Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-01-01
The Story of Civilization

ereignty of politicians which is In the
mood of our own time.
Some scuiptors of that turbulent age
have left lis husts OF Alexander. which
| make him out as handsome and dash.
ing conqueror as any girl could pic.
ture in her dreams. The young war
rior did not care for those portraits
which tried to catch the beauty OF his
face and the melting look of his eyes;
he preferred Lysippus. who represent.
ed him in his leonine aspect. charging
recklessly into the midst of the enemy,
and dominating the world with a
glance Sec him in battle on the
famous Alexander Sarcophagus ut
Constantinuple, or on the great mosaic
Battle of Alexandria and Darius" in
the National Museum at Naples. he is
4 mere boy. dark. comely and reckless.
~ brave. In the very center of the
fray he is on the verge Of capturing
Darius himself: he has all the fine
animal verve of q youth splendidlv
endowed with spirit and impulse. and
not given much to that habit OF think
ing which Henry Adams considered to
be a degradation of vital energy. One
sees in his flashing eyes the destiny
to great achievements and an early
end.
Instinct made him q warrior and
kept him near to the brute. At the
age of eight he led the cavalry under
his fathers eye at Chaeronea and ac-
Quilted himself like a young Mars.
Courage is a great virtue" said
Anatole France: lit has even the right
to do evil" Alexander led his soldiers
in battle after battle. Sc that they inn
plored him to protect himself. several
times he was severely wounded. and
when he died his body was white with
scars. He mourned at his fathers
Victories. saying there would be moth
ing left To do.
To find new difficulties he decided to
conquer Persia. Thu old quarrel he
tween the two rival foci of the mer-
camille world in the last millennium
before Christ had not been quite
settled Mt Marathon: time and again
tie Greek cities of Asia Minor had
fallen under the Persian yoke. and
Persian gold had nourished many of
the civil wars that tore and ruined
Greece. One economic system was
forging into unity the Near East and
the eastern Mediterranean; either
Persia or Greece would dominate that
unity. Darius proposed to Alexander
that they should divide and rule, but
Alexander answered. recklessly: As
it would he impossible for order tn
reign in the world with two suns"
uhey say it has million, so il is
impossible for the earth to be at peace
with two masters" In the Year 335
Be. he crossed the Hellespont and set
forth for Persia's capital
He stopped on the way at Troy to
offer sacrifice at the tomb of Pro
tesiiaus. the first Greek who had put
foot on Asiatic soil. At the altar of
Athena the young warrior exchanged
his armor for n suit which legend said
had been worn at the siege of Troy.
He laid a wreath on the tomb of
Achilles and regretted that he could
not expect to have SO great biog-
rapher as that imperfect hero had
found in Homer. These were delight.
full dramas staged to appeal TO the
imagination of Greece; they stamped
Alexander as a lover of Hellenic cul-
ture and literature and as their ro-
mantle defender against the eternal
Orient
Nevertheless. it was against the
Greeks that the first battle of the
campaign was fought. *or Darius had
sent out a call for mercenaries and
thousands of Greeks had come. Alex.
andsr met them at the River Granicus
1884 B.c.1 and destroyed them. nearly
losing his own life i'm the midst of vic.
tory. Only the brave Intervention of
his friend clitus saved him-I-litus
whom later he would kill.
xE
He marched on now with an army
Of 5000 men--hardly enough TO keep
an American city dry. He came upon
Darius at Issus 1898 Il. CO and de.
feated HIM 50 completely that the
aged king sued humbly for peace. Of
fering all Asia west of the Euphrates
to Macedon. Aiexander's eounselors
begged him TO accept. but he would
not; were there not still some worlds
TO conquer: IL was a momentous de.
cision. and a foolish one. Courage In
great virtue, but without inteiii-
gence 1t In nothing.
So Alexander marched on. devour-
ing cities every day. After a remark
able siege he captured Tyre t33g II.
CD. leaving the Persian feet hayeniess
Then he passed down and oyerran
Egypt. allured. az Caesar was 10 be,
by the Slamor Of that ancient land.
but eiear-headed enough 10 select an
admirable site for the great city that
was TO bear his name and give it's own
10 the ensuing age. Turning back to
the northeast. he marched straight
into Persia. defeated Darius again tat
ATbeIa. 33l B.c.b and showed his gen.
crosby by honoring the memory Of
the assassinaied monarch and treat.
Ing his family handsomely II de.
she's aA
querors in European hisiory-Aiexan
der. Caesar. and Napoieon~-ihough
they killed magnificentiy. were AL
ways ready 10 forgive. And as
Caesar gave Brutus pardon. and Ma.
Es,ieon released the man who had
tried TO take his life, NO Alexander
treated with induIgent bumor a nj.
rate who had been condemned FOR
making the seas unsafe" I'm the
same way" answered the pirate, I'm
which you make the land unsafe. But
because ! do ii In my little ship am
called "A robber and you. who do IL in
great fleet. are called an emperor"
Alexander gave orders that the man
should lie set free. And when he WAS
taken 10 see Diogenes the cynic~~
member Of that little band born Of
Socrates simplicity. which abhorred
and babe men live naturally. even like
the dogs tkynes)~and Diogenes. un.
impressed by royalty. rudeiy ordered
him To stand out Of the sunlight.
Alexander spoke magma nimously, III
we're not Alexander, would he
Diogenea." But probably he much
preferred 10 be Alexander. Men Of
action seldom return The iut@lIecta,Hi's
secret fascination for "A life of deedr.
Thirst still unsaied, Alexander
marched on through Persia into iudia
and stood IN the tya nks III the Gangek:
surely then he must have realized
Thai there we're many worlds 10 con.
ansr, and that the earth. small as IL
"as, was too barge for Ale1a ndsr
fti* soldiers gtimh@d. being men. not
gods and ~ last their wistfui leader
Welded 10 them. and turned hts face
uuMfItIugty tsgnstt ri fGtuH tt12r1tab A. re