ment of affairs. His history during the war of
succession clearly proves that, with all the wealth
and influence he had enjoyed for years, he could
secure very few devoted followers or efficient
lieutenants. Evidently he was no judge of
character. Men of ability and self-respect must have kept away from such a vain and injudicious master, while the mercenary self-seekers of
the army and Court must have recognised that in
following him against the astute and experienced
Aurangzib they would be only backing the
losing side. Dara was a loving husband, a doting
father, and a devoted son; but as a ruler of
men in troubled times he must have been a
failure. Long continued prosperity had unnerved
his character and made him incapable of planning
wisely, daring boldly, and achieving strenuously,—or, if need were, of wresting victory from the
jaws of defeat by desperate effort or heroic
endurance. The darling of the Court was utterly
out of his element in the Camp. The centre
of a circle of flattering nobles and ministers knew
not how to make a number of generals obey one
masterly will and act in harmony and concert.
Military organisation and tactical combination
were beyond his power. And he had never learnt
by practice how to guide the varying tides of a
battle with the coolness and judgment of a true
Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/331
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CHAP. XII.]
HIS WEAK CHARACTER.
301