Quintus Curtius Rufus, History of Alexander 9.9.6

9.9.6

Qui interrogati, quam procul abessent mari, responderunt nullum ipsos mare ne fama quidem accepisse: ceterum tertio die perveniri posse ad aquam amaram, quae corrumperet dulcem. Intellectum est mare destinari ab ignaris naturae eius.

The king, elated by the news, exhorted the sailors to bend to their oars. The end of their labours, he said, for which they had always been hoping and praying, was close at hand ; nothing was now wanting to complete their glory ; nothing left to withstand their valour. They could now, without the hazard of fighting, without any bloodshed, make the whole world their own. Even nature herself could advance no farther, and within a short time they would see what was known to none but the immortal gods. He nevertheless sent a small party ashore in a boat in order to take some of the natives straggling about, from whom he hoped some correct information might be obtained. After all the huts near the shore had been searched, some natives at last were found hidden away in them. These, on being asked how far off the sea was, answered that they had never so much as heard of such a thing as the sea, but that on the third day they might come to water of a bitter taste which corrupted the fresh water. From this it was understood they meant the sea, whose nature they did not understand. The mariners therefore plied their oars with increased alacrity, and still more strenuously on the following day as they drew nearer to the fulfilment of their hopes.