FACT AND FICTION ABOUT
ALEXANDER’S BRAVERY
Plutarch and some other historians credit Alexander with
incredible boldness and bravery, their modern analytical counterparts refuse to
decorate him with supernatural powers.
They do admit that Alexander was extraordinarily brave even at the young
age of twenty and lived a life of
warfare which brought glory to him and this brave warrior never swerved at
any time from his plan of universal extension of his dominions.
Given below is a fragment of the poem entitled Alexander’s Feast written
by the British poet John Dryden (Born 9th August 1631; Died 12th
May 1700). Here Dryden does mention Alexander’s god-like status among his contemporary warriors. The theme of the poem is the celebration of Alexander’s
victory over Persia.
“Twas at the royal feat for Persia
won
By Philip’s warlike son-----
Aloft in awful slate
The godlike hero sate
On his imperial throne;
His valiant peers were placed around,
Their brows with roses and with myrtles bound
(So should desert in arms be crown’d);
The lovely Thais by his side
Sate like a blooming eastern bride
In flower of youth and beauty’s pride:-
Happy, happy, happy pair!
None but the brave
None but the brave
None but the brave deserves the fair!
Timotheus placed on high
Amid the tuneful quire
With flying fingers touch’d the
lyre:
The trembling notes ascend the sky
And heavenly joys inspire.
The song began from Jove
Who left his blissful seats
above----
Such is the power of mighty love!
A dragon’s fiery form belied the
god;
Sublime on radiant spires he rode
When he to fair Olympia prest,
And while he sought her snowy breast
Then round her slender waist he
curl’s,
And stamp’d an image of himself, a
sovereign of the world.
---The listening crowd admire the
lofty sound!
A present deity! the vaulted roofs rebound!
With ravish’d ears
The monarch hears,
Assumes the god;
Affects to nod
And seems to shake the spheres.
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