Cyrus and Alexander Compared

Ancient history describes Cyrus, king of the Persians, as by far the most illustrious of all kings up to his time. And yet if we look at the end of his days, we find that it matched his earlier prosperity very poorly, for he met an inglorious and dishonorable death at the hands of a woman. [a]

Again, the sons of Greece celebrate Alexander of Macedon as the conqueror of many different nations. Yet we find that he was taken away by an early death before he had reached full manhood, carried off by the effects of revelry and drunkenness. His whole life spanned only thirty-two years, and his reign no more than a third of that. Unsparing as the thunderbolt, he advanced through streams of blood and reduced whole nations and cities, young and old alike, to utter slavery. But when he had scarcely reached the prime of life and was lamenting the loss of youthful pleasures, death fell on him with a terrible blow. And so that he might no longer outrage the human race, it cut him off in a foreign and hostile land, childless, without a successor, and without a home. His kingdom too was torn apart at once, each of his officers seizing a portion and taking it for himself. And yet this man is praised for deeds like these. [c]