And Alexander Wept...
An Old Legend
According to the ancient writer Plutarch, “When Alexander heard from Anaxarchus of the infinite number of worlds, he wept, and when his friends asked him what was the matter, he replied, ‘Is it not a matter for tears that, when the number of worlds is infinite, I have not conquered one?’” (Life of Alexander). This quotation describes an interesting attitude in a man who had conquered much of the known world at a young age. His weeping betrayed a glimpse of reality that not even Alexander likely truly appreciated.