Chap. II. of the East Indies. 
in Readinefs, he entered in earn eft upon his great Work* 
which was to be begun by the Paffage of the River Indus . 
6. This Expedition was undertaken in the eleventh Year 
of his Reign over Macedon , in the fifth of his Empire, 
and three hundred and twenty-feven before Chrifi. Tie 
palled the River without the leaft Refiftance, and as foon 
as he was on the other Side, had Notice that an Indian 
Prince was advancing towards him, with a numerous and 
well-difciplined Army. This was Mophis, the Son of tha 
King of Taxila , who had before fubmitted to him in the 
Name of his Father, who was then living ; but, being now 
dead, Mophis reigned in his own Right. The Appearance 
of this Indian Prince was fo formidable, that Alexander 
was afraid of being furprifed ; and, therefore, haftily put 
his Troops into Order of Battle. But Mophis presently 
undeceived him, by advancing with a fmall Retinue ; and, 
making his Submiffion to Alexander , delivered up his Do- 
minions, which he received again, with Leave to affume 
the Title of Taxiles , which was common to all the Mo- 
narchs of that Country, with fuch mighty Gifts befides, 
that Meleager , one of his Macedonian Captains, could not 
help telling him, that he was glad to fee he had met with 
a Man in the Indies worthy of receiving a Prefent of a 
thoufand Talents at once V 
Ambifams followed his Example ; but Porus , whofe 
Dominions lay beyond the River Hydafpes , prepared to 
defend himfelf to the laft Extremity ; and drew together 
a mighty Army to hinder his Paffage of the River : Alex- 
ander advanced towards him ; and with great Difficulty, 
and no fmall Lofs, forced the Paffage of this River, and 
afterwards defeated Porus , who was grievoufiy wounded 
■in the Side ; but, being charmed with the Spirit and Cou- 
rage of the Man, he reftored to him his Dominions, and 
even augmented them. In Memory of this Vidlory, he 
built a City called Nkcea, and another as a kind of Mo- 
nument for his Horfe Bucephalus. As this Country 
abounded with Timber, he ordered a gre.at Number of new 
Ships to be built for the Eftablifhment of a Maritime Force, 
us well for the perfedling,^ as -protecting his Conquefts : 
tie paffed, next, the River Acefines ; and, having fubdued 
all that lay between it and the River Hydraates , bellowed it 
upon Porus b . 
He invaded and deftroyed the Cuthaans , who had a 
Cuftom of caufmg Wives to be interred with their Huf- 
bands ; and, having taken the City of Sangala by Storm, 
fie bellowed it on fome Indians , who had fubmitted to him, 
and lived under a free Government. He next attacked 
Sophites , the Prince of a People called by the fame Name, 
who were reputed the handfomeft Nation in the World : 
But that Prince foon made his Peace, and entertained Alex- 
ander y and all his Army, for many Days together. He- 
phaftion returned to him here, after having fubdued feveral 
Princes, and their Dominions : From thence Alexander 
marched into the Dominions of King Phygeus , who fub- 
mitted to him, and received, as-Tther Monarchs had done, 
his Kingdom, with large Prefents befides. 
He then paffed the River Hyphajis , which was feven 
Furlongs broad and fix Deep, .the Stream prodigioufly ra- 
pid ; and from hence he intended to have marched to the 
Ganges ; but, firft of all, thought it requifite, to inquire 
of his Indian Confederates, the Situation and Condition of 
the Country through which he was to pafs : They informed 
him, that, for twelve Days March from thence, there lay a 
Defart, which was bounded by the Ganges ; and that, on 
the other Side that River, there were many potent Nations ; 
but, particularly, the Gangaridte , whofe King Xandrames , 
had an Army of twenty thoufand - Horfe, two hundred 
thoufand Foot, two thoufand Chariots of War, and four 
thoufand Elephants. The Report of this, the Remem- 
brance of their late Engagement with Porus, and a Storm 
of Rain, Thunder, and Lightning, which had lafted for 
; above feventy Days, fo difpirited his Macedonians , that 
they declared, without Ceremony, they were weary of 
marching eight Years together, and of being put continu- 
ally upon new Labours, without any Profped of Reft or 
Peace. Alexander thought to have quieted thefe Com- 
plaints, by giving them Leave to plunder fome Indian 
Nations c that refilled to fubmit s But this had not the de» 
fired Effedt ; they were ftill as angry, and as much difpoied 
to Mutiny, as ever ; to which, perhaps, they were artfully 
excited by the Indians , who were delirous of being rid of 
them. 
7. In order to make the laft Effort, he prepared an Ora- 
tion ; and when they returned to the Camp, laden with 
Plunder, he firft diftributed Corn to their Wives, and Mo- 
ney to their Children ; and then addreffed himfelf to them 
in a long Speech, in which he faid all that could be pofli- 
bly contrived to infpire them, with a Refolution of ftill fol- 
lowing his Fortunes, and attacking the Gangarid <e. His 
Eloquence, however, availed him no more than his former 
Bounties : The Macedonians were abfolutely tired out ; 
and befides, the Methods pradtifed to draw them thus fan, 
deterred them from the Thoughts of going farther. For, 
firft of all, the Fables he had fpread concerning the Expe- 
ditions of Bacchus and Hercules , filled them with Appre- 
henfions, that they were to be led beyond the Limits of the 
World, and be expoled to Dangers, beyond the Reach 
even of their Imaginations ; and, on the other hand, they 
did by no means approve of this new Way of conquering 
Countries, to give them back again with Intereft : And, 
therefore, Ccenus , in the Name of the Army, plainly told 
Alexander- their Mind; which agreeing fo little with his 
Inclinations, he retired to his Tent, where he remained 
three Days clofe {hut up, and would not fee even his moft 
familiar Friends. At the End of that Time he came out, 
and, making a Virtue of Neceffity, told his Soldiers, with 
a good Grace, that fince they were unwilling to follow 
him, he had taken a Refolution to return : But there was 
another Reafon that contributed not a little to his taking 
this Refolution ; and it was this : He had lacrificed for the 
Paffage of the River, and his Prims, on the Infpeftion of 
the Entrails, declared them unlucky d . 
Now having conducted his Affairs fo long by Oracles, 
and fuch-like Inventions, he durft not proceed to an Ex- 
pedition, which feemed to be againft the Will of the Gods *, 
and thus he was intangled in his own Superflitions, and 
obliged to defift by the very Arts which he employed with 
a View to force his Army to move on. Yet, in Ipite of 
this Difappointment, he was ftill fo addicted to babies, 
that he chofe to give the Air of Romance to his own 
Actions, rather than truft his Glory to a fair and impartial 
Recital of them. To this Purpofe he caufed twelve large 
Altars, of fifty Cubits Height, like Towers, to be eredted 
near the River ; whereon he facrificed according to the Greek 
Cuftom, and celebrated Games in tke adjacent Country : 
After this, he caufed a Ditch to be made, fifteen Feet 
broad, and ten Feet deep, whereon, of the Earth that was 
dug up, he raffed a confiderable Wall, making the Com- 
pafs of his Camp three times larger than it was. He com- 
manded the Foot, that each in his Tent fhould get two 
Bedfteads of five Cubits each in Length, and’ the Horfe- 
men to make theirs with the Mangers of their Horfes, as 
big again as they were ; he caufed Arms, Bridles, and 
other Things to be framed after the fame Proportion, to 
amufe Pofterity with a falfe Appearance of the gigantic 
Proportion of his own Perfon, and of the Perfons of his 
Followers e . 
Thus this Indian Expedition ended in the fame kind of 
Follies with which it began ; and had no other Effedt 
whatever,, than making thefe Countries, and the Nations 
who inhabited them, and who hitherto had been known 
to the reft of the World, only by idle and fabulous Re- 
ports, more truly reprefented ; and yet even this was, in a 
great meafure, prevented by the extravagant lying Reports 
of his Followers, occafioned, no doubt, by their earned: 
Defire of gratifying the Ambition of their Mafter, who 
loved to have his Exploits painted beyond, that is, in plain 
Terms, at the Expence of Truth. 
8. WHien he came to execute his defigned Retreat, he 
difpofed of the Government of the Provinces he had con- 
quered, and fo paffed on to the River Hydafpes , where he 
expedted to find his new Fleet, which, however, was not 
perfedtly complete, which obliged him to ftay fome Time 
in the Neighbourhood ; fo that there he was joined' by fix 
a Arrian, lib. iv. Sf Curtins. b Curt . lib. ix, 
Aiexandro. e Diodor , Steal, lib. xvii. 
Numb, 2y 0 
e Arrian . lib. vi. hf Curt. lib. ix, d Arrian, lib. vi. Plutarch, in 
5 G thoufand 
