extraordinary qualities of mind and of character, which seemed to
indicate, at a very early age, his future greatness.

Although he was a prince, he was not brought up in habits of luxury
and effeminacy. This would have been contrary to all the ideas which
were entertained by the Greeks in those days. They had then no
fire-arms, so that in battle the combatants could not stand quietly,
as they can now, at a distance from the enemy, coolly discharging
musketry or cannon. In ancient battles the soldiers rushed toward each
other, and fought hand to hand, in close combat, with swords, or
spears, or other weapons requiring great personal strength, so that
headlong bravery and muscular force were the qualities which generally
carried the day.

The duties of officers, too, on the field of battle, were very
different then from what they are now. An officer _now_ must be calm,
collected, and quiet. His business is to plan, to calculate, to
direct, and arrange. He has to do this sometimes, it is true, in
circumstances of the most imminent danger, so that he must be a man
of great self-possession and of undaunted courage. But there is very
little occasion for him to exert any great physical force.

In ancient times, however, the great business of the officers,
certainly in all the subordinate grades, was to lead on the men, and
set them an example by performing themselves deeds in which their own
great personal prowess was displayed. Of course it was considered
extremely important that the child destined to be a general should
become robust and powerful in constitution from his earliest years,
and that he should be inured to hardship and fatigue. In the early
part of Alexander's life this was the main object of attention.

The name of the nurse who had charge of our hero in his infancy was
Lannice. She did all in her power to give strength and hardihood to
his constitution, while, at the same time, she treated him with
kindness and gentleness. Alexander acquired a strong affection for
her, and he treated her with great consideration as long as he lived.
He had a governor, also, in his early years, named Leonnatus, who had
the general charge of his education. As soon as he was old enough to
learn, they appointed him a preceptor also, to teach him such branches
as were generally taught to young princes in those days. The name of
this preceptor was Lysimachus.

They had then no printed books, but there were a few writings on
p