 when the persian sage heard of alexanders death he said as he was the killer of darius the son of darius i did not think that the killer of darius would die! this statement is more praiseworthy than his killer. i have never heard a word from the persians more praiseworthy than this. as for the arabs i have found many of their words of this type.
وقال حكيم الفرس حين بلغه موت الإسكندر، وهو قاتل دارا بن دارا ما ظننت أن قاتل دارا يموت! وهذا القول هو أمدح منه لقاتله. ولم أسمع للعجم كلمة قط أمدح منها. فأما العرب فقد أصبت لهم من هذا الضرب كلاما كثيرا.