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Budge_Ethiopic_Alexander

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EPISTLES OF DARIUS AND ALEXANDER. 8<br />

battle with them;" and great sorrow came upon<br />

him by reason of these things, and he Avas exceeding<br />

wrathful. And he sent to Darius the king a letter<br />

in which was written:<br />

"O mighty king, I have discovered a matter in <strong>Alexander</strong><br />

"which there is advantage both for thee and fortius,<br />

"me. Thou givest orders to thy soldiers always<br />

"to make me to come into thy camp; as I am<br />

"neither afraid nor will run away let me come,<br />

"so that no man shall accuse me of shame and dis-<br />

"grace. Or, again, I will go back to my own<br />

"country, and in this thou wilt find a reason and<br />

"a cause for boasting: be thou not backward in this<br />

"matter."<br />

Then Darius, the king of Persia, made answer,<br />

saying:<br />

"O king, I see not [things] as thou seest [them], Darius' an-<br />

"and I cannot grant what thou hast asked. There ^""'<br />

"is only one way for us in this matter; either we<br />

"make a league together for peace or one of us<br />

"two shall depart vanquished."<br />

When <strong>Alexander</strong> heard this letter he bowed<br />

down to the ground. And he rose up and lifted<br />

up his hands, and cried out to his army, saying,<br />

"Up [, men], with one consent, and whether for my<br />

"sake, or whether for our own, let us [p. 45] heal<br />

"our hearts' upon our enemies." So <strong>Alexander</strong> and<br />

his whole army rose up with one consent, and both<br />

armies joined in battle, and multitudes of men were<br />

' Read hAOn.) ' h9"flA'V,i : and dde =<br />

J^V

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