war they are furnished with all forts of neceffaries; and, in time of peace, are abundantly supplied with all things. Their life, at all times, is free and difengaged from cares of every kind.

The fixth order is that of overfeers, ('Ewionowo) who fuperintend the actions of others, and examine every tranfaction, either in cities or the country, and report the whole to the prince. The virtues and qualities required in thefe magiftrates are exactness, fincerity, probity, and the love of their country. None of these magiftrates, fays the hiftorian, have ever been accufed of telling an untruth. Thrice happy nation, were this really fact! However, this obfervation proves at leaft that truth and juftice were had in great honour in this country, and that knavery and infincerity were detefted

in it.

Laftly, the feventh clafs confifts of perfons employed in the public councils, and who fhare the cares of the government with the fovereign. From this class are taken magiftrates, intendants, governours of provinces,

2

generals,

generals, and all military officers, whether for land or fea; comptrollers of the treafury, receivers, and all who are entrusted with the public monies.

These different orders of the state never blend by marriage; and an artificer, for inftance, is not allowed to take a wife from among the clafs of husbandmen; and fo of the reft. None of these can follow two profeffions at the fame time, nor quit one clafs for another, it is natural to conclude, that this regulation must have contributed very much to the improvement of all arts and trades; as every one added his own induftry and reflections to thofe of his ancestors, which were delivered down to him by an uninterrupted tradition.

Many obfervations might be made on these Indian cuftoms, which I am obliged to omit, for the fake of proceeding in my hiftory. I only entreat the reader to obferve, that in every wife government, every wellgoverned state, the tilling of lands, and the grafing of cattle (two perpetual and certain fources of riches and abundance) have always been one of the chief objects of the care of thole who prefide in the adminiftration; and that the neglect of either, is erring againft one of the moft important maxims in policy.

I alfo admire very much that cuftom of appointing overfeers, whether they are known for fuch or not, who go upon the fpot, in order to infpect the conduct of governours, intendants, and judges; the only method to prevent the rapine and outrages to which unlimited authority, and the diftance from a court, frequently give occafion; the only method, at the fame time, for a fovereign to know the ftate of his kingdom, without which it is impoffible for him to govern happily the people whom Providence has entruffed to his care. This care regards him perfonally; and thofe who act under him can no more difpenfe with the discharge of it, than they can ufurp his diadem.

It is remarkable, that in India, from the month of June to thofe of September and October, exceffive rains fall very often, whereby the croffing of rivers is rendered

much

much more difficult, and frequent inundations happen. Hence we may judge how greatly, during all this feason, the armies of Alexander muft have fuffered, as they were at that time in the field.

Before I leave what relates in general to India, I shall fay a few words concerning elephants, with which that country abounds more than any other. The elephant exceeds all terreftrial animals in fize. Some are thirteen or fifteen feet high. The female goes a whole year with her young. It lives fometimes to the age of an hundred or an hundred and twenty years; nay much longer, if fome ancient writers may be credited. Its nofe, called its trunk; (probofcis) is long and hollow, like a large trum pet, and ferves the elephant inftead of a * hand, which it moves with incredible agility and ftrength, and thereby is of prodigious fervice to it. The telephant, notwith ftanding its prodigious fize, is fo tractable and induftrious, that one would be almoft apt to conclude it were informed with fomething like human reafon. It is fufceptible of affection, fondnefs, and gratitude, fo far as to pine away with forrow when it has loft its mafter, and even fometimes to destroy itself when it happens to have abused or murdered him in the transport of its fury. There is no kind of thing which it cannot be taught. Arrian, whofe authority is not to be queftioned, relates, that he had feen an elephant dance with two fymbals fixed to his legs, which he ftruck one after the other in cadence with his trunk; and that the reft danced round him, keeping time with a surprising exactness.

He defcribes very particularly the manner in which they are taken. The Indians inclofe a large spot of ground, with a trench about twenty feet wide, and fifteen high, to which there is access but in one part, and this is a bridge, and is covered with turf; in order that these animals, who are very subtle, may not fufpect what is intended.

* Manus data elephantis, quia propter magnitudinem corporis difficiles additus habebant ad paftum. Cic. de Nat. Deor. lib. ii. n. 123.

+ Elephanto belluarum nulla providentior. At figura quæ vaftier ? De Nat. Deor. lib. i. n. 97.