Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/295

 IMMENSE PKOJECTS OF ALEXANDER. 263 except that you abandon your home (said the naked Indian to him*) hke a meddlesome destroyer, to invade the most distant regions ; enduring liardship yojirself, and inflicting hardship upon others." Now, how an empire thus boundless and heterogen- eous, such as no prince has ever yet realized, could have been administered with any superior advantages to subjects — it would be difficult to show. The mere task of acquiring and maintain- ing — of keeping satraps and tribute-gatherers in authority as well as in subordination — of suppressing resistances ever lialjle to recur in regions distant by months of march^ — would occupy the whole life of a wdrld-conqu£ror, without leaving any leisure for the improvements suited to peace and stability, if we give him credit for such purposes in theory. But even this last is more than can be granted. Alexander's acts indicate that he desired nothing better than to take up the traditions of the Persian empire ; a tribute-levying and army- levying system, under Macedonians, in large proportion, as his instruments ; yet partly also under the very same Persians who had administered before, provided they submitted to him. It has indeed been extolled among his merits that he was thus wil- ling to re-appoint Persian grandees (putting their armed force however under the command of a Macedonian officer) — and to continue native princes in their dominions, if they did willing homage to him, as tributary subordinates. But all this had been done before him by the Persian kings, whose system it was to leave the conquered princes undisturbed, subject only to the pay- ment of tribute, and to the obligation of furnishing a military contingent when required.^ In like manner Alexander's Asiatic empire would thus have been composed of an aggregate of sa- trapies and dependent principalities, furnishing money and sol- ' Arrian, vii. 1,8. oi) 6e uv')f)(jnog uv, rzapan'kricsiog toic uXTloi^, izTajv ye 6t], oTi TiOAVTzpdyfiuv Kai uraa&nXo^, urro rj;^ oiKEiac ToaavTjjv yvv tnE^epxV^ irpuy/iara f.^wf re kuI ■napEx<^v a7J,oi^. ^ Herodot. iii. 15. Alexander offered to Phokion (Plutarch, Phok. 18) (lis choice between four Asiatic cities, of which (that is, of any one of them) he was to enjoy the revenues ; just as Artaxerxes Longimanus Iiad acted towards Thcmistoklcs, in recompense for his treason. Pbokion refused tlic ')ffer.
 * Arrian, vii. 4, 4, 5.