If it were not my purpose to combine barbarian things with things Hellenic (Greek), to traverse and civilize every continent, to search out the uttermost parts of land and sea, to push the bounds of Macedonia to the farthest Ocean, and to disseminate and shower the blessings of the Hellenic justice and peace over every nation, I should not be content to sit quietly in the luxury of idle power, but I should emulate the frugality of Diogenes. But as things are, forgive me Diogenes, that I imitate Herakles, and emulate Perseus, and follow in the footsteps of Dionysos, the divine author and progenitor of my family, and desire that victorious Hellenes should dance again in India and revive the memory of the Bacchic revels among the savage mountain tribes beyond the Kaukasos:
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Alexander justifies his imperial mission as civilizing rather than seeking luxury or simple virtue.
- In plain terms
- I am building an empire to spread culture not to live quietly.
- What can you take from it?
- Great ambition requires grand action.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What is your mission?
- Does the end justify the means?
Another view
Imperial missions often cause harm despite claimed benefits.
More from Alexander the Great
If I were not Alexander, I should wish to be Diogenes.
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