in height.* Porus did not feem dejected at his misfortune, but came up with a refolute countenance, like a valiant warrior, whofe courage in defending his dominions ought to acquire him the esteem of the brave prince who had taken him prifoner. Alexander spoke firft, and with an auguft and gracious air, asked him how he defired to be treated? Like a king," replied Porus. "But," continued Alexander, "do you ask nothing more? No," replied Porus; "all things are included in that fingle word." Alexander, ftruck with this greatnefs of foul, the magnanimity of which feemed heightened by diftrefs, did not only reftore him his kingdom, but annexed other provinces to it, and treated him with the higheft teftimonies of honour, esteem, and friendship. Porus was faithful to him till his death. It is hard to fay, whether the victor or the vanquished best deserved praise on this occafion.

Alexander built a city on the fpot where the battle had been fought, and another in that place where he had croffed the river. He called the one Nicæa from his victory; and the other Bucephalon, in honour of his horfe who died there, not of his wounds, but of old age. After having paid the laft duties to fuch of his foldiers as had loft their lives in battle, he folemnized games, and offered up facrifices of thanks, in the place where he had paffed the Hydafpes.

This prince did not know to whom he was indebted for his victories. We are aftonished at the rapidity of Alexander's conquefts; the cafe with which he furmounts the greatest obftacles, and forces almoft impregnable cities; the uninterrupted and unheard-of felicity that extricates him out of thofe dangers into which his rafhness plunges him, and in which, one would have concluded, he must a hundred times have perifhed. But to unravel these mysterious kinds of events, feveral of which are repugnant to the ufual courfe of things, we must go back to a fuperior caufe, unknown to the prophane hiftorians, and to Alexander himfelf. This monarch

* Seven feet and a half.

was,

was, like Cyrus, the minister and inftrument of the Sovereign Difpofer of empires, who raises and destroys them at pleasure. He had received the fame orders to overthrow the Perfian and eastern empires, as Cyrus to deftroy that of Babylon. The fame Power conducted their enterprifes, affured them of fuccefs, protected and preferved them from all dangers, till they had executed their commiffion, and completed their miniftry. We may apply to Alexander, the words which God fpake to Cyrus in Ifaiah "Cyrus, whofe right hand I have holden, to fubdue nations before him; and I will caufe the loins of kings to open before him the two-leaved gates, and the gates fhall not be fhut: I will go before thee, and make the crooked paths ftraight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in funder the bars of iron. And I will give thee treasures of darkness, and hidden treasures of fecret places.I girded thee, though thou haft not known me." This is the true and only cause of the incredible fuccefs with which this conqueror was attended; of his unparalleled bravery; the affection his foldiers had for him, the fore-knowledge of his felicity, and his affurance of fuccefs, which aftonished his moft intrepid captains.

as

SECT. XVI. Alexander advances into India. A digreffion relating to the Brachmans. That prince refolves to march s far as the Ganges, which raifes a general difcontent in his army. Remonftrances being made to him on that account, he lays afide his defign, and is contented with going no farther than the ocean. He fubdues all things in his way thither, and is expofed to great danger at the fiege of the city of the Oxydraca; and arriving at laft at the ocean, he afterwards prepares for his return into Europe.

ALEXANDER, after his famous victory over Porus,

advanced into India, where he fubdued a great many nations and cities. He looked upon himself as a

f Chap. xlv. 1—5. lib. ix. cap. I.

conqueror

A. M. 3678. Ant. J. C. 326. Q. Curt.

conqueror by profeffion as well as by his dignity, and engaged every day in new exploits with so much ardour and vivacity, that he feemed to fancy himfelf invefted with a perfonal commiffion, and that there was an immediate obligation upon him to ftorm all cities, to lay wafte all provinces, to extirpate all nations, which fhould refufe his yoke; and that he should have confidered himself as guilty of a crime, had he forbore vifiting every corner of the earth, and carrying terror and defolation wherever he went. He paffed the Acefines, and afterwards the Hydraotes, two confiderable rivers. Advice was then brought him, that a great number of free Indians had made a confederacy to defend their liberties; and among the reft, the Caytheans, who were the moft valiant and most skilful of thofe nations in the art of war; and that they were encamped near a strong city, called Sangala. Álexander fet out against thefe Indians, defeated them in a pitched battle, took the city, and razed it to the very foundations.

One day, as he was riding at the head of his army, fome philofophers called Brachmans in the language of that country, were converfing together, as they were walking in a meadow. The inftant they perceived him, they all ftamped against the ground with their feet. Alexander, furprised at this extraordinary gefture, demanded the caufe of it. They answered, pointing to the ground with their fingers, "That no man poffeffed "any more of that element than he could enjoy: That "the only difference between him and other men, was, "that he was more reftlefs, and ambitious than they, and over-ran all feas and lands, merely to harm others and "himfelf: and yet he would die at laft, and poffefs no greater part of the earth than was neceffary for his in"terment." The king was not displeased at this answer: but he was hurried on by a torrent of glory, and his actions were the very reverse of what he approved.

Thefe

h Arrian. lib. vii. p. 275, 276. Id. in Indic, p. 324. Strab. lib. xv. p. 715-717. Plut. in Alex. p. 701. Q. Curt. lib. viii. c. 9.

Thefe Brachmans, fays Arrian, are in great veneration in their country. They do not pay any tribute to the prince, but affift him with their counfel, and perform the fame offices as the Magi do to the kings of Perfia. They aflift at the public facrifices; and if a perfon defires to facrifice in private, one of these must be prefent, otherwife the Indians are perfuaded they would not be agreeable to the gods. They apply themfelves particularly to confulting the ftars; none but themselves pretend to divination; and they foretel, chiefly, the change of weather and of the feafons. If a Brachian has failed thrice in his predictions, he is filenced for ever.

Their fentiments, according to Strabo, are not very different from thofe of the Greeks. They believe that the world had a beginning; that it will end; that its form is circular; that it was created by God, who prefides over, and fills it, with his majefty; and that water is the principle of all things. With regard to the im mortality of the foul, and the punishment of the wicked in hell, they follow the doctrine of Plato; intermixing it, like that philofopher, with fome fictions, in order to exprefs or defcribe thofe punishments.

Several among them go always naked, whence the Greeks give them the name of Gymnofophifts. Many incredible particulars are related, concerning the aufterity of their lives and their prodigious patience. Their only meat and drink is roots and water. As they admit the metempfychofis, and believe that the fouls of men tranfmigrate into thofe of beafts, they abstain from the flesh of animals. It is thought, that Pythagoras borrowed this doctrine from the Brachmans. They continue whole days ftanding with their faces towards the fun, and that in the feafon when this planet darts its rays with the greatest violence. Perfuaded that it is beneath the dignity of a man to wait calmly for death, when he finds himfelf oppreffed by age or fick nefs, they hold it glorious to prevent their last hour, and burn themselves alive; and, indeed, they pay no honours to

thofe

those who die merely of old age; and imagine they would pollute their funeral pile, and the fire that is to burn them to afhes, fhould they go into it otherwife than full of life and vigour. Other Brachmans, more judicious and humane than the former, live in cities, and affociate with their own fpecies; and fo far from confidering felf-murder as a virtuous or brave action, they look upon it as a weakness in man not to wait patiently the ftroke of death, and as a crime to dare to anticipate the will of the gods.

Cicero admires, in his Tufculan queftions, the invincible patience, not only of the Indian fages, but allo of the women of that country, who used to conteft for the honour of dying with their common hufband. This privilege was referved for that wife whom the hufband had loved moft affectionately; and was given in her favour by the fentence of perfons appointed for that purpose, who never gave a judgment till fuch time as they made a ftrict examination, and heard the allegations on all fides. The wife on whom the preference was beftowed, ran to meet death, and afcended the funeral pile with incredible joy and patience; whilft the furviving wives withdrew in the deepest transports of affliction, and with their eyes bathed in tears.

i

The defcription which Porphyrius has left us of thefe philofophers, resembles in many particulars that given above. According to this author, the Brachmans live on herbs, roots, and fruits. They abftain from animals of every kind, and if they touch any, they thereby render themselves unclean. They spend the greatest part of the day and night in finging hymns in honour of their gods. They faft and pray perpetually. The

i Lib. de Abftin. Animal.

* Mulieres in India, cum eft cujufque earum vir mortuus, in certamen judiciumque veniunt, quam plurimum ille dilexerit: plures enim fingulis folent effe nupta. Quæ eft victrix ea læta, profequentibus fuis, unà cum viro in rogum imponitur : illa vita mofta difcedit. Tufc. Quæft. lib. v. n. 78.