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Darius's letter to Alexander.

write a letter and sent it to Alexander. And therewith he sent him a handball: & other certain [lapey] in scorn. And this is the tenor of the letter that he sent to him.

'Darius, king of kings, and lord of all earthly lords even like unto sunshine, with the gods of Persia, unto Alexander our servant we send. We understand now on late, whereof we marvel us greatly, that thou art so raised in pride and vain glory, that thou has assembled together a company of robbers and thieves out of the west parties, and cast them for to come into our parties, supposing through them for to overset and constrain the great might & the virtue of the Persians, whose strength thou may never slacken nor overcome, suppose thou gathered & assembled together all the world.
For I do the will to wait thou might nerehand [alsonne nommer]
the sterness of heaven, as the folk of the empire of Persia. Our gods also, by whom all this world is governed & sustained praise & commend our name passing all other nations. 'But notwithstanding this; thou as a little [bisne] &
a dwarf, a half-man & [ortey] of all men, desiring to overpass thy littleness, right as a mouse crept out of her hole, so thou art creeping out of the lande of Sethym, winning with a few [rebawdey] to conquer & open the land of Persia broad & long, & to riot & play in them as mice does in the house where no cats are. But I that [privately?] has aspied thy [gayety?], when thou went most securely for to startle about, I shall start upon them & take them; & so in wretchedness shall thy days fully have an end. 'A great Folly thou died for to take upon such a presumption. It were full faire to them, if thou might be our lefe, with our benevolence, occupy all only the room of Macedoyne, yielding therefore till vs yearly a certain tribute, if all thou coveted not our empire. Therefore it is good that thou leave thy fond purpose, and went home again, and set thee in thy mother's knee. And lo, I send thee here a little ball, with which as a child thou may play. For thou art but a child. It is more seemly that thou use child's games than deeds of arms. 'We know well thy [pouert] and thy need, and

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