of the branches--He fell asleep under the tree--It then befell him in this hour--That in his dream he saw three goddesses--The one who rules love--The other who rules over wisdom--And all warlike knowledge--The third who rules over (= disposes of) riches--And they had a golden apple--Which each of them desired--For on it was written:--'To her who is the most beautiful, this shall be given.'--They chose him as judge between them--Saying: 'We give you this power--That we may dispute no longer about this--Give this apple to whichever one thou wilt--And over whatever thing each of us has power--In that will she aid you.'--Then at that moment the prince--Began to take counsel with himself--Saying: 'What is not due to me--According to my right as a prince?--I have already too great riches--Also warlike spirit have I sufficient--And sense as great as others--Why then should I require greater wisdom?--My fortune also is favorable to me--But I should wish to possess a fair woman.'--Saying this he awards the apple--To her who rules over love." The author ends his digression with these reflections: "Oh, erring heart of man--Oh, restless designs!--For the sake of one fair woman--For indeed her beauty was great--The whole world was in arms--For ten years it strove in war--Till in the eleventh year!--How can we remember all the ills that then befell Troy!" It is natural that in a work such as the _Alexandreis_ dealing principally with the events of war, and written for warlike knights, battle-pieces should be numerous, and indeed constitute the greatest portion of the work. The following is an extract from one of the best of these battle-pieces, the description of the battle of Arbela. Alexander has just killed "Aristomanes, prince of India." "Easy," cry the Greeks, "easy will be for us glory and praise--Now that our king has obtained such glory!--The fight was stubborn on both sides--Not few the mortal wounds--They then dealt each other--When they first met--Then the battle-axes, lances--Drew blood like water--And the Greek king rushing at the enemy--Struck at the foolish people.--Meanwhile sword, lance, and battle-axe--Aimed at him from every direction--Strike his head;--Yet his mind remains undisturbed.--Thus did he bear himself in fight--As if he had been forged out of iron--And it was easy for him to bear all blows--While fortune in everything favoured him.--Thus did death refrain from him--Though it struck down many of the best men there.--Faros was the name of one of them--The second was called Eliphas--And he was Count of Egypt--While the former was Margrave of Syria--Both were valorous men--A great loss by their deaths--Befell that heathen king.... But ever, as was said--Nothing availed the heathens--When they attempted to destroy the Greeks--Everywhere on the sand, on the grass--A stream flowed, rendering the earth bloody--In it lay the wretched men--Like a forest or a grove that has been