The greatness of Darius was the greatness of position and not of character. He was the absolute sovereign of nearly half the world, and, as such, was held up very conspicuously to the attention of mankind, who gaze with a strong feeling of admiration and awe upon these vast elevations of power, as they do upon the summits of mountains, simply because they are high. Darius performed no great exploit, and he accomplished no great object while he lived; and he did not even leave behind him any strong impressions of personal character. There is in his history, and in the position which he occupies in the minds of men, greatness without dignity, success without merit, vast and long-continued power without effects accomplished or objects gained, and universal and perpetual renown without honor or applause. The world admire Cæsar, Hannibal, Alexander, Alfred, and Napoleon for the deeds which they performed. They admire Darius only on account of the elevation on which he stood. In the same lofty position, they would have admired, probably, just as much, the very horse whose neighing placed him there.
The End.
Footnotes
[A] For the places mentioned in this chapter, and the track of Cambyses on his expedition, see the [map] at the commencement of this volume.
[B] Literally, fish-eaters.
[C] An account of Herodotus, and of the circumstances under which he wrote his history, which will aid the reader very much in forming an opinion in respect to the kind and degree of confidence which it is proper to place in his statements, will be found in the first chapter of our history of Cyrus the Great.
[D] For the position of Sardis, and of other places mentioned in this chapter, see the [map] at the commencement of the volume, and also that at the commencement of [chapter xi].
[E] It was a tumor of the breast, which became, at length, an open ulcer, and began to spread and enlarge in a very formidable manner.
[F] For the situation of these places, see the [map] at the commencement of chapter xi.