XXXII.  After his officers had retired, Alexander retired to his tent and is said to have slept more soundly than was his wont, which surprised the generals who came to wait upon him early in the morning.  On their own responsibility they gave orders to the soldiers to prepare their breakfast; and then, as time pressed, Parmenio entered his tent, and standing by his bed-side, twice or thrice called him loudly by name.  When he was awake, Parmenio asked him why he slept so soundly, as if he had already won the victory instead of being just about to fight the most important of all his battles.  Alexander answered with a smile; “Do you not think we have already won the victory, now that we are no longer obliged to chase Darius over an enormous tract of wasted country?”

Alexander both before the battle, and in the most dangerous crisis of the day proved himself truly great, always taking judicious measures, with a cheerful confidence of success.  His left wing was terribly shaken by a tumultuous charge of the Bactrian cavalry, who broke into the ranks of the Macedonians, while Mazaeus sent some horsemen completely round the left wing, who fell upon the troops left to guard the baggage.  Parmenio, finding his men thrown into confusion by these attacks, sent a message to Alexander, that his fortified camp and baggage would be lost, if he did not at once despatch a strong reinforcement to the rear.  At the time when Alexander received this message, he was in the act of giving his own troops orders to attack, and he answered that Parmenio must, in his confusion, have forgotten that the victors win all the property of the vanquished, and that men who are defeated must not think about treasure or prisoners, but how to fight and die with honour.  After sending back this answer to Parmenio, he put on his helmet; for he had left his tent fully armed at all other points, wearing a tunic of Sicilian manufacture closely girt round his waist, and over that a double-woven linen corslet, which had been among the spoils taken at Issus.  His helmet was of steel, polished as bright as silver, and was wrought by Theophilus, while round his neck he wore a steel gorget, inlaid with precious stones.  His sword, his favourite weapon, was a miracle of lightness and tempering, and had been presented to him by the King of Kitium in Cyprus.  The cloak which hung from his shoulders was by far the most gorgeous of all his garments, and was the work of the ancient artist Helikon,[410] presented to Alexander by the city of Rhodes, and was worn by him in all his battles.  While he was arraying his troops in order of battle, and giving final directions to his officers, he rode another horse to spare Boukephalus, who was now somewhat old.  As soon as he was ready to begin the attack, he mounted Boukephalus and led on his army.