to all. The conquest of the Indies and the defeat of Poros on the banks of the Hydaspes will forever stand<hr>
as monuments of your pride. Not only is it known that you vanquished this great king, but it is also well known<hr>
that after having conquered his kingdom, you made it even greater<hr>
than before. Thus, you can be called the victor of this prince, but also the conqueror of<hr>
Poros, for it seems that you fought solely to magnify him. The city of the Oxydracians,<hr>
where you demonstrated such determination, is known to all, regarded as the battlefield<hr>
where your great heart defied both death and fate, overcoming them both.<hr>
In the end, Alexander, the testimonies of your valor and your conquests can be found<hr>
everywhere.<hr>
        For this reason, without further discussing this subject, I will simply thank<hr>
your kindness and your goodness. But these two qualities are as well known as your courage, for if,<hr>
as I have already stated, you are the master and victor of all men, it can also be<hr>
said that you are the benefactor of all men. It appears that the gods entrusted you with all the<hr>
rewards they typically bestow upon mortals, marked you as the<hr>
distributor of benefits and charged you with the mission of bettering the world. No sooner<hr>
do you conquer a kingdom than you return it, and your enemies become your subjects and your<hr>
friends. Having just defeated them all, you then become their protector. I am an example of what I<hr>
claim, and not to believe me would constitute a crime for, Alexander, I will never forget the<hr>
favors I have received from you. Indeed, I will always remember that formidable day when<hr>
my daughters and I became your captives. The fear of being enslaved<hr>
filled our minds with such unsavory images that death seemed the greatest joy<hr>
that could befall us. We had lost the war and the throne, we already thought we had lost<hr>
Darius, and the most unbearable thing for us was the thought of dying<hr>
by our own hands to avoid the insolence of the victors. But I did not know Alexander yet, for I said to myself: I am the mother of his greatest<hr>
enemy, since Darius is the most formidable of all who resisted him. I feared you<hr>
as much back then as I love you today. This unjustified fear did not last<hr>
long in my mind, your presence dispelled it quickly. I even remember that the first time I(hr>
had the honor of seeing you, you forgave a mistake I made. Since I did not know you and my<hr>
state of confusion didn’t allow me to think clearly, you knew I had mistaken General Hephaestion for you, and without getting angry,<hr>
you told me that I was not mistaken, for he too was Alexander. This sign<hr>
of indulgence towards me and affection towards your favorite began to give me a more authentic opinion of you and revived in my soul the hope that fear had driven out. And<hr>
even today, you clearly show that Hephaestion means as much to you as you<hr>
do to yourself.<hr>
<hr>
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                                                  30<hr>