I.

WE OFTEN CONDEMN IN OTHERS WHAT WE PRACTISE OURSELVES.

(Alexander the Great in his tent. A man with a fierce countenance, chained and fettered, brought before him.)

ALEXANDER.—What, art thou the Thracian robber, of whose exploits I have heard so much?

ROBBER.—I am a Thracian, and a soldier.

ALEXANDER.—A soldier?—a thief, a plunderer, an assassin! the pest of the country! I could honour thy courage, but I must detest and punish thy crimes.

ROBBER.—What have I done of which you can complain[1]?

ALEXANDER.—Hast thou not set at defiance my authority, violated the public peace, and passed thy life[2] in injuring the persons[3] and properties of thy fellow-subjects[4]?

ROBBER.—Alexander! I am your captive. I must hear what you please to say, and endure what you please to inflict. But my soul is unconquered; and if I reply at all[5] to your reproaches, I will reply like a free man.

ALEXANDER.—Speak freely. Far be it from me to take[6] the advantage of my power, to silence those with whom I deign to converse!

ROBBER.—I must then answer your question by another. How have you passed your life?

ALEXANDER.—Like a hero. Ask Fame[7], and she will tell you. Among the brave, I have been the bravest; among sovereigns, the noblest; among conquerors, the mightiest.

[1] +sich über etwas beklagen.+ Use the 2nd person Plural when the robber addresses Alexander.

[2] +und dein Leben damit zugebracht.+

[3] = the personal safety.

[4] +deiner Nebenmenschen.+

[5] +überhaupt.+

[6] = to use.

[7] ‘Fame,’ here +Fama+, +die Göttin des Ruhmes+. FAME, or FAMA, was a poetical deity, represented as having wings and blowing a trumpet. A temple was dedicated to her by the Romans.

_Section 226._

THE TWO ROBBERS.