Caesar or Napoleon. All he had to do was to
appear with his troops, and the enemy fled. Cities were surrendered as he
approached. The two great battles which decided the fate of Persia--Issus
and Arbela--were gained at the first shock of his cavalry. Darius fled from
the field, in both instances, at the very beginning of the battle, and
made no real resistance. The greater the number of Persian soldiers, the
more disorderly was the rout. The Macedonian soldiers fought retreating
armies in headlong flight. The slaughter of the Persians was mere
butchery. It was something like collecting a vast number of birds in a
small space, and shooting them when collected in a corner, and dignifying
the slaughter with a grand name--not like chasing the deer over rocks and
hills.

(M730) The military genius of Alexander was seen in the siege of the few
towns which _did_ resist, like Tyre and Gaza; in his rapid marches; in the
combination of his forces; in the system, foresight, and sagacity he
displayed, conquering at the light time, marching upon the right place,
husbanding his energies, wasting no time in expeditions which did not bear
on the main issue, and concentrating his men on points which were vital
and important. Philip, if he had lived, might have conquered the Persian
empire; but he would not have conquered so rapidly as Alexander, who knew
no rest, and advanced from conquering to conquer, in some cases without
ulterior objects, as in the Indian campaigns--simply from the love and
excitement of conquest. He only needed time. He met no enemies who could
oppose him--more, I apprehend, from the want of discipline among his
enemies, than from any irresistible strength of his soldiers, for he
embodied the conquered soldiers in his own army, and they fought like his
own troops, when once disciplined. Nor did he dream of reconstruction, or
building up a great central power. He would, if he had lived, have overrun
Arabia, and then Italy, and Gaul. But he did not live to measure his
strength with the Romans. His mission was ended when he had subdued the
Persian world. And he left no successor. His empire was divided among his
generals, and new kingdoms arose on the ruins of the Persian empire.

(M731) "Alexander was born B.C. 356, and like his father, Philip, was not
Greek, but a Macedonian and Epirot, only partially imbued with Grecian
sentiment and intelligence." He inherited the ambition of Philip, and the
violent and headstron