Delphi Complete Works of Quintus Curtius Rufus

by Quintus Curtius Rufus

  X. There for two days the king remained in his camp; then he ordered a march to be announced [2] for the following day. But about the first watch the moon, in eclipse, hid at first the brilliance of her heavenly body, then all her light was sullied and suffused with the hue of blood, and those who were already anxious on the very eve of so critical a contest were struck with intense religious awe and from that with a kind of dread. They complained that against the will of the gods they were being dragged to the ends of the earth; no longer could rivers be approached, nor did the heavenly bodies keep their former brilliance, desert lands and solitude everywhere met them; to gratify the vanity of one man the blood of so many soldiers was being spent, their king disdained his native land, disowned his father Philip, and with vainglorious thoughts aspired to heaven. Already the affair was approaching a mutiny, when Alexander, unterrified in the face of everything, ordered the generals and the higher officers of the soldiers to appear in full numbers at the king’s tent, and the Egyptian soothsayers, whom he believed to be most skilled in reading the heavens and the stars, to declare their opinion.

  But they, although they knew well enough that the heavenly bodies which determine the seasons have their destined changes, and that the moon suffers eclipse either when it goes behind the earth or is covered by the sun, do not teach the common people the knowledge which they themselves possess; [6] but they declared that the sun represented the Greeks and the moon the Persians, and that whenever the moon suffered eclipse, defeat and slaughter was foretold for those nations, and they enumerated ancient examples of Persian kings whom an eclipse of the moon showed to have fought without the [7] favour of the gods. Nothing sways the common herd more effectively than superstition; generally uncontrolled, savage, fickle, when they are victims of vain superstition, they obey the soothsayers better than they do their leaders. Therefore the interpretations of the Egyptians, when they were made public, restored the down-hearted to hope and confidence.

  [8] The king, thinking that he ought to take advantage of the ardour of their spirits, broke camp in the second watch; he had the Tigris on his right, on the left the mountains which they call the Gordyaean. When they had begun this march, scouts who had been sent ahead reported to them towards daybreak that Darius was coming. Therefore Alexander went on at the head of his troops with the soldiers drawn upand his line in order. But they were loiterers of the Persians, not more than a thousand in number, who had given the impression of a great army; for when the truth cannot be discovered, the false is exaggerated through fear. When the truth was known, the king with a few of his men followed hard after the band as they fled to their main body, killing some and capturing others; and he sent riders ahead to reconnoitre, and at the same time to put out the fires which the barbarians had set in the villages. For as they fled they had hurriedly thrown fire-brands upon the house-roofs and on piles of grain, which, although they had lodged at the top, had not yet penetrated to the lower parts.

  Hence, when the fire was extinguished, the greater part of the grain was saved; the supply of other necessities also began to be abundant. This very fact fired the ardour of the soldiers in their pursuit of the enemy; for since they were burning and devastating the land, there was need of haste lest they should destroy everything by fire before they could be stopped. Therefore necessity was changed to policy; for Mazaeus, who had before burned the villages at his ease, now was content to make his escape and left most things uninjured to the enemy. Alexander had learned that Darius was not more than stadia distant from him; therefore, being furnished even to satiety with a supply of provisions, he remained for four days in the same place.

  [16] Then letters of Darius were intercepted, in which the Greek soldiers were tempted either to kill or to betray their king, and Alexander was in doubt whether to read them before an assembly, since he thoroughly trusted the goodwill and loyalty towards him of the Greek troops also. But Parmenion dissuaded him, declaring that the ears of the soldiers ought not to be infected by such promises; the king, he said, was exposed to the treachery of even any one man; nothing was criminal in the eyes of avarice. Yielding to the author of this advice, Alexander broke camp.

  [18] As he was on his way, a eunuch among the prisoners who were in attendance on the wife of Darius reported to him that she was failing and could barely draw breath. Worn out by the constant toil of marching and by grief, she had swooned in the arms of her mother-in-law and her maiden daughters, and then had died. Another messenger came also bringing that same news. And the king, just as if the death of his own mother had been announced, uttered many laments and with rising tears, such as Darius might have shed, came into the tent where the mother of Darius was sitting by the dead body. Here indeed his grief was renewed, when he saw her prostrate on the ground. The mother, reminded also of her former misfortunes by this recent loss, had taken to her bosom her grown-up daughters, a great solace for their common sorrow, but to whom she herself ought to have been a comfort. Before her eyes was her little grandson, to be pitied for the very reason that he did not yet realize the flood of calamity which streamed towards him most of all.

  You would have thought that Alexander was weeping among his own kin, and that he was not offering, but looking for, consolation. Certain it is that he abstained from food and that he observed every honour in performing the funeral rites in the native manner of the Persians, worthy, by Heaven! even now of reaping the fruit of such great compassion and continence. He had seen her only once, on the day when she was taken prisoner, but it was when he went to visit, not her, but the mother of Darius, and her remarkable beauty had been an incentive, not to passion, but to glory.

  Of the eunuchs who were in attendance upon the queen, Tyriotes amid the confusion caused by the mourners escaped through that gate which, because it did not face the enemy, was only slightly guarded, reached the camp of Darius, and being received by the watchmen, was led into the king’s tent, lamenting and with rent garments. On seeing him Darius, deeply disturbed by the expectation of more sorrows than one and uncertain what to fear most, said: “Your expression reveals some great misfortune or other, but do not spare the ears of a wretched man; I have learned to be unhappy, and it is often a consolation for calamity that a man should know his fate. You are not going to tell me, are you, what I most suspect but dread to speak out, the dishonour of my family, which to me, and, as I believe, to them — is more awful than any punishment?” To these words Tyriotes replied: “That suspicion of yours is indeed far from the truth; for the greatest honour that can be shown to queens by their subjects has been observed towards yours by the victor. But your wife a short time ago passed away.” [29] Then truly, not only groans but shrieks were heard in the whole camp. And Darius had no doubt but that she had been killed because she had been unable to endure outrage, and beside himself with grief he cried: “What great crime have I committed, Alexander? Whom of your kindred have I murdered, that you should take this revenge for my cruelty? Me you hate, without provocation, indeed; but suppose that you have justly made war upon me, ought you then to have waged it against women?” Tyriotes swore by his country’s gods that she had suffered no violation; that Alexander had lamented her death, and had wept as bitterly as Darius himself was weeping. But by these very words the mind of the loving husband was turned again to anxiety and suspicion, imagining that Alexander’s grief for a captive was [32] undoubtedly caused by habitual intimacy. Accordingly, having dismissed all witnesses and retaining only Tyriotes, no longer weeping, but sighing, he said: “Do you not see, Tyriotes, that there is no room for falsehood? Instruments of torture will soon be here; but do not wait for them, I beseech you by the gods, if you have any reverence for your king; he did not dare, did he, being master of events and young, to do that which I both desire to know, and am ashamed to inquire?” [33] The eunuch offered his body for torture, but called upon the gods to witness that the queen had been [34] treated chastely and with respect. Then at last, when Darius was made to believe that what the
eunuch declared was true, he covered his head and wept for a long time, then with tears still flowing he threw back the mantle from his face and, lifting his hands to heaven, said: “O Gods of my fathers, above all make firm my rule, but if it be now finished with me, may no one, I pray, be king of Asia, rather than that enemy so just, that victor so merciful.”

  Itaque quamquam frustra pace bis petita omnia in bellum consilia converterat, victus tamen continentia hostis ad novas pacis condiciones ferendas legatos, cognatorum principes, misit: quos Alexander consilio advocato introduci iussit. [2] E quibus maximus natu: ‘Dareum,’ inquit, ‘ut pacem a te iam hoc tertio peteret, [3] nulla vis subegit, sed iustitia tua et continentia expressit. Matrem, coniugem, liberos eius, nisi quod sine illo sunt, captos esse non sensimus: pudicitiae earum, quae supersunt, curam haud secus quam parens agens reginas appellas, speciem pristinae fortunae retinere pateris. [4] Vultum tuum video, qualis Darei fuit, cum dimitteremur ab eo: et ille tamen uxorem, tu hostem luges. Iam in acie stares, nisi cura te sepulturae eius moraretur. Ecquid mirum est, si tam ab amico animo pacem petit? [5] Quid opus est armis, inter quos odia sublata sunt? Antea imperio tuo finem destinabat Halym amnem, qui Lydiam terminat: nunc, quidquid inter Hellespontum et Euphraten est, in dotem filiae offert, quam tibi tradit. [6] Ochum filium, quem habes, pacis et fidei obsidem retine, matrem et duas virgines filias redde: [7] pro tribus corporibus milia talentum auri precatur accipias. Nisi [p. 81] moderationem animi tui notam haberem, non dicerem hoc esse tempus, quo pacem non dare solum, sed etiam occupare deberes. [8] Respice, quantum post te reliqueris: intuere, quantum petas. Periculosum est praegrave imperium: difficile est enim continere, quod capere non possis. Videsne, ut navigia, quae modum excedunt, regi nequeant? Nescio, an Dareus ideo tam multa amiserit, quia nimiae opes magnae iacturae locum faciunt. [9] Facilius quidem vincere quam tueri: quam, hercule, expeditius manus nostrae rapiunt quam continent! Ipsa mors uxoris Darei admonere te potest, minus iam misericordiae tuae licere, quam licuit.’ [10] Alexander legatis excedere tabernaculo iussis, quid placeret, ad consilium refert. Diu nemo, quid sentiret, ausus est dicere incerta regis voluntate: [11] tandem Parmenio antea suasisse ait, ut captivos apud Damascum redimentibus redderet: ingentem pecuniam potuisse redigi ex his, qui multi vincti virorum fortium occuparent manus. [12] Et nunc magnopere censere, ut unam anum et duas puellas, itinerum agminumque inpedimenta, [13] XXX milibus talentum auri permutaret. Opimum regnum occupare posse condicione, non bello, nec quemquam alium inter Histrum et Euphraten possedisse terras ingentiore spatio intervalloque discretas. Macedoniam quoque potius respiceret, quam Bactra et Indos intueretur. [14] Ingrata oratio regi fuit: itaque ut finem dicendi fecit: ‘Et ego,’ inquit, [p. 82] ‘pecuniam quam gloriam mallem, si Parmenion essem: nunc Alexander de paupertate securus sum et me non mercatorem memini esse, sed regem. [15] Nihil quidem habeo venale, sed fortunam meam utique non vendo. [16] Captivos si placet reddi, honestius dono dabimus, quam pretio remittemus.’ Introductis deinde legatis ad hunc modum respondit: ‘Nuntiate Dareo me, quae fecerim clementer et liberaliter, non amicitiae eius tribuisse, sed naturae meae. [17] [18] Bellum cum captivis et feminis gerere non soleo: armatus sit oportet, quem oderim. Quodsi saltem pacem bona fide peteret, deliberarem forsitan, an darem. Verum enimvero, cum modo milites meos litteris ad proditionem, modo amicos ad perniciem meam pecunia sollicitet, ad internecionem mihi persequendus est, non ut iustus hostis, sed ut percussor veneficus. Condiciones vero pacis, quas adfertis, si accepero, victo rem eum faciunt. [19] Quae post Euphraten sunt, liberaliter donat. Ubi igitur me adeatis, nempe obliti estis: nempe ultra Euphraten sum. Liberalissimum ergo dotis, quam promittit, terminum castra mea transeunt. [20] Hinc me depellite, ut sciam vestrum esse, quo ceditis. Eadem liberalitate dat mihi filiam suam: nempe quam scio alicui servorum eius nupturam. [21] Multum vero mihi praestat, si me Mazaeo generum praeponit! Ite, nuntiate regi vestro et, quae amisit, [p. 83] et, quae adhuc habet, praemia esse belli: hoc regente utriusque terminos regni, id quemque habiturum, quod proximae lucis adsigntura fortuna est.’ [22] Legati respondent, cum bellum in animo sit, facere eum simpliciter, quod spe pacis non frustraretur. Ipsos petere, ut quam primum dimittantur ad regem: eum quoque bellum parare debere. Dimissi nuntiant adesse certamen.

  XI. Accordingly, although after twice seeking peace in vain he had concentrated all his plans on war, yet overcome by his enemy’s continence, Darius sent ten envoys, the leading men of his court, to present new conditions of peace. Alexander, having called a council, ordered these envoys to be given audience.

  The eldest of them said: “That Darius should seek peace now for this third time no force has compelled him, but he is constrained to do so by your justice and continence. We have not felt that his mother, wife and children were prisoners, except in being without him; guarding like a father the chastity of those who still live, you call them queens, and suffer them to retain the semblance of their former fortune.

  I see your expression as sorrowful as that of Darius, when he sent us to you; and yet he is mourning for a wife, you for an enemy. Already you would be standing in line-of-battle, had not the concern for her obsequies delayed you. Is it at all strange if he seeks peace from so friendly a spirit? What need is there for arms among those who feel no hatred? Heretofore he set the river Halys, which marks the farther boundary of Lydia, as the limit of your rule; he now offers all the country between the Hellespont and the Euphrates as a dowry for his daughter, whom he gives you in marriage. Keep his son Ochus, who is in your possession, as a hostage of peace and good faith, return his mother and his two maiden daughters; in return for their three persons he begs you to accept 30,000 talents of gold.

  “I would not venture to say that this is the time when you ought, not only to grant peace, but even to seize it of your own accord, if I were not aware of yourself-restraint. Consider how great a tract you have left behind you, look and see how much you are seeking to gain. A very dangerous thing is too great an empire; for it is difficult to hold what one cannot grasp. Do you not see how ships that exceed a moderate bulk cannot be managed? I really think that Darius has lost so much for no other reason than because too great possessions offer opportunity for great loss. Truly it is easier to conquer than to protect; how much more readily do our hands seize than hold! Even the death of Darius’ wife may warn you that your compassion already has less scope than it had.”

  Alexander bade the envoys withdraw from the tent and referred the question to his council. For a long time no one ventured to say what he thought, — since the king’s inclination was uncertain; at last Parmenion said that he had before recommended the return of the prisoners taken at Damascus to those who wished to ransom them; that a vast sum of money could have been realized from those men who, as bound captives, kept busy the hands of many brave warriors. And that now too he strongly advised exchanging one old woman and two girls, a hindrance to their journeys and their marches, for [13] 30,000 talents of gold. Alexander could acquire a rich realm by negotiation, not by war, and no other man had possessed the lands between the Danube and the Euphrates, lands whose limits were separated by an immense space in between. Also he ought rather to look back upon Macedonia than fix his gaze on Bactra and the Indi.