and pomp of this ancient capital
of Babylon:

[Illustration: Christ Declaring Who is Greatest.]

"A great part of the inhabitants of Babylon stood on the walls, eager to
catch a sight of their new monarch; many went forth to meet him. Among
these Bagophanes, keeper of the citadel and of the royal treasure,
strewed the entire way before the king with flowers and crowns; silver
altars were also placed on both sides of the road, which were loaded not
merely with frankincense, but all kinds of odoriferous herbs. He brought
with him for Alexander gifts of various kinds, flocks of sheep and
horses; lions, also, and panthers were carried before him in their dens.
The magi came next, singing in their usual manner their ancient hymns.
After them came the Chaldeans with their musical instruments, who are
not only the prophets of the Babylonians, but their artists. The first
are wont to sing the praises of the kings; the Chaldeans teach the
motion of the stars, and the changes of the seasons. Then followed, last
of all, the Babylonian knights, whose equipments, as well as that of
their horses, showed the passion of the people for luxury. The king,
Alexander, attended by armed men, having ordered the crowd of the
townspeople to proceed in the rear of his infantry, entered the city in
a chariot and repaired to the palace. The next day he carefully surveyed
the household treasures of Darius, and all his money. For the rest, the
beauty of the city and its age turned the eyes not only of the king, but
of everyone in itself, and that with good reason."

The kings and conquerors of old had no canals for boats, no railways,
and not many good roads. Consequently, their invasions and various
public enterprises were carried forward in a slow and toilsome manner.
Heavy wagons and chariots, the latter sometimes armed with scythes or
long blades for battle, were the best vehicles in use.

There were no monitors, nor fire-arms. Large swords, daggers, slings,
the catapulta and battering-ram, were the principal weapons.

The last named instrument was a massive machine with a movable beam,
crowned with a very hard end, often shaped like a ram's head, which
could be thrown against a wall with tremendous force, beating it down.

The catapulta, which was placed upon city walls, was a great cross-bow
for hurling arrows upon an enemy. In it was combined the bow and arrow,
and the sling. The mammoth arrow was put in the groove, the twisted
rope