the death of Zoroas, the Egyptian
astronomer, than whom nobody was more skilled in the stars, the origin
of winter's cold or summer's heat, or in the mystery of squaring the
circle,--_circulus an possit quadrari_.[57] The Persians are overcome.
Darius seeks shelter in Babylon. His treasures are the prey of the
conqueror. Horses are laden with spoils, and the sacks are so full that
they cannot be tied. Rich ornaments are torn from the women, who are
surrendered to the brutality of the soldiers. The royal family alone is
spared. Conducted to the presence of Alexander, they are received with
the regard due to their sex and misfortune. The siege and destruction of
Tyre follow; then the expedition to Egypt and the temple of Jupiter
Ammon. Here is a description of the desert, which is said, like the sea,
to have its perils, with its Scylla and its Charybdis of sand:--

"Hic altera sicco
Scylla mari latrat; hic pulverulenta Charybdis."[58]

Meanwhile Darius assembles new forces. Alexander leaves Egypt and rushes
to meet him. There is an eclipse of the moon, which causes a sedition
among his soldiers, who dare to accuse their king. The phenomenon is
explained by the soothsayers, and the sedition is appeased.

The fourth book opens with a funeral. It is of the queen of the Persian
monarch. Alexander laments her with tears. Darius learns at the same
time her death and the generosity of his enemy. He addresses prayers to
the gods for the latter, and offers propositions of peace. Alexander
refuses these, and proceeds to render funeral honors to the queen of the
king he was about to meet in battle. Then comes an invention of the
poet, which may have suggested afterwards to Dante that most beautiful
passage of the "Purgatorio," where great scenes are sculptured on the
walls. At the summit of a mountain a tomb is constructed by the skilful
Hebrew Apelles, to receive the remains of the Persian queen; and on this
tomb are carved, not only kings and names of Greek renown, but histories
from the beginning of the world:--

"Nec solum reges et nomina gentis Achaeae,
Sed generis notat hisorias, ab origine mundi
Incipiens."

Here in breathing gold is the creation in six days; the fall of man,
seduced by the serpent; Cain a wanderer; the increase of the human race;
vice prevailing over virtue; the deluge; the intoxication of Noah; the
story of Esau, of Jacob, of Joseph; the plagues of Egypt,--