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one of the arms of the Nile; advances as far as Lybia to the temple of Jupiter Ammon; whence he returns back, arrives at Tyre, and from thence marches towards the Euphrates.

He croffes that river, then the Tygris, and gains the celebrated victory of Arbela; poffeffes himself of bylon, and Ecbatana, the chief city of Media.

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From thence he paffes into Hyrcania, to the fea which goes by that name, otherwife called the Cafpian fea; and enters Parthia, Drangiana, and the country of Paropamifus.

He afterwards goes into Bactriana and Sogdiana; advances as far as the river laxarthes, called by Quintus Curtius the Tanais, the farther fide of which is inhabited by the Scythians, whofe country forms part of Great Tartary.

Alexander, after having gone through various countries, croffes the river Indus; enters India, which lies on this fide the Ganges, and forms part of the Grand Mogul's empire, and advances very near the river Ganges, which he alfo intended to pass, had not his army refused to follow him. He therefore contents himself with marching to view the ocean, and goes down the river Indus to its mouth.

From Macedonia to the Ganges, almoft to which river Alexander marched, is computed at leaft eleven hundred leagues.

Add to this the various turnings in Alexander's marches, firft, from the extremity of Cilicia, where the battle of Iffus was fought, to the temple of Jupiter Ammon in Lybia; and his returning from thence to Tyre, a journey of three hundred leagues at least, and as much space at leaft for the windings of his route in different places; we fhall find that Alexander, in lefs than eight years, marched his army upwards of feventeen hundred leagues, without including his return te Babylon.

The capital of Babylonia,

SECT.

SECT. III. Alexander fets out from Macedon upon his expedition against the Perfians. He arrives at Ihon, and pays great honour to the tomb of Achilles. He fights the first battle against the Perfians at the river Granicus, and obtains a famous victory.

ALEXANDER, being arrived in this kingdom,

held a council with the chief officers of his army, and the grandees of his court, on the expedition he meditated against Persia, and the measures he should take in order to fucceed in it. The whole affembly was unanimous, except on one article. Antipater and Parmenio were of opinion, that the king, before he engaged in an enterprife which would neceffarily be a long one, ought to make choice of a confort in order to fecure himfelf a fucceffor to his throne. But Alexander, who was of a violent, fiery temper, did not approve of this advice; and believed, that after he had been nominated generaliffimo of the Greeks, and that his father had left him an invincible army, it would be a fhame for him to lose his time in folemnifing his nuptials, and waiting for the fruits of it; for which reafon he deter mined to fet out immediately.

Accordingly he offered up very fplendid facrifices to the gods, and caufed to be celebrated at Dia, a city of Macedon, Scenical games, that had been inftituted by one of his ancestors in honour of Jupiter and the Mufes. This feftival continued nine days, agreeable to the number of thofe goddeffes. He had a tent raifed large enough to hold an hundred tables, on which confequently nine hundred covers might be laid. To this feast, the feveral princes of his family, all the ambaladours, gene rals, and officers, were invited. He allo treated his whole army. It was then he had the famous vifion, in which

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A. M. 3670. Ant. J. C. 334. Diod. 1. xvii. p. 499-503. Arrian. 1. i. p. 23-36. Plut. in Alex. p. 672, 673. Juftin. 1. xi. c..5, 6. Jofeph. Antiquit. lib. xi.

Theatrical representations were fo called.

which he was exhorted to march fpeedily into Afia, of which mention will be made in the fequel.

Before he fet out upon this expedition, he fettled the affairs of Macedon, over which he appointed Antipater as viceroy, with twelve thousand foot, and near the fame number of horse.

He alfo inquired into the domeftic affairs of his friends, giving to one an eftate in land, to another a village, to a third the revenues of a town, to a fourth the toll of an harbour. And as all the revenues of his demefnes were already employed and exhausted by his donations, Perdiccas faid to him, “ My lord, what is it you reserve for yourself?" Alexander replied, "Hope:" Says Perdiccas, "The fame hope ought therefore to fatisfy us;" and fo refufed very generously to accept of what the king had appointed him.

The knowledge of the human heart, and the art of governing it, is of great importance to a prince. Now Alexander was fenfible, that this fecret confifts in making it the intereft of every individual to promote his grandeur; and to govern his fubjects in fuch a manner, that they may feel his power by no other marks than his bounty. It is then the intereft of every perfon unites with that of the prince. They are one's own poffeffions, one's own happiness which we love in his perfon; and we are fo many times attached to him (and by as clofe ties) as there are things we love, and receive from him. All the fequel of this hiftory will fhow, that no perfon ever made a more happy ufe of this maxim than Alexander, who thought himself raised to the throne, merely that he might do good; and indeed his liberality, which was truly royal, was neither fatisfied, nor exhaufted by the nobleft acts of beneficence.

Alexander, after having completely fettled affairs in Macedonia, and ufed all the precautions imaginable, to prevent any troubles from arifing in it during his abfence, fet out for Alia in the beginning of the fpring. His army confifted of little more than thirty thousand foot, and four or five thousand horfe; but then they were all

brave

brave men; were well difciplined, and inured to fatigues; had made feveral campaigns under Philip; and were each of them*, in cafe of neceffity, capable of commanding. Most of the officers were near threefcore years of age; and when they were either affembled †, or drawn up at the head of a camp, they had the air of a venerable fenate. Parmenio commanded the infantry. Philotas, his fon, had eighteen hundred horfe under him; and Callas, the fon of Harpalus, the fame number of Theffalian cavalry. The reft of the horse, who were compofed of natives of the feveral ftates of Greece, and amounted to fix hundred, had their particular commander. The Thracians and Pæonians, who were always in front, were headed by Caffander. Alexander began his route along the lake Cercinum towards Amphipolis; croffed the river Strymon, near its mouth; afterwards the Hebrus, and arrived at Seftos after twenty days' march. He then commanded Parmenio to croís over from Seftos to Abydos, with all the horse and part of the foot; which he accordingly did by the affiftance of an hundred and threefcore gallies, and feveral flatbottomed veffels. As for Alexander, he went from Eleontum to the port of the Achaians, himfelf fteering his own galley; and being got to the middle of the Hellefpont, he facrificed a bull to Neptune and the Nereides; and made effufions in the fea from a golden cup. It is alfo related, that after having thrown a javelin at the land, as thereby to take poffeffion of it, he landed the firft in Afia; and leaping from the fhip, completely armed, and in the higheft tranfports of joy, he erected altars on the fhore to Jupiter, to Minerva, and to Hercules, for having favoured him with fo propitious a defcent. He had done the fame at his leaving Europe. He depended fo entirely on the happy fuccefs of his arms, and the rich fpoils he fhould find i Afia, that he Vol. VI.

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had

* Ut non tam milites, quàm magiftros militiæ elefos putares, JUSTIN. 1. xi.

c. 6.

+ Ut, fi principia caftrorum cerneres, fenatum te alicujus prifcæ reip, videre diceres. Id.

These were all Macedonians,

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had made very little provifion for fo great an expedition; perfuaded that war, when carried on fuccefsfully, would fupply all things neceffary for war. He had but feventy* talents in money, to pay his army, and only a month's provifion. I before obferved, that he had divided his patrimony among his generals and officers; and a circumftance of great importance is, that he had infpired his foldiers with fo much courage and fecurity, that they fancied they marched, not to precarious war, but certain victory.

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Being arrived at the city of Lampfacus, which he was determined to deftroy, in order to punifh the rebellion of its inhabitants, Ánaximenes, a native of that place, came to him. This man, who was a famous historian, had been very intimate with Philip his father; and Alexander himself had a great efteem for him, having been his pupil. The king, fufpecting the bufi nefs he was come upon, to be beforehand with him, fwore, in exprefs terms, that he would never grant his request. "The favour I have to defire of you," fays Anaximenes," is, that you would deftroy Lampfacus. By this witty evafion the hiftorian faved his country.

99

From thence Alexander arrived at Ilion, where he paid great honours to the names of Achilles, and caufed games to be celebrated round his tomb. He admired and envied the double felicity of that renowned Grecian, in having found during his life-time, a faithful friend in Patroclus; and, after his death, a herald in Homer, worthy the greatnefs of his exploits. And indeed †, had it not been for the Iliad, the name of Achilles would have perished in the fame grave with his body.

At laft Alexander arrived on the banks of the Granicus, a river of Phrygia. The Satrapa, or deputylieutenants, waited his coming on the other fide of it, firmly

3

Val. Max. 1. vii. c. 3.

*Seventy thousand crowns.

+ Cam in Sigas ad Acbillis tumulum conftitiffet: O fortunate, inquit adolef eens, qui tuæ virtutis Homerum præconem inveneris! Et verè. Nam, nifi Ilias illa extitiffet, idem tumulus, qui corpus ejus contexerat, etiam nomen obruiffet. Cic pro Arch. n. 24.

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