IX. But in order not to foster idleness, which naturally sows gossip, he set out for India, being always more illustrious in war than after a victory.
[2] Almost all India looks towards the east, being less [3] extensive in width than in a straight line. The parts which receive the south wind rise to a higher level of ground; the rest of the country is flat and allows a quiet course through plains to many famous [4] rivers rising in Mount Caucasus. The Indus is colder than the rest; it carries waters which do not [5] differ much from the sea in colour. The Ganges, greatest of all the rivers of the Orient, flows towards the south and in a straight channel grazes the great [6] mountain ranges. Then rocks in its course deflect it towards the east. Both rivers flow into the Red Sea. The Indus carries away its banks along with many [7] trees and a great part of the soil, and is also checked by rocks, from which it often rebounds; where it finds a softer soil it is quiet, and forms islands. The [8] Acesines increases it. The Ganges intercepts the Iomanes in its downward course, and the two unite with a great commotion of their waters; for the Ganges opposes a rough mouth to the inflowing river and the waters which are hurled back do not yield.
[9] The Diardines is less frequently heard of, because it runs through the remotest part of India, but it breeds not only crocodiles, as does the Nile, but also dolphins [10] and sea beasts unknown to other nations. The Ethymantus, curved from time to time into many windings, is made use of by the neighbouring peoples for irrigating their fields; that is why it sends out scanty remains of its waters, now without a name, [11] into the sea. The whole region is cut up by many rivers besides these, but they are unknown to fame, because they flow through regions unapproached as yet by us.
But the parts which are nearer the sea are greatly parched by the north wind; this is checked by the mountain ranges and does not penetrate into the interior, which in consequence is mild for bearing [13] fruits. But in that quarter the earth so varies the established order of the seasons that when other places are burning with the heat of the sun, snows bury India, and on the other hand, when other places are stiff with frost, intolerable heat prevails there. Nor is there any reason why Nature should have changed her [14] course. Certainly the sea by which India is washed does not differ even in colour from other seas. Its name was given it from King Erythrus; for which reason the ignorant believe that its waters are red.
[15] The land is rich in flax; most of the inhabitants have their garments made of it. The bark of the trees is tender and can receive writing just as papyrus [16] does. There are birds which can be taught to imitate the sound of the human voice. The animals are unknown to other nations, except such as are imported from that country. The same land produces rhinoceroses, which are unknown to other peoples. The strength of its elephants is greater than those which men tame in Africa, and their size corresponds [18] to their strength. The rivers which flow sluggishly [19] in a mild and moderate course carry gold. The sea casts upon its shores gems and pearls; and they have no greater source of wealth, especially since they have made their vices common among foreign nations.
Indeed this refuse of the surging sea is valued at the price which desire sets upon it.”
There as, everywhere, so also with them, the situation country affects the character of the men. They veil their bodies in linen robes as far as the feet, clothe their feet in sandals, bind their heads in linen, and precious stones hang from their ears; those who eminent among the people for high birth or are adorn their wrists also and arms with gold. They comb their hair more frequently than they shear it; the chin is always unshorn, the rest of the skin of the face they shave close, so that it appears smooth. Nevertheless the luxury of their kings, which they themselves call magnificence surpasses the vices of all other nations. When the king allows himself to be seen in public, his attendants carry before him silver pans of incense, and fill with perfumes the whole road over which he has decided to be [24] borne. He reclines in a golden litter adorned with pearls hanging on every side; the linen robe which he wears is embroidered with gold and purple, his litter is followed by armed men and by his body-guard, [25] among whom on branches of trees birds perch, which they have trained by song to divert him from [26] serious affairs. His palace has gilded columns; over all of these runs a vine carved in gold, and silver figures of birds, in the sight of which they take the greatest pleasure, adorn the structure.
[27] The palace is open to all comers, when the king is having his hair combed and adorned; it is then that he gives replies to deputations, then that he administers justice to his countrymen. When his sandals are taken off, his feet are bathed in perfumes.
[28] His favourite exercise is the chase, which consists in shooting with arrows animals shut up in a preserve amid the prayers and songs of his concubines. The arrows are two cubits in length, and they discharge them with more effort than effect; for a weapon whose whole power depends upon lightness is burdened by its unsuitable weight. Shorter journeys he makes on horseback; when he undertakes a longer expedition, he rides in a chariot drawn by elephants, and the entire bodies of such huge brutes are covered with gold. Also, that nothing may be lacking in his abandoned habits, a long line of concubines follows in golden litters; this train is separated from that of the queen, but equals it in luxury.
[30] Women prepare his food. They also serve his wine, the use of which is lavish with all the Indian peoples. When the king is overcome by wine and drowsiness, concubines take him to his chamber, invoking the gods of the night in a song, after the custom of the country.
[31] Who would believe that amid such vices there would be regard for philosophy? There is one rude [32] and hideous class which they call sages. These consider it glorious to anticipate the day of fate and those whose life is feeble or whose health is impaired give orders to be burned alive; to wait for death they regard as a disgrace to life, and no honour is paid to the bodies of those who die of old age; they believe that the fire is sullied unless it receives [33] them while still breathing. Those who pass their lives in public services in the city are said skilfully to study the courses of the stars and to predict future events. And they believe that no one hastens the day of death who can wait for it unterrified. They [34] regard as gods whatever they have begun to care for, especially trees, the violation of which is a capital offence. They have divided the months into periods [35] of fifteen days, but the full duration of the year is observed. They reckon time by the course of the moon, not, as most do, when it has filled its orb, but when it has begun to curve into horns, and therefore they have shorter months, because they reckon their duration according to that phase of the moon. Also many other things are related, for which it did not seem to be worth while to delay the course of our history.
Igitur Alexandro finis Indiae ingresso gentium finitimarum reguli occurrerunt imperata facturi, illum tertium Iove genitum ad ipsos pervenisse memorantes: Patrem Liberum atque Herculem fama cognitos esse, ipsum coram adesse cernique. [2] Rex benigne exceptos sequi iussit isdem itinerum ducibus usurus. Ceterum cum amplius nemo occurreret, Hephaestionem et Perdiccan cum copiarum parte praemisit ad subigendos, qui aversarentur imperium, iussitque ad flumen Indum procedere et nagivia facere, quis in ulteriora transportari posset exercitus. [3] Illi, quia plura flumina superanda erant, sic iunxere naves, ut solutae plaustris vehi possent rursusque coniungi. [4] Ipse Cratero cum phalange iusso sequi equitatum ac levem armaturam eduxit eosque, qui occurrerunt, levi proelio in urbem proximam conpulit. [5] Iam supervenerat Craterus: itaque, ut principio terrorem incuteret genti nondum arma Macedonum expertae, praecipit, ne cui parceretur, munimentis urbis, quam obsidebat, incensis. [6] Ceterum, dum obequitat moenibus, sagitta ictus. Cepit tamen oppidum, et omnibus incolis eius trucidatis etiam in tecta saevitum est. [7] Inde domita ignobili gente ad Nysam urbem pervenit. Forte castris ante ipsa moenia in silvestri loco positis nocturnum frigus vehementius quam alias [p. 288] horrore corpora adfecit, opportunumque remedium ignis oblatum est. [8] Caesis quippe silvis flammam excitaverunt, quae lignis
alita oppidanorum sepulcra conprehendit. Vetusta cedro erant facta conceptumque ignem late fudere, donec omnia solo aequata sunt. [9] Et ex urbe primum canum latratus, deinde etiam hominum fremitus auditus est. Tunc et oppidani hostem et Macedones ad urbem ipsos venisse cognoscunt. [10] Iamque rex eduxerat copias et moenia obsidebat, cum hostium, qui discrimen temptaverant, obruti telis sunt Aliis ergo deditionem, aliis pugnam experiri placebat. Quorum dubitatione conperta circumsederi tantum eos et abstineri caedibus iussit: tandemque obsidionis malis fatigati dedidere se. [11] A Libero Patre conditos se esse dicebant: [12] et vera haec origo erat. Sita est urbs sub radicibus montis, quem Meron incolae appellant: inde Graeci mentiendi traxere licentiam, Iovis femine Liberum Patrem esse celatum. [13] Rex situ montis cognito ex incolis cum toto exercitu praemissis commeatibus verticem eius ascendit Multa hedera vitisque toto gignitur monte, multae perennes aquae manant. [14] Pomorum quoque varii salubresque suci sunt sua sponte fortuitorum germinum fruges humo nutriente. Lauri buxique et myrti in illis rupibus agrestis est silva. [15] Credo equidem non divino instinctu, sed lascivia esse provectos, ut passim hederae аc vitium folia [p. 289] decerperent redimitique fronde toto nemore similes bacchantibus vagarentur. [16] Vocibus ergo tot milium praesidem nemoris eius deum adorantium iuga montis vallesque resonabant, cum orta licentia a paucis, ut fere fit, in omnes se repente vulgasset. [17] Quippe velut in media pace per herbas adgestamque frondem prostravere corpora. Et rex fortuitam laetitiam non aversatus large ad epulas omnibus praebitis per X dies Libero Patri operatum habuit exercitum. [18] Quis neget eximiam quoque gloriam saepius fortunae quam virtutis esse beneficium? Quippe ne epulantes quidem et sopitos mero adgredi ausus est hostis haud secus bacchantium ululantiumque fremitu perterritus, quam si proeliantium clamor esset auditus. Eadem felicitas ab Oceano revertentes temulentos comissantesque inter ora hostium texit. [19] Hinc ad regionem, quae Daedala vocatur, perventum est. Deseruerant incolae sedes et in avios silvestresque montes confugerant. Ergo Acadira transit aeque vasta et destituta incolentium fuga. [20] Itaque rationem belli necessitas mutavit. Divisis enim copiis pluribus simul locis arma ostendit, oppressique, ubi non expectaverant hostem, [21] omni clade perdomiti sunt. Ptolomaeus plurimas urbes, Alexander maximas cepit: rursusque, quas distribuerat, copias iunxit. [22] Superato deinde Choaspe amne Coenon in obsidione urbis [p. 290] opulentae — Beiram incolae vocant — reliquit, ipse ad Mazagas venit. Nuper Assacano, cuius regnum fuerat, demortuo regioni urbique praeerat mater eius Cleophis. [23] XXXVIII milia peditum tuebantur urbem non situ solum, sed etiam opere munitam. Nam qua spectat orientem, cingitur amne torrenti, qui praeruptis utrimque ripis aditum ad urbem inpedit. [24] Ad occidentem ac meridiem veluti de industria rupes praealtas obmolita natura est, infra quas cavernae et voragines longa vetustate in altum cavatae iacent, [25] quaque desinunt, fossa ingentis operis obiecta est. XXXV stadium murus urbem conplectitur, cuius ima saxo, superiora crudo latere sunt structa. Lateri vinculum lapides sunt, quos interposuere, ut duriori materiae fragilis incumberet, [26] simulque terra hutnore diluta. Ne tamen universa consideret, inpositae erant trabes validae, quibus iniecta tabulata muros et tegebant et pervios fecerant. [27] Haec munimenta contemplantem Alexandrum consiliique incertum, quia nec cavernas nisi aggere poterat inplere nec tormenta aliter muris admovere, [28] quidam e muro sagitta percussit: et forte in suram incidit telum. Cuius spiculo evolso admoveri equum iussit, quo vectus ne obligato quidem vulnere haud segnius destinata exequebatur. [29] Ceterum cum crus saucium penderet, et cruore siccato frigescens vulnus adgravaret dolorem, dixisse fertur se quidem Iovis filium dici, sed corporis aegri vitia sentire. [30] Non tamen ante se recepit in castra, quam cuncta perspexit et, quae fieri vellet, [p. 291] edixit. Ergo, sicut imperatum erat, alii extra urbem tecta demoliebantur ingentemque vim materiae faciendo aggeri detrahebant, alii magnarum arborum stipites cum ramis ac moles saxorum in cavernas deiciebant. [31] Iamque agger aequaverat summae fastigium terrae: itaque turres erigebantur, quae opera ingenti militum ardore intra nonum diem absoluta sunt. Ad ea visenda rex nondum obducta vulneri cicatrice processit laudatisque militibus admoveri machinas iussit, e quibus ingens vis telorum in propugnatores effusa est. [32] Praecipue rudes talium operum terrebant mobiles turres, tantasque moles nulla ope, quae cerneretur, adiutas deorum numine agi credebant: pila quoque muralia et excussas tormentis praegraves hastas negabant convenire mortalibus. [33] Itaque desperata urbis tutela concessere in arcem. Inde, quia nihil obsessis praeter deditionem patebat, legati ad regem descenderunt veniam petituri. [34] Qua inpetrata regina venit cum magno nobilium feminarum grege aureis pateris vina libantium. [35] Ipsa genibus regis parvo filio admoto non veniam modo, sed etiam pristinae fortunae inpetravit decus: quippe appellata regina est. Et credidere quidam plus formae quam miserationi datum: [36] puero quoque certe postea ex ea utcumque genito Alexandro fuit nomen.
X. So, then, when Alexander had entered the bounds of India, the petty kings of the neighbouring races met him intending to submit to him, saying that he was the third son of Jupiter who had arrived in their land; that Father Liber and Hercules were known to them only by repute, but that Alexander [2] was present among them and was seen. The king received them courteously and bade them follow him, intending to use them as guides for his routes. But when no one else presented himself, he sent on Hephaestion and Perdiccas’ with a part of his forces to subdue those who rejected his rule, and ordered them to proceed to the Indus River and make boats by which his army could be transported to places farther on. Those men, because several other rivers had to be crossed, joined ships together, but in such a way that they could be taken apart and carried on wagons and again joined together. He himself after having directed Craterus to follow with the phalanx led out the cavalry and the light-armed troops, and in a slight battle drove those who opposed him into the nearest city. And now Craterus had arrived; and so, in order in the beginning to strike with terror a nation which had not yet experienced the arms of the Macedonians, the king ordered him to spare no one, having set fire to the [6] fortifications of the city which he was besieging. But while Alexander was riding up to the walls he was struck by an arrow. Nevertheless he took the town, and having butchered all its inhabitants, even vented his anger on its buildings.
[7] Next, after subduing this unknown people, he came to the city of Nysa. It chanced that when he had pitched a camp before the very walls in a wooded place, a coldness severer than they had experienced at any other time chilled their bodies, and fire offered [8] a convenient remedy. Therefore they cut down trees and raised a flame, which, fed by logs, caught the sepulchres of the inhabitants. These had been built of old cedar, and widely spread the fire which had been started, until all were levelled with the [9] ground. And from the city first the barking of dogs, then the noise of men was heard. Then the townspeople knew that the enemy had come, and the Macedonians themselves, that they had reached the [10] city. And already the king had led out his troops and was laying siege to the place, when those of the enemy who had attempted a sortie were over-whelmed by weapons. In consequence some favoured surrender, others the trial of battle.
Delphi Complete Works of Quintus Curtius Rufus Page 120