ountries was the great support of my power.

_Charles_.--In the unwearied activity with which I proceeded from one
enterprise to another, I dare call myself your equal. Nay, I may pretend
to a higher glory than you, because you only went on from victory to
victory; but the greatest losses were not able to diminish my ardour or
stop the efforts of my daring and invincible spirit.

_Alexander_.--You showed in adversity much more magnanimity than you did
in prosperity. How unworthy of a prince who imitated me was your
behaviour to the king your arms had vanquished! The compelling Augustus
to write himself a letter of congratulation to one of his vassals whom
you had placed in his throne, was the very reverse of my treatment of
Porus and Darius. It was an ungenerous insult upon his ill-fortune. It
was the triumph of a little and a low mind. The visit you made him
immediately after that insult was a further contempt, offensive to him,
and both useless and dangerous to yourself.

_Charles_.--I feared no danger from it. I knew he durst not use the
power I gave him to hurt me.

_Alexander_.--If his resentment in that instant had prevailed over his
fear, as it was likely to do, you would have perished deservedly by your
insolence and presumption. For my part, intrepid as I was in all dangers
which I thought it was necessary or proper for me to meet, I never put
myself one moment in the power of an enemy whom I had offended. But you
had the rashness of folly as well as of heroism. A false opinion
conceived of your enemy's weakness proved at last your undoing. When, in
answer to some reasonable propositions of peace sent to you by the Czar,
you said, "You would come and treat with him at Moscow," he replied very
justly, "That you affected to act like Alexander, but should not find in
him a Darius." And, doubtless, you ought to have been better acquainted
with the character of that prince. Had Persia been governed by a Peter
Alexowitz when I made war against it, I should have acted more
cautiously, and not have counted so much on the superiority of my troops
in valour and discipline over an army commanded by a king who was so
capable of instructing them in all they wanted.

_Charles_.--The battle of Narva, won by eight thousand Swedes against
fourscore thousand Muscovites, seemed to authorise my contempt of the
nation and their prince.

_Alexander_.--It happened that their prince was not present in that
battle.